We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.
Please consider joining Sacred Ground, the group at St Peter’s working specifically for racial reconciliation in our lives, in our community, in our nation and in the world. All are welcome. We are meeting on Zoom on Sept. 12.
Members of the group are coordinating with Germanna Community College Workforce to seek a recipient for the St Peter’s Sacred Ground Scholarship as we move forward.
We are seeking information from the Diocese about the history of St Peter’s, so that we can understand our history more fully as we learn about how our past is intertwined with the institution of slavery.
We hope to deepen understanding of the history and culture of the Native Americans of the Rappahannock and Patawomeck Tribes by planning a field trip to the Patawomeck Museum and Cultural Center in Stafford and working to establish a connection with the Rappahannock Tribe.
The group will also choose a book to read and to discuss as we to continue increase the knowledge that will help us to improve our work for racial reconciliation.
Because the Southern Confederacy viewed themselves as an independent nation, the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all of the enslaved population because the Rebel governments would not enforce Lincoln’s proclamation. Texas became a stronghold of Confederate influence in the latter years of the Civil War as the slaveholding population ‘refugeed’ their slave property by migrating to Texas.
Consequently, more than 50,000 enslaved individuals were relocated to Texas, effectively prolonging slavery in a region far from the Civil War’s bloodshed, and out of the reach of freedom—the United States Army. Only after the Union army forced the surrender of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith at Galveston on June 2, 1865, would the emancipation of slaves in Texas be addressed and freedom granted. On June 19, 250,000 enslaved people were freed.
The issuing of General Order No. 3 on June 19, 1865, marked an official date of emancipation for the enslaved population. Nonetheless, those affected faced numerous barriers to their freedoms. General Order No. 3 stipulated that former slaves remain at their present homes, were barred from joining the military, and would not be supported in ‘idleness.’ Essentially, the formerly enslaved were granted nothing beyond the title of emancipation. The official end of slavery in the United States came with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865.
After becoming emancipated, many former slaves left Texas in great numbers. Most members of this exodus had the goal of reuniting with lost family members and paving a path to success in postbellum America. This widespread migration of former slaves after June 19 became known as ‘the Scatter.’
Because the Southern Confederacy viewed themselves as an independent nation, the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all of the enslaved population because the Rebel governments would not enforce Lincoln’s proclamation. Texas became a stronghold of Confederate influence in the latter years of the Civil War as the slaveholding population ‘refugeed’ their slave property by migrating to Texas. Consequently, more than 50,000 enslaved individuals were relocated to Texas, effectively prolonging slavery in a region far from the Civil War’s bloodshed, and out of the reach of freedom—the United States Army. Only after the Union army forced the surrender of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith at Galveston on June 2, 1865, would the emancipation of slaves in Texas be addressed and freedom granted. On June 19, 250,000 enslaved people were freed.
The issuing of General Order No. 3 on June 19, 1865, marked an official date of emancipation for the enslaved population. Nonetheless, those affected faced numerous barriers to their freedoms. General Order No. 3 stipulated that former slaves remain at their present homes, were barred from joining the military, and would not be supported in ‘idleness.’ Essentially, the formerly enslaved were granted nothing beyond the title of emancipation. The official end of slavery in the United States came with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865.
After becoming emancipated, many former slaves left Texas in great numbers. Most members of this exodus had the goal of reuniting with lost family members and paving a path to success in postbellum America. This widespread migration of former slaves after June 19 became known as ‘the Scatter.’
On Monday May 16, 2022, Andrea Pogue (left) and Johnny Davis (right) from the Sacred Ground group presented two $2,000 scholarships to Kaya Green and Alanna Gray. These Caroline High Schools graduates will be attending Germanna Community College in the fall. Elizabeth Heimbach, Cookie Davis and Catherine from the Sacred Ground group also attended the event. This was the culmination of study, discussion involving historic systematic racism and then a desire to make a contribution to toward combatting the effects of racism.
The group asked the Vestry to provide $500 to establish a scholarship allowing a Caroline County minority student to pay for education after high school. The $500 grew to $10,100 this year due to the donations of generous parishioners. The group then decided to distribute two scholarships and retain funds for the future .
Traversing five centuries, multiple continents, and over 130 artworks, the remarkable exhibit reexamines the historical and cultural experiences of Black and African people as told through the histories of the African Diaspora and the transatlantic slave trade.
The exhibit travels through time and across the thematic narratives of maps, enslavements, everyday lives, music, portraits, and resistance, to reveal the lasting legacies of Afro-Atlantic histories and experiences/
The Sacred Ground group was formed in 2020 to watch and discuss Sacred Ground: A Film Based Dialogue Series on Race and Faith in 2020. The 10 week study session was created by the Episcopal Church to explore the roots of racial conflict in the United States through the effects of race and racism throughout American history. It also explored the impact of economic class, family background, and racial identity on different communities.
Before each meeting, the group watched videos online and read assignments from several books including White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, Waking Up White by Debby Irving, and Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. Catherine led our group, which included people from St. Peter’s, as well as several from neighboring churches. Members of the group shared their own experiences, and we all learned a lot.
In 2021 the group continued learning by reading Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How we Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGee, and All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, by Tiya Miles.
We have been talking recently about ways that St. Peter’s can become part of what Bishop Curry calls the Beloved Community. The group asked the Vestry to provide $500 to establish a scholarship allowing a Caroline County minority student to pay for education after high school. The $500 grew to $10,100 this year due to the donations of generous parishioners. The group then decided to distribute two scholarships and retain funds for the future .
Thanks to all of contributors who with the members of Sacred Ground made the scholarships a reality.
