This August, the Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) partnered with the Seminary of the Southwest (SSW) on the annual Jonathan Myrick Daniels Civil Rights Pilgrimage by increasing the number of students SSW was able to bring on this annual trip. Sixteen students from across the Seminary of the Southwest’s Master of Divinity and Counseling programs participated in the pilgrimage, where they traveled to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma to visit historic educational sites including the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the 16th Street Baptist Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and more. The pilgrimage was co-led by Seminary of the Southwest President and Dean Scott Bader-Saye, Dr. Gustavo Bárcenas, the Rev. Madeline Hawley, and the Rev. Nancy Frausto.
“The stories of Jonathan Daniels and Ruby Sales form an important part of EDS' legacy of witness,” shared EDS President and Dean the Very. Rev. Lydia Kelsey Bucklin. “Jonathan Daniels, an alum of the Episcopal Theological Seminary (ETS), gave his life in Hayneville, AL, in the struggle for civil rights. Ruby Sales, who became an EDS alumna later in her life, continues to inspire as a powerful voice for justice. In honor of their enduring witness, EDS was proud to support Seminary of the Southwest in bringing more students on their annual Civil Rights pilgrimage—a journey that includes visiting the very site in Hayneville, AL where this important moment in our history took place.”
The trip co-leader Rev. Nancy Frausto shares that pilgrimages offer an important place-based approach to theological education. “You might read about the events and know what happened, but it’s so different when you are at the sites, standing in churches that were bombed, seeing the artwork first hand, and meeting people,” she shares. “When we gather together we realize that we are all on this journey together. The work of beloved community doesn’t happen unless we are committed to walking with each other. This doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy, but we have a legacy of ancestors, justice-seekers, and regular folk who believe it could be better. And as we become educated on their legacies, we make our commitments to continue it.”
"It was a privilege to join SSW students and faculty on the civil rights pilgrimage this year,” shared trip co-lead Seminary of the Southwest Dean and President Scott Bader-Saye. “As we moved through the monuments and memorials created by the Equal Justice Initiative, the sadness and horror of the history of slavery, Jim Crow, racial terror lynchings, and mass incarceration settled heavy on us. But alongside this were signs of hope and joy. It inspired me to imagine what extraordinary things have been given to us to do in our historical moment and how we can bring people together to strategize and play and tend wounds and share food in the service of beloved community.”
EDS is proud to have partnered with the Seminary of the Southwest on this pilgrimage. “As the new President and Dean of EDS, I give thanks for all those who continue to fight for freedom and voting rights in this country, carrying forward the vision of Ruby, Jonathan, and so many others,” shared EDS President and Dean Bucklin.
For more information, please see this press release published by the Seminary of the Southwest.