Episcopalians Meet to Discuss Healing the Racial Divide
More than 100 Episcopalians from across Mississippi are in Canton, to talk about racial reconciliation.
More than 100 Episcopalians from across Mississippi are in Canton, to talk about racial reconciliation. One of the guest speakers is Katrina Browne from Pennsylvania. She produced a documentary about her ancestors in Rhode Island, after discovering they were the largest slave trading family in U.S. history. Browne says she and members of family retraced the Triangle Trade Slave Route from Rhode Island to Ghana to Cuba and it was life changing.
"The majority of us have changed our careers as a result and are champions for the idea of reckoning process in this dialogue, so we go to churches, and schools, and community groups and museums and present and help facilitate dialogue," said Browne.
Mississippi Bishop Brian Seage says the nation is facing growing challenges surrounding race. He points to comments made by actress Roseanne Barr comparing an Obama Administration official to an ape as an example.
"And for her to say such incredibly vile things that insult a person's humanity the way they did. I found it very shocking," said Seage.
Anita George, a retired educator spearheaded the event. She says they're committed to diving into the issue of race and being open about how they feel.
"We have to step outside of ourselves and look at ourselves. When we do that in community with other people we're more likely to accept where we are the good and the bad," said George.
Bishop Seage says it will take dialogue and building relationships to foster racial healing.
Miss. Religious Leaders Denounce Orlando Shooting
Some of Mississippi’s Religious Leaders are condemning the mass shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida.
Leaders from Mississippi’s Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities as well as those of other faiths gathered in the chapel of Tugaloo College in Jackson, last night, to pray and reflect on Sunday’s shooting.
The shooting at the Orlando gay nightclub killed 49 people and injured 53 others.
Reverend Brian Seage is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.
“Our tradition calls for us to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being,” says Seage. “I think one of the ways we can do that is by coming together as one against these horrible, evil attacks that have taken place in our world. It certainly took place Sunday morning.”
The shooter, twenty-nine-year-old Omar Mateen, claimed allegiance with the Islamic-militant group known as ISIS.
Fatih Ozcan is with the Dialogue Institute of Mississippi -- a group dedicated to recognizing religious and spiritual diversity.
“There’s a verse in the Quran saying that killing one person is killing all humanity. People are coming and then killing innocent people and then saying I am acting with this ideology. This is not justifiable in any kind of religion, and I don’t accept this interruption.”
All state and federal flags will remain at half-staff until sundown Friday in memory of those killed during the attack.
New Episcopal Bishop
Mississippi Episcopalians mark the start of a new era with the installation of their next Bishop. The Right Reverend Brian Seage begins his tenure as the 10th Bishop of the denomination.
It was a bittersweet weekend for Episcopalians, who gathered in Jackson for their annual meeting. Members honored retiring Bishop Duncan Gray, III and installed his successor, Bishop Brian Seage. Gray led the denomination for 15 years. He tackled the challenges of rebuilding six churches destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, prevented the diocese from splitting over the issue of same-sex marriage and promoted racial reconciliation. Through it all, it's the relationships Gray says he'll cherish.
"There are quite a few folks that I have met for the first time and those relationships are spread over 93 churches and half a dozen schools and all of that. I was in two or three churches or schools every week." Said Gray.
Bishop Seage said his goals are to listen to the vision of the members, strengthen smaller churches and support youth programs.
"I'm really here in large part because a youth director years ago took a great interest in making sure that a program existed in the church that I grew up in. I really look forward to working with others to strengthen youth ministry and to make sure that we present Christ in young peoples' lives." Said Seage.
A native of Thousand Oaks, California, Seage has served in Mississippi since 1998.