Past Reckoning: Exploring the Racial History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches
The Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee’s Racial Reconciliation Working Group presented “Past Reckoning: Exploring the Racial History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches.” This webinar series, held on Wednesday nights, Jan. 25, Feb. 1 & 8, 7-8:30 p.m. ET, looked at the history of the two churches, from colonial times to the Civil War, from Reconstruction to Jim Crow, and Civil Rights to today. Connections were made between our past and present to encourage the anti-racism work in which we are engaging now.
Past Reckoning: Exploring the Racial History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches
Jan. 25 – Evangelizing Enslaved People: Good News or Control?
Feb. 1 – The Silent Protest Parade: Responses to Racial Violence and Black Leadership in the Church
Feb. 8 – The Church and the City: Integration, Segregation, and White Flight
Each webinar includes a pre-recorded segment focusing on the specific historic topic, followed by discussion between the working group and two panelists that expands the focus and connects it to the present. There was also time for Q&A with the webinar participants.
Hosts and Participants
The Rev. Maria Tjeltveit is the co-chair of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee (MECC) and chair of the MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group. A retired Episcopal priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, she coordinates a full communion Sacred Ground program on Zoom. Tjeltveit co-hosts webinar 2.
The Rev. Derek French is the co-chair of the Episcopal-Moravian Coordinating Committee and serves as pastor of Nazareth Moravian Church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
The Rev. Frank Crouch is the retired vice president and dean of Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as well as professor of New Testament, holding a doctorate from Duke University in New Testament Studies. Crouch’s post-retirement studies focus on the Rev. Charles Martin and racial issues in the Moravian Church in America. He is a member of the MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group, and the Southern Province Moravian Team for Racial, Cultural, and Ethnic Reconciliation. Crouch co-hosts webinars 1 and 2.
DeDreana Freeman is director of partnership development for the NC Rural Center and is serving her second term as a City Council member in Durham, North Carolina. She co-founded Episcopalians United Against Racism, and is a member of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee and MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group. Freeman co-hosts webinar 1.
Cathy Rimer-Surles is a lawyer/librarian who serves on the board of Communities in Partnership in Durham, North Carolina. She co-founded the Equity and Inclusion Interest Group at Duke University. She is a co-founder of Episcopalians United Against Racism, and co-chair of Organizing Against Racism Durham. Rimer-Surles serves as co-chair of the Diocese of North Carolina’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee and is a panelist in webinar 1.
The Rev. Neil Routh is the president of the Provincial Elders Conference, Moravian Church in America, Southern Province, and former pastor of Grace Moravian Church, Mount Airy, North Carolina. He holds a doctor of ministry degree from Drew University School of Theology. He served on the MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group and is a member of the Southern Province Moravian Team for Racial, Cultural, and Ethnic Reconciliation. Routh is a panelist in webinar 1.
The Rev. Desna Henry Goulbourne is the pastor of United Moravian Church, in New York City. Prior to coming to the United States, she served as a pastor in the Moravian Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. She is a member of the Racial Justice Team of the Moravian Church, Northern Province. Goulbourne is a panelist in webinar 2.
Tod Roulette is a published magazine writer on the arts and LGBTQ+ issues, an art dealer and adjunct professor at City College of New York. He was confirmed at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Harlem, in 2002, and serves as the chair of the newly formed St. Philip’s Archive. Roulette is a panelist in webinar 2.
The Rev. Mark V. Breland Sr. is co-pastor at the Lititz Moravian Congregation in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Breland is a member of MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group and the Northern Province Racial Justice Team. Breland is the co-host of webinar 3.
The Rev. Marian Boyle Rohloff is pastor of West Side Moravian Church, Green Bay, Wisconsin. She is active in racial justice work through Northern Province Racial Justice Team, MECC Racial Reconciliation Working Group, as a board member of Gamaliel, Gamaliel National Religious Leaders’ Caucus, and as president of Wisconsin affiliate WISDOM. Rohloff is the co-host of webinar 3.
Lee Little is the assistant historiographer of The Episcopal Church and hails from Indianapolis. His primary research interest is in settlement patterns and the role churches play in development. Little is a panelist in webinar 3.
The Rev. Charles Wynder Jr. is the dean of chapel and spiritual life at St. Paul’s School, in Concord, New Hampshire. He served as officer for social justice and engagement on the presiding bishop’s staff for The Episcopal Church and is on the board of the Episcopal Urban Caucus. Wynder is a panelist in webinar 3.
The Rev. Margaret R. Rose is deputy for ecumenical and interreligious relations for The Episcopal Church on the staff of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. She oversees denominational dialogues and interreligious engagement as they relate to the public commitments of The Episcopal Church on anti-racism, peace-building and reconciliation, within the United States and internationally.
