HRI Purpose and Mission –

In 2016, the vestry of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Richmond, Virginia established the History and Reconciliation Initiative (HRI) and charged HRI with tracing and acknowledging the racial history of St Paul’s in order to repair, restore, and seek reconciliation with God, each other, and the broader community. HRI established a steering committee and sub-committees (memorials, liturgy/music, historical research) to complete its mission.

More Information –

Rev. Charlie interviews members of the HRI Committee about the book release and next steps:

Message from the Author –

Greetings,

St. Paul’s History and Reconciliation Initiative is pleased to present the report of its historical research group – Blind Spots: Race and Identity in a Southern Church.

We had planned to host a 2020 Spring and Autumn congregational discussion of the book that featured periods of discernment and periods of prayerful direction-seeking that would align with other HRI efforts and culminate with the kickoff of our 175th anniversary. The Coronavirus, however, derailed those plans.

Our discussions will move forward in a modified form later this summer and early autumn. Stand by for that agenda.

To be prepared for them, I hope you can approach your reading with these questions in mind:

• What surprised you about this history? What disappointed you? What stands out as particularly important? What gave you hope?
• What lessons can we take from the past about how we act in the future?

That second question is the key: in the end, this exercise is less about dwelling in the past, and more about how we absorb history’s lessons so that we can do better going forward.

So… read with grace, take lots of notes, think about the future, and come prepared to reflect and talk. We look forward to the conversation.

– Christopher Alan Graham

Click Here to read more about the History and Reconciliation Initiative.