Members of St. Francis of Assisi, St. James - Austin and St. Luke the Evangelist-Houston Episcopal churches have joined in the faith to commemorate the life and times of Saint Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray with a special service on Sunday, July 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. on YouTube.
The virtual service will include readings from members of the various parishes as well as musical selections from the combined choir. The public is invited to join in this special celebration. DOWNLOAD SERVICE BULLETIN
Reverend Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist, women's rights activist, lawyer, and author. Drawn to the ministry, in 1977 Murray became the first black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest and among the first group of women to become priests in this church.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Murray was raised mostly by her maternal grandparents in Durham, North Carolina. At the age of sixteen, she moved to New York to attend Hunter College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1933. In 1940, Murray sat in the whites-only section of a Virginia bus with a friend, and they were arrested for violating state segregation laws. This incident, and her subsequent involvement with the socialist Workers' Defense League, led to a career goal as a civil rights lawyer. She enrolled in the law school of Howard University, where she graduated first in her class, but was denied the chance to do post-graduate work at Harvard University because of her gender. She earned a master's in law at University of California, Berkeley, and in 1965 she became the first African American to receive a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from Yale Law School.
She will forever be remembered for her gallant efforts on behalf of humanity. As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women's rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray's 1950 book States' Laws on Race and Color the "bible" of the civil rights movement. Murray served on the 1961 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and in 1966 was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Murray held faculty or administrative positions at the Ghana School of Law, Benedict College, and Brandeis University, where she shared her experiences and her faith in God.
In 1973, Murray left Brandeis after discerning her call at Emmanuel Church, Boston for the General Theological Seminary. She completed her M. Div. at Virginia Theological Seminary because they were supportive of women's ordination. She was ordained to the priesthood at the Washington National Cathedral on January 8, 1977, by the Rt. Rev. William F. Creighton, the first African American woman to become an Episcopal priest.
The Rectors of the churches: St. Francis of Assisi, Reverend Rhonda Rogers; St. James - Austin, the The Rev. Eileen O'Brien and St. Luke the Evangelist-Houston, the Reverend Francene Young and the members look forward to your joining for the special service.