The Anglican Examiner is posting a series describing twenty Episcopalians who shaped the world in the Twentieth century.
Called “The New York Anglicans: Twenty Who Shaped the Twentieth Century“, the project is funded in par by the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Women’s History Project.
The first person profiled is Francis Perkins, the Secretary of Labor who was the architect of Social Security.
The woman who had conceived, birthed, nursed, and nurtured the New Deal’s crowning achievement—the Social Security Act—was revealing the theological perspective that informed her long career advocating, shaping, and ultimately implementing social policy. She knew she had not paid for the earth she walked on or the parents who had raised her. She had not “earned” the breath in her lungs. All life was an unearned gift from God, as she saw it.
What we “got,” in her view, was a function of grace, not merit or its inverse correlate, sin. A godly society, therefore, would be a gracious society. Just as God had endowed humankind with the basics and then allowed them freedom to develop their capacities to create and contribute, so the community should graciously guarantee basic provision for its individual members while allowing maximum freedom to make their way in the world.
Right now, there are two other profiles that have been posted: Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary Harriman.
In the months ahead, The Anglican Examiner will tell the story of each of these saints for modern times.
In cultural terms, this theological orientation translated into respect for both the natural and the human-created environments, an affirmation of the arts—especially the visual and the performing arts—and a respect for history.
In political terms, it tended to emphasize social responsibility, rather than personal prudence, and conduced toward a “politics of generosity” rather than a “politics of righteousness.” Social provision rather than social discipline was paramount.
The individuals included in the New York Anglicans made outstanding contributions in politics, education, philanthropy, community service, and the arts.
Future profiles will feature, among others, Fiorello LaGuardia, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Margaret Mead, Norman Rockwell, and The Delany Sisters.