Trinity Episcopal Church

October 3, 2020
A Statement on Racism from the Clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark

צדק צדק תרדף
Justice, justice, you shall pursue.
(Deuteronomy 16:20)

These words appeared on a framed print in the office of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died on September 18. The failure of charges to be brought against the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor as she slept in her home in Louisville last March is a clear indication that justice has, once again, been denied a Black person in this country.

We, the members of the clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, believe that our faith requires us to stand on the side of the marginalized and the oppressed, to respond to injustice when it occurs, and to relentlessly work to eradicate the racism that plagues our country.

The highly publicized killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and the disproportionate number of Black persons killed at the hands of police, reveal a system that is unable to heal itself, unable to carry out its responsibility to serve all people with equal justice and dignity.

We believe our Christian faith calls us to meet this moment, and that in order to do that, each one of us must engage in a practice of prayerful discernment to uncover and repent of the racism we all harbor within our minds and hearts. We call on those of other faith traditions or no tradition at all to join us in this act of repentance.

We believe that fewer resources are needed to militarize police departments and more resources must be devoted to community services, including social workers and public health personnel, affordable housing and first-rate schools.

We say with one voice that racism is a sin, that Black Lives Matter, and that we are committed to ensuring the rights to safety at home, when out for a jog, or going about the business of daily life for those who currently are treated with suspicion because of the color of their skin. All of these privileges that white people mindlessly and effortlessly enjoy must be equally and fully available to all of our neighbors.

We follow the One who stood with the powerless and weak against the might of empire, and we have all promised in our baptism to “strive for justice and peace” among all people. We promise to use our voices, our dollars, our votes, and our bodies to prevent the continued violence against Black people in this country, and to create a more just society where we all may flourish.

Signed:

• The Rev. Hilario Albert, Priest-in-Charge, Grace Church, Union City
• The Rev. Mariano Gargiulo, Rector, St. James Church, Ridgefield
• The Rev. Thomas M. Murphy, Rector, Church of St. Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City
• The Rev. S. Elizabeth Searle, Vicar, Church of Our Saviour, Secaucus
• The Rev. Deacon Jill Singleton, Church of St. Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City
• The Rev. Willie James Smith, Rector, Trinity Church, Cliffside Park
• The Rev. Elaine Ellis Thomas, Rector, All Saints Parish, Hoboken
• The Rev. Laurie Jean Wurm, Rector, Grace Church van Vorst, Jersey City
• The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox, Rector, Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
• The Rev. Rose Cohen Hassan, Interim Priest-in-Charge, South Orange
• The Rev. Canon Robert Griner, Rector, Christ Church, Newton
• The Rev. Dr. Peter Savastano, Priest Associate, St. Luke's, Montclair
• The Rev Fr Kevin PJ Coffey, SCP, a/CSJB, Rector, Atonement, Fair Lawn
• The Rev. Jon M. Richardson, Rector, St. David’s Church, Kinnelon
• The Venerable Peter Jackson, Archdeacon
• The Rev. Jill Williams, Curate, Christ Church, Ridgewood
• The Rev. Sharon Hausman, Flanders, NJ
• The Rev. Raul E. Ausa, SCP, Priest-in-Charge, Trinity Church, Allendale
• The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Kaeton, retired, Diocese of Newark.
• The Rev. Lauren Ackland, retired
• The Rev. Dr. Franklin Vilas, retired, Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. Elizabeth M. Edman, Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. Paul Yoon, Priest-in-Charge, Saint Agnes Church, Little Falls
• The Rev. Nathaniel K. M. Darville, Rector, St. Peter’s Church, Essex Fells
• The Rev. E. Michael Allen, retired, Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. R. Grant Mansfield, Rector, St. George’s Church, Maplewood
• The Rev. Ally Brundige
• The Rev. Lorna Erixson, Rector, St. Mark’s Church, Mendham
• The Rev. Canon Michel Belt, retired, Madison
• The Rev. Dr. Debra Brewin-Wilson, Rector, St. Mary’s Church, Sparta
• The Revd Sylvester Ekunwe, Vicar, St. Andrew's Episcopal church, Newark
• The. Rev. Audrey Hasselbrook, St. James Church, Upper Montclair
• The Rev. Cynthia L. Black, D.D., Rector, Church of the Redeemer, Morristown
• The Rev. Anne E. Kitch, Rector, St. Luke’s, Phillipsburg
• The Rev. C. Melissa Hall, Rector, St. James, Upper Montclair
• Rev. Philip Wilson, retired
• The Rev. Robert L Shearer, Priest-in-Charge, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Fort Lee
• The Rev. Diana Doyle Clark, retired
• The Rev. Michael Gerhardt, Christ Church and St. John the Divine, Hackensack
• The Rev. Dr. Ellen Marie (Sister Helena) Barrett, OSB, St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland
• The Rev. Susan Saucedo Sica, Rector, St. Gregory’s Church, Parsippany
• The Rev. Margaret Reinfield Haridis, retired
• The Venerable Diane Riley, Archdeacon
• The Rev. Paul V. Olsson, Rector, St. Paul’s Church, Morris Plains
• The Rev. Susan Chrystal
• The Rev. George C. Wong, Rector, The Church of the Saviour, Denville
• The Very Rev. Dr. C David Williams, Trinity and St. Philip’s Cathedral, retired
• The Rev. Dr. K. Christine Pae, Denison University
• The Rev. Ellen Kohn-Perry, Assistant Rector, St. Paul's Chatham
• The Rev. Dr. Shane Phelan, Companions of Mary the Apostle
• The Rev. Laura R. Matarazzo, retired
• The Rev. Geoff Curtiss
• The Rev. William Guthrie, Retired, Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. Gregory A. Jacobs, Retired
• The Rev. Bowie Snodgrass, Priest-in-Charge, Christ Church in Short Hills
• The Rev. Dr. Jane Tomaine
• The Rev. Deacon Sun-Hwan Spriggs, St. George’s, Maplewood
• The Rev. Tristan Shin, Assistant Priest, Christ Church in Short Hills
• The Rev. William Cruse, Priest-in-Charge, St. John’s Memorial, Ramsey
• The Rev. Anthony Puca, Jr., Rector, Grace Church in Westwood and Holy Trinity Church in Hillsdale
• The Rev. Mark R. Collins, Rector, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Glen Rock
• The Reverend Deacon Erik Soldwedel, St Paul’s Paterson and St. Clement’s, Hawthorne
• The Rev. Michael Gerhardt, Christ Church and St. John the Divine, Hackensack
• The Rev. D. Andrew Olivo, Rector, St. Elizabeth’s, Ridgewood
• The Rev. Tom Mathews, Rector, Christ Church, Ridgewood
• The Rev. Robert Corin Morris, Calvary Church, Summit
• The Rev. Elizabeth Wigg-Maxwell, St. Peter’s, Livingston
• The Rev. Robert F. Solon, Jr., Saint John’s Passaic
• The Rev. Susan R. Ironside, Rector, Grace Church, Madison
• The Rev. Asa David Coulson, Associate, Grace Church, Madison
• The Rev. Michelle D. White, Vicar, Christ Church Teaneck
• The Rev Thomas C. Lincoln, Retired
• The Rev. Archie M. Palmer, Jr., Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. Elizabeth W Myers, Christ Church, Budd Lake
• The Rev. Maggie Gat, Retired
• The Right Rev. John Selby Spong, 8th Bishop of Diocese of Newark, Retired
• The Rev Virginia Dinsmore, St. Dunstan's, Succasunna
• The Rev. Sheelagh Clarke, Church of Holy Innocents, West Orange.
• The Rev. John A. Rollins, Retired
• The Rev. Joan F. Conley, Rector, St. Mark’s, Teaneck
• The Rev. Dr. Howard W. Whitaker, Retired
• The Rev. Daniel LaRue Gross, Associate Rector, St. Peter’s, Morristown
• The Rev. Deacon Kenneth R. Boccino, Deacon, The Church of the Saviour, Denville
• The Rev. Michael Muller, Rector, St. Peter’s, Mountain Lakes
• The Rev. Canon Wade A. Renn, Diocese of Newark
• The Rev. Canon Sandye A. Wilson
• The Rev. Mary Davis, Rector, St. Paul’s, Chatham
• The Rev. Dean Weber, Rector, All Saints, Leonia
• The Rev. Lynne Bleich Weber, Rector, Atonement, Tenafly
• The Rev. Dr. Diana Lee Beach, psychoanalyst, retired
• The Rev. Victoria Geer McGrath, Rector, All Saints’, Millington
• The Rev. Deacon Virginia Jenkins Whatley, Good Shepherd, Fort Lee
• The Rev. Margaret Otterburn, Rector, Messiah Chester