Readings:

Psalm 119:161-168
Malachi 2:5-7
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
John 4:31-36

Preface of God the Holy Spirit

[Common of a Pastor]
[Common of a Prophetic Witness]
[For the Ministry II]
[For Prophetic Witness in the Church]
[For Reconciliation and Forgiveness]


PRAYER (traditional language)
Loving God, we offer thanks for the ministries of Edward Thomas Demby and Henry Beard Delany, bishops of thy Church who, though limited by segregation, served faithfully to thy honor and glory. Assist us, we pray, to break through the limitations of our own time, that we may minister in obedience to Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

PRAYER (contemporary language)
Loving God, we thank you for the ministries of Edward Thomas Demby and Henry Beard Delany, bishops of your Church who, though limited by segregation, served faithfully to your honor and glory. Assist us, we pray, to break through the limitations of our own time, that we may minister in obedience to Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This commemoration appears in A Great Cloud of Witnesses.

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Last updated: 16 Feb. 2019
 

HENRY BEARD DELANY and EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY

BISHOPS, 1928, 1957
 

Henry Beard Delany [Feb. 5, 1858-April 14, 1928] was the second African American bishop in the Episcopal Church, being elected Suffragan Bishop of North Carolina in 1918. He is probably better known as the father of Sadie and Bessy Delany, authors of the popular book, Having Our Say, which chronicled their lives.

Edward Thomas Demby [Feb. 13, 1869-Oct. 14, 1957] was the first African American bishop in the Episcopal Church. He served his first parish in Mason, Tenn. He became "Suffragan Bishop for Colored Work in Arkansas and the Province of the Southwest" in 1918. His career has been covered in a book, Black Bishop.

More information on Bishops Delany and Demby is available from The Episcopal Archives.