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A SERVICE OF REPENTANCE

Saturday, October 3, 2009 10:00 A.M.

The Cathedral Center of Saint Paul The Diocese of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

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A Welcome to A Service of Repentance

We thank you for attending this historic event in the life of the

Diocese of Los Angeles. The work of the Program Group on Black Ministries was guided by General Convention 2006 Resolution A123 which stated that “the institution of slavery was and is a sin and a fundamental betrayal of the humanity of all persons… and that the Episcopal Church acknowledges its history of participation in this sin.” That resolution also called upon each Diocese of the Church to recognize its complicity in the sin of slavery and its aftermath of racism as manifested by the segregation and unequal treatment of some members of our church by others because of race and that such behavior was tolerated and approved by our Diocese.

This service of repentance is a solemn and holy way to state deep heartfelt repentance and to show that we regret the timidity of our spirits and our unfaithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May God’s Blessings be on us all,

Bishops Bruno, Talton and Carranza We wish to thank:

The Program Group on Black Ministries: The Rev. Vincent Shamo, chair and members Audrey Bleavins, Darryl Delgardo, The Rev. Canon Jamesetta Hammons, Loyce Hill, The Rev. Walter S. Johnson, The Rev. Zelda Kennedy, Donald Kincey, Dr. George L. Marks, Jr., The Rev. Margaret Hudley McCauley, and Robert Rouse.

The Service Committee members: The Rev. Margaret H. McCauley, chair, Audrey Bleavins, Darryl Delgardo, The Rev. Canon Jamesetta Glosson Hammons and Dr. George L. Marks, Jr.

Canon Dr. Chas Cheatham, Director and members of the Episcopal Chorale Society. The Rev. Michael Cooper, Priest-in-Charge, Cathedral Center of St. Paul. Acolytes:, Renata Lizarraga, Daniel Ronalan, Francisco Torrero, Summer Torrero. Lectors: Audrey Bleavins, Loyce Hill. Ushers: Darryl Delgardo, Gordon Hill, Bennie Leonard, The Rev. Walter Johnson Book Distribution: Robert Edwards, Dr. George L. Marks, Jr., Don Kincey For consultation and for assistance: Petra Barragan, Lilline Dugan, Deb Neal, The Canon Rev. Ed Rodman (a), The Rev. Peter Rood, Margie Wakeman Wells.

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A Service of Repentance

A drum beat sounds calling the congregation to rise to greet the procession. Silent Processional Lighting of the Candles of Justice and Hope Red candle (a youth) Green candle (an elder) Black candle (a clergyperson) Elder Stories A Litany of Offense and Apology (people stand, facing Bishop Bruno) The Diocesan Bishop J. Jon Bruno addresses the people: Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, We are gathered today to express our profound and genuine regret that the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles, formed in 1896 by General Convention, supported de jure and de facto segregation and discrimination after slavery was formally abolished in 1865. We gather to repent, to apologize for our complicity in the injury done by the institution of slavery and its racist aftermath. We gather to commit ourselves to opposing the sin of racism in personal and public life, and to create communities of liberation and justice. I invite you to join me in recalling the lamentable events of history that scar our past and the wounds that continue into the present. We pray that the Diocese of Los Angeles be transformed more fully into the Body of Christ witnessing to God’s abundant love. Bishop: Eternal God, be with us, Your Church, today. Remembering

its past record of a callous and impervious response to racism and its associated sins, the Church now stands before You in vulnerability and pain. By reciting the numerous, unconcealed acts perpetrated by the Church that aided the continual presence of the evils of segregation, isolation, and

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the various forms of discrimination, the Church earnestly desires to repent for its previous and continuing conduct.

People: Does the Church recognize and repent its record of

humiliation, subjugation, segregation, racism, weakness, neglect, complicity, complacency, and arrogance?

Bishop: Slavery, racism, discrimination and its associated evils are an

affront to the teachings of Christ, and for these sins and failings, the Church ardently seeks forgiveness. O God, we pray the reciting of these sins and shortcomings help to release and expiate the transgressions and shroud of this history and open a new, unending time of true acceptance and community for and in the entire Church.

People: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward

justice. Bishop: The Church did not support the slaves’ cry for freedom and

the freed slaves’ cry for equal treatment. Indeed, Episcopal Church members of the Continental Congress permitted slaves to be counted merely as three-fifths of a person. The Church accepted that slavery was integral to colonial existence, and so, the Church did not actively nor energetically oppose slavery as an example of God’s desire for all to be free. Instead, the church allowed baptism for the imposition of Christianity on African-Americans as another constituent part of control over slaves.



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Kyrie LEVAS II #237

Bishop: During the Civil War, the northern and southern Dioceses

refused to recognize that there was secession. At slavery’s conclusion, neither the Church nor the Diocese pursued any plan to educate and integrate the freed slave. Even today, the Church has segregated houses of worship.


justice. Bishop: The Church and the Diocese has repeatedly violated Paul’s

admonition not to be conformed, but to be transformed. In support of slavery, segregation, discrimination and racism, the Church has too often been distracted and weakened by popular and institutional decisions leading it away from the instructions of scripture and from the life and words of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Church supported segregated worship to the extent that it gave birth to the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest ordained in the United States.

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justice. Bishop: The Church and the Diocese accepted the favors and

economic benefits of the subjugation of African-Americans. In shame, the Church does acknowledge that clergy and dioceses owned slaves. In shame, the Diocese of Los Angeles benefited from the many monetary rewards of physical and financial oppression. Subjugation comes in multiple and subtle forms. For much of the Church’s history, African-Americans were refused admission to Episcopal seminaries, circumvented as candidates for ordination to the priesthood, and denied employment in white churches. Even today, African-American priests are frequently deployed into the depressed and resource-barren neighborhoods peopled by African-Americans.



Kyrie LEVAS II #237

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Bishop: The Church who condoned neglect of those in chains and intentionally held apart, who had deserted prophetic calls to make free and equal the captive does deserve the indictment: “What witness then has been borne by the Church against this almost universal sin?” The Church and the Diocese has not adhered to the baptismal covenant in which there is the promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons…strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”


justice. Bishop: The Church and the Diocese exerted authority to separate

God’s children in order to enhance whites over blacks, leading to arrogance for whites and degradation for blacks, so that even after the legal cessation of slavery, the segregation of blacks was seen as a normal part of both community and Church life.



Bishop: The Church and the Diocese does acknowledge that for

centuries African-Americans were not afforded the dignity of being treated as active and equal members of the Church. The Diocese of Los Angeles did not insist that parishes integrate and thus admits that it fostered the practice of separatism in worship, hence the creation of St. Barnabas, Pasadena for All Saints, Pasadena; St. Philip’s, Los Angeles for St. John’s, Los Angeles; and St. Martin’s, Compton for St. Timothy’s, Compton.


justice.

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Kyrie LEVAS II #237

Bishop: In the Episcopal Church, including the Diocese of Los

Angeles, what little has been done was done not of the Church’s own volition but as a result of pressure exerted on the church from within and without. The Church and the Diocese in addressing matters concerning its African-American constituency has been given more to reaction than action, more to response than initiative, and more to acquiescence than advocacy.



Bishop: Forgiving God, we, the Church, acknowledge our manifold

sins and wickedness in the support of slavery, segregation, discrimination, racism and its associated evils; hereby pledge to adopt a new spirit and application for freedom and respect, leading to repentance, repairing the breach, and reconciliation.


justice.

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Bishop: We, the people of the Church and the Diocese, promise henceforth and evermore to live into our baptismal covenant: “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”



Bishop: Awesome God, we pray that you will forgive the past and

enliven the Church and the Diocese with a transformed and invigorated heart, constant courage, and purposeful wisdom to effect Your enduring will.


justice. Amen. Hymn The Hymnal 1982 #529 In Christ there is no East or West The Collect (standing) Bishop: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Bishop: Let us pray. Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice

and fear; that, honoring the steadfast courage of your servant Absalom Jones, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which you have given us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

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The Lesson I (sitting) A Reading from Isaiah 61

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines; but you shall be called priests of the Lord, you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory. Because their shame was double, and dishonour was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations,

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and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Reader: The Word of the Lord People: Thanks be to God. Psalm 5: 1-8 (sitting)

Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down towards your holy temple in awe of you.

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Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

Lesson II A Reading from 2 Corinthians 4: 1-15 (CEV) God has been kind enough to trust us with this work. That’s

why we never give up. We don’t do shameful things that must be kept secret. And we don’t try to fool anyone or twist God’s message around. God is our witness that we speak only the truth, so others will be sure that we can be trusted. If there is anything hidden about our message, it is hidden only to someone who is lost.

The God who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows what God is like. We are not preaching about ourselves. Our message is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He also sent us to be your servants. The scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.” Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.

We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us. We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. We face death every day because of Jesus. Our bodies show what his death was like, so that his life can also be seen in us. This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you. In the scripture it says, “I spoke because I had faith.” We have that same kind of faith. So we speak because we know that God raised the Lord Jesus to life. And just as God raised Jesus, he will also raise us to life.

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Then he will bring us into his presence together with you. All of this has been done for you, so that more and more people will know how kind God is and will praise and honor him.

Reader: The Word of the Lord People: Thanks be to God.

(A period of silence is kept.)

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Sequence Hymn LEVAS II #67 “I Love the Lord”

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All stand. The Deacon reads the Gospel, first saying, The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. People: Glory to you, Lord Christ Deacon: Luke 10: 25-28 (The Message) Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test

Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” Jesus answered, “What’s written in God’s law? How do you interpret it?” The scholar said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence – and you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”

After the gospel, the Deacon says The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ. The Sermon The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno

(A period of silence is kept.) The Prayers of the People Let us pray for the whole people of God, our creator; in the name of Jesus, our redeemer; and sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. Intercessor: Holy loving God, you have given your only Son to

redeem us and show us how to live together. In your unconditional love for us, give us the grace to use the fruits of his redemptive work. We pray for our bishops, Rowan, Katharine, Jon, Chester and Sergio. We pray also for the clergy of our Diocese.

People: Give us power to reveal Christ in our words and

actions.

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Intercessor: Protecting God, we have unfulfilled needs. Fill us today with respect for freedom and truth that we may act with integrity and courage. Lead us to make compassionate decisions regarding the lives of our brothers and sisters who are the descendants of slaves.

People: God’s healing love is revealed when we act with

integrity and courage. Intercessor: God of heaven and earth, create in us the ability to

acknowledge the slaves’ fear, their pain, their hopelessness and their helplessness of capture on the west coast of Africa, the mortality during the transit of the Middle Passage to America, and the humiliation of auction on the slave block.


actions. Intercessor: Strengthening God, guide us to value those who defied

formidable obstacles in helping slaves escape bondage. We remember the protests of Mennonites and the work of Quakers. We remember the success of the Underground Railroad and such conductors as Levi Coffin, a Quaker, and Harriet Tubman, a former slave. We remember the independent Black churches that played a vital role as stops along the Railroad. Give grace to all whose lives are linked with ours.

People: May we serve Christ in one another, and love as he

loves us. Intercessor: God of possibility, grant that our minds, hearts and

spirits be filled with the knowledge that demanded escape to freedom. African slaves defied the loss of tribal name and language; endured the sale of family members, toiled over the American soil under the overseer’s lash, suffered intentional illiteracy, and thrived despite the constant threat and reality of a cruel death.

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actions. Intercessor: God of our weary years, strengthen our Diocese to

change current church structures or create new ones that welcome and encourage the participation of African-Americans. Let us remember that St. Thomas, Philadelphia, was established because free Blacks petitioned the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Let us remember the history of protests begun with Absalom Jones and carried forward by Alexander Crummel and all those lay and clergy leaders who endured exclusion from the House of Deputies and General Convention until the 1930’s. Let us remember that Black bishops were first consecrated because of pressure exerted by the leadership of the Conference of Church Workers among Colored People. Let us remember that the first Commission on Black Ministry was created because of the dedicated work of Kenneth Q. Adams and the Los Angeles chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.


loves us. Intercessor: God of our silent tears, inspire us with wisdom as we

make decisions that affect the lives of others. Let us remember the many white Church leaders, known and unknown, who dutifully took messages to the General Convention from the Conference of Colored Church Workers during the long period when Blacks neither voice nor vote. Let us remember our Presiding Bishop who pastors with grace, clarity, insight and honesty.


loves us. Intercessor: Rock of Ages, cleanse our hearts of feelings of

superiority over those whose suffering we caused and

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whose recovery we hinder. Empower us to become agents of hope and restoration.


loves us. Intercessor: God who has brought us thus far on the way, give

power to our Diocese to begin the dialogue of repentance, help us wrestle to define how to be “repairers of the breach”, and move us past the entrenched patterns of racism and discrimination into reconciliation. Let the promise of change not make us prisoners of our own fears. Rather, let us have gospel eyes to follow Jesus’ commandment “to love God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence – and love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”

People: Let there be peace among us and let us not be the

instruments of our own or of others oppression. (a) Amen.

The Peace (All stand.) Bishop: The peace of the Lord be always with you. People: And also with you. All greet one another in the name of the Lord. THE HOLY COMMUNION The Rt. Reverend Chester Talton, Celebrant The Rt. Reverend Sergio Carranza, Con-Celebrant The Offertory Anthem (sitting) “The Lord is Blessing Me” The Episcopal Chorale Society The Presentation Hymn The Hymnal 1982 #304 “I Come With Joy to Meet My Lord”

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The Great Thanksgiving

Bishop: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Bishop : Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them to the Lord. Bishop: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. People: It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is truly right, and good and joyful, to give you thanks, all-holy God, source of life and fountain of mercy. You have filled us and all creation with your blessing and fed us with your constant love; you have redeemed us in Jesus Christ and knit us into one body. Through your Spirit you replenish us and call us to fullness of life. Therefore, joining with Angels and Archangels and with the faithful of every generation, we lift our voices with all creation as we sing: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of the universe and giver of life. You formed us in your own image and called us to dwell in your infinite love. You gave the world into our care that we might be your faithful stewards and show forth your bountiful grace. But we failed to honor your image in one another and in ourselves; we would not see your goodness in the world around us; and so we violated your creation, abused one another, and rejected your love. Yet you never ceased to care for us, and prepared the way of salvation for all people. Through Abraham and Sarah you called us into covenant with you. You delivered us from slavery, sustained us in the wilderness, and raised up prophets to renew your promise of salvation. Then, in the fullness of

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time, you sent your eternal Word, made mortal flesh in Jesus. Born into the human family, and dwelling among us, he revealed your glory. Giving himself freely to death on the cross, he triumphed over evil, opening the way of freedom and life. On the night before he died for us, Our Savior Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his friends, and said: “Take, eat: This is my Body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.” Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Remembering his death and resurrection, we now present to you from your creation this bread and this wine. By your Holy Spirit may they be for us the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Grant that we who share these gifts may be filled with the Holy Spirit and live as Christ’s Body in the world. Bring us into the everlasting heritage of your daughters and sons, that with all your saints, past, present, and yet to come, we may praise your Name for ever. Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. AMEN.

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Sanctus The Hymnal 1982 S125

As our Saviour Christ has taught us, we now pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen. The Invitation Bishop: Bread and wine; the gifts of God for the people of God. People: May we who share these gifts be found in Christ and

Christ in us. The Holy Communion

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The Communion Hymns Come, Ye Disconsolate LEVAS II #147 1 Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish, Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel: Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal. 2 Joy of the desolate, light of the straying, Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure! Here speaks the comforter, tenderly saying, “Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot cure.” 3 Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing Forth from the throne of God, pure from above: Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove. One Bread, One Body LEVAS II #151 Refrain One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless. And we, though many, throughout the earth, We are one body in this one Lord. 1 Gentile or Jew, servant or free, woman or man, no more. One Lord. Refrain 2 Many the gifts, many the works, one in the Lord of all. One Lord. Refrain 3 Grain for the fields, scattered and grown, gathered to one for all. One Lord. Refrain

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Let Us Break Bread Together LEVAS II #152 1 Let us break bread together on our knees; When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. 2 Let us drink wine together on our knees; When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. 3 Let us praise God together on our knees; When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, Oh Lord, have mercy on me. The Post-Communion Prayer (people standing) God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation; you have united us with Christ and one another; and you have given us a foretaste of what it truly means to be brothers and sisters, in your Kingdom here on earth. Lift us beyond the burdens of pain and guilt as we turn from the injuries of our past. Give us the vision of a new creation as we commit to dismantling racism in our lives both personal and public. Send us forth into the world committed to begin work as repairers of the breach, and strengthen us to live into our baptismal covenant, to act for justice and human dignity, as we strive for the liberation of all your people, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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The Concluding Hymn LEVAS II #99 “On Christ the solid rock…” 1 My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. Refrain: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.

2 When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In ev’ry high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil. Refrain

3 His oath, His covenant and blood, Support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. Refrain

4 When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found; Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. Refrain The Blessing and Dismissal Bishop: The blessing of God, in all the manifestations of God, rest

upon each of our heads this day and bring us courage and peace and hope.

People: Amen.

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Bishop: The blessing of Jesus, who showed us what love might be,

enter each of our hearts. People: Amen. Bishop: The blessings of the Spirit, who gives renewed life and

energy and wisdom, empower and direct our spirits. People: Amen. Deacon: Alleluia! Alleluia! Go forth into the world and keep the faith. People: Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Silent Recessional

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General Convention 2006 Resolution A123 Slavery and Racial Reconciliation

Adopted by House of Bishops House of Deputies concurred

Proposer: Executive Council

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church declare unequivocally that the institution of slavery in the United States and anywhere else in the world, based as it is on “ownership” of some persons by other persons, was and is a sin and a fundamental betrayal of the humanity of all persons who were involved, a sin that continues to plague our common life in the Church and our culture; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church acknowledge its history of participation in this sin and the deep and lasting injury which the institution of slavery and its aftermath have inflicted on society and on the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That we express our most profound regret that (a) The Episcopal Church lent the institution of slavery its support and justification based on Scripture, and (b) after slavery was formally abolished, the Episcopal Church continued for at least a century to support de jure and de facto segregation and discrimination; and be it further

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Resolved, That The Episcopal Church apologize for its complicity in and the injury done by the institution of slavery and its aftermath; we repent of this sin and ask God’s grace and forgiveness; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church through the Executive Council urgently initiate a comprehensive program and urge every Diocese to collect and document during the next triennium detailed information in its community on (a) the complicity of the Episcopal Church in the institution of slavery and in the subsequent history of segregation and discrimination and (b) the economic benefits The Episcopal Church derived from the institution of slavery; and direct the Committee on Anti-Racism to monitor this program and report to Executive Council each year by March 31 on the progress in each Diocese; and be it further

Resolved, That to enable us as people of God to make a full, faithful and informed accounting of our history, the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church direct the Committee on Anti-Racism to study and report to Executive Council by March 31, 2008, which in turn will report to the 76th General Convention, on how the Church can be “the repairer of the breach” (Isaiah 58:12), both materially and relationally, and achieve the spiritual healing and reconciliation that will lead us to a new life in Christ; and be it further

Resolved, That to mark the commencement of this program the Presiding Bishop is requested to name a Day of Repentance and on that day to hold a Service of Repentance at the National Cathedral, and each Diocese is requested to hold a similar service.

EXPLANATION Other institutions have addressed their failures in various respects with regard to slavery and its aftermath, including an apology issued by the U.S. Senate for not having enacted federal anti-lynching legislation during the post-Civil-War period. The United Methodists in Alabama recently led a walk to a Birmingham church as part of a service to repent of racial injustice and to pledge to be more inclusive. In addition some dioceses, such as, Chicago, Maryland,

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and Newark have undertaken a study of the concept of reparations.

It is important to recognize that much of the U.S. economy was built on the basis of slave labor. There are plenty of data that prove beyond doubt that African Americans are a disproportionate part of the nation's poor. No one who is paying attention can fail to recognize that race discrimination is still very much part of the fabric of life in our nation and in our Church. Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes it is inadvertent, but it is plainly there. This resolution complements anti-racism training and other activities that are promoting justice and racial reconciliation in the Episcopal Church.

Resources *Lewis, Harold T. Yet With A Steady Beat: The African American Struggle for Recognition in the Episcopal Church. (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1996). *Kesselus, Kenneth, John E. Hines: Granite on Fire. (Austin, Texas: Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, 1996). *Robinson, Randall. The Debt: What American owes to Blacks. (New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000). *Shattuck, Jr., Gardiner H. Episcopalians and Race: Civil War to Civil Rights (Religion in the South). (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2000). *Winbush, Raymond. Should America Pay?: Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2003).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Boyd, Malcolm and Bishop Chester Talton, editors Race and Prayer: Collected Voices, Many Dreams Battle, Michael; Reconciliation Cone, James, A Black Theology of Liberation Fluker, Walter Earl & Catherine Tumber, editors;

A Strange Freedom, The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life

King Jr., Martin Luther; Strength to Love Obama, Barack; The Audacity of Hope Schori, Katharine Jefferts; A Wing and A Prayer Tutu, Desmond; God Has A Dream Tutu, Desmond; No Future Without Forgiveness West, Cornel; Race Matters West, Cornel; Hope on A Tightrope

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