Thomas Logan, Paul Washington to be honored at UBE's 40th gathering
Episcopal News Service. June 4, 2008 [060408-05]
Daphne Mack
The Rev. Canon Thomas W. S. Logan, 96, and the late Rev. Paul M. Washington will be honored at a July 2 banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
"Tribute to Legends Envisioning Tomorrow," a component of the 40th Anniversary meeting and conference of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) will pay tribute to Logan and Washington through, dance, music and verse.
"The master of ceremony for the evening will be the Honorable Vincent J. Hughes, Pennsylvania 7th Senatorial District," said Randall Jefferson, banquet coordinator. "It will feature Fr. Paul and Fr. Logan's favorite songs, a dance presentation by Philadanco/D2 Company, and poetry by UBE youth."
According to official records, Logan, associate priest of St. Thomas, is the oldest African American priest in the Episcopal Church. He is rector emeritus of Calvary Church in Philadelphia, and served as president of the Conference of Church Workers Among Colored People (the predecessor to UBE) from 1951-1956. Logan graduated from Lincoln University in 1935, earned his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from General Theological Seminary (GTS) in New York City in 1938 and received his Master of Sacred Theology from Philadelphia Divinity School (now Episcopal Divinity School) in 1941. For 70 years, he has served on numerous commissions and community groups in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and is currently endorsing AARP's 50th anniversary and its commitment to the communities of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania.
Washington was rector emeritus of the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia and known to many as "high priest of the progressive movement." He too was a graduate of Lincoln University and Philadelphia Divinity School. Ignoring church rules, it was Washington who opened the doors to his church for the "irregular" ordination of 11 women into the Episcopal priesthood. They came to be known as the Philadelphia 11. The Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris, retired suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, and the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion, considered Washington a mentor. His legacy lives on through the "Paul M. Washington Fund for Those Needing a Helping Hand."
According to Jefferson, honorariums will be given to charities important to both Logan and Washington and a DVD presentation of their lives will be shown during the reception.
"We are very proud and excited to be able to honor two giants of the Episcopal Church during the 40th anniversary conference and meeting of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE)," said the Rev. Dr. Martini Shaw, rector of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and conference dean. "These two men have served the church of God and the community with conviction, vigor, faith, and commitment."