Rector’s Letter Monument Conversations

March 9, 2022

Little Fork Church Congregation and Friends,

For the last several years, our congregation has been having formal and informal conversations about how to honor the enslaved people who built our church building and contextualize our current understanding of the purpose and place of the Little Fork Rangers (Civil War) Memorial in the life of our congregation. For some of you, my sermon last Sunday was the first you had heard of these conversations, and for others, you have been part of them from the very beginning. These conversions began before I became Rector, so I can only speak to what has happened since October 2019, and how that brought us to where we are today.

The purpose of this letter is to (1) formally inform the congregation of the scope of what is being considered, (2) announce a series of three conversations during which our congregation will intentionally discuss these decisions, and (3) invite you to intentionally join me in prayer for our congregation. I recognize that this is a long letter, but I wanted to ensure that everyone who is part of our congregation had access to consistent and complete information. This letter will be shared with everyone on our mailing list via email and through the mail.

Decision Process and Scope of Considerations

At their meeting on November 9, 2019, the Vestry received a request from the 1776 Preservation Foundation to place a memorial to the enslaved people that undoubtedly provided craftsmanship and labor to build Little Fork Church. The Vestry voted to endorse and approve the decision to install the memorial, but they determined they wanted time to intentionally decide on the placement and wording. The Vestry minutes include that it was the intention to make this decision by the end of 2020. The Coronavirus pandemic shut down prevented this from happening.

Parallel to this conversation, there were many conversations in smaller groups and with the Preservation Foundation about needing to address the context of the Little Fork Ranger Memorial. There were some people who believed that it would be best to not bring it up publicly, and others who thought we could not ignore its presence. As the Rector, I consistently shared my opinion that I would like to see us have this conversation on a timeline we chose and not on one forced upon us by an external circumstance.

When our Vestry established the 2022 Master Plan Working Group, two of the items they were asked to consider were the placement of a memorial to the enslaved people who built our Church and the contextualization of the Little Fork Ranger Memorial. Based on their work, it has become apparent that this is the time for our congregation to intentionally engage both topics, so that the resulting decisions can be integrated into our master plan.

The specific recommendations that will be included in the Master Plan about these memorials is still to be discerned, but currently the Working Group is considering the following. For the memorial honoring the enslaved people, something will be placed both inside and outside the Church. The exact format and materials for this will be decided after the Congregational Conversations described below. For the Little Fork Ranger Memorial, we are considering relocating it to the Burying Ground and adding an educational informal board that contextualizes the experiences of those named on the memorial, honestly acknowledges the injustice of the Jim Crow Era, and articulates our current theological commitments.

The Congregational Conversations will provide important input for the Master Plan Working Group as they finalize their recommendations. The Master Plan recommendations will come to the Vestry, who will approve the final decisions on behalf of the congregation.

Invitation to Congregational Conversations
All those who consider Little Fork Episcopal Church their spiritual home are invited to participate in these conversations. This may mean that you are very new to the congregation, or you may be a member of one of the families that reestablished this as a worshipping congregation. You might be very committed to the future of Little Fork as a vibrant and small church, or maybe you are just connected here through the Preservation Foundation. You might attend most Sundays or have not been to Church on a Sunday in longer than you want to admit. If you fit any of these descriptions, and many more that are not included here, you are invited to participate in the following conversations. If at all possible, we do ask that people attend all three of the conversations.

Wednesday, March 16: 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Primary Gathering in Parish Hall

  • Focus: This will be a time for members of the extended Little Fork Church community to establish a context for this conversation, share our perspectives, receive the perspectives of others, and gain insight into ways we can intentionally and prayerfully engage in this conversation.
  • Facilitator: Facilitated by The Rev. Dr. Lee Hill, Jr., Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
  • Location: In person attendance is strongly encouraged, but a Zoom link will be provided for those who can’t attend in person. All those attending via Zoom will be asked to keep their cameras on during the session.

Wednesday, March 17: 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Primary Gathering via Zoom

  • Focus: This session will be an opportunity for our congregation to hear from invited guests their perspectives on questions that address some of the consistent narratives that I have consistently heard voiced since I have been serving Little Fork Church.

What does it mean that our Church was paid for with Tobacco tax, and in the Virginia Colony, what was the relationship of the Church of England (predecessor of the Episcopal Church) and the government at the time?

How can we really know who built the Church, and what about indentured servants? Weren’t there as many of them as enslaved Africans when the Church was built?

What was the context and experience of those who are named on the Little Fork Rangers Memorial?

How does what we know about when the memorial was installed at Little Fork Church, the symbolism of the memorial from the sculptor’s perspective, and an understanding of the larger context of the Jim Crow era influence our perspectives?

How does the presence of the Little Fork Rangers Civil War Memorial impact the experience of new people visiting our Church, and does it limit our mutual ministry with Black members of our community?

  • Panelists: The following people have been invited to participate in this panel and have accepted. There are a few outstanding invitations, and I will update the information to include them as the confirm

John Ragosta, Ph.D., J.D., Historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello

Julie Basic, Professional Landscape Architect for Little Fork Church’s 2022 Master Plan

The Rev. Marlene Forrest, Rector of St. Phillip’s in Richmond

In addition to addressing one or more of the questions above, each of our panelists will be asked to share their perspective on how our congregation might achieve our goals of honoring the enslaved craftsmen who built our Church, not lose to history the names of the common people who are included on the Little Fork Rangers Memorial, openly acknowledge the systemic racism of both the colonial and Jim Crow eras and the Episcopal Church participation, and articulate our current commitment to welcome and mutuality.

  • Location: This will be a Zoom session with all panelists joining via Zoom, but for those members of our congregation who can’t attend via Zoom, Stacy will host a Zoom enabled gathering from the Parish Hall.

Wednesday, March 30: 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the Parish Hall

  • Focus: We will consider what we have learned and provide perspectives the Master Plan Working Group and Vestry will take into consideration as they make recommendations and decisions.
  • Facilitator: Facilitated by The Rev. Dr. Lee Hill, Jr., Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
  • Location: In person attendance is strongly encouraged, but a Zoom link will be provided for those who can’t attend in person. All those attending via Zoom will be asked to keep their cameras on during the session.

Invitation to Prayer
We will be concluding our prayers of the people during Lent by saying the following Prayer for Little Fork in unison. I encourage you to pray this prayer personally over the next several weeks. I will also be intentionally taking time for prayer before each of the meetings we will have. You are invited to come to church early or get on Zoom early and join in a guided time of prayer and silence from 6:00 – 6:20 on each of the three Wednesdays before our congregational conversations.

Prayer for Little Fork Church
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family as we make decisions related to our Master Plan and the future of our congregation. Guide us in developing our church grounds into a place of sacred respite that communicates our beliefs that all people are equally created in the image of God and that spending time in creation can soothe our souls. Help us listen to you and each other as we discern how we will contextualize the Little Fork Ranger Monument, install a memorial honoring the enslaved people who built our Church, and establish interracial ministry partnership, grounded in mutuality, while also honoring the history of our parish and the generations that went before us at Little Fork Church. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invitation to Talk
If you would like to talk with me personally about these decisions, I am available the following days and will be keeping these times open to meet with people at the Church. Please email me, [email protected] or leave a message on my cell phone, 510-673-5993, to let me know when you would like to meet, so I can confirm the time. Please note that if I don’t know someone is coming to meet with me, I might not be at the Church, so it is very helpful if you will let me know in advance when to expect you.

  • Sunday, March 13 – 3:00 – 5:00 pm
  • Sunday, March 20 – 12:30 – 4:00 pm
  • Sunday, March 27 – 12:30 – 4:00 pm
  • Sunday, April 3 – 12:30 – 4:00 pm

Faithfully,

Rev. Stacy Williams-Duncan