The Union of Black Episcopalians

The Union of Black Episcopalians was organized in 1968 and now consists of more than 55 chapters across the world.

The Mission of The Union of Black Episcopalians:

To unify the diverse cultures, concerns and gifts of Black Episcopalians by providing preparation and encouragement for living the Baptismal Covenant and fully participating in the mission and governance of The Episcopal Church.

The Vision of The Union of Black Episcopalians:

- To create awareness within young men and women of African descent about the clergy vocation.

- To promote strong lay leadership among communities of African Descent within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

- Create a systematic approach of ensuring the Black Congregations and other Communities of African descent are sustainable and viable within their vineyards.

- To be a community of vigilance and action regarding matters of injustice, especially the effects of racism in the Church and society

Highlights for 2017 -2018

- We are deeply committed to keeping before the Church the importance of Historically Black Colleges and have actively fundraised , promoted and recruited for the colleges to ensure their longevity

- We strongly support Black leadership & vocations (lay and ordained) and have hosted Black Clergy meetings across our church, successfully promoted the first Black Credo Conference and met with Black Seminarians and Seminaries (EDS & VTS ) to lobby for their needs including job placement

- We network with other ethnic and interest groups who share our vision for a just, inclusive and Christ-centered Church with continued meetings with the Network Collaborative, Consultation and Deputies of Colors

- We support Ethnic & Social Justice Missioners and played a critical role in the recruitment of the new Missioner for Black Ministry and with his appointment have developed strong partnership on shared goals and priorities

- We created and sponsored General Convention resolutions in the following areas: Mass Incarceration, Gun Violence, Voting Rights, Racial Reconciliation and Immigration Rights

- We encouraged members to be deputies for General Convention and to fill other critical Diocesan and Provincial committees, to that end we hosted a Black Deputies Education Forum  and will provide continued support for them during General Convention

- Our members participated in direct actions through outreach to elected officials, marches, voting etc. for issues e.g. Health Care, Black Lives Matter, Gun Reform, Budget

- In addition to communication through social media and email, we launched a newsletter UBUNTU to highlight issues and celebrate the history and contributions of Black Episcopalians within our church and community

- We provided hurricane relief donations of food and school supplies to the Virgin Islands

- For continued education and advocacy we are hosting our 50^th Annual Business Meeting and Conference which includes Youth and Young Adults leadership programming

- www.ube.org