On Sunday, June 14, 2020 at 2:00pm, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDOW) and Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will host an inter-faith, ecumenical prayer vigil for concrete action toward racial justice at St. John’s Episcopal Church Lafayette Square, overlooking Black Lives Matter Plaza. Bishop Budde will be joined by Rev. William Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign and nearly a dozen faith leaders from across the Washington area.
“We have an opportunity to change some things in our country and our world that have been crying out for change for a very long time,” said Bishop Budde. “I want the church I lead to do our part, working with other faith communities, to bring some good out of the nightmare we’ve been in, to wrench grace from unspeakable tragedy, to make real and meaningful restitution for the sins of that past that are still visited on far too many, to rid however we can our institutions of embedded racism. Outrage is not enough. People of faith must unite in action to drive lasting change for justice and healing in our country.”
Bishop Budde and Reverend Barber will be joined by:
- Mythili Bacchu, Hindu Faith Leader and Interfaith Council Executive Board Member
- The Reverend Thomas Bowen, Director, Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs, Washington, D.C.
- Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, United Methodist Baltimore-Washington Conference
- Rabbi Rachel Gartner, Jewish Chaplain at Georgetown University; Board Member, Truah, the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
- Rev. Melanie Mullen, Director of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care, the Episcopal Church, USA
- Rabbi Gerry Serotta, Exec. Director, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington
- Imam Talib Shareef, President and Imam of Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque and Chair of the IFC Board
- Dr. Rajwant Singh, Co-founder of the National Sikh Campaign
- Rev. Dr. James Victor, Vice President of Baptist General Convention of Virginia