Hines Commends Selma Parish
Diocesan Press Service. April 7, 1965 [XXXI-1]
Presiding Bishop Hines has commended the rector and vestry of St. Paul's Church in Selma, Alabama, for its compliance with Canon 16, section 4, of the Canons of the Episcopal Church.
At the request of the rector of St. Paul's, the Rev. T. Frank Mathews, Jr., and the Bishop of Alabama, the Rt. Rev. Charles C. J. Carpenter, the vestry voted to comply with the canon which specifically states that "race, color or ethnic origin" must not be a bar to worship in the Episcopal Church.
Here is the text of Bishop Hines' statement:
"Episcopalians everywhere should welcome the recent action of the rector and vestry of St. Paul's Church, by which the inclusive nature of the Church is affirmed in their declared determination to admit any persons who come seeking to worship within this Fellowship of Christ's people.
"In the face of tragic events during which the nature and role of the Church have been obscured by confusion and fears, this action of officials and congregation should aid men of good will to minister to the scarred human relations of a community, and to encourage the forces of order and reconciliation to effect a just peace.
"This is no time for the leveling of judgmental accusations, nor for the pursuit of self-interest. Rather it is a time, born of pain and anguish, for the exercise of penitence, self-searching and resolute obedience to the requirement of God that his children live and come together in mutual understanding and respect within the freedom for which Christ died."
(NOTE) Canon 16., Section 4.: "Every communicant or baptized member of this Church shall be entitled to equal rights and status in any Parish or Mission thereof. He shall not be excluded from the worship or Sacraments of the Church, nor from parochial membership because of race, color, or ethnic origin."