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| The Very Rev. Cn. Dr. Sandye A. Wilson (courtesy ENS) |
The beloved Very Rev. Cn. Dr. Sandye A. Wilson, who served many years in the Diocese of New Jersey in Asbury Park and South Orange, passed away April 15, 2025. Cn. Annette Buchanan, co-convener of the Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission, delivered the eulogy at her funeral on June 21, 2025 at All Saints Cathedral, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. It is a beautiful testament to an amazing, faithful, trailblazing woman:
Eulogy For The Very Reverend Canon Dr. Sandye A. Wilson
June 21, 2025, All Saints Cathedral, St. Thomas, VI
I am very honored to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and memories of our dear sister in Christ and friend the Very Reverend Canon Dr. Sandye A. Wilson.
In many ways it is fitting that I am here at her final farewell as I was present on two other occasions when we thought God had called her home, The first was on her birthday in 2014 at a workshop in Camden NJ, the second in 2023 at a celebration of both our birthdays at a NYC restaurant. With her guardian angel working overtime, prayers were answered, and we had the benefit of her ministry for a few more years. These occasions caused Rev. Sandye to really value life and live it to the fullest.
The Virgin Islands held a special place in her heart; it was during her teens on a mission trip to St. Thomas and St. Croix in 1969 that her interest in ordained ministry was developed. Over 40 years later, after formal retirement, she was asked to consider ministry in the Virgin Islands. She had another job offer at the time from a non-profit that presented a large compensation for her expertise, but after consulting with friends she again followed her heart and became Interim Dean of the Cathedral. In April of this year, though extremely ill and against the advice of many, she was determined to make it back to the Virgin Islands and her ministry ended where it began. She had come full circle.
Rev. Sandye had a deep thirst for knowledge. She was a voracious consumer of a broad genre of literature and music. She listened to and read the news continuously, she was the first to see a new movie when it came out, she was a lifelong learner and had, as she described it, FOMO – fear of missing out. She attended services all over the world by Zoom, she joined webinars and bible studies to continually expand her knowledge. She held multiple degrees and certifications including undergraduate degree from Vassar College, DMIN (Doctor of Ministry) and MBA from the Graduate Theological Foundation, Northwestern University, Indiana and a certification in Art History and Music from the University of Vienna, Austria.
This deep knowledge fed into her self-described mission as a communicator. One of her early career choices that she genuinely enjoyed was as a reporter and researcher for Time magazine. She rarely said “no” to an invitation to teach or preach, she was about sharing the Good News in all formats. She had over 3 thousand friends on Facebook, all of them real, and posted information almost daily about life in the church and beyond. We teased her about the many pictures of sunsets in the Virgin Islands paradise and frankly sometimes worried about her oversharing. However, the information she conveyed with her broad network of friends and colleagues was always very much appreciated.
As Dean of the Cathedral, she mentioned that the members had given her a t-shirt that said “She Gone Again” translated means “She’s not here” and I know she had a good conversation with you all about how important it is for a priest to be represented in the leadership of the church. By the way, these travels were not vacation, they were sacrificial, as I reviewed her texts after she passed, many of them were of her in airports suffering through delayed flights, lack of sleep and freezing air conditioning.
Thankfully, in her leadership representation, Rev. Sandye was a trailblazer, she was the first Black female Rector in the Episcopal Church, meaning a priest who was fully in charge of the church and not an assistant. She had been ordained in the church for almost 45 years in 1980, women’s ordination in the Episcopal Church was approved in 1976, so she was one of the first.
When she became a priest in our diverse congregations, whether in Hartford, CT, Asbury Park, NJ, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Denver, Colorado, South Orange, NJ, or in this Cathedral, for many this was the first time we had experienced a female priest and that came with its own challenges. However, she rose to the occasion with her impactful sermons, creative liturgies, focus on youth ministry and outreach to the community. Many of us have experienced her writing 2 words in her hand and delivering a 30-minute sermon. I also remember her allowing bubbles instead of incense in the church when there were complaints of allergies, and live animals as part of the service, creative indeed.
She had received several awards as a testament to her community service and ministry. One award that she was most proud of was “The 2023 Beautiful Are Their Feet Award” from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference, a world-renowned faith-based justice organization. “It was a lifetime achievement award for the gifts and sacrifices of scholarship and ministry that she had evidenced and bestowed upon the African American and world community”.
As a leader in the church, she broke barriers, she was an elected Deputy to the General Convention in the Episcopal Church 11 times from 5 dioceses and served 21 years on the Executive Council (the Board of the Episcopal Church). She was the 13th National President for the Union of Black Episcopalians, she served as Vice-Chair for the Board of Trustees for the Church Pension Group and on over 10 other Boards throughout her ministry, she was a candidate for Bishop in Kentucky and came in 2nd as a Black female priest which was a courageous achievement for her time and paved the way for the current group of Black female bishops in our church today.
She travelled extensively around the world (South Africa, Brazil, Japan, Europe etc.), her network of colleagues in the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, whether bishops, clergy, or lay leaders, near and far, were invaluable to numerous people who she mentored and advised. These connections also benefited the congregations she served and the surrounding communities including the Cathedral as she introduced new ideas, resources and expertise as her voice resounded over the Virgin Islands radio.
Rev. Sandye adored her immediate family, strongly supported her extended biological and adopted family members, deeply cared for parishioners – current and past, and was always present for friends and family through our joys and challenges. We are forever blessed by her presence.
When you are a trailblazer, like Rev. Sandye, you must push hard to open a number of doors and continue exhaustively to do so. Sometimes while pushing you may unknowingly hurt someone, and other times others may hurt you. There were many exhilarating mountain-top experiences and some painful valley experiences during Rev. Sandye’s ministry and through it all she survived and thrived with her colorful outfits, red boots and red lipstick.
Rest In Peace Beloved Sister and Friend, Job Well Done!!
Canon Annette Buchanan
