September 10, 2025
Alexander Crummell – Priest 1898 – Mark Winward
Today the Episcopal Church commemorates the Rev. Alexander Crummell, who served faithfully as a priest, missionary, and educator. Born in New York in 1819 to African American parents—his mother freeborn and his father a former slave—Crummell was raised in a household committed to abolitionism. Although he came from an affluent family, he faced numerous struggles in his pursuit of education. While enrolled at Noyes Academy, a racially integrated and unusually progressive high school in New Hampshire, a white mob of several hundred men destroyed the institution by dragging the school building—some accounts say with oxen—into a swamp! This violent act closed the academy and expelled Crummell and his Black classmates. Later, when he sought ordination, the Diocese of New York rejected him for Holy Orders and he was denied admission to General Theological Seminary purely on the basis of his race.
Undeterred, Crummell prepared privately for ordination under the guidance of clergy in Providence and Boston—and also audited lectures at Yale Theological Seminary. His persistence bore fruit: he was ordained a deacon in March 1842 and a priest in November 1844. Yet even then, he was forbidden to attend the Diocese of Massachusetts convention. In 1849, he journeyed to England to study at Queens’ College, Cambridge University, where he also preached against slavery, proclaiming that the universality of the Gospel was the answer to racism. In 1852, after earning his degree in classics and theology, he traveled to Liberia where he would serve as a missionary for the next 20 years.
Liberia, a former colony of American slaves on Africa’s west coast, became the focus of Crummell’s vision. He sought to establish a Christian republic that would demonstrate Black capacity for self-rule and cultural leadership. He believed Liberia could serve as the center of African revival, where Western-educated Black leaders would guide the continent’s moral and cultural rebirth through Christianity and civilization. There he founded schools, promoted higher education, and delivered influential sermons on Pan-African nationalism, teaching that people of African descent worldwide shared a common destiny tied to Africa.
Crummell’s efforts, however, met with mixed success. His attempts to strengthen Anglicanism in Liberia failed to take deep root, and his schools did not endure as lasting institutions. Part of this stemmed from his criticism of Liberia’s ruling elite for corruption and lack of discipline, which limited his political influence. Nevertheless, his writings on African redemption, moral leadership, and the destiny of Black people profoundly shaped later generations and turned many hearts to Christ.
In 1873, Crummell returned to the United States, where he founded numerous African American congregations in the National Capital Region. He also taught at Howard University and fought tirelessly for equal Black representation within the Episcopal Church. Up until the end of his life, he held fast to the conviction that true equality for Africans—and true unity for humanity—could only be found under the banner of Jesus Christ. He died on September 10, 1898, and in 1979 was officially recognized for his contributions to the Church, racial equality, and a Pan-African vision.
We remember Crummell to this day because he continues to inspire people of all races. At every stage of his life he faced rejection—barred from seminary, excluded from white institutions, resisted in Liberia, and marginalized in America. Yet he refused to yield to bitterness, instead finding alternate paths and persevering with tenacity. He believed education was the key to upward mobility—not just for individual advancement but for the transformation of communities and nations. His founding of the American Negro Academy sought to empower Black scholars to define their own history and culture, inspiring future generations. His vision of Pan-Africanism, though ahead of its time, planted seeds that later blossomed into movements for African independence and global Black solidarity. Crummell’s life serves as an inspirational lesson in resilience amidst adversity, the power of education, the necessity of global solidarity, the courage of moral integrity, and the patience of long-term vision. His story reminds us that real change often comes slowly, but it begins with those willing to trust God, hold fast to their vision, and labor faithfully even when success seems like a distant dream.
September 3, 2025
The Feast of Phoebe, Deacon – Mark Winward
Phoebe shows up at the end of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans briefly but with an important role to play—she’s the one Paul trusted to deliver his letter. That’s hardly a small task! The church remembers her on September 3, not just Anglicans, but also Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox Christians. Phoebe was a standout leader in the church of Cenchreae (san-CREE-a). Paul calls her both a deacon (Greek diakonos) and a helper or patron of many (Greek prostatis). This is the only place in the New Testament where a woman gets both of those titles, which makes her mention all the more striking. Since the Roman Christians didn’t yet know her, Paul makes sure to give her glowing credentials as his emissary.
So what do we know about Phoebe? First, most scholars agree she probably carried Paul’s letter to Rome herself—imagine being entrusted with one of the most theologically rich documents in the entire New Testament! She may even have been the one to read it aloud or explain it to the Roman church. Second, her titles as deacon and patron show that women weren’t sidelined in the early church. They were leaders, supporters, and influencers in the Christian movement. Finally, by commending Phoebe so warmly, Paul is giving her authority and smoothing the way for her in Rome. It’s a glimpse into how early Christian communities were knit together by trust,
August 27, 2025
The Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle – Mark Winward
Monday was the Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, transferred this year from Sunday, August 24th, the traditional date of his martyrdom. Bartholomew, or Bar-Tolmai—literally “son of Tolmai”—was one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples according to the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Many scholars also identify him with Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John. Bartholomew the disciple became Bartholomew the Apostle when the risen Christ, in the Gospel of Matthew, gave the Great Commission, sending them out to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, those sent out with a mission became Apostles, going to the ends of the earth to transform the world.
According to second-century tradition, Bartholomew traveled as a missionary to India and then Armenia, where he was martyred. Eastern tradition holds that he converted an Armenian king, Polymius, to Christianity. Enraged by the king’s conversion and fearing Roman reprisal, Polymius’ brother, Prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew’s torture and execution. That tradition recounts that he was flayed alive in Albanopolis, Armenia. For this reason, St. Bartholomew is honored as the patron saint of Armenia, as well as gruesomely of tanners, leatherworkers, bookbinders, glovemakers, and butchers. Because of his grisly death, Bartholomew is often depicted in art, iconography, and sculpture holding his own skin. Perhaps the most famous depiction is in the Sistine Chapel,
August 20, 2025
The Feast of Bernard of Clairvaux – Mark Winward
Jesus said to them, “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
– Mark 10:23, NRSV
As Mark Twain once remarked, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me; it is the parts that I do understand.” Many people have tried to dodge the force of this teaching. Some soothe their consciences by assuming that what Jesus says applies only to those who are truly rich. But who, exactly, are the rich? Often, the rich are simply defined as those who earn more than we do. The IRS sets the top 10% of income earners at around $149,000 or more per year, and while that varies by region, it is a good starting estimate for places like Pickens and Gilmer counties. Yet no matter the number, we somehow manage to draw the line just above ourselves, so that we can comfort ourselves with the thought that Jesus surely meant this lesson for someone else.
Over the centuries, there have been many attempts by preachers and teachers to enlarge or reduce the size of the “needle’s eye.” You may have heard sermons citing a tradition that the “Needle’s Eye” was the name of a small gate in Jerusalem,
August 13, 2025
The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mark Winward
Tomorrow is the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so it is highly appropriate that we mark this important day in the Church calendar at our mid-week service. In the Roman Catholic Church, this is a major feast day known as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating when Mary was taken bodily into heaven.
However, although she holds a preeminent place among the saints, Anglicans traditionally recognize only what the biblical record tells us about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Along with most Protestants and the Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglicans have not necessarily acknowledged Mary’s Assumption, her sinless life, or perpetual virginity—nor do they see her as an intercessor for believers.
Nevertheless, historically Anglicans have affirmed her honored place among the saints, the virgin birth, and her example for us in humility, obedience, and trust in God. Nothing expresses this better than the Magnificat in today’s Gospel selection from Matthew.
In keeping with Jewish tradition, Mary was most likely only twelve to fourteen years old. Yet, despite being engaged, despite the certainty of social rejection, and despite her world being turned upside down, Mary demonstrated courageous faith. Her response was that of a child—unrehearsed but bursting with joy: “My soul magnifies the Lord!” She then goes on to tell us who God is, what God has done, and what God is still doing in the world today.
First,
August 6, 2025
The Feast of the Transfiguration – Mark Winward
And while [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. – Luke 9:29-31, NRSV
Today’s account recounts an event Christians remember as the Transfiguration. The other Synoptic Gospels—namely Matthew and Luke—tell this same story, but add that while it was all happening, the disciples had fallen asleep, only to awaken at the end. They almost missed witnessing a miraculous movement of God that would forever change their lives.
Often, we are so enclosed in our own little worlds that we lose sight of the bigger picture. How often are we preoccupied with our own issues to the exclusion of everything else? We become prisoners of our own trivialities, rather than opening our eyes to God’s movement in our midst.
Sometimes the veil between this world and the next is very thin. I wonder what might have happened if the disciples had recognized that the veil had been drawn away. Perhaps, like Moses on Mt. Sinai, they too would have been transformed. But it was easier for them to sleep through these events rather than be transformed in a profound way. Still, they were clearly touched by what they experienced, and their transformation had begun.