Episcopal Diocese sponsors first diocesan Beloved Community prayer vigil on MLK Day
By Tony Gutiérrez
PHOENIX — Canon Alex Leonard has always felt a connection to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the two share a birthday: Jan. 15. At 39, she is also the same age as the iconic Civil Rights leader when he was murdered in 1968.
“There is nothing like being born the same day as a great leader to put your life into perspective. And now, at 39, I cannot imagine having gone through what he went through, what my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and other ancestors who came before me have gone through,” she said from the pulpit during a “Beloved Community Prayer Vigil” Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Phoenix on MLK Day, Jan. 19 this year.
While in the past individual parishes and communities held events to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, this year marked the first time the diocese — which encompasses the entire state of Arizona minus the Navajo Nation — sponsored such an event. While Canon Leonard preached the homily, the Rt. Rev. Jennifer A. Reddall, bishop of the Diocese of Arizona, and the Rev. Canon Erika von Haaren, priest-in-charge of the cathedral, led the service.
“A cohesive response hasn’t been something that’s been super accessible or at the forefront of the work that we’re doing as a diocese, other than Bishop Jennifer speaking out about different issues and being the voice for our diocese on these things,” Canon Leonard told the Informant. “I hope that this will be a diocesan-led response in the future yearly.”
Canon Leonard currently serves as the Canon of Justice for the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, a role that incorporates her previous position as Canon for Black Ministry. Her role — which she took on in January — also includes providing resources for clergy and churches to promote justice.
The prayer service itself incorporated Scripture readings from Psalm 133:1-3 and Isaiah 58:6-12, as well as Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman’s reflection “I Confess” taken from his “Meditations of the Heart” and the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray’s sermon, “The Dilemma of the Minority Christian.”
“As Isaiah said, glorifying God is not something we should be doing for show but instead something we should live into with our whole being,” Canon Leonard said. “It is exemplifying God by word and deed — as we promise in our Baptismal Covenant — by resisting evil, by loving each other as much as we love ourselves.”
Thurman echoes that sentiment when he writes “There is food for all — many are hungry, There are clothes enough for all — many are in rags.” Murray’s sermon called for followers of Jesus Christ to pour out “love upon others even when they are unloved and unlovable.”
Canon Leonard tied these words with the work of Dr. King, who used nonviolence but still publicly proclaimed the truth with courage.
“A lot of times that love is reflected in speaking out and telling the truth about the world. Jesus modeled truth-telling for us. So many times in the Bible, Jesus tells the truth, often to people who do not want to hear the truth as Jesus saw it,” Canon Leonard told the Informant in an interview. “We’re called as Christians to live into that and proclaim the Gospel, which is a Gospel of love and inclusion for everyone.”
The Union of Black Episcopalians Karl and Virginia Washington Arizona Chapter co-sponsored the prayer vigil. The UBE’s mission is to “unify the diverse cultures, concerns, and gifts of Black Episcopalians by offering preparation and encouragement for living the Baptismal Covenant and actively participating in the mission and governance of the Episcopal Church.”
“UBE Arizona honors the legacies of those who came before us by making a difference in the world today through our actions (e.g. community outreach and volunteerism), our spiritual fellowship (e.g. book studies, pastoral care) and our educational impact (speaker series, workshops, etc.),” UBE-AZ President Helenor Webb told the Informant via e-mail.
While Dr. King was an ordained Baptist pastor, he is recognized on the Calendar of Saints for the Episcopal Church and other Anglican jurisdictions such as the Church of England and the conservative-leaning Anglican Church of North America. His feast is recognized both on MLK Day and on April 4 — the day he was assassinated. A statue of Dr. King stands as part of a display of 10 “Modern Martyrs” at Westminster Abbey, considered one of the centers of global Anglicanism.
“Not only do Dr. King’s life and ministry echo the principles embodied by Absalom Jones and other early Black Episcopal leaders, they inspired his contemporaries during the Civil Rights movement and are evidenced in the formation of UBE in February 1968,” Webb said.
From an Anglican/Episcopalian context, Canon Leonard said she sees saints and holy siblings of the Church as examples of how to live in relationship with God.
“People’s denominations do not have a sway on whether somebody’s led by example on what it means to be a Christian, what it means to live into the teachings of Jesus,” she said. “Dr. King is no exception to that. He’s a hero. Many say he’s a prophet.”
Trinity Cathedral’s RE-Humanization Project also co-sponsored the vigil. The project began in January 2025 as a way to build unity and promote dignity in the face of rapid dehumanization.
“There’s so much othering going on, and it’s easy to demonize people. You make it more difficult to see Christ in them to see their humanity if you ‘other’ folks, and we’ve seen that so many times in history, and we’re seeing it today,” Canon Leonard told the Informant. “The RE-Humanization project is re-centering ourselves back to the truth, the reality of our existence — we are all human, and we need to remember that and act accordingly.”
In her sermon, Canon Leonard referenced two of Dr. King’s addresses, one he delivered at The New School on Feb. 6, 1964, and his prophetic “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech he gave at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis on April 3, 1968, the eve of his martyrdom. In both addresses, Dr. King referenced the ways people remain in bondage — political, psychological, social, economic and intellectual — since President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. During the 1968 address, he challenged the country: “All we say to America is, ‘Be true to what you said on paper.’”
“On paper we say we are all created equally. On paper we say everybody has a right to be free. On paper we say everybody has a right to pursue happiness. So why aren’t we living into these ideas today?” Canon Leonard asked her congregation.
She then referenced the struggles for justice today, noting the killing of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Keith Porter in Los Angeles and Silverio Villegas González in Chicago, all at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. She also referred to Arbella “Yari” Rodriguez Marquez, who has been denied leukemia treatment while in ICE custody.
“Wishing alone will not bring about the Beloved Community,” Webb said. “Times will arise in human history when those who wish for equality, justice and peace must take faithful action to bring that to fruition.”
As she concluded her sermon, Canon Leonard recalled Dr. King telling everybody that he had “been to the mountaintop.”
“He wanted to live a long life, and that he may not get there with us but that we as a people will get to the promised land. The following day, he was assassinated at 39 years old,” she said. “I know this: we all have a chance to do our part and glorify God as those before us have taught us in word and deed.”
Episcopal Diocese of Arizona Canon for Justice Alex Leonard preaches the sermon at Trinity Cathedral in Downtown Phoenix during the diocese’s Beloved Community Prayer Vigil celebrated Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19 this year. (Photos courtesy of Susan Giamportone, Union of Black Episcopalians Arizona Chapter)
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