House of Bishops Retreat: March 8-13, 2023

Brendan Murphy on March 10, 2023

Bishops of The Episcopal Church gathered for the House of Bishops spring retreat March 8-13 in Nauvoo, Alabama. In addition to time for fellowship, sabbath, prayer, reflection, discussion, and business, the retreat also includes a pilgrimage to Montgomery. Below you will find Bishop Skirving’s stories and experiences while on this retreat.

March 10, 2023

Whenever the House of Bishops gathers, we take time for a dinner with our “classmates” …those who were elected in the same year. So here I am out for some barbecue in Jasper, Alabama with the other members of the class of 2014, Alan Gates (Diocese of Massachusetts) and Brian Seage (Diocese of Mississippi). It’s always good to gather with these friends, to catch up on family news and to compare notes on “life as a bishop.”

March 9, 2023

So much to take in, at this self-guided walking tour.
One stone hangs for each county in the twelve southern states where at least one documented racial terror lynching took place. I moved from stone to stone looking for those that represented counties in eastern North Carolina.
As an example, here’s the stone that hangs in memory of those killed by lynching in Washington County, NC.
Beyond the hanging stones were a set of monuments laid on the ground, duplicating each of those that hung. Here’s the stone from Lenoir County, where I live.
known, of the twenty-two human beings documented as victims of racial terror lynchings in New Hanover County on November 10, 1898.

Today’s “pilgrimage” to Montgomery Alabama included stops at The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration (where I did not take pictures) and at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, where I took this set of pictures. These sites were even more powerful than I had anticipated, since I first made plans to visit during my ill-fated 2020 sabbatical.

Stone monuments are used at the Memorial to remember documented victims of racial terror lynchings. Within the bounds of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, forty-four documented victims have been identified from sixteen counties, killed between the years of 1881 and 1933. This includes twenty-two victims in New Hanover County, all killed on November 10th, 1898.

The sixteen counties within our diocese where documented lynchings occurred during this period of history are as follows: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Camden, Carteret, Craven, Greene, Hertford, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Sampson, Washington and Wayne.

How many other lynchings remain undocumented?

Learn more about the museum and memorial by visiting the Equal Justice Initiative.

On “pilgrimage” in Montgomery, Alabama with the bishops of The Episcopal Church. More to come, but here are a couple of pictures of our time with Bryan Stevenson of Equal Justice Initiative at St. John’s Episcopal Church. A rich time with generous hosts.

March 8, 2023

A special welcome was waiting for me in my room at Camp McDowell … goodies from the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and also from my friends with Alabama Cursillo #197, the 197th weekend of Cursillo in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama that took place in 2015, when Sandy and I attended as pilgrims! Thanks to Phyllis and David Hall whom I understand were responsible for the special Cursillo welcome!

March 7, 2023

I wasn’t planning on a road trip today, but then my flight out of New Bern was delayed because the plane’s engine was leaking oil. The American Airlines rep didn’t seem able to guarantee when a back up crew would be able to get us a back up plane from another airport, so I just got in the car and started driving. Will arrive early tomorrow morning in time for the start of our spring retreat with the House of Bishops at Camp McDowell in northern Alabama. Grateful for a Buc-ee’s stop along the way!