Black Ministry

What is Black Ministry?

The Episcopal Church dreams of and is working towards fostering Beloved Communities where all people may experience dignity and abundant life and see themselves and others as beloved children of God.  Black Ministry’s focus is to support and uplift those of African descent, connect Black Episcopalians through worship, formation, and fellowship, and to help all those in our diocese walk in love with all of our Black siblings in Christ.  

What does this look like?

  • Working on intergenerational opportunities for ministry, collaborating with the Union of Black Episcopalians, Summer Camp, and other committees and structures of the Diocese.
  • Creating and sponsoring programs and initiatives that cultivate spaces for honest and open dialogue.
  • Promoting and fostering racial justice and healing whether by direct institutional change and response or advocacy for public change.
  • Assist in identifying blind spots in systems and processes that may foster exclusion and division.

Coming Soon: Book Study

Canon Alex will be hosting a group book study of Black and Episcopalian: The Struggle for Inclusion by Rev. Gayle Fisher-Stewart, PhD via Zoom.  This book is about the history of the Episcopal Church, and the story of the struggle for authentic inclusion.

For Those New to Black Ministry: If you’re unsure of what to do to get involved in Black Ministry or where to start, learning about the problem and the issues at hand is a great place to begin.  

For Longtime Black Ministry Advocates: If you’re well versed in Black Ministry, likewise this is a very impactful and informative book to add to your library and knowledge base.

In the forward, Kelly Brown Douglas writes, “[For] what becomes painfully clear in this portrait of the Episcopal Church are the compromises that it makes with Black freedom, Black dignity, and Black lives in an effort to alienate no one and thus maintain harmony.  In many respects, this book lays bare perhaps another truth of the Episcopal Church: a commitment to unity frequently supplants a concern for justice […] this book is not an unrelenting diatribe.  Rather, it is a passionate call for the Church to live into its faith and its better self.  It is a hard truth-telling from a priest who loves her church.  It is a book that brings us just a little bit closer to ‘Becoming Beloved Community’.”

If you’re interested in joining the book study, more information is coming soon.

Additional Recommended Reading

Additional Resources

If you have any questions regarding our Black Ministry, please contact Alex Leonard, Canon for Black Ministry at alex@azdiocese.org.