Please Join Bishop Gayle E. Harris for the celebration of the Feast of Bernard Mizeki and Juneteenth on June 19, 2021 at 4 pm. This event will be virtual and the registration is required here.
In his pastoral reflection marking Juneteenth on June 19, 2020 Bishop Gates wrote, “This is a moment of intense national reckoning with our history of racism and racial injustice. It is a moment for introspection, repentance and re-dedication–both personal and communal. In such a moment, for any one of us to honor Juneteenth for the first time is of course a small gesture. However, I hope it will be understood as a manifestation of grieving for black and brown lives lost to racist violence; support of those laboring for enduring systemic change; and a signal of our intention more deeply to engage ourselves and our diocese in that hard work.”
Friends, that was the first time Juneteenth was honored in our Diocese after 155 years of its existence. Last year, we marked this day by having a gathering on zoom when Bishop Harris educated the audience about the significance and history of Juneteenth and different individuals shared ad hoc stories.
This year, we will celebrate Juneteenth on June 19th at 4:30 and we will combine its celebration with the Feast of Bernard Mizeki, Catechist and Martyr in Mashonaland in 1896. We hope that you will join The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris virtually as we celebrate for the second time these historic, and frankly spiritual, days.
With gratitude,
The Rev. Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, ThD,
Canon for Immigration and Multicultural Ministries
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts