Celebrating Desmond Tutu | St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Posted December 28, 2021

On a Sunday walk, my wife recalled some wonderful stories about Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As a young child, the future Archbishop learned that the church could be a source of social change and not just an instrument of oppression. Tutu and his mother were walking on a sidewalk one day when a tall white man approached on the sidewalk from the opposite direction. In apartheid South Africa white supremacy dictated that the black mother and child should step off the sidewalk to let the white man pass without having to acknowledge them. So Tutu was shocked when the white man stepped into the street and doffed his hat to his mother as he passed them.The tall white man was wearing a black suit and a clerical collar and the young Tutu regained a modicum of trust in the church as witness to justice.

The other story my wife Alison related is from the height of the Anti-Apartheid struggle. Alison visited the church in Soweto where this happened and passed along the story to me. Tutu and a group of ecumenical clergy were holding a prayer meeting to protest the white supremacist government of South Africa. The South African Defense Forces—large, white, heavily armed Afrikaners—surrounded the church and intimidated the clergy and laity. Indeed, a group of armed soldiers surrounded the lectern where Tutu was leading prayers—stomping in heavy boats, banging rifle butts on the floor, looming over Tutu as he prayed. One soldier raised his rifle and brought the butt down on the wooden lectern breaking off a large chunk. Tutu continued to pray.

I celebrate the life of Desmond Tutu, a Saint. His courage, humor, endurance, faithfulness, grace and truth shined with the light of God in our generation. May we be blessed to learn from him and follow him into the virtues that serve the vision of God's goodness in our world.

In Christ,

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Rector

(215) 247-7466 ext. 101

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel (he/him) was educated at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained Priest in 1995 in Danville, Pennsylvania where he worked as a Hospital Chaplain and a Head Start teacher. Pastoral positions followed at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Flossmoor, Illinois, St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, and then Rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. After following his wife, the Rev. Dr. Alison Boden, to her new position in Princeton, New Jersey, he was called to be the Executive Director of the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County. The largest food pantry and the gateway agency for Homelessness Prevention services in Mercer County, the Crisis Ministry also runs a Welfare to Work program and an innovative free farmers market. Jarrett became Rector of St. Martin’s in February 2011. He formerly served as the co-chair of Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Jarrett serves as Dean of the Wissahickon Deanery and is an Associate of the Order of the Holy Cross. He is an Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary where he co-teaches a regular class on Faith Based Community Organizing, Theology and Practice. Jarrett has been published in Sojourners, the Huffington Post, Yours the Power, and the Journal of Public Theology. He is the father of two children, Timothy and Martha.

Rector's Note

The Rector's Note is a blog of weekly reflections by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Read and reflect each week with Jarrett. On occasion, we have a second post or a guest post that runs in the Recto…

Tags: Rector's Note / Becoming Beloved Community / Racial Justice

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Sermons

Jan 23 | Anne Alexis Harra
Being in the Body
Jan 23 | The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Joy is our Strength
Jan 16 | The Rev. Barbara Ballenger
The Circle of Mercy
Jan 9 | The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Dr. Pepper and Redemption
Jan 2 | The Rev. Barbara Ballenger
St. Joseph, Pray for Us