The efforts of the Dioceses of Washington and Maryland to establish a liturgical feast day for Thurgood Marshall moved closer to fruition yesterday as the General Convention “call(ed) upon the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to add Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to the liturgical Calendar of this Church now.”
Barbara Miles of the Diocese of Washington gave the supporting speech. And here it is:
Madame President,
I rise to support this resolution which was passed unanimously by the House of Bishops.
I will never know what it means to be black in America, but there are plenty of people in my diocese who do, and what the consistently tell me is that before there was a Martin Luther King, there was a Thurgood Marshall—and he’s an Episcopalian
Thurgood Marshall belongs on our calendar because he was all about unbuntu before unbuntu was cool—55 and 60 years ago, it was deadly dangerous.
This resolution is a cordial invitation from the bishops, people and parishes in the mid-Atlantic—who knew Marshall well—to join us in a commemoration we have been keeping for many years now.
Your gracious response is requested—vote yes, and join our celebration.
The vote cleared the way for three years of development and dissemination of liturgies commemorating the late Supreme Court Justice. Marshall’s name will be placed on the calendar if it receives a second approval in 2012.