Spring Glen Church

Today, July 1st, is Pauli Murray’s Feast Day in the Episcopal Church.
“Hope is a crushed stalk
Between clenched fingers
Hope is a bird’s wing
Broken by a stone.
Hope is a word in a tuneless ditty –
A word whispered with the wind,
A dream of forty acres and a mule,
A cabin of one’s own and a moment to rest,
A name and place for one’s children
And children’s children at last . . .
Hope is a song in a weary throat.
Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.
Give me a song of faith
And a people to believe in it.
Give me a song of kindliness
And a country where I can live it.
Give me a song of hope and love
And a brown girl’s heart”

~from ‘Dark Testament’ verse 8.

Pauli Murray was an American civil rights activist, lawyer, gender equality advocate, Episcopal priest, poet and author.

As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women’s rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray’s 1950 book States’ Laws on Race and Color, the “bible” of the civil rights movement. In 1966, she was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Ruth Bader Ginsburg named Murray as a coauthor of the ACLU brief in the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case Reed v. Reed, in recognition of her pioneering work on gender discrimination. In 1973, Murray left academia and became an ordained priest and in 1977, among the first generation of women priests and the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

May Pauli’s life inspire us to stand with the most vulnerable among us!

Signed Giclee Prints: kellylatimoreicons.com

🌈🙏🏾 You’re invited to join Rev. Dr. Bentley deBardelaben-Phillips, Minister and Team Leader for Education for Faithful Action Ministries for a powerful and affirming Pride Worship Service.

🎶 This spirited service will also feature uplifting, inspiring music. All are welcome!

👉🏾 RSVP to let us know you'll be joining: https://www.ucc.org/june28/

Join us in person at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, 2592 W 14th St, Cleveland, OH 44113

📺 You can also find the live event online on the Pilgrim Church YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com//streams

Join us on June 24 for the 2026 Annual Six Lakes Community Update Meeting, where DEEP’s Remediation Team will share the latest project status and answer your questions and concerns. Registration not required!