 | |||||
| HRH Quean Lutibelle (Photo by Cynthia Black) |
It was, in fact, splendid.
Like most Episcopal events, it was part reunion of the "Old Newark Radicals" (there's Marge Christie there on the right, standing next to the bishop's wife), part celebration and honoring of Louie's ministry, part empowering future leaders for the work of ministry.
Oh, and another large part great conversation, wonderful food and, of course, great drinks.
You can read about the award recipients in the press release below. I'm simply thrilled that Louie's legacy will live on in the enabling and empowering of new LGBT leadership for The Episcopal Church.
Louie was thrilled and honored and moved to tears. I've rarely seen Louie at a loss for words. He was simply overwhelmed with emotion. And, rightly so. I think it's wonderful when we can honor one of our own while they are still alive to see how their lives touched so many so deeply and to know that so many others recognize and celebrate that work.
Congratulations, Louie. Thank you, Earnest. Well done, The Oasis. Mazel Tov, Diocese of Newark.
You make us all proud and inspire us to "keep on, keeping on".
P R E S
S R E L E A S E
The OASIS, the
LGBT ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, honored Dr. Louie Crew for a
lifetime of justice ministry at a reception Friday, and presented its first
annual scholarship and grant awards.
The Right
Rev. Mark Beckwith, Bishop of
Newark, and OASIS Commission Chair John Simonelli presented Dr. Crew with a
hand-illumined certificate of appreciation and announced the first recipients of
the scholarship and grant created in his honor.
 |
| Bishop Beckwith, Ernest Clay and Louie Crew (Cynthia Black Photo) |
Dr. Crew founded Integrity, the
national organization for LGBT Episcopalians, in 1974. A retired professor of
English (most recently at Rutgers University) he served on the Executive Council
of the Episcopal Church from 2000-2006 and represented the Diocese of Newark as
a member of the House of Deputies
from 1993-2011, among many other acts of service to the church. He holds a Ph.D. from the
University of Alabama, Doctorates of Divinity from the
Episcopal Divinity School and General Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of
Human Letters from the Divinity School of the Pacific. Dr. Crew is
extensively
published, on matters of English composition, social justice, faith, and
poetry. Dr. Crew is a three-time
recipient of the National Endowment for Humanities, was honored by the Ragdale
Foundation and the Wurlitzer Foundation, and received the Bishop’s Cross from
the Diocese of Newark.
The first Louie
Crew scholarship was presented to Darnell L. Moore, a writer and activist who is
currently the Associate Director of the Newark
Schools Research Collaborative (NSRC) and an
Affiliate of the Institute
on Education Law and Policy (IELP) both at
Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey-Newark. He holds a BA in Social & Behavioral Sciences
(Seton Hall University), MA in Counseling
(Eastern University) and MA in Theological Studies
(Princeton Theological Seminary).
He also serves as
the Chair of Mayor Cory Booker of Newark’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Concerns
and Education Chair of the Newark
Pride Alliance, and has served appointments as a Visiting Fellow at Yale Divinity
School and Lecturer in the Women & Gender Studies Department at Rutgers-New
Brunswick, as well as Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Gender and
Sexuality at New York University.
Moore plans to use the scholarship money
to participate in two writing retreats to further his first book, tentatively
titled To be Black, Queer and Christian: Essays on the Black church and
Sexuality.
 |
| Diana Wilcox, Louie, Darnell Moore, Louie Crew, Members of The Oasis Commission, (C. Black) |
The first OASIS Grant was awarded to
the Montclair Protestant Chaplaincy, an ecumenical collaborative, to support the
work of the Rev. Deacon Diana Wilcox as chaplain at
Montclair State University. A recent graduate of Drew Theological
Seminary in Madison, Wilcox provides a progressive
Christian presence at the university with weekly prayer services, spiritual
counseling and other programming.
Wilcox studied at Montclair State University and
Fairleigh Dickinson University before pursuing her Master of
Divinity at Drew. Her campus group, the Web of Life Christian Community, became
a Believe
Out Loud Congregation in 2011, and took
part in the response to bias incidents on campus this fall and
winter.
The OASIS, founded
in 1989, is a justice ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. Once
providing “safe space” worship and spiritual counseling, the organization
has evolved into an educational
and advocacy role. The Louie Crew
Scholarship and Oasis Grant, which were first announced at the 2012 Diocesan
Convention, will be awarded annually at the Oasis anniversary in June to
individuals and groups working “at the intersection of sexuality and faith.”
John Simonelli, Oasis Commission Chair
Episcopal Diocese of Newark
31 Mulberry Street
Newark, NJ 07102chair@oasisnewark.org
http://oasisnewark.org
Episcopal Diocese of Newark
31 Mulberry Street
Newark, NJ 07102chair@oasisnewark.org
http://oasisnewark.org
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