St. Michael’s, Wall & St. James, Bradley Beach, NJ, Ship a 40-Foot Container with Church, Relief, and Medical Supplies to Liberia
Wall Township, NJ – February 12, 2025

On December 14, parishioners and volunteers gathered at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Wall Township, New Jersey, to load a 40-foot freight container—the eleventh shipment—with church materials, vestments, theological books, textbooks, school supplies, medical equipment, and relief supplies. Destined for Liberia, West Africa, the container departed from the Port of New York on December 20th and is scheduled to arrive at the Freeport of Monrovia on late February 17, 2025. Canon & Mrs. Yarsiah are currently in Monrovia, Liberia, to help with the distribution of the donations.

This shipment, the first to originate from New Jersey, is part of the Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia, an extended mission of the affiliated parishes of St. Michael’s, Wall Township, and St. James, Bradley Beach, Diocese of New Jersey. As with previous efforts, the shipment will support churches and clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia, as well as other denominations, schools, clinics, orphanages, and institutions, including the Liberian Group of 77, a government institution that assists the physically challenged. The total value of the donations is estimated at $24,000 US Dollars, with shipping costs amounting to $6,221, excluding clearance and transportation costs in Liberia. The Diocese of Arkansas, through the Christopher and Caroline Keller Fund for Mission provided a grant of $4,200 to assist with trucking, shipping, clearing and other expenses. The Global Outreach Ministry is deeply grateful to Bishop John Harmon and the Diocese of Arkansas.

​According to The Rev. Canon Dr. James T. Yarsiah, Priest-In-Charge at St. Michael’s and St. James, “In an effort to give back, my wife Ophelia and I initiated this ministry in 2006, engaging churches, institutions, and friends from the Diocese of South Carolina and beyond to contribute materials and supplies. This effort, known as the Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia, aims to assist churches, schools, women, children, orphans, and the needy.” 

The Rt. Rev. Sally J. French, Bishop of New Jersey, has emphasized the importance of this ministry, describing it as a vital effort in strengthening and empowering the Church and people of Liberia. Bishop French donated $2,000 from her discretionary funds to help defray shipping expenses. The Global Outreach Ministry is sincerely grateful to Bishop French for her unweaving support.

The contents of the container include, but not limited to:

• Church Materials: Used pianos, crucifixes, candle stands, clergy vestments, choir and acolyte robes, Bibles, theological books, Prayer Books, Hymnals, cassocks, etc.
• Medical Supplies: Wheelchairs, walkers, medical beds, portable commodes, foyer lift, catheter,bandages, lympho press, ortho boots, back & kneel braces crutches, canes, etc.
• Relief and Educational Items: School supplies, textbooks, educational games, toys, stuffy animals, clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, rice, beans, vegetable oil and more.

Church materials were donated by the Diocese of New Jersey and other parishes. The Medical Equipment Ministry of St. James Memorial Episcopal Church in Eatontown, NJ, partnered with St. Michael’s and St. James to provide medical equipment and supplies. The dry food items, rice, beans and oil came from Christ Church, Shrewsbury, NJ. Additional contributions came from several local parishes, clergy, and friends. The Global Outreach Ministry extends gratitude to Fr. Austin Murry and parishioners of St. James Memorial Church, Eatontown, New Jersey. 

The Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia remains committed to this vital work of empowerment. Our Ministry accepts donations from churches in transition to close or have closed, and are looking for a place to donate their church materials/ornaments.

Parishes and dioceses within The Episcopal Church Parishes and dioceses within The Episcopal Church (TEC) are encouraged to donate church materials, ornaments, etc as listed below, for future shipments. Donations can be sent to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 2015 Allenwood Road, Wall, NJ 07719. Large pickups within a 100-mile radius can be arranged. For inquiries, email Cn. James Yarsiah at [email protected] or call 843-810-3500. St. Michael’s can also be reached at [email protected] or 732-681-1863. A detailed list is available at www.saintmichaelswall.com and www.saintjamesbb.com, Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia.

Founded in 2006 by The Rev. Canon Dr. James T. Yarsiah and Mrs. Ophelia NG Yarsiah at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, the Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia is a mission-focused initiative under the affiliated parishes of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Wall Township, and St. James Episcopal Church, Bradley Beach, NJ. The ministry aims to provide material and humanitarian assistance to rebuild and empower the Episcopal Church of Liberia, its institutions, and underserved communities. 

Since its inception, the ministry has shipped ten containers to Liberia, benefiting over 12,000 individuals, churches, schools, and other institutions. This charitable endeavor is a testament to God’s love and the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “For the love of Christ urges us on …” 2 Cor. 5:14a. For more information about this initiative or to learn how to contribute, please contact The Rev. Canon Dr. James T. Yarsiah using the contact details provided above.
To see a list of all the items shipped, download the attached press release >

Break The Silence Sunday is an effort to open up a conversation within the church about rape and sexual assault. Within the context of our faith communities we hope to
(1) acknowledge the reality of rape and sexual violence in our world;
(2) support survivors by creating a place where they can tell their stories, feel loved and supported, and find encouragement on their healing journey;
(3) commit ourselves to the work of changing the world, creating a future where rape is a memory.
Why does this matter?
The most conservative estimates from the U.S. Department of Justice tell us that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 33 men will be victims of rape in their lifetimes. Let that sink in – twenty five percent of the women and three percent of the men you know! What those statistics don’t tell us though is how many rapes go unreported because of a victim’s fear, sense of shame, and overwhelming societal pressures. How many people aren’t able to talk about what has happened to them, don’t have a safe place to tell their story, don’t have someone they can trust to tell their story to?

This is a very small world, especially in the Episcopal Church.  Recently Dr. Barbara Wheeler, a member of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Beach Haven, NJ, went to Germany to attend a conference and to lecture at a University.  While she was there, she visited a long-time friend, Doug Keith, who is the Director of Music at the Anglican/Episcopal Church of Christ the King in Frankfurt, Germany. While she was there, Dr. Wheeler was invited to attend and do one of the readings at the Evensong that the parish choir was doing at the Abbey of St. Hildegard, just outside the wine village of Rüdesheim. Dr. Keith’s father, Nate, did the other reading. The choir, thanks to its close relationship to the abbey and its community of Benedictine nuns,usually sings Evensong there once a year This was also the first service led by Markus Dünzkofer, the parish’s new priest-in-charge.

In an interview in 1969, author James Baldwin said, “I don’t don't know what most white people in this country feel, I can only conclude what they feel from the state of their institutions. I don’t know if white Christians hate Negroes or not, but I know we have a Christian church which is white and a Christian church which is black. I know, as Malcolm X once put it, the most segregated hour in American life is high noon on Sunday. … I don’t know whether the labor unions and their bosses really hate me. But I know I’m not in their unions. I don’t know if the real estate lobby has anything against black people, but I know the real estate lobby is keeping me in the ghetto. I don’t know if the board of education hates black people, but I know the textbooks they give my children to read, and the schools that we have to go to.”
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​In the 55 years since Baldwin made that statement, much has changed but much has not. Racism and the advantages it gives some and the disadvantages it gives others still exist. One reason institutional racism has been able to live on unabated is because the action of race and racism is kept hidden and denied. But the Anti-Racism Commission (ARC) of the Diocese of New Jersey has been providing anti-racism training for about two decades to help bring racism into the open so that it can be recognized and dismantled. The need for training has not diminished over the years. The Anti-Racism Training curriculum builds awareness of racism in education, religion, government, justice, real estate, finance, news media, and, in fact, almost all American systems and institutions. 

This Spring and Fall, ARC is offering several training options. The Spring and Fall online training consist of five consecutive Friday-evening two-hour Zoom classes that feature conversations about personal experiences with racism. A follow-up online sixth class is held about a month later. In between the Friday meetings, participants complete self-study material that consists of recorded lectures, videos, and articles. An in-person training will be held in Trenton on two consecutive Saturdays with some homework material in between. Comprender El Racismo Para Las Comunidades Hispanas will be taught online on two consecutive Saturdays entirely in Spanish and with content that is culturally relevant for Hispanic communities.
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The fee for the online courses is $100 per person. The fee for the in-person training is $150 per person (includes continental breakfast and lunch both days). Financial aid is available, if needed. (If you are a Deputy to the General Convention, use code GC2024 when you register to get a discounted fee to the Spring online, the in-person and the Spanish online courses that is subsidized by The Episcopal Church’s Office for Racial Reconciliation.) Everyone who has attended all classes session and completed all the self-study material will receive a Certificate of Completion. Missed online classes can be made up in a subsequent session to receive a Certificate.

In addition to the Anti-Racism Training, ARC also conducts two-hour anti-racism workshops for parishes in transition, makes presentations at convocation meetings, Vestry retreats, and other group meetings; and holds conferences and other events to build a knowledgeable and empowered group of anti-racists.
If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Canon Karen Moore, co-chair of the Anti-Racism Commission.

The Diocese of the Virgin Islands is to be a strong body for Christ, working together to share their gifts as they try to rebuild a community of love. The reminder came from The Rt. Rev. Rafael Morales Maldonado, Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Puerto Rico and Advisor Bishop for the Diocese of the Virgin Islands. He was speaking during the 66th annual convention of the Diocese of the Virgin Islands, held July 13-15, 2023 on the island of St. Croix in the USVI, under the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’.

According to Bishop Morales, the time is now to rebuild diocesan spirit and to pray for the Holy Spirit for personal and church renewal so that the Episcopal Church could be disciples of Jesus in the Virgin Islands. He noted that the convention theme is descriptive of the Church which, unlike a closed club, is to be open to everyone, so that persons can join together to share their gifts, accepting and loving people as they are.  He suggested that change must begin with everyone asking, “What will I do to make change and make things better?”

As Advisor Bishop, he promised to travel to the diocese monthly and to visit each of the three deaneries. He reminded lay and clergy delegates that being a diocesan community is a necessary preparatory step to calling a diocesan bishop and that building such a community is their co-responsibility. He said it is time to proclaim that old things are over and the diocese is at a place of new beginnings as, together, they become witnesses of reconciliation.

The Diocese of the Virgin Islands, the smallest in the Episcopal Church, is made up of congregations in the British and US Virgin Islands. Its previous diocesan bishop, The Rt. Rev. E. Ambrose Gumbs, retired in May 2021.

A delegation from the Deanery of the British Islands has returned home after representing the Diocese of the Virgin Islands at EYE 2023 and at "It's All About Love: A Festival for the Jesus Movement", both of which took place in Baltimore, Maryland in July of 2023.

The group included Clevanna Forbes and Timothy Malone, who served as young adult volunteer staff, chaperones Sybil Hodge and Trevor Bridgewater, and delegates from the three congregations in the Deanery. They were Palesa Caesar and Te'coy Harrigan from St. George's, Sydni Georges, Rahian Richards, and Shaheen Samuel from St. Paul's, both of which are on Tortola, and Karla Flax from St. Mary's on Virgin Gorda.
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The young people, who were very excited to interact with their peers from throughout the Episcopal Church, presented plaques to Canons Ron Byrd, Myra Garnes, and Stephanie Spellers in appreciation for their assistance (through the Office of African Descent Ministries) in helping them to make the trip.

The first two photos show them about to leave the BVI, the third is the logo from their shirts, the next three show them at EYE, and the last is Canon Garnes with her plaque.

Trenton, New Jersey, March 28, 2023
 
The Reparations Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey held a Stations of Reparations liturgy at historic St. Peter’s Church, Freehold, New Jersey, on Saturday, March 25, 2023 (video). The innovative family service engaged the over eighty participants from around the state and nation to consider the Church’s history of oppression of Africans and African-Americans, inviting a response of repentance. Anchoring the service in a collaborative historical effort, representatives of five early New Jersey Episcopal congregations described how the founders and clergy of their congregations participated in the practice of slavery.
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These congregations shared their history in the liturgy: St. Peter’s Church in Freehold, Trinity Church in Princeton, Christ Church in New Brunswick, Christ Church in Shrewsbury, and Trinity and St. Philip’s Cathedral in Newark. Each congregation named those founders who enslaved laborers in agricultural and mining operations in and outside New Jersey, as well as those clergy who kept slaves in their households or condoned slavery through their teaching and ministry.  Following each witness to the historical record the assembled congregation joined in a refrain of prayer: “Emmanuel, God-with-us, give us courage to awaken to and repent for our history of enslavement in New Jersey. As we seek to repair and restore our communities, may we trust that you charge us, O God, with co-creating a world that is loving, liberating, and life-giving for all. Amen.”

​The Rev. Dirk Reinken, priest at St. Peter’s Freehold drew participants’ attention to the very room in which they sat: “we know that the Throckmortons who are memorialized in the window right here counted in their will no less than seven enslaved individuals.” Reinken went on to share that early New Jersey Anglicans did not merely enslave Black people, but actively contributed to the broader system of oppression that worked to keep Blacks enslaved. He noted: “one of the other petitioners for [St. Peter’s] royal charter was the sheriff of Monmouth county, who published … accounts of those escaped individuals he arrested and returned to their enslavers.” Parishioners of Christ Church, Shrewsbury read and remembered the names of the baptized enslaved preserved in their parish register. Nineteen year-old Kyra Pruszinski, a researcher at Trinity Church, Princeton shared that Trinity was established “through the initiative and donations of the Stockton and Potter families, [who owned a] sugar plantation in Brunswick, Georgia on which at least 108 Black people were enslaved. … [and the] Coleraine Tweedside plantation in Georgia, where at least 423 people were enslaved.”

Jonathan Gloster, a member of the Reparations Commission, and a vestry member at Christ Church, New Brunswick shared that: “The oldest person now interred in the Christ Church graveyard is Dinah, there is no surname, just Dinah... Dinah died in 1866, in service to the Boggs household, whose family members are also buried in the graveyard of Christ Church. [She was] 106 years old at the time of her death. Her life spanned from before the Revolution to the Emancipation Proclamation. Born enslaved, and died free.” He went on to connect this with more recent history: “The legacy of colonial times continued for Blacks at Christ Church well into the 20th century. Blacks were members of the church, but they were not seated with Whites. In the 19th and 20th century Blacks were seated in the gallery, along with those who could not afford pew rents. When pew rents were abolished in the early 1920s the decision was made to relocate the organ from the chancel to the gallery, displacing the Black members of the church… The displaced African American members formed their own parish, St. Alban’s Episcopal church in New Brunswick.” 

Rev. Joanna Hollis, the rector of Christ Church, where the first Bishop of the Diocese, John Croes, kept slaves during his decades-long rectorate, concluded the sharing of parish histories saying: “And so here I am, the rector of a parish with a long history of slavery. Every Sunday I stand in the chancel and look down at the cross that marks [where] Bishop Croes is buried underneath my feet… [and] I do not take lightly the significance of my presence as the first Black rector of Christ Church… I link the far past to the present by virtue of my own enslaved ancestors and pray that I am doing them proud. And I pray that I am doing right by Dinah and by the many enslaved people who were connected with Christ church. I quite literally am their wildest dream. Yet there is still so much more work to do. So much to atone for. And with God’s help we can do what needs to be done.”

Afterward, Bishop Stokes described the service as “profound.”  “It was a powerful and poignant experience,” he said. In his blessing he invited those present to “discomfort [with] easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships… [to] anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,” and to the “foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.”
The idea for a liturgy of Stations of Reparations emerged from the History Working Group of the diocesan Reparations Commission as it uncovered the complicity of New Jersey’s colonial era Anglican congregations in enslavement. A few congregations had already begun researching their ties to slavery. However, the broader scope of congregational and institutional involvement in slavery began to emerge from recent investigations by Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski, the historian who started working with the Reparations Commission in September, 2022.
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The Commission believes it is essential to tell the story of slavery’s place in the Church in diverse ways, including in the context of worship. The core of the Stations of Reparations service was modeled on the traditional Stations of the Cross in which a portion of the story of Jesus’ Passion is told at each Station within a repeating structure of prayer. Each congregation’s “station” included an excerpt from Dark Testament and Other Poems (1970) by the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray. Murray was the first Black woman ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. She was recently added to Lesser Feasts and Fasts.
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Many stories discovered through the ongoing Diocese of New Jersey Racial Justice Review were not included in the Stations of Reparations service held on March 25, but are available to read about through the project website. The site provides resources for congregations wishing to research their history and has begun documentation of initial findings, some of which were shared in the service.

The call for reparations is rooted in the concept of making amends for past wrongs. Specifically, it is a call to acknowledge and address historical and ongoing injustices, systemic racism, and discrimination. The reparations movement seeks redress for ways in which enslavement and its legacies have excluded Black Americans from full participation in American society and severely restricted their economic, educational, political, and social opportunities.
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Additional information as well as images are available from the Reparations Commission of the Diocese of New Jersey.  For more information please contact:

• Rev. Jack Zamboni (service organizer) [email protected]
• Rev. Joanne Epply-Schmidt (service organizer) [email protected]
• Rev. Beth Sciaino (service organizer, photographer) [email protected]
• Rev. Dirk Reinken (hosting priest, St. Peter’s Freehold) [email protected]
• Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski (historian) [email protected]
• Canon Barbie O. Bach (Reparations Commission co-convener) [email protected]
• Canon Annette Buchanan (Reparations Commission co-convener) [email protected]

 
Submitted by Rev. Jack Zamboni, Rev. Megan Thomas, and Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski

This report was written by Felicity Hallanan, diocesan representative to The Episcopal Church's Commission on World Mission, and member of Trinity, Watertown. 
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​In commemorating the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (November 25-December 10), The Episcopal Diocese of New York Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault is pleased to present this webinar, Climate Change: What’s Gender Got to Do with It? We aim to examine how climate change fuels a rise in gender-based violence and propose solutions to ending the pandemic of violence against women and girls.
 
At first blush, when people hear that climate change increases gender-based violence, they are incredulous and ask how this is possible. However, there is much evidence that women and girls are adversely affected by climate change. The 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2022 addressed violence against women and girls in the context of the climate crisis and environmental degradation. Countries worldwide recognize and call for action to address the climatic impacts of violence against women and girls as a part of gender-responsive climate policy.
 
The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion are working to mitigate the ravages of climate change and advocating for an end to gender-based violence. A key message from the Anglican Communion at COP26 stated: Faith actors should leverage both their capacity and influence to advocate for urgent, bold climate actions by leaders and key stakeholders. The should also utilise their capacity to transform hearts and minds away from destructive attitudes and behaviours toward responsible creation care. Our moderator will tell us about COP27.
 
We have a dynamic panel of experts from the church, civil society, and two UN entities. Come, learn, and be inspired to be a catalyst of change.

Moderator
The Reverend Melanie Mullen, director of reconciliation, justice, and creation care of The Episcopal Church.
 
Panelists

• Mr. Khamsavath Chanthavysouk,  Program Specialist in Ending Violence Against Women, UN Women
• Ms. Dawn Minott, Advisor, Gender & Gender-Based Violence (Development-Humanitarian-Peace Nexus) at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• Ms. Roseline Orwa, Founder and CEO, Rona Foundatio; an advocate for widows, and a campaigner for cultural, social and policy change
• The Reverend Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Vice President of the House of Deputies and a climate justice leader in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion 

On October 23, 2022, St. Ursula's celebrated its patronal feast.  Included in the celebration were the Rt. Rev. Ambrose Gumbs, retired bishop, and Interim Dean of All Saints Cathedral Church, St. Thomas, the Very Rev. Sandye Wilson.  Many thanks to Dean Wilson for the photos!