Nine hundred Episcopalians assembled Feb. 2-4 at the BancorpSouth Center in Tupelo for the annual council of the Diocese of Mississippi.

The gathering began with a procession of banners representing local congregations, a worship service and an address by the Rt. Rev. A.C. "Chip" Marble, Jr., diocesan bishop. Bishop Marble reminded his audience that their theme was "Jubilee, Freeing for Mission."

Because of its use by hate groups, according to Bishop Marble, the state flag has become a symbol of racism and oppression for people black and white.

The bishop applauded the Georgia Legislature for approving a new state flag, and expressed regret that Mississippi's legislature did not take a similar action. Legislators instead set a referendum for April 17 to choose between the current state flag and the alternative proposal of a special commission established by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.

"A new flag will not solve our racial inequities or injustice," he said. "A new flag will acknowledge a new day has come in Mississippi, where oppression in any form will not be a value embraced in our state, but rather we will value the equal dignity and worth of every human being."

Bishop Marble reminded the clergy and lay representatives from the state's 87 parishes and missions that the bishops of Mississippi's Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and United Methodist churches had not only taken a public stand in regard to the flag, but had called for a moratorium on use of the death penalty in Mississippi.

Bishop Marble also announced that the Rev. David Johnson, rector of the Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, will become canon to the ordinary in April.