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“Home Missions to Colored People” and the Diocese of New Jersey, 1878-1900

After the Freedman’s Commission was rebranded the Commission of Home Missions to Colored People (HMCP) in 1868, it was folded into the Board of Missions in 1878 and ceased to function as an independent entity, having failed to gain a broad hearing for its educational mandate in the denomination.[1] This was the result of significant hostility among white Episcopalians in the South, and significant apathy among white Episcopalians in the North.[2] This broad failure was certainly evident in the Diocese of New Jersey, though a modest base of support had been developed.[3]

As Black migration to New Jersey grew after the Civil War, there was an increasing awareness that the Episcopal Church should do something for Black Christians, but the prevailing pattern of thought in the diocese was that it should occur somewhere else. This was, in part, the result of longstanding white Episcopal cooperation with the American Colonization Society (ACS) in New Jersey, which had popularized the idea that white society was threatened by free Black people and that any “solution” required Black people to be removed.[4] The Episcopal African Mission in what became Liberia, birthed in collaboration with the ACS, further encouraged the idea among white Episcopalians in New Jersey that Black ministry and Black thriving should happen elsewhere.[5] The resulting default assumption among white Episcopalians in New Jersey, that Black education, ministry, and thriving should happen, but that it was not a local issue, fit perfectly with the program of “Home Missions to Colored People (in the South),” which ostensibly encouraged support for Black thriving, but “somewhere else” rather than among in-state neighbors in the North.[6] That the operative ideology behind financial support for the HMCP was similar to that which had first motivated ACS giving, and then Africa Mission giving,[7] is shown by the fact that as parochial giving to the Freedman’s Commission increased, Africa Mission giving in the diocese decreased almost to zero.[8]

            However, the base of support for “HMCP” that had been built in New Jersey by 1878, though modest, was not insignificant. Several churches gave on a yearly basis, and the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Board of Missions in the state had a division dedicated[9] to the HMCP, collecting hundreds of dollars a year for the effort.[10] While the support was, in truth, modest, it still managed to outstrip several other categories of mission giving on a regular basis.[11]

            While the diocesan reporting of financial support was usually presented in summary form, and giving for HMCP was not an exception to this rule, there were nevertheless many instances of specific earmarked gifts for various institutions and initiatives that fell under the heading of “Home Missions to Colored People.” Clearly the Commission and its agents made significant efforts to connect congregations with particular projects, missionaries, and needs in the missions, and these connections regularly bore the fruit of financial support.[12]

 

 

Table 1: Earmarked Parochial Giving in the Diocese of New Jersey to the HMCP from 1865-1890

Year... From... Gift... To

1868... St. Matthew’s, Jersey City... $41.85... “Normal school” for “colored” children, NC[13]

1870... St. Philip’s, Newark... $6.77... “Colored miss.,” Petersburg, VA[14]

1872... St. Paul’s, Newark... $10... “Colored people, (in the South,) per Rev. R.J. Love”[15]

1873... St. John’s, Elizabeth... $500... “Colored people, (in the South,) Theol. Education”[16]

1875... Grace Church, Elizabeth... $15... “Colored people, per Rev. Mr. Love”[17]

1880... St. Andrew’s, Bridgeton... $65... “Mrs. Buford’s work among the Blacks, Va.”[18]

1880... Christ Church, Riverton... $10... “colored Sunday School in Mississippi”[19]

1880... St. Peter’s, Freehold... $5... “for Rev. Mr. Thackara’s school in Florida”[20]

1880... Trinity, Princeton... $8.31... “to Rev. O.P. Thackara, for work among Freedmen”[21]

1881... St. Peter’s, Freehold... $47.31... “Freedmen’s school at Ogeechee...box of clothing”[22]

1881... Christ Church, Riverton... $5... “Colored Institute, Princeton George, Md.”[23]

1881... Trinity, Princeton... $15.16... “work among the Freedmen… Rev. O.P. Thackara” FL[24]

1882... Chapel, Burlington College... $2.79... “Colored Mission of St. Mary the Virgin, Baltimore”[25]

1882... Grace Church, Crosswicks... $5... “Home for Poor Colored Children, Charleston, S.C.”[26]

1882... St. Peter’s, Freehold... $45... “box and money to Freedmen’s School at Ogeechee, [GA]”[27]

1884... St. Peter’s, Freehold... $34... “barrel of Clothing for Freedmen’s [sch…] Ogeechee, [GA]”[28]

1884... Trinity, Moorestown... $25... “[HMCP], including box to Mrs. Buford”[29]

1884... Trinity, Mount Holly... $15... “[HMCP], Mrs. Buford”[30]

1884... Trinity, Mount Holly... $25... “Bishop Lyman’s colored school”[31]

1884... Holy Cross, Perth Amboy... $19... “[HMCP], box sent… to Rev. Mr. Berry, Asheville, N.C.”[32]

1884... Christ Church, Shrewsbury...  $17.90... “Missions in Virginia to colored people”[33]

1885... Ascension, Atlantic City... NA... “Box for Mrs. Buford’s Hospital, (unestimated)”[34]

1885... St. Stephen’s, Beverly... $40... “Box for Mrs. Buford’s School and Hospital”[35]

1885... Christ Church, Elizabeth... $4.07... “Missions to Colored People in Missouri”[36]

1885... Christ Church, Elizabeth... $37... “to Colored People in East Carolina”[37]

1885... St. John’s, New Brunswick... $32... “for Colored Mission, in Virginia”[38]

1886... St. Stephen’s, Beverly... $67.00... “Box for Mrs. Burgwin’s School, Virginia”[39]

1886... Trinity, Mount Holly... $32.70... “[HMCP], to Mrs. Burgwin’s School”[40]

 

Trajectory of Giving to the HMCP in the Diocese of New Jersey

 

            The initial modest success in developing some level of regular parochial support for the mission (1869-1877) seems to have worn off by the time the HMCP was folded into the Board of Missions generally in 1878. It took several years for giving to return to the levels seen in the early 1870s. However, it seems that through the efforts of the Board of Missions and its Woman’s Auxiliary, and likely as a result of the increasing awareness among white Episcopalians in New Jersey of the challenges recently freed Black people were facing,[41] giving to the HMCP began to gain significant traction in the mid-to-late 1880s.[42]

 

 

The Woman’s Auxiliary contributed very significantly to the raised profile of the mission needs, and the level of giving to the mission in the Diocese during this time. Reporting for Woman’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions was inconsistent in Diocesan convention records, and it is unclear to what degree the funds reported were also included in parochial reports (at times there was definitely overlap), but it is certainly the case that the work the Auxiliary was doing was having a serious effect.

 

HMCP Support Went beyond “Education” Alone

 

Although the “Home Mission to Colored People” was ostensibly limited in its scope to educational and ministry initiatives, the parochial giving to the mission frequently included “boxes” and “barrels” in addition to cash gifts. The donation of such in-kind gifts as clothing, food, and other necessities indicates that there was an awareness among white Episcopalians in the diocese that the needs within the HMCP missions were neither purely educational nor religious, that the missions were also oriented around (at least some degree of) material provision, and that donors wanted to help meet those significant material needs as well. This direct aid, essentially contrary to the express purpose of the mission, was nevertheless channeled through the missions to address (albeit, in a limited way) the significant material needs of the recently freed.

            These advances in awareness and concern among some white Episcopalians in the diocese of New Jersey were not, however, representative of the overall perspectives predominating in the diocese. In no year did more than a small minority of churches in the diocese give in support of the HMCP, and in general, most white Episcopalians still viewed Black ministry, education, and needs as something relevant to other regions and not their own. Bishop Scarborough exemplifies this prevailing (white) opinion in the diocese (though perhaps with a greater degree of concern than was typical) in his convention address of 1888:

 

There are many and important questions before the church to-day, earnestly discussed in their various bearing, and clamoring for an answer; but as they do not pertain specially to the work of our own Diocese, I need not detain you with their consideration at any length here. The four millions of negroes who were in servitude little more than a quarter of a century ago, are now increased to seven or eight millions. What effect this ignorant mass will have on our civilization is a question that concerns the statesman as well as the Christian. The whole question on both its social and religious side is hemmed in with difficulties. As yet our own Church has done little toward its solution or settlement. A new agency has been created with the hope of rousing new interest. I bespeak for the cause a hearing and a favorable answer.[43]

 

This paternalistic and racist attitude toward Black people was normal among white Episcopalians at the time, and the sense that such issues did not “pertain specially to the work of our own Diocese” was likewise typical.

By the end of the nineteenth century the need for giving to support Black education and ministry through HMCP had not decreased, but the awareness of and concern for Black neighbors exhibited especially by a few priests like H.C. Rush and J.H. Townsend,[44] and the quick response of the burgeoning Black population of places like Elizabeth and Camden, forced diocesan leaders to pay attention,[45] and began to shift white Episcopal thinking about Black ministry in the diocese. Some white Episcopalians in New Jersey continued to see the need for increased giving to “Home Missions to Colored People” for work in the South, but in New Jersey itself, large-scale Black immigration after the Civil War had finally, slowly awakened some white Episcopalians to the reality that Black Episcopal ministry was not just something that should happen somewhere else. On the contrary, dedicated and sustained diocesan support for local Black ministry in New Jersey was both beginning to be seen as necessary for a self-identified “catholic” faith to be true to its “catholicity,” and was finally, in earnest, actually beginning.

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

 

 

Appendix 1: Reported Parochial Giving to HMCP in the Diocese of New Jersey, 1877-1900[46]

1866     $19.92 and two barrels of clothing[47]

1867     $221.12[48]

1868     $388.06[49]

1869     $709.03[50]

1870     $247.81[51]

1871     $1090.71[52]

1872     $368.77[53]

1873     $1179.81[54]

1874     $443.04[55]

1875     $172.13[56]

1876     $212.79[57]

1877     $725.06[58]

1878     $360.07[59]

1879     $210.79[60]

1880     $236.10[61]

1881     $202.03[62]

1882     $285.29[63]

1883     $173.35[64]

1884     $376.37[65]

1885     $461.67[66]

1886     $995.14[67]

1887     $1484.59[68]

1888     $859.61[69]

1889     $703.78[70]

1890     $727.94[71]

1891     $998.09[72]

1892     $897.82[73]

1893     888.62[74]

1894     $1333.39[75]

1895     $903.31[76]

1896     $1417.76[77]

1897     $1101.34[78]

1898     $1380.86[79]

1899     $1556.84[80]

1900     $921.49[81]

 

 

Appendix 2: HMCP Giving Reported by the Diocese of New Jersey Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions (1877-1900)[82]

1877                 $578.40[83]

1878                 $107.57[84]

1879                 $275.50[85]

1880                 $407.41[86]

1881                 $287.63[87]

1882                 $595.92[88]

1883-87           no summary reports in convention journals

1888                 $568.99[89]

1889                 $439.11[90]

1890                 $985.00[91]

1891                 $893.38[92]

1892                 $1079.20[93]

1893                 $1357.50[94]

1894                 $2987.68[95]

1895                 $730.63[96]

1896                 $725.80[97]

1897                 $882.37[98]

1898                 $1261.27[99]

1899                 $1384.55[100]

1900                 $962.14[101]

---

[1] The Episcopal Church, “Mission to the Freedman”, originally posted at https://episcopalarchives.org/church-awakens/exhibits/show/legacy/mission-to-the-freedman, but since deleted. Archival access is still available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20240915072631/https://episcopalarchives.org/church-awakens/exhibits/show/legacy/mission-to-the-freedman.

[2] See H. Peers Brewer, “The Protestant Episcopal Freedman’s Commission, 1865-1878,” HMPEC 26.4 (1957): 361-381. As I have said before, this is a racist article with a serious anti-Northern agenda and positive statements about the Ku Klux Klan, but it does highlight some of these significant failings.

[3] See Jolyon Pruszinski, “The Freedman’s Commission and the Diocese of New Jersey after the Civil War,” DNJRJR (June 20, 2025): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-freedmans-commission-and-diocese-of.html.

[4] Jolyon Pruszinski, “Support for the American Colonization Society (ACS) in the Diocese of New Jersey,” DNJRJR (October 16, 2023): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2023/10/support-for-american-colonization.html.

[5] Jolyon Pruszinski, “Early African Mission Giving (Foreign) in the Diocese of New Jersey (1835-1865),” DNJRJR (December 9, 2023): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2023/12/early-african-mission-giving-foreign-in.html.

[6] This can be seen from the pattern of not funding Black ministry at the diocesan level (See, for example, Jolyon Pruszinski, “The Episcopal Mission at the Free Black Settlement of Macedonia, NJ: 1853-1887,” DNJRJR [May 26, 2025]: https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-episcopal-mission-at-free-black.html), but actively encouraging giving to the ACS, to Episcopal African Missions, and then “Home Missions to Colored People.”

[7] Episcopal Africa Mission giving had replaced giving to the ACS as the primary object of parochial financial concern for Black people as soon as the Africa Mission was up and running. See Jolyon Pruszinski, “Early African Mission Giving (Foreign) in the Diocese of New Jersey (1835-1865).”

[8] This shift occurred immediately. In the yearly parochial reports from the 1868 diocesan convention journal there are four congregations listed with designated giving to African Missions. See Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Fifth Annual Convention, Held in Grace Church, Newark, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 27^th and 28^th, MDCCCLXVIII (New York: John W. Amerman, 1868). Over the next three years this fell to an average of one congregation per year. And in the nineteen-year period between 1872 and 1890 there were only five reported instances of parochial giving to Africa Missions in the Diocese of New Jersey.

[9] At first lumped together with Mormon missions, but later on with separate oversight.

[10] See Table 3.

[11] Such as “Aged and Infirm Clergy” and “Widows and Orphans” and “Christian Knowledge Society” and “Indians” and “Jews” and “Theological Education” and “Bible, Prayer Book and Tract Distribution.” See, for instance, Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and First Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. John’s Church, Camden, Tuesday, May 4^th, and Wednesday, May 5^th, MDCCCLXXXVI (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1886), 119.

[12] See Table 1. However, the preponderance of giving to HMCP was otherwise undesignated.

[13] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Fifth Annual Convention, 80.

[14] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Seventh Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey, Held in Grace Church, Newark, On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 31^st and June 1^st, MDCCCLXX (New York: John W. Amerman, 1870), 76.

[15] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Ninth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey, Held in Grace Church, Newark, On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28^th and 29^th, MDCCCLXXII (New York: John W. Amerman, 1872), 69.

[16] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninetieth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey, Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27^th and 28^th, MDCCCLXXIII (Newark: The Daily Advertiser, 1873), 90.

[17] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Second Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of New Jersey, Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 25^th and 26^th, MDCCCLXXV (Trenton: William S. Sharp, 1875), 61.

[18] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 25^th and 26^th. MDCCCLXXX (Princeton: C.S.Robinson & Co., 1880), 104.

[19] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention, 129.

[20] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention, 114.

[21] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention, 137.

[22] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Eighth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. Michael’s Church, Trenton, Tuesday, May 31^st, and Wednesday, June 1^st. MDCCCLXXXI (Princeton: C.S. Robinson & Co., 1881), 129.

[23] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Eighth Annual Convention, 146.

[24] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Eighth Annual Convention, 153.

[25] Specifically, Chapel of the Holy Child Jesus, Burlington College. Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Tenth Convention, Being the Ninety-Seventh Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in Christ Church, Elizabeth, Tuesday, May 30^th, and Wednesday, May 31^st, MDCCCLXXXII (Princeton: C.S. Robinson & co., 1882), 126.

[26] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Tenth Convention, 132.

[27] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Tenth Convention, 136.

[28] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, Being the Ninety-Ninth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in Christ Church, New Brunswick, Tuesday, May 6^th, and Wednesday, May 7^th, MDCCCLXXXIV (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1884), 152.

[29] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 160.

[30] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 161.

[31] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 161.

[32] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 166.

[33] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 177.

[34] Specifically, Church of the Ascension, Atlantic City. Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, Being the One Hundredth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in Christ Church, New Brunswick, Tuesday, May 5^th, and Wednesday, May 6^th, MDCCCLXXXV (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1885), 63.

[35] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, 64.

[36] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, 73.

[37] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, 73.

[38] Specifically, St. John the Evangelist, New Brunswick. Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, 89.

[39] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Convention, 62.

[40] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Convention, 87.

[41] Likely resulting from massive levels of Black migration into the state post-Civil War.

[42] It should be noted that the period from 1866 to 1900 in the United States was marked by significant monetary deflation, which means that the same amount of money in 1900 was worth approximately twice as much in purchasing power as it was in 1866.

[43] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Convention, 148.

[44] Rush started services “for the colored people exclusively” at Christ Church, Elizabeth as early as 1882. The parochial report of 1883 states that “this work is of great importance, and is proving very successful.” Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eleventh Convention, Being the Ninety-Eighth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. Paul’s Church, Camden, Tuesday, May 8^th, and Wednesday, May 9^th, MDCCCLXXXIII (Princeton: C.S. Robinson & Co., 1883), 132. Townsend started similar services at St. John’s, Camden in June 1888 (See Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Third Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Trinity Church, Trenton, Tuesday, May 8^th, and Wednesday, May 9^th, MDCCCLXXXVIII [Princeton: Princeton Press, 1888], 72), though the St. John’s “colored mission school” was already operating in the early 1870s with forty pupils (Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Eighth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey, Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 30^th and 31^st, MDCCCLXXI [New York: John W. Amerman, 1871], 59). 

[45] Scarborough showed he had begun paying attention in his convention address of 1890. See Jolyon Pruszinski, “Bishop Scarborough’s Convention Address of 1890: Staking out a Place for Black Churches in the Diocese of New Jersey,” DNJRJR (January 1, 2024): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2024/01/bishop-scarboroughs-convention-address.html.

[46] Figures for 1866-1880 are calculated from individual church parochial reporting. Figures for 1881-1900 are summary figures provided by the Diocese.

[47] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Third Annual Convention Held in Grace Church, Newark, on Wednesday, May 30^th, M,DCCC,LXVI (Philadelphia: J.B. Chandler, 1866), 32, 36.

[48] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Fourth Annual Convention Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 29^th and 30^th, MDCCCLXVII (New York: John W. Amerman, 1867), 63-109.

[49] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Fifth Annual Convention, 64-107.

[50] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Sixth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey, Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 25^th and 26^th, MDCCCLXIX (New York: John W. Amerman, 1869), 47-84.

[51] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Seventh Annual Convention, 51-93.

[52] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Eighth Annual Convention, 53-92.

[53] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Eighty-Ninth Annual Convention, 53-105.

[54] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninetieth Annual Convention, 60-118.

[55] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-First Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of New Jersey, Held in Grace Church, Newark, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, May 26^th, 27^th and 28^th, MDCCCLXXIV (Newark: The Daily Advertiser, 1874), 84-125.

[56] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Second Annual Convention, 58-78.

[57] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Third Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. Michael’s Church, Trenton, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 30^th and 31^st, MDCCCLXXVI (Trenton: William S. Sharp, 1876), 137-162.

[58] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-fourth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. John’s Church, Elizabeth, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 29^th and 30^th, MDCCCLXXVII (Trenton, NJ: John L. Murphy, 1877), 96-126. 

[59] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Fifth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, In the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in St. Paul’s Church, Camden, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28^th, and 29^th, MDCCCLXXVIII (Trenton: John L. Murphy, 1878), 88-123.

[60] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Sixth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in Christ Church, New Brunswick, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27^th and 28^th, MDCCCLXXIX (Princeton: C.S. Robinson, 1879), 104-136. A small amount of funds for Indian missions are included in this number.

[61] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention, 108-140. A small amount of funds for Indian missions are included in this number.

[62] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Eighth Annual Convention, 164.

[63] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Tenth Convention, 174.

[64] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eleventh Convention, 178.

[65] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twelfth Convention, 198.

[66] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Convention, 115.

[67] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Convention, 119.

[68] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Fifteenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Second Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey, Held in Grace Church, Plainfield, Tuesday May 3^rd, and Wednesday, May 4^th, MDCCCLXXXVII (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1887), 107.

[69] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Convention, 125.

[70] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Fourth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in St. John’s Church, Elizabeth, Tuesday, May 7^th, and Wednesday, May 8^th, MDCCCLXXXIX (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1889), 133.

[71] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Fifth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in St. Mary’s Church, Burlington, Tuesday, May 6^th, and Wednesday, May 7^th, 1890. Together with Appendices and the Episcopal Address (Princeton: The Princeton Press, 1890), 137. Approximately. Totaling the parochial reports individually yields a slightly different sum.

[72] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Sixth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Grace Church, Plainfield, Tuesday, May 5^th, and Wednesday, May 6^th, MDCCCXCI (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1891), 143.

[73] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twentieth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Seventh Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in St. Paul’s Church, Camden, Tuesday, May 3^rd, and Wednesday, May 4^th, MDCCCXCII (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1892), 143.

[74] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-First Convention, Being the One Hundred and Eighth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Christ Church, New Brunswick, Tuesday, May 9^th, and Wednesday, May 10^th, MDCCCXCIII (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1893), 145.

[75] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Second Convention, Being the One Hundred and Ninth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Saint Andrew’s Church, Mount Holly, Tuesday, May 8^th, and Wednesday, May 9^th, MDCCCXCIV (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1894), 151.

[76] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Convention, Being the One Hundred and Tenth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Trinity Church, Trenton. Tuesday, May 7^th, and Wednesday May 8^th. MDCCCXCV (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1895), 153.

[77] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Eleventh Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in St. John’s Church, Elizabeth. Tuesday May 5^th, and Wednesday May 6^th. MDCCCXCVI (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1896), 141.

[78] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Twelfth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Grace Church, Plainfield, Tuesday, May 4^th and Wednesday, May 5^th. MDCCCXCVII (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1897), 147.

[79] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Thirteenth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Saint Mary’s Church, Burlington, Tuesday, May 3^rd, and Wednesday, May 4^th, MDCCCXCVIII (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1898), 139.

[80] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Convention, Being the One Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in Trinity Church, Princeton, Tuesday, May 9^th, and Wednesday, May 10^th, MDCCCXCIX (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1899), 143.

[81] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Convention, Being the One Hundred and Fifteenth Year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey; Held in St. James’ Church, Atlantic City, Tuesday, May 8^th, and Wednesday, May 9^th, MDCCCC (Princeton: Princeton Press, 1900), 135.

[82] It is unclear how disambiguated this total is from the general parochial totals reported in Table 2. There is likely some overlap, but it is certainly not complete.

[83] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-fourth Annual Convention, 34.

[84] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Fifth Annual Convention, 33.

[85] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Sixth Annual Convention, 37.

[86] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Convention, 43. Funds for Mormon missions are included in this number.

[87] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the Ninety-Eighth Annual Convention, 48. Funds for Mormon missions are included in this number.

[88] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Tenth Convention, 49. Funds for Mormon missions are included in this number.

[89] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Convention, 50. 

[90] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Convention, 43.

[91] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Convention, 54.

[92] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Convention, 58.

[93] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twentieth Convention, 59.

[94] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-First Convention, 50.

[95] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Second Convention, 58.

[96] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Convention, 56.

[97] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Convention, 54.

[98] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Convention, 161.

[99] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Convention, 156.

[100] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Convention, 160.

[101] Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Convention, 159. 

Episcopal Resources for Reparations and Restitution Ministry: Excellent Materials from the Diocese of North Carolina

Rev. Cn. Lindsey Ardrey, detail from ENS reporting

The Diocese of North Carolina, in recognition of the harms it has done to Black people through slavery and racism, has formed a formal diocesan ministry of reparation and restitution. In 2023 it hired the Rev. Cn. Lindsey Ardrey as Canon Missioner to lead the Diocesan Restitution and Reparations Ministry. Under her leadership the ministry has produced several extremely useful documents including a report on the “History of Institutional Racism” in the diocese. Of direct relevance for reparations work in other locations are two documents in particular. One, is an excellent “Start Here” guide to the critical initial steps in the work of reparative justice in the Church. The other is a document designed to accompany the “History” report. The aim of this companion document (“Breathing Through a Difficult History”) is to provide an interpretive, pastoral resource for those processing the difficult realities of the historical material. These documents are invaluable resources, not only for those starting out in this important work, but also as a model for those introducing initial results of their historical research to a wider audience. We commend them for your use.

If the original links are not working the documents are also available at the following locations:

"Start Here: A Guide on First Steps to Approaching Reparations Work"

"Breathing Through a Difficult History"

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey