A Reflection from Scott Madison
Dear People of St. James’,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that December 7, 1941 would be “a date that will live in infamy.” He was referring to the Japanese Empire’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii. And, while President Roosevelt’s words were certainly prophetic, they were prescient in more ways that he realized. You see, before the Japanese pulled off that ambush, hours earlier, 16 African Americans, mostly faculty and students of Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University), met to form an Episcopal Church where black people would be welcome to worship. That church, then called The Church of the Advent, would grow, and change, and become what we now know as St. James’ Episcopal Church, Austin. And, as we celebrate the day of our founding, as we remember the life and legacies of our founders, both those who have gone on to Glory, and the one whom we still cherish on this earth, I wonder, are we living into the vision these people had for our church?
If you are unaware, St. James’ went through a visioning and discernment process in the 1980s, as the city of Austin and the congregation of St. James’ was growing. The result of this process led St. James’ to be a place of radical hospitality, where no one would turned away from God’s love as our founders were turned away from the white churches they tried to attend. And when St. James’ said no one, we meant no one. It was this radical hospitality, and a healthy dose of the Holy Spirit, that led St. James’ to welcome multi-racial couples and families, to open our doors to gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer folks, to embrace those who have been forgotten and shunned in other houses of worship. It was at St. James’ that this motley crew of God’s people could come together, as one, to worship, to love, to praise, and to sing to the Glory of the Risen Christ.
And so, in these pandemic times, in the difficult world of 2020, as we close out our 78th year and head boldly into our 79th, are we still that church? Are our founders looking down on us, smiling, and well pleased with what has been created and sustained? Are we still the church that fearlessly proclaims “Where ever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome at this table”? I believe, no, I know we are that church. St James’, even through these tough times, has maintained its identity, its commitment, and its promise to turn away no one as we were once turned away. St. James’ is setting new tables of welcome, while holding fast to our identity as an historically black congregation, a church founded for and by African Americans, a church that has grown into this beautiful mosaic of races, cultures, sexualities, and identities. And it is in St. James’ that I have seen God working in and through all of us. Without a doubt, our founders are looking at us, and they are smiling and hopeful for our upcoming journey.
Happy Founders Day St. James’! President Roosevelt may not have meant it, but certainly the day St. James’ was founded is indeed a day that will live in infamy!
With peace and love,
Scott D. Madison
