But the church of this country is not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slave, it actually takes sides with the oppressors. It has made itself the bulwark of American slavery, and the shield of American slave-hunters. Many of its most eloquent Divines, who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. They have taught that man may, properly, be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained of God; that to send back an escaped bondman to his master is clearly the duty of all the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; and this horrible blasphemy is palmed off upon the world for Christianity.

For my part, I would say, Welcome infidelity! welcome atheism! welcome anything—in preference to the gospel, as preached by those Divines. They convert the very name of religion into an engine of tyranny, and barbarous cruelty, and serve to confirm more infidels, in this age, than all the infidel writings of Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Bolingbroke, put together, have done! These ministers make religion a cold and flinty-hearted thing, having neither principles of right action, nor bowels of compassion. They strip the love of God of its beauty, and leave the throng of religion a huge, horrible, repulsive form. It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, and thugs. It is not that “pure and undefiled religion” which is from above, and which is “first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” But a religion which favors the rich against the poor; which exalts the proud above the humble; which divides mankind into two classes, tyrants and slaves; which says to the man in chains, stay there; and to the oppressor, oppress on; it is a religion which may be professed and enjoyed by all the robbers and enslavers of mankind; it makes God a respecter of persons, denies his fatherhood of the race, and tramples in the dust the great truth of the brotherhood of man.

All this we affirm to be true of the popular church, and the popular worship of our land and nation—a religion, a church, and a worship which, on the authority of inspired wisdom, we pronounce to be an abomination in the sight of God. In the language of Isaiah, the American church might be well addressed, “Bring no more vain ablations; incense is an abomination unto me: the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth. They are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them; and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you. Yea! when ye make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge for the fatherless; plead for the widow.”

Murray's work was and is indispensable to the field of civil rights. They became involved with the civil rights movement as a student in the 1930s, and in March 1940, they were arrested and imprisoned along with their girlfriend for refusing to sit at the back of a bus in Virginia. In 1941, while studying law at Howard University, s/he coined the term "Jane Crow" to describe the intersection of sexism and Jim Crow laws. His book States' Laws on Race and Color, published in 1951, was described as "the Bible for civil rights litigators" by Thurgood Marshall, and was influential in the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. In 1961, President Kennedy nominated Murray to the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. In 1966, s/he cofounded the National Organization for Women, but later moved away from a leading role because they did not believe the organization was appropriately addressing the issues of Black and working-class women.

In 1973, following the death of their partner Irene Barlow, Murray left their tenured position at Brandeis University to become a candidate for ordination at General Theological Seminary, and in 1977 became the first Black person perceived as a woman to become an Episcopal priest. S/he offered the Eucharist for the first time on February 13 at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC where their grandmother Cornelia was baptized as an enslaved person. For seven years, she worked in parish ministry in Washington, D.C., focusing particularly on ministry to the sick.

Murray is also known as someone who had a complex relationship to gender and sexuality. In a 1943 letter, they wrote:

"I don't know whether I'm right or whether society (or some medical authority) is right. I only know how I feel and what makes me happy. This conflict rises up to knock me down at every apex I reach in my career. And because the laws of society do not protect me, I'm exposed to any enemy or person who may or may not want to hurt me."

Murray self-described as a “he/she personality” in correspondence with family members. For years, Murray requested - and was denied - testosterone injections and hormone therapy, as well as exploratory surgery to investigate their reproductive organs, believing that they may have been intersex and had undescended testis. Some of Murray’s own private writings describe periods where Murray seemed to self-identify as a heterosexual man. Later in journals, essays, letters and autobiographical works, Murray employed “she/her/hers'' pronouns and self-described as a woman. 

While Murray was briefly married to a man in 1930, the marriage ended quickly with the realization that "when men try to make love to me, something in me fights," and the majority of his relationships were with women.

The life and accomplishments of someone so extraordinary and influential are impossible to summarize effectively here. I encourage you to browse the site of the Pauli Murray Center as well as Dr. Murray's Wikipedia article to learn more.

Liberating God, we thank you for the steadfast courage of your servant Pauli Murray, who fought long and well: Unshackle us from the chains of prejudice and fear, that we may show forth the reconciling love and true freedom which you revealed in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Donate now—your help could be the reason my baby Qais survives.

two campaigns have come to my attention through instagram. both teenagers who were shot by the iof and had their entire lives changed. both are in terrible condition, and no doubt this is not only because of the direct violence enacted upon them but also because of the purposeful genocidal annihilation of medical infrastructure in gaza and obstruction of aid by the occupier.

I WILL KEEP THIS BRIEF BUT PLEASE PAY ATTENTION:

ahmed is just 18 years old. he was shot in june while seeking aid and now suffers from total paralysis due to the deterioration of his medical condition. the urgent, lifesaving surgery, medical care and rehabilitation he requires are unavailable in gaza. he is also severely malnourished, leading to further complications. he is dying.

mohamed is just 15 years old. he was shot in september while seeking aid and now suffers from a severe spinal injury and paralysis, and recently went into a coma. his sister, who is just 18, has been advocating for him. his parents spend much energy traveling to and from the hospital and caring for the rest of his siblings who are also in need of basic necessities that are unavailable or extremely hard to secure in gaza. mohamed is severely malnourished. he is dying.

both of these boys need to be evacuated, they have their whole lives ahead of them. mohamed has a referral for evacuation but his family needs funds to cover the costs of leaving gaza. ahmed is on a WHO waiting list but hasn't been approved yet, possibly because he is 18 so he is not considered a priority because he is technically an adult. if anyone knows any way to help them get evacuated, or if you want more information on their stories in general, please refer to ahmed's instagram account here and mohamed's sister's instagram here

in the meantime, funds are urgently needed to provide food and medical costs for ahmed and mohamed and their families. THEY ARE SEVERELY MALNOURISHED. PLEASE give whatever you can and share at the very least. i know many of you can live without 5, 10, 20 dollars.... and it may seem like a small sacrifice but it DOES add up and it DOES make a difference. and i know many of you are good people and want to help. but they need consistent donations, and they haven't been getting that. their campaigns have been going days without donations and at best they get only around 3 donations daily.

palestine will be free and we must not forget about the people who need our support the most, during the occupier's false so-called 'ceasefire' while the world watches passively while gaza is still suffering. thank you for reading and caring

Ahmed's chuffed

Right now Ahmed's mother, who has now lost 3 of her sons, and his brother are suffering in Egypt. Ahmed's mother is suffering from broken ribs, a broken shoulder and low blood pressure. They are struggling financially as well as mentally.

Please keep Ahmed and his family in your prayers, and give them any support you can. They should not have lost Ahmed, but they deserve to be grieving in peace rather than worrying about their own survival.

Only 3 donations in 16 days, the last being 5 days ago.

Please donate now. Your help could save my baby before it is too late.

Excerpt from the Orthodox Calendar project.

“OC (Orthodox Calendar) is the title of wall calendars and videos first published in 2012, featuring nude and semi-nude photographs of members of the Orthodox Church. The calendar is the brainchild of a group composed mostly of Orthodox eastern Europeans of the former communist region. The primary goal was to create the very first organized global effort against homophobia in the Orthodox Region. At the same time, the calendar takes an ironic approach to the Orthodox Church itself, which in recent years has been embroiled in artist repression, questionable behavior and homophobia.Through their unconventional and bold images, OC’s creative Team seeks to counteract the negative and outdated influences of most of the Orthodox Church leadership. While recognizing that change might not come quickly to the official Orthodox Church position, OC nonetheless believes that at least it can encourage people (believers or not) to reflect and realize that there is an urgent need for an update in values as part of the modern society.”

And I pray that I may forget

These matters that with myself I too much discuss

Too much explain

Because I do not hope to turn again

Let these words answer

For what is done, not to be done again

May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

[…]

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

A Seeker's Prayer – St. Anselm of Canterbury