Disciple: New, Notable & Newsworthy

Holy Spirit, Greensboro, Named to Community Placemaking Lab

Holy Spirit, Greensboro, was recently selected as one of six congregations to take part in the Community Placemaking Lab, a pilot initiative from the Ormond Center at Duke University designed to prepare community teams to engage with developers and other partners and to provide access to resources relating to discernment practices, site analysis, feasibility methodologies and community engagement.

As shared at the Special Convention on March 5, Holy Spirit is embarking on a project to explore options for developing part of their 11-acre property for social impact. Ideas they’ll be exploring include affordable housing, increased health access services, an ecological education and conservation center, and space for incubating women- and minority-led businesses. The project is intended to be the next step in the church’s journey to serving their local community; the congregation already has identified and begun responding to health care and food insecurity needs with the creation of the Abundant Life Ministry.

“We are excited to be part of this Community Placemaking Lab,” said Holy Spirit vicar and Abundant Life mission developer the Rev. Audra Abt. “As we pray and imagine new ways to contribute to God’s Kingdom in partnership with our neighbors, we’re keeping in mind things Jesus taught about how God makes space for all: the mustard seed which grows so great that all the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches (Matt. 13:31-32), and in John 14:2 Jesus declares ‘In my Abba Father’s house there are many homes… and I am going to prepare a place for you.’ Making a place for more affordable housing, ecosystem conservation, and thriving, locally owned businesses benefits our whole community, and we see it as our contribution to God’s work. Even more, as a church in the midst of all this activity, we see God inviting us to become a community of people opening ever more fully to God, each other, and all our kindred in Creation to love, care and serve each other in mutual recognition of Christ in one another.”

The Rev. Robert Black Receives Humanitarian Award

The Rev. Robert Black, rector of St. Luke’s, Salisbury, is a 2022 recipient of the Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Humanitarian Award. This award recognizes people or groups from the Salisbury-Rowan community who have made important contributions to improving human relations in the areas of education, employment, housing, industry, business, civic, church, advocacy and community service. This award is named in memory of Elizabeth “Libby” Koontz, one of the organizers who re-established the Salisbury-Rowan Human Relations Council in 1985.

“To say that I am honored to receive this recognition is an understatement,” said Black. “As a preacher, I am rarely at a loss for words—but I still haven’t found the words to express the appreciation that I feel. While it will be my name on the award—this is a team award. The recognition comes from [St. Luke’s] work with racial reconciliation and Becoming Beloved Community. These are efforts of our entire parish, and, when I accept the award, I will do so giving God thanks for this beloved community of St. Luke’s.”

Read more about St. Luke’s ongoing work with reconciling their racial past.

- Adapted from St. Luke’s Weekly Parish News, March 2022

Johnson Service Corps Now Accepting Applications

Johnson Service Corps is looking for young adults (ages 21-28) interested in spending one year (August 2022-July 2023) in full-time service in either the Durham or Chapel Hill/Carrboro community.

Corps members live together in community and are placed at nonprofit organizations where they volunteer for 32 hours each week. Current partners include the Pauli Murray Center, Durham Children’s Initiative, Center for Responsible Lending, Compass Center, SECU Family House, L’Arche NC, Families Moving Forward and RAFI-USA. The remainder of their time each week is utilized for leadership training, professional development and social justice workshops. Each corps member attends phase I of the two-day Racial Equity Institute training and receives certification in mental health first aid.

Applications will be accepted until all spots are full; apply here.

Dismantling Racism Summer Dates Announced

“Dismantling Racism: Reclaiming Our Baptismal Promise” is an interactive workshop designed to deepen spiritual commitment to dismantling racism as participants in the Jesus Movement. Through presentations, prayer, story sharing, videos and small group discussion, participants explore how the sin of racism impacts all lives. There is a $15 registration fee for the course.

The following registrations are available through the individual event calendar listings on the event page or the racial justice, reckoning & healing resources page:

• June 24, 5-8 p.m., and June 25, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom. Register.
• July 29, 5-8 p.m., and July 30, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom

Annual Pauli Murray Service: June 22

The 10th anniversary of the Pauli Murray Center is not the only celebration happening this summer. The annual service to commemorate and celebrate the life of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray will take place at 7 p.m. on June 22 at St. Titus’, Durham.

Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, gender equality advocate, Episcopal priest and author. Drawn to the ministry, in 1977 Murray became the first Black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of North Carolina, will officiate, and the Rev. Winnie Varghese, rector of St. Luke’s, Atlanta, in the Diocese of Atlanta, will preach. The service will also feature a choir comprised of voices from churches across the Diocese, organized by Ramon Holloway, St. Titus’ choir director and organist.

The service will be streamed from the church and broadcast through St.Titus’ and diocesan social media channels. Those wishing to attend in person are asked to register.

For those wishing to learn more about Murray, on Saturday, June 25, the Pauli Murray Center will offer a spiritual pilgrimage to Durham locations of importance to her. Along the 4.5-mile curated walk, participants will receive selected prayers, meditations and conversation starters to encourage reflection and learning about the history of Durham and its importance in Murray’s legacy. The pilgrimage begins at the Pauli Murray Center (906 Carroll Street, Durham) and offers pilgrimage introductions at 8, 9 and 10 a.m., though all are welcome to being the journey at any time 8-11 a.m.

For more information, visit paulimurraycenter.com.

Christine McPhail Installed As Saint Augustine’s President

Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail was installed on April 28 as the 13th president of Saint Augustine’s University.

McPhail was named by the SAU Board of Trustees in 2021, following an extensive national search to fill the vacancy left after the untimely passing of her husband, Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail, in October 2020.

“We are excited and fortunate to have an innovative, proven leader of Dr. Christine McPhail’s stature to lead SAU to the next level of excellence as we reimagine a new model of the HBCU of the future,” said retired Honorable Justice James E. Perry, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a statement.

[Image: Dr. Christine McPhail was installed as Saint Augustine’s University’s 13th president while the Rev. Hershey Mallette Stephens looked on. Photo by Jerrell Jordan, Jordan Esteem Photography]

McPhail’s impact as SAU’s new leader includes a 10-year high in fall enrollment, record-breaking alumni giving and an outpouring of federal funding to cover student account balances. In addition, SAU has secured grants of $499,000 and $400,000 to repurpose and preserve Hermitage Hall and St. Agnes Hospital, respectively.

“We have a responsibility to leave SAU better than we found it,” said McPhail. “I am honored to be a steward for the change and growth happening here.”

As a result of the upward trend of new student enrollment, plans are underway to launch a capital campaign to expand the campus and improve the student experience. The campaign involves improving current buildings and constructing facilities to house SAU’s newly formed Centers of Innovation in entrepreneurship, health and wellness, social justice, global competitiveness and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).

“This is SAU’s season of impact,” said Veronica Creech, vice president of economic development and external engagement. “The ceiling for opportunity is high for us. We have incredible leadership and land to accommodate the growth we envision in the near term.”

Saint Augustine’s University was founded by the Diocese of North Carolina in 1867. Its ongoing mission is “to sustain a learning community in which students can prepare academically, socially and spiritually for leadership in a complex, diverse and rapidly changing world.”

- Adapted from Saint Augustine’s University announcement

Preparedness Planning: Hurricane Edition

Hurricane season is almost upon us once again. The official start date is June 1, but don’t wait until then to begin getting prepared.

The 2022 hurricane outlook predicts another year of above-average activity; experts predict at least 19 named storms, with at least nine becoming hurricanes. Now is the time to begin reviewing your preparedness plan or to begin one if you don’t already have it in place.

The Diocese of North Carolina has resources to get you started, including templates and first steps. Information and resources specific to the hurricane season are also available.

Don’t wait until the forecasts show hurricane activity with potential local impact; create or review your church or ministry’s plan now, and be sure to update your individual or family plan.

Support Our Siblings in Ukraine

• the International Red Cross,
• the Episcopal Relief and Development International Disaster Response Fund or
• the Action by Churches (ACT) Together Alliance.