On July 1, the Episcopal Church celebrates the feast day of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, a truly remarkable member of our clergy and person of many accomplishments. Many of you had the chance to learn more about Pauli in our Bread Talk on June 29, and I was so glad to see so many people interested in this amazing person from our recent church history!
Pauli was born in 1910 in Baltimore but grew up in Durham, North Carolina. They became a college graduate (rare enough for anyone in that era, let alone someone perceived by the world to be a Black woman). They were a labor organizer, civil rights activist, attorney, author and poet, and later in life an Episcopal priest. Pauli’s refusal to fit into any of the boxes society attempted to place them in—quiet and dignified, but unrelentingly stubborn—is an inspiration to me, as is their lifelong Episcopal faith.
One of the things that brought me to the Episcopal Church in the first place is that I read a book by Bishop John Shelby Spong, and if you’ve read his work you know his theology was somewhat on the unorthodox side. My thought was, “If this church has room for this guy, maybe they have room for me too.” If I’d known about Pauli Murray back then, it would have had much the same effect—“This person didn’t fit in anywhere without a fight, but they fit there, so maybe I can fit too.” I hope Pauli’s story becomes more widely known for her own sake and for the sake of anyone wondering if they can belong with us. They can.
The slides from the Bread Talk can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/225zx3vj
And for more details please check out https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/.
—Rev. Toby