Artist Statement: Her friend was dying. Pauli Murray, tenured law professor and pioneer of the American civil rights movement, sat at her bedside, waiting and praying. And in that moment of pain and vulnerability, Murray’s personal epiphany began. God called her once again to be a pioneer, to put aside her hard-won security and take up another cross. She accepted the Spirit’s call, left law and academia, and became the first Black woman ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. Little did she know how powerfully God would use her priestly life to manifest the Divine Love across the Church and the world. In a sermon shortly after her ordination, Murray concluded with a collect from the Book of Common Prayer: “Show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children.” Murray’s “yes” to God’s call was an epiphany that continues to shine a glorious light in the darkness and to illuminate the impossible that is possible with God.
This icon was commissioned for the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at The General Theological Seminary in New York to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the admission of women.
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