Bishop Henry Beard Delany
Are you feeling challenged by changes swirling in your life and in the wider country? Many people have spoken to me their feelings of helplessness, despair, and hopelessness.
When we look at the example of Jesus, we find that even in the midst of opposition and suffering, he remained centered in a life of prayer and relationship with God.
Closer to home in North Carolina, we have an example from Henry Beard Delany, who faced many challenges in the Jim Crow South, but persevered, and accomplished a great deal.
Henry Beard Delany was born on February 5, 1858, in Saint Mary’s, Georgia to Thomas and Sarah Delany, both enslaved by a Methodist family. After the war, Delany’s family moved to Fernandina Beach, Florida. He attended a school funded by the Freedmen’s Bureau and staffed by missionaries. In 1881, the rector of the Episcopal Church in that town funded a scholarship to allow Delany to attend St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Episcopal priests had founded the college in 1867 to educate newly freed men and women. There, Delany studied theology, music, and astronomy.
Following graduation, the multitalented Delany joined the staff of St. Augustine’s, rising to vice principal. He developed the plans for a number of buildings on campus, including a hospital (the only one that served blacks in the area) and the chapel which still stands. He married Nanny Logan (class valedictorian). Together they raised 10 children, all of whom attended St. Augustine and subsequently made valuable contributions to their careers. Their two oldest daughters Annie Elizabeth (Bessie) and Sarah Louise (Sadie) gained national fame in 1992 with their best-selling book, “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” which became a Broadway play and television movie.
Henry also followed a call to ministry and was ordained a deacon in 1889 and a priest three years later. Delany promoted education opportunities among North Carolina’s African-American population. He did not confine his efforts to the Episcopal Church: he visited Baptist, Methodist, and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregations throughout the state and helped them organize schools.
A man of deep piety and compassion, Delany worked tirelessly for the education and rights of African-Americans in the Carolinas and across the South in the days of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. He was one of the few education advocates who worked to bring educational opportunities to black prisoners in local jails.
In 1918, Delany was consecrated as Suffragan Bishop for Colored Work in North Carolina, becoming the second black person consecrated bishop in the Episcopal Church. As Suffragan Bishop, he continued to work at St. Augustine’s and continued to establish black churches and schools throughout the Carolinas. Delany died on April 14, 1928 in his home on the campus of St. Augustine’s College and was buried from the chapel he designed.
Delany’s story reminds me of the power of prayerful determination. He remained focused on what he could control and what he could influence and left the rest to others. Life under Jim Crow placed significant limits on what he could do, but he was not paralyzed by despair. Bishop Delany accomplished a great deal in his lifetime and left a lasting legacy of hope.
Author and Episcopal priest Lisa Cressman observes:
We control our actions and reactions, our attitudes and perspectives, our choices and values, our habits, practices, and disciplines. This means prioritizing – above all else – practices like reconnecting with God and our why, fostering health in body and mind, and connecting with loved ones. It also includes creating comforting routines that decrease decision-making during times of stress. It may not seem like a lot, but the impact of seeing our genuine choices in action provides hope to live and serve for another day.
Beyond what we can control, we can influence situations that have an impact on others. We influence by “preaching with our life,” through our daily words and actions, the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus, and the dignity of every other human being. We influence by writing letters to our representatives, praying in our churches, sending our dollars to the groups who support our values, engaging digital platforms in a way that’s authentic to our values, Under God’s guidance, we influence by seeking to love our neighbors like ourselves.
Outside our circle of influence, though we see the suffering of others, we cannot directly do anything about it. And so, we entrust all who suffer to God’s never-ending love, which never fails. Because God’s love never fails, when we mind our circles of responsibility for love of neighbor, neither will we.
Photo credit: Icon of Bishop Henry Beard Delany written by Fr. David Holland and gifted to Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church in honor of their 150-year Anniversary.