This Band of Sisterhood

WESTINA MATTHEWS is an adjunct professor for the Center for Christian Spirituality at General Theological Seminary. Matthews is an author, theologian, public speaker, and retreat leader whose practice reflects contemplative living through “holy listening.” Her latest book is This Band of Sisterhood. A graduate of Shalem Institute's Spiritual Guidance Program, she currently serves on the Shalem board. She lives in Savannah, Georgia.Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows is the first black woman to be elected a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.Carlye J. Hughes is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. Kimberly Lucas is eleventh and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese in Colorado. Lucas is the first woman as well as the first African American to serve as bishop in the diocese. She was consecrated in 2019. Prior to her election, she was rector of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C since 2012. Previously, she was the rector of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 2005 to 2011. Phoebe A. Roaf is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee. Shannon MacVean-Brown is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont.

“There are so many nuggets of wisdom to be found in the conversations between these remarkable Black women bishops. . . . The reflections, experiences, and profound humanity that my sisters share in these pages are indeed priceless.”—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church“These are our sisters, those elevated and now celebrated, as women paving the paths that were blazed for them. . . . These bishops are on fire—a must-read.”—The Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, the Obama administration“A precious offering, a divinely crafted mosaic of devoted and tenacious faithfulness, a challenge to the reader to pursue with greater clarity and vigor the Spirit’s liberating work of justice in both church and world, and just good food for the soul!”—The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, Managing Director, College for Bishops, The Episcopal Church“With each conversation, it becomes clear that these five Black women bishops are not content with being ‘first’ and that they refuse to be essentialized as symbols of diversity. . . . This Band of Sisterhood is a sign of hope that our church is indeed on the path to becoming Church.”—The Very Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, PhD Dean, Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary

• Foreword: . . . And a Band of Angels by Catherine MeeksIntroductionChapter 1. Gird Up My LoinsChapter 2. Growing Up Black in the ChurchChapter 3. The Dual PandemicChapter 4. Discerning the CallChapter 5. Living into the CallChapter 6. We Are the ChurchAfterword by Paula E. ClarkNotes