Monday, July 13, 2020

Washington's 'Church of Presidents' etched in history again

From Arkansas-

The Rev. John C. Harper had been rector at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church for less than a year when the 1963 March on Washington began taking shape. A lay leader in the congregation urged him to steer clear of it -- but instead he embraced it. 

Harper held a service the morning of the march, welcoming a diverse crowd of more than 700 people at the church across from the White House. Black Episcopal choir members sang alongside the St. John's choir, and the service ended with worshippers holding hands to sing the iconic civil rights movement song "We Shall Overcome."

"The church has too long been silent on this important issue," Harper wrote to church members that month. "Now at long last Christians like ourselves are aroused by the injustice of discrimination in any form and by any kind of segregation on the basis of a man's color."

More here-

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jul/13/washingtons-church-of-presidents-etched-in/

Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation holds first public service since March

From Long Island-

It is said that Jesus prepares a place for the faithful, the Very Rev. Michael Sniffen noted during his sermon Sunday.

But he conceded his flock probably wasn’t expecting that place to be a marked circle under a tent outside their church, the stunning Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, as congregants gathered in person for the first time since March. The church had been hosting only interactive online services since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“It is such a joy — and although you can’t see me smiling, I’m smiling — to be in your physical presence after all of these months,” Sniffen said.

More here-

https://www.newsday.com/news/health/coronavirus/episcopal-cathedral-of-the-incarnation-garden-city-1.46711461