Racial Justice and Healing: Two Sundays in June

Bishop Guerry

June offers two important opportunities to focus on racial justice and healing. Sue Cavanaugh of Church of the Holy Communion, Charleston, serves on the South Carolina Christian Action Council, and is helping to highlight these events in our Diocese.

June 16 has been named as Racial Justice Sunday 2019 by the SCCAC. This year it is also Trinity Sunday and Fathers Day, and the SCCAC website's Racial Justice Sunday page offers information, prayers and other resources for churches.
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In our Diocese, June 23 will be observed as Bishop Guerry Sunday, remembering William Alexander Guerry as a bishop, reformer and martyr. The 8th Bishop of our Diocese, he died on June 9, 1928, days after being shot by a priest who had attacked the bishop’s position on advancing racial equality in South Carolina. He is remembered on a Sunday in June each year.

Mrs. Cavanaugh says she recently shared the story of Bishop William Alexander Guerry at a SCCAC Racial Justice and Healing Workgroup meeting. The story was new to almost everyone in the group, so Mrs. Cavanaugh shared additional information with them via the Bishop Guerry page on the diocesan website. 

The SCCAC then asked Mrs. Cavanaugh to share a reflection on Bishop Guerry as part of the Racial Justice Sunday materials for 2019. As a result, people across the state will have the opportunity to learn more about Bishop Guerry's martyrdom and Christian witness.

"From the first time I heard the story of Bishop Guerry, I began to want the same thing he had given his life for," Mrs. Cavanaugh's reflection says. "I was moved to take a larger part in the cause of Racial Justice." Read the whole reflection here: Martyr Bishop Guerry: A Personal Connection.

Church leaders who are preparing for Bishop Guerry Sunday will find resources such as readings, the Collect for the Feast of William Alexander Guerry, and bulletin inserts on our website here.

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