Hello, fellow pilgrims. Though The Episcopal church commemorates her on July 1st every year, I’d like to share her with you today. This beautiful photo is one of my favorites. It is a photo of The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. She isn’t wearing clericals, or academic robes, or liturgical vestments. This is an image of her without all of those symbols and adornments—an image of the human that was beautifully and wonderfully made by God and wholly beloved.
Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray was the first African American woman to be ordained in The Episcopal Church! She was an American civil rights activist, legal scholar, author, poet, and Episcopal priest whose work shaped both racial and gender equality law. First in her class at Howard Law, she coined the term “Jane Crow” to describe the double bias facing Black women in this country, and she authored States’ Laws on Race and Color, a resource Thurgood Marshall called the “bible” of Brown v. Board of Education. She co-founded the National Organization for Women, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg credited her arguments in Reed v. Reed. Her books include Proud Shoes, Dark Testament and Other Poems, and the posthumous memoir Song in a Weary Throat. She was ordained an Episcopal Priest in 1977.
Our friends at The Church of the Holy Nativity in Baltimore (Pimlico) is opening an Episcopal Learning Center that aims to help children discover their gifts, help families find community, and help inspire hope in the Park Heights community of Baltimore and beyond. Next Saturday, August 29, 2026, they are hosting a workday and hope that we hear their call to help them prepare their space for this new ministry. I plan to be there helping in any way that I can. We will work hard, love harder, and learn a lot more about Pauli Murray. Her niece will be with us, as well. If you are interested in joining us, let me know. Or email the Vicar, Rev. Karen Merce directly: vicar@holynativitybaltimore.org
We have lots of ways that you can help physically, administratively, and even financially. This event is a collaboration between The Church of the Holy Nativity, The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and The Reparations Team. We hope you can join us.
Saturday, August 29th
The Church of the Holy Nativity
4236 Pimlico Road, Baltimore, MD 21215
443-286-9662
You are beautiful and you are beloved.
Angela+