A Legacy of Faith: Celebrating the First Black Episcopal Priest

The Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, the 17th Episcopal Bishop of New York, on Saturday led a service honoring the legacy of the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first Black priest ordained in the Episcopal Church.

“Rev. Jones’s groundbreaking ministry, resilience, and leadership paved the way for a more diverse and inclusive priesthood,” said the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

Born into slavery, it said Absalom Jones purchased his freedom and co-founded the first Black Episcopal congregation, “demonstrating an unwavering commitment to faith, justice and equality.”

Rev. Heyd announced that he is recommending to the Trustees of the Diocese that it forgives the property loans of the congregations of color of the Diocese across the state of New York.

He also announced that the Diocese will be creating a Diocesan policy designed to bolster equity and inclusion among clergy in honor of Rev. Absalom Jones.

The celebrant of the service was Bishop Mary Glasspool, who will be retiring from the Diocese after 45 years of dedicated service. Bishop Glasspool is the first openly gay woman to have been named an Episcopal Bishop.

“As we weave our pastoral fabric, we’re going to put our communities of color first,” said Rev. Heyd. “That is our mission priority of repair. That is the legacy and work of Absalom Jones that remains for us today.”

Rev Glasspool said: “May God grant you the grace never to sell yourself short. Grace to risk something big for something good. Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.”

The Right Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Episcopal Jamaican priest at the Trinity Church Wall Street, said: “Look around you now. This is church, this is what our country is, this is what our world can be.

“All of us are beautiful in our diversity, beautiful in our differences, sitting together trying to find a way to be more an instrument of God’s love,” he added.

The Episcopal Diocese of New York said the event also featured GRAMMY-nominated Jazz and Blues musician Antoinette Montague and Tony nominee Danny Mixon, among other stellar musicians.