A Word From the Bishop on Ash Wednesday in Black History Month

Dear Diocesan Family,

As we approach Holy Lent in the middle of Black History Month, I want to take a moment to remind us all of the courage upon which our diocese is anchored. Our diocesan Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission has done outstanding work convening conversations and written materials chronicling the lives of brave ancestors in our historically Black churches.

We remember in this season luminaries like the Venerable Erasmus Baskervill, rector of the historic Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston and founder of the Calvary Preschool and Kindergarten, which raised up generations of leaders; Maude E. Callen, an Episcopal missionary nurse, known as “The Angel in Twilight,” who delivered more than 600 babies in Pineville, SC over the course of her lifetime after enduring the loss of her own parents at the young age of six; and the Reverend William Essex Forsythe and his wife, Mrs. Ruby Middleton Forsythe, who together brought up a generation of students in a one-room schoolhouse on Pawleys Island that became the Holy Cross Faith Memorial Parochial School. Many of their students attained degrees in higher education, matriculating at schools including Voorhees University, where another luminary African American leader, Ms. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, founded the college despite numerous fires that could have led her to defeat. Instead, she—and all of these saints, and so many more—persisted in faith and courage. We remember, too, the Reverend Thaddeus Saltus, whose grave the Three Churches United in Charleston led us this past fall to restore and bless with the guidance of our retired presiding bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry. The Rev. Saltus was the first African American ordained to the priesthood in South Carolina, despite protests and attempts to block his call because of the color of his skin.

These saints were simply following Jesus. Following Him led them to live extraordinary lives that changed the course of history. And some of them were thwarted at every turn. Sometimes, following Jesus leads us to be controversial figures. We live in trying times. These are times when essential characteristics of our Christian faith—the love of neighbor, respect for the dignity of every human being, unity across many differences, and welcome to the stranger among us—are under attack.

I commend to you the Ash Wednesday letter of our presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, and invite you to read it prayerfully. As our presiding bishop has urged us to do, we will gather on Holy Monday as part of a movement across The Episcopal Church to come together across many differences and bear witness to God’s vision of peace, respect for human dignity, and love of neighbor. Details for a diocesan-wide observance on the Monday of Holy Week will follow soon.

It seems fitting in these times to engage a season of prayer, repentance, and return to what matters most. May we observe a Holy Lent marked by a return to righteousness and courage, inspired by the African American saints whose stories we are honored to bear in this beloved diocese. May we, with them, find the courage we need to walk with Jesus in our day. May we be willing to be controversial figures for the sake of the gospel.

I bid you a Blessed Black History Month and a Holy Lent.

With love and in the hope Christ brings,

The Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley
Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina