Loading...Early one crisp morning in October, two Knoxville board members of the East Tennessee chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) drove, bearing gifts, to the University of the South at Sewanee. Michael Moore, president and a member of Saint John's Cathedral, and David Johnson, member of Church of the Ascension, spent the morning admiring the Gothic architecture of the campus and getting a tour of the School of Theology. Later, they had lunch with student seminarians.
Inspired by the words of a former seminary student, Moore had come on the visit hoping to offer encouragement to students now working their way through the School of Theology. He had been touched last summer when he read the transcript of minutes of the UBE Southern Region Conference in Orlando. The Rev. R. D. Meadows, newly assigned rector at St. John the Baptist in Orlando, Florida, had told delegates at the assembly about how alone he had while in seminary. He said it would have been so nice to have someone nearby reach out and offer encouragement as he navigated the arduous program.
Moore and Meadows shared a conversation about the life of a seminarian and the challenges of faith, family and the economics of making the choice to follow in the path of Christ Jesus. The conversation left such an impression on Moore that he reached out to a fellow board member, and their mission ministry was set into motion.
After emails, phone calls, and a little fundraising for gifts, the men set a date for their visit. The big question was: What do you bundle in a gift basket for graduate students with unique needs and desires? After a week of discernment, evidence seemed clear. Anything that was purple and that had a useful purpose would be going to Sewanee. The baskets were so unexpected by the seminarians that their emotions seemed almost spiritual.
Carl Wright, retired military chaplain and doctoral candidate, told us that, years ago, the national board made a practice of presenting gifts to doctoral candidates. “It is the small things that count,” he said. “Gestures of kindness move souls.”
Some of those who met with Moore and the UBE of East Tennessee were moved to provide “testimonials” following the visit. Here are those remarks:
Our students found your visit to the Sewanee Campus as President of the Union of Black Episcopalians of East Tennessee, to be educational and inspirational. Following your meeting, the students who attended made a comment about the connection they felt based on the experience. Your visit certainly made the students more comfortable and it logically follows that they now feel more at home both here at Sewanee and at the Episcopal Church. We hope that this partnership will continue with the School of Theology.
- Charline Hookey, Asst. to the Assistant Dean for Community Life and
Director of Contextual Education, School of Theology, University of the South
It was a great opportunity to have met David and Michael who both took the time to drive up to the University of the South and visit with us seminarians. I had not learned about the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) before their visit and was eager to find out more about the organization. It was a good meeting with time for fellowship and for seeking clarification about the organization’s mission. It was also an opportunity to reflect upon our own journeys as Episcopalians and how, through our engagement of this rich tradition and history of the Episcopal Church, we might seek to engage others to journey in this tradition of faith with us as well.
- Garcia Barnswell, Seminarian, The Diocese of Florida
I was very happy to be invited to join you for lunch. It was a time for me to learn of what you are doing as UBE. As an African seminarian from Tanzania, East Africa I was impressed by your work of encouraging and visiting black Episcopalians. This will make you to be one in Christ, pray one another and be strengthened in faith when you face times of trials and discouragements. I will keep on praying for the Union that the light of the Lord keep on shining upon you. Thank you for the gift you gave me. I wish you God's blessings. Yours in Christ,
– The Rev. Emmanuel Petro
I am buried in my S.T.M. thesis writing, but I am grateful for your (and David's) pastoral visit to the Black seminarians; and to Associate Dean Nikki Matthis for arranging it; and for reviving the spirit of the Organization of Black Episcopal Seminarians (OBES) which, thanks to the vision of Rev’d Canon Harold T. Lewis (former Staff Officer for Black Ministries 1982-1996, author of "Yet With A Steady Beat," history of Black Episcopalians, soon to retire as Rector of Calvary Church Pittsburg), has produced outstanding clergy leaders, such as Rt. Rev’d Michael Curry of NC, Rt Revd Wendell Gibbs of MI, Rev’d Angela Ifill/National Staff Officer for Black Ministries, Rev’d Martini Shaw/Rector of historic St Thomas's African Episcopal parish in Philadelphia, Rev’d Allen Robinson/Rector of historic St James Lafayette Square in Baltimore and many others. The legacy continues. We look forward to the next generation of church leaders who will infuse us with a fresh vision for the ethnic ministries of the Episcopal Church, something that will go beyond simply celebrating who we are to strategies for incorporating others into our fellowship and helping them to catch our spirit of joy in serving the Living God. Thanks,
– Rev’d Carl Walter Wright, The School of Theology, The University of the South, Sewanee
Find more information about the UBE East Tennessee Chapter on their web page or visit their Facebook page.
