An Episcopal parishioner in Richmond noticed someone unfamiliar on a U.S. quarter, did some research, and had a “quixotic, knee-jerk reaction” to fundamental human dignity being denied. He and other parishioners pushed to honor a pioneering priest who ended up on a 25-cent coin for defending the rights of those on the margins. The rector cheered them on, and Rt. Rev. Mark Stevenson, Bishop of Virginia, will celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday June 28.
All are invited to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Richmond for the third annual Service in Celebration of the Life and Ministry of The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray.
Just as Murray (1910–1985) forced the institutional church and state to catch up to her vision of justice, the parishioners of St. Mark’s persuaded their leadership and the diocese’s to support this celebration. (Stevenson will travel from another event across the state to be the celebrant.)
Murray would have celebrated their strategy. Long before she was ordained as the first African American woman priest in The Episcopal Church in 1977 or earned a Doctor of Juridical Science from Yale Law School in 1965, she stood as a brilliant layperson calling on massive institutions to see the dignity of marginalized individuals. Her Howard University master’s thesis, for one, served as the legal bedrock for Brown v. Board of Education.
Her legacy and this service carry the vibrant message that the diocesan mission — Love Jesus. Embody justice. Be disciples. — does not require a collar or a top-down mandate.
Another Pioneer in the Pulpit
This year’s service features guest preacher, the Rev. Dr. Vienna Anderson, a pioneering priest in her own right. She made history in 1986 as the first female rector of an Episcopal parish in Washington, D.C.. Having attended the 2024 and 2025 Murray services as a worshipper, she steps into the pulpit this year to preach about a woman who directly altered the course of her life.
“Pauli is one of those people who intensely made me very conscious of inclusion and diversity and economic and justice issues and literally changed the way that I live and behave,” she said.
Now 91, Anderson connects Murray to a radical critique of top-down clericalism reinforcing that the liturgy belongs to the entire body of Christ. To Anderson, true servant ministry means recognizing that laypeople are called to be concelebrants — people who jointly lead a religious service. Concelebrants aren’t silent spectators, but full partners.
“Ninety percent of clergy and laity do not know they’re concelebrants because the clergy do all the talking. Wow!” she said. “So how are you a servant minister, if you deny the people the right to know that they are a concelebrant by not letting them say those words of consecration with you? If they’re concelebrants, why don’t they say the words too?”
Anderson credits Murray with giving her the lifelong permission to push the edges, a disruptive, prophetic spirit that forces believers to question their comfort and privilege. Anderson is questioning her own cherished tradition of hosting a large holiday party when the money could feed many who are hungry.
“I’m in a torn dilemma right now, and I’m saying, ‘Thank you, Pauli, for putting me in that torn dilemma, teaching me that it’s okay to live in a torn dilemma,’” she said. “She’s telling me, ‘You need to be on that cutting edge to ask those questions that you weren’t asking yourself two years ago.’”
Fusing Local and Universal
A boundary-pushing energy sparked the St. Mark’s service, starting when Kenneth C. Decker, a member of the outreach and worship teams, came across the U.S. quarter minted in tribute to Dr. Murray in 2024.
After a “St. Mark’s Reads” gathering explored Murray’s uncredited role in landmark civil rights victories, Decker felt a holy restlessness. He realized that Richmond was lagging behind in public recognition of a giant of the faith with deep Virginia roots. In 1940, long before the modern civil rights movement gained national momentum, Murray staged a protest against segregated seating on a Greyhound bus in Petersburg, where she had family ties.
Decker’s personal mission became clear: “To assure that the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray be fully recognized, fusing the local and the universal.”
“During this dangerous time, when the history of all marginalized groups is under attack, it’s crucial that every effort be expended to assure the full truth be researched, affirmed and preserved,” he added.
Next, Decker took his vision to the rector.
The Rector as Cheerleader
The Rev. Benjamin R. Badgett recognized a responsibility to validate and uplift the prophetic voice of his congregation. About 350 people are members and more than 100 attend weekly services.
“This project was truly born out of the love and spirit of our lay folks,” he said. “My principal role has been to cheer them on and affirm their desires to see this service and project become a reality. St. Mark’s has a strong lay ministry identity, and the Pauli Murray service is a prime example of our lay folk claiming their voice and resources to make it happen.”
With the rector’s encouragement, the momentum shifted to the wider parish body. The worship team adopted the idea and appointed a group of dedicated lay people to bring the liturgy to life.
The main image for the service became an icon of Murray by Kelly Latimore.
“We need not despair because we seem to fail or cannot see the fruition of our efforts on behalf of others,” is one of Murray’s best known quotes. “If we build with love and compassion, we can build with hope.”
A History of Inclusion
Standing up for Murray’s legacy is a natural continuation of St. Mark’s historical identity. Planning team member and service intercessor Karen E. Hardison points out that the parish has a long history of pew-driven justice — opening doors to Black Episcopalians when local neighborhoods were demolished by highway construction, and later embracing the LGBTQ+ community through the Richmond AIDS Ministry.
To Hardison, Murray is a constant reminder that lay discipleship must never remain static.
“Dr. Murray kept moving forward, kept kind of knocking down different doors… and I think [she] stands as somebody who kind of reminds us that’s part of our calling too, not resting on our laurels, but looking to what we are called to today and in our future.”
In this spirit, Hardison wrote a litany of thanksgiving for the Murray service that includes these lines:
God of the prophets, who taught us to let justice roll down like an ever-flowing stream, thank you for placing Elijah’s mantle upon Pauli’s shoulders.
All: In thanksgiving we remember Pauli’s work.
Worship Committee Chair Rob McTier notes that the energy cultivated within St. Mark’s walls is for the long run, to challenge the diocese to find inspiration in Murray’s life for seeking justice.
“We’re really trying to think beyond what this service is now so that we could do maybe more, a more elaborate service,” he said. “We’re trying to broaden the involvement in the service and the commitment to an ongoing service.”
For Decker, the evolution of the Murray service is a powerful example of how “random acts, statements and programs can blend, through the Holy Spirit’s intervention, into extraordinary events.”
Join the Celebration
To avoid conflict with a neighborhood festival at the adjacent Virginia Museum of History and Culture, this year’s Pauli Murray service will begin an hour earlier than past years, starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday June 28 at St. Mark’s (520 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd).
Murray influences the language of the service, as acknowledged in the bulletin:
During the time of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray’s life (1910-1985), language and expression regarding gender was much different than it is today (2026). We have wrestled with how we might approach the language we use in Rev. Dr. Murray’s celebration. We have elected to reduce our use of pronouns through our use of Pauli’s name. However, there is some limited use of She/Her pronouns. We hope this both demonstrates the magnitude of Rev. Dr. Murray’s impact and further invites a deeper discussion/reflection on gender in the Episcopal Church.
The service weaves in references to Murray such as this collect:
Liberating God, we thank you for the steadfast courage of your servant Pauli Murray, who fought long and well: Unshackle us from the chains of prejudice and fear, that we may show forth the reconciling love and true freedom which you revealed in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
And this version of the confession:
You create all people in your image and call us to love one another as you love us. We confess that we have failed to honor you in the great diversity of the human family. We have desired to live in freedom, while building walls between ourselves and others. We have longed to be known and accepted for who we are, while making judgements of others based on the color of skin, the shape of features, gender identity and expression, or the varieties of human experience.
We have tried to love our neighbors individually while yet benefitting from systems that hold those same neighbors in oppression. Forgive us, Holy God. Give us eyes to see you as you are revealed in all people. Strengthen us for the work of reconciliation rooted in love. Restore us in your image, to be beloved community, united in our diversity, even as you are one with Christ and the Spirit, Holy and undivided Trinity, now and forever.
The Rev. Katina Williams, Associate Minister, Oak Street A.M.E. Zion Church, will read from Galations. The Seabron Singers gospel ensemble (Faith Jones, Iva Jones, Lynette Waddey, Sheila Wynn, Shirley Jones, Barbara Waddey) will perform the hymn of praise.
The offering will go to Stonewall Sports, Richmond, providing an inclusive, low-cost opportunity for LGBTQIA+ individuals to play sports while also supporting and giving back to the LGBTQIA+ community.