‘Seek repentance’: Clergy group calls on Mississippi to remove Confederate symbol from state flag

From Mississippi-

Episcopal Bishop Brian Seage of the Diocese of Mississippi told Episcopal News Services that he believes the flag “belongs in museums and in archives and in history books.”

“When we see the Confederate battle flag, yes, it represents history, but it also represents a painful period for folks — a really painful period for many of our African American brothers and sisters, of injustice and an intention to not really see their full humanity," said Seage.

The Rev. Jason Coker of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi expressed his support for removing the Confederate symbol from the state flag at the press conference.

“Jesus said love God and love your neighbor,” stated Coker, as reported by local media outlet WLBT. “And I think we can do this if it’s an act of love to neighbor.”

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/seek-repentance-clergy-group-calls-on-mississippi-to-remove-confederate-symbol-from-state-flag.html

Mississippians March Against Immigration Raids

From Mississippi-

Some churches are going beyond comfort and material aid, with their response flaring into political opposition. The state’s Catholic, Episcopal, United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran bishops denounced the raids in a joint statement Friday.

The bishops said they would help the immigrant families, saying there is “an urgent and critical need at this time to avoid a worsening crisis.”

“We are called … to speak the truth. And the truth is, this is not right,” said Bishop Brian Seage of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, at a news conference one day after the raids.

On Sunday, Trump administration officials defended their actions, despite emotional pleas from children to let their parents go. Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan acknowledged that one video of an 11-year-old sobbing was “emotional” but said the girl was reunited with her mother.

More here-

https://www.courthousenews.com/mississippians-march-against-immigration-raids/

'Let our voices be heard': March against immigration raids

From Mississippi-

The bishops said they would aid the immigrant families, saying there is "an urgent and critical need at this time to avoid a worsening crisis."

"We are called ... to speak the truth. And the truth is, this is not right," said Bishop Brian Seage of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, speaking at a news conference one day after the raids.

On Sunday, Trump administration officials defended their actions, amid emotional pleas from children to let their parents go.

Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan acknowledged that one video of an 11-year-old sobbing was "emotional" but said the girl was quickly reunited with her mother.
"I understand that the girl is upset. And I get that," Morgan said on CNN. "But her father committed a crime."

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan acknowledged that the timing of the raids was "unfortunate," coming hours before Trump visited El Paso, Texas, where a man who told authorities he was targeting Mexicans killed 22 people on Aug. 3. But McAleenan told NBC the operation had been planned for more than a year.

More here-

http://newjersey.news12.com/story/40903057/let-our-voices-be-heard-march-against-immigration-raids

Danforth deservingly recognized with Churchill award

From Missouri-

Congratulations to John Danforth, a former Missouri attorney general, U.S. twice-elected senator and U.N. ambassador, who is the latest recipient of the Winston Churchill Leadership Medal. The award comes from the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, from which Churchill delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946.

According to the National Churchill Museum website, the Churchill award, "its highest honor," is bestowed upon "individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership."

The website highlights Danforth's work toward peace. President Bush selected him to be a special envoy for peace in Sudan in 2001. His assistance helped usher in peace there in 2005, ending the 20-year civil war.

Perhaps not as well known is Danforth's role as an ordained Episcopal priest.

More here-

http://www.semissourian.com/story/2415678.html

also here-

http://www.missourinet.com/2017/05/30/former-missouri-senator-jack-danforth-to-receive-churchill-leadership-medal/

Episcopal Church leaders come together to honor Bishop Marble

From Mississippi-

Chip Marble came home Monday.

In a small service at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Bovina officiated by the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop for the Episcopal Church in the U.S., Bishop Alfred Clark “Chip” Marble’s ashes were buried by his parents and sister in the church cemetery as family and friends looked on.

Marble served as bishop of Mississippi, and after his retirement was assistant bishop to the bishop of North Carolina.

“He was my bishop, but he was also my mentor, and he could not have been more pastoral to me and my family,” said the Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, Episcopal bishop of Mississippi who assisted at the service. He said Marble was bishop when he was ordained a deacon and later as a priest.

“One of the things I’ll always remember, when my eldest child was born — and it was a real difficult pregnancy and she very premature — Bishop Marble drove down to Mobile, (Ala.) where she was born to make sure we were OK.”

More here-

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2017/04/25/episcopal-church-leaders-come-together-to-honor-bishop-marble/

Jackson preacher arrested after leaving vulgar voicemail for judge

From Mississippi- (with video)






Rev. Seth Walley of St. James Episcopal Church in Jackson was angry at Judge Jeff Weill over a case with public defenders and left several voicemails filled with foul language on the judge’s phone.

Below are some direct quotes taken from the calls sent by the Jackson Jambalaya who obtained the voicemails and police report.

"Hey Judge Weill this is a Christian minister. I just want to ask you how it feels to be a total (expletive)."

"Sir, let me tell you, first of all you are out of your Christian principles and second of all you need to abdicate the bench because judge, well, let me tell you that you are far beyond any sense of Christian justice. Sir step down because the rest of us are tired of you on the goddamn bench.”
More here-

http://www.wapt.com/article/jackson-preacher-arrested-after-leaving-angry-voicemail-for-judge/8244799

Diocese commissions youngest verger in its history

From Mississippi-

At 19, Noah Anglin is the youngest verger in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. He was presented by his mentor, Dr. Lena Melton, a verger at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs, for commissioning at a special service of the Holy Eucharist Aug. 9 at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea.

His parents, J.T. and Debbie Anglin, beam with pride at their son’s most recent religious accomplishment.

"I am very proud of Noah,” Debbie said. “His love for the Lord, the liturgy and the Episcopal Church are very evident, and I pray this is only the beginning of his Christian ministry and service to others.”

More here-

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/life/faith/2016/10/20/diocese-commissions-youngest-verger-its-history/92227912/

Church connects with Oxford’s hispanic community

From Mississippi-

Each Sunday evening, before 6 o’clock strikes at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Associate Rector for Hispanic Ministry Bruce McMillan brings Spanish Bibles and hymn books to the sanctuary. Other members hang a Spanish banner in the pulpit and bring in a guitar for worship service.

Retired University of Mississippi Spanish professor and current vocational deacon of 15 years Penny Sisson remembers when she and others began the Spanish-speaking service.

In 2000, Hispanics made up 1.39 percent of Mississippi’s population. Since, the population has doubled.

According to Pew Research Center, 80,000 Hispanics live in Mississippi, making up 3 percent of the state’s entire population. In July 2015, the nationwide Hispanic or Latino percentage was 17.6 percent, a 1.3 percent rise from April 2010.
More here-

http://thedmonline.com/section-church-connects-with-oxfords-hispanic-community-ed-jg/

Christ Church scene of Civil War protest by ladies who were later banished from city

From Mississippi-

Sitting on a quiet spot at the corner of Main and Locust streets, Christ Episcopal Church looks pretty much the same it may have looked in 1863 after the surrender of Vicksburg by Gen. John C. Pemberton to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

Like many buildings in the city, it sustained damage from Grant’s artillery and Adm. David Dixon Porter’s gunboats on the Mississippi River.

During the Siege, its rector at the time, the Rev. Dr. W.W. Lord, held daily services.

But more than five months after the city’s surrender to the Union Army, Christ Episcopal was the scene of a protest by four women (five, by one account) whose objection to a Union order that violated the Constitution’s provisions on separation of church and state resulted in their being banned from the city for the remainder of the Civil War.

More here-

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/09/09/christ-church-scene-of-civil-war-protest-by-ladies-who-were-later-banished-from-city/

Retired Miss. Episcopal Bishop Duncan Gray Jr. dies

From Mississippi-

The Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray Jr., a civil-rights advocate and retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, died Friday. He was 89.

Gray died at his home in Jackson after having been in hospice care, said one of his sons, Lloyd Gray of Meridian. He said a funeral will be at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, but plans were still pending.

As rector of St. Peter’s Church in Oxford in the autumn of 1962, Gray called for calm as violence broke out in response to the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi in that city. Gray had been a chaplain on campus until 1961 and was known to students. According to Episcopal archives, Gray held onto the statue of a Confederate soldier near the main administrative building on campus and implored people not to riot.

In the pulpit of St. Peter’s, Gray denounced racism.

More here-

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/07/15/retired-miss-episcopal-bishop-duncan-gray-jr-dies/87164428/

also here-

https://djournal.com/news/duncan-gray-jr-retired-bishop-activist-dies-jackson/

and here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/16/former-mississippi-bishop-duncan-m-gray-jr-dies-after-brief-illness/

Mississippi Religious-Objection Law in Judge’s Hands

From The Wall Street Journal-

“The law simply provides religious accommodations granted by many states and federal law,” Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “I remain hopeful the courts will recognize that reality.”

“I truly believe that people will take great license with [the law] and there will be a lot of abuses,” said Susan Hrostowski, a 58-year-old plaintiff in one of four lawsuits. An Episcopal priest in Hattiesburg, Miss, she and her wife were among couples who won a ruling against the state ban on adoption by same sex couples in a separate case earlier this year.

The Mississippi legislation is one of many state bills social conservatives have sought amid setbacks on the national stage. North Carolina recently drew national attention, plus a legal fight with the U.S. Justice Department, with its  law that requires transgender people to use the public bathroom corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate.

More here-

http://www.wsj.com/articles/mississippi-religious-objection-law-in-judges-hands-1467152742

When a Priest Files a Lawsuit Against HB 1523

From Mississippi-

Rev. Susan Hrostowski is familiar with fighting for her and her family's rights, even if that means going to court. She was one of the plaintiffs in the case that struck down Mississippi's ban on same-sex adoption on March 31. Less than a week later, Gov. Phil Bryant signed the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" into law.

Hrostowski was a part of the adoption lawsuit so that she could legally do a second-parent adoption and become a legal guardian of her son, but after that victory, Bryant signed House Bill 1523.
 
"It's a very strange feeling when your own government legislates against you," Hrostowski told the Jackson Free Press.
 
She said the bill brought into question everything and everyone except those people she already knew.

More here-

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2016/jun/16/when-priest-files-lawsuit-against-hb-1523/

Mississippi: Episcopal priest sues to repeal anti-gay measure

From ENS-

For the Rev. Susan Hrostowski, suing June 13 for LGBT rights in Mississippi felt like déjà vu all over again.

In April, the Episcopal priest and her wife Kathryn “Kathy” Garner were among four lesbian couples that successfully challenged a state ban on gay adoption.  In 2014, they also challenged the state’s ban on gay marriage.

Now, she has joined a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn another controversial anti-gay measure, known as the Religious Accommodations Act. It allows business owners, based upon their religious beliefs, to refuse service to LGBT persons.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who signed the measure into law April 5 saying it was intended to prevent religious discrimination, is named in the lawsuit, along with other state officials. The law is set to go into effect July 1.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/06/15/mississippi-episcopal-priest-sues-to-repeal-anti-gay-measure/

Hundreds attended ‘Episcopal Revival’

From Mississippi-

After months of work, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, joined by the three other Episcopal Churches of Warren County, welcomed the Most Rev. Michael Curry Sunday at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

The Episcopal Presiding Bishop celebrated the Eucharist with hundreds as he delivered a message of love for fellow members of the human race, with special remembrance of the martyrs of Philadelphia, James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

The presiding bishop based his homily on a reading from Galatians: You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

More here-

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/06/13/hundreds-attended-episcopal-revival/

also here-

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/06/13/episcopals-applaud-currys-message/

Episcopal Bishop: Priests Can Wed Gay Couples Without My OK

From Mississippi-

Episcopal priests in Mississippi no longer need to seek the bishop's permission to perform weddings for same-sex couples.
 
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, Rt. Rev. Brian Seage, announced what he called the "significant" change in a June 3 letter to churches.
 
Seage said clergy members still have "the discretion to marry, or not marry, any specific couple for any reason."
 
He said he respects priests who are unable to perform same-sex weddings because of their own conscience or because they believe it would cause irreparable harm to their congregation's unity.
 
"My only request is that you refer, to me, any same sex couple seeking marriage, so arrangements can be made to offer these services of the church," Seage wrote.
 
Delegates to the Episcopal General Convention voted overwhelmingly last year to change church law to allow same-sex marriages throughout the denomination. Since then, Episcopal bishops in other some places had already said priests don't need to seek their permission to wed same-sex couples.
More here-

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2016/jun/09/episcopal-bishop-priests-can-wed-gay-couples-witho/

Presiding Bishop making stop in Vicksburg

From Mississippi-

All four Episcopal Churches in Warren County are preparing for the visitor of a lifetime.

The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will be in town next Sunday, June 12. He is scheduled to preach an 11 a.m. worship and Eucharist service at the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Mulberry St. The service will commemorate the lives of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and the martyrs of Philadelphia.

“It’s all going to be designed for the celebration of those who gave their lives during the Civil Rights era in Mississippi,” the Rev. Margaret Ayers of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church said. “It’ll be a celebration in Mississippi by our first African-American presiding bishop.”

- See more at:

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/06/03/presiding-bishop-making-stop-in-vicksburg/#sthash.4krQhZ0u.dpuf

Many looking forward to Curry’s visit

From Mississippi-

Vicksburg has been the place to visit for high-ranking clergy recently.

Just two weeks ago, the Rt. Rev. Brian Seage, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, visited Christ Episcopal Church. While in Vicksburg, Seage spoke with those at Christ Episcopal about his recent two-week visit to Uganda.

Seage said his time in Uganda gave him a fresh, new, joy-filled look at Christianity. He also welcomed all people into the church by saying the Episcopal Church of Mississippi is open to everyone.

- See more at:

http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/05/02/many-looking-forward-to-currys-visit/#sthash.sGhVGRdC.dpuf

Mississippi Episcopal Diocese supports changing state flag

From Mississippi-

The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi has issued a call for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the state’s flag, and the creation of a new state banner which “represents, unites, and respects the dignity of all the citizens of Mississippi.”

A resolution, recently approved by the 189th Annual Council of the diocese, supports the position of religious leaders who demonstrated at the State Capitol on Thursday.

More here-

http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/31266910/mississippi-episcopal-diocese-supports-changing-state-flag

Episcopal Diocese bringing 189th Council to the Coast on Friday

From Mississippi-

The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi will hold its 189th annual Council at the Coast Convention Center, beginning on Friday. It has been about 15 years since the council has been held on the Coast. The three-day conference will end with a diocese-wide Eucharist on Sunday.

The Rev. Patrick Sanders, rector at St. Peter's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Gulfport, said the council is unique to the diocese.

"Normally, (only a few) parishes will go in together and host the council," he said. "This year, the entire Episcopal congregation on the Coast is hosting the council."

About 1,000 people are expected to attend what Dean of Coast Convocation Robert Wetherington described as "a direct extension of the hierarchical structure of the Episcopal Church.

Read more here:

http://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/article57155163.html#storylink=cpy

“Did I do what I should have done?”: white clergy in 1960s Mississippi

From Oxford University Press-

In his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,”  Martin Luther King Jr. expressed keen disappointment in white church leaders, whom he had hoped “would be among our strongest allies” and “would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure.” Southern white clergy members in the civil rights era are stereotypically portrayed as outspoken opponents of change, or as chaplains of the segregated system who claimed a purely “spiritual” (i.e., not “political”) role for the church, or as somewhat sympathetic supporters of the black freedom struggle who remained in tormented silence, afraid to stir things up and hurt the church and their own careers.

 Looking back on that time, many white pastors who led churches in the 1960s have asked themselves, “Did I do what I should have done?”
In Mississippi, the state known as “the toughest nut to crack” by movement leaders, a few white church pastors tried to do the right thing. In response to the 30 September 1962 riot at Ole Miss on the eve of James Meredith’s registration as the school’s first African American student, a small ecumenical group of white clergy in Oxford, including Episcopal priest Duncan M. Gray Jr., issued a call for repentance “for our collective and individual guilt in the formation of the atmosphere which produced the strife at the University of Mississippi.” Most white Mississippians aware of this appeal either ignored or rejected it.

- See more at:


http://blog.oup.com/2015/11/white-clergy-1960s-mississippi/#sthash.RxfbvYtf.dpuf