Prophecy Against the Pandemics
Along with churches and other communities of faith across the country, we participated in the Poor People's Campaign "Prophecy Against the Pandemics" event on July 5. We drew on the teachings of Jesus to confront hypocrisy in our own day.
Here is Scott's sermon for the event:
Worship Every Sunday
As Easter season comes to a close, we will celebrate Pentecost this week. Please join us for Morning Prayer this Sunday, July 12, at 9:30am!
To join by phone, call: 301-715-8592 and then enter code 555-06-20024#
You can also watch our service online at: https://www.facebook.com/staugustinesdc/live
Join us after the service, at approximately 10:30am, for our Sunday Forum, a time for fellowship and conversation.
Poor People’s Moral Justice Jubilee Policy Platform
This Sunday, churches around the country will be joining with the Poor People's Campaign for a "Prophecy against the Pandemics"—reminding us that we are not only fighting COVID-19, but also the pandemics of racism & poverty.
St. Augustine's will join this effort, with four readings this Sunday—two from scripture, and two from our nation's past. Our goal is to use the July 4 celebration as a time to both honor the progress our past while also honestly calling for all the progress that is still needed.
Scott invites you to look at the Poor People's Campaign's Moral Justice Jubilee Policy Platform, which outlines what real social justice might look like. We know that God calls us to act to make the world ready for God's Kingdom—this platform is a wonderful and necessary start to this work.
Morning Prayer: Full Worship Service from June 28, 2020:
St. Augustine's Episcopal Church is a community of faith following Jesus in the Way of Love in southwest Washington, DC. You are invited to join us for worship and prayer; learning and fellowship; and service to others. Visitors and newcomers are always welcome!
You can find information on how to join our services by phone or online below (we will not be meeting in-person until later this year—information about re-opening will be in this space once we know more). And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our priest, Rev. Scott Lipscomb, at priest@staugustinesdc.org.
Christ, He be come again when the Christ in me sees the Christ in you.
Bearing Witness to Racism in the US
In our Sunday Forums in late May of 2020, we have been discerning how St. Augustine's can work for racial justice here in Washington, DC. We were inspired to have this difficult but important conversation due both to the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall as well as the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, an African-American man who was killed in cold blood on February 23.
Then, in the past week, we have had two more stark reminders of the reality of white supremacy in this country.
This Monday, May 25, Christian Cooper, an African-American man, was bird-watching in Central Park, New York City. Amy Cooper, a white woman (with no relation to Mr. Cooper, despite their identical surname) came near with her dog off leash. Mr. Cooper asked her to leash her dog (by law, dogs must remain on leash in Central Park). When she refused, Mr. Cooper told her he would offer her dog treats until she complied with his request (which was both rational and, again, in accordance with the law). She responded by calling the police and falsely claiming that Mr. Cooper was "threatening" her.
Fortunately, Mr. Cooper filmed the encounter himself. It was released on Twitter and rapidly gained more than 40 million views. It clearly shows Ms. Cooper threatening Mr. Cooper with police involvement, even though he had done nothing illegal or even questionable.
Then, the very next day, Tuesday, May 26, George Floyd, an African-American man living in Minneapolis, was arrested by police. A police officer pinned Mr. Floyd to the ground by placing his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck. Both Mr. Floyd and bystanders informed the officer that Mr. Floyd could not breathe, but the officer did not adjust his weight. After a few minutes, Mr. Floyd passed out and then died.
This encounter was also filmed, and the unequivocal evidence of the police officer's lethal action sparked immediate outrage. The officer who killed Mr. Floyd, and three others involved in the arrest, have all been fired from the Minneapolis police force. Criminal proceedings against the officers are currently being considered.
These two events ended very differently, yet they teach us the same lesson. Both of these encounters show how readily white people victimize African-Americans with casual callousness. It is incredible—and incredibly disturbing—to see Ms. Cooper blatantly lie as she calls 911, while informing the dispatcher that the man she is confronting is African-American—clearly understanding that a white woman calling the police on a black man will likely lead to a muscular police response.
And it is beyond disturbing to hear Mr. Floyd and bystanders plead with the police officer to remove his knee from Mr. Floyd's neck and to see the officer completely ignore them.
These two events only draw into sharper relief how important the work of building racial justice is. Last week, during our Sunday Forum, we had a wide-ranging and productive conversation. Scott is currently involved in contacting a range of organizations to craft a concrete plan for how we will work for racial justice here in DC. We will likely be focusing on the issues of affordable housing and educational equity, working with groups like EmpowerDC; Southwest Action; Visions of Integration, Building Equity, and others.
In the meantime, if you have further ideas or questions about this racial justice work, or you would like to talk about your feelings in response to the news above, please be in touch with Scott: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
Our mission statement has never been more apt or essential:
Christ, He be come again when the Christ in you sees the Christ in us.
Until white people see the Christ in black folks, none of us will see the Kingdom of God.
On May 17, we celebrated The Feast of Thurgood Marshall and asked how Justice Marshall's legacy can guide our response to racist violence today:
You can see more sermons on our Sermons page.
Happy Easter!
See our sermon page for the full Hope in a Hopeless Time sermon series.
St. Augustine's is a community. Our life together is sustained by weekly gatherings for worship, fellowship, and learning. However, as the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19) increases here in the US, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington has suspended all in-person gatherings at parishes.
This means that from March 12 through at least May 16, we will not gather in-person at St. Augustine's.
However, this does not mean that we have canceled anything. We will continue to hold all of our weekly worship and formation opportunities—but we will access them online or by phone only—not in-person.
To the right, you will see our full weekly schedule. During any of these activities (with the exception of Bread for Life—see more on this below) you can watch or listen online or by phone.
To join in our worship or classes by phone:
- call: 301-715-8592 and then enter code 555-06-20024#
That's it! You'll be on the call and able to hear and participate in everything.
During the times listed to the right, we will have a Facebook Live stream with the service or class. Note that you do not need a Facebook account to view this livestream.
Our weekly Bread for Life free breakfast will continue to be held. But, the meal and format will be changed substantially:
- our guests will not gather together inside, as such gatherings are the very conditions most likely to spread coronavirus
- we will offer a to-go bag with a breakfast sandwich, carton of juice, piece of fruit, and possibly other sides
- once a guest has received their bagged meal, we ask that they leave and eat elsewhere—again, to limit the possibility of the virus spreading
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our priest-in-charge, the Rev. Scott Lipscomb by email or at 443.808.9219.
Looking for directions? Just click here to find us!
St. Augustine's Mission
Together we continually seek to build a community that shows forth God's love for all.
GOD IS WITH US!
Embracing our diversity, we are searchers for justice, truth, and beauty here and everywhere, aware of and responding to community need.