In a blatant display of wokeness infiltrating the church, the Episcopal Diocese of New York has announced a $1 million fund dedicated to reparations for slavery, with the head bishop of the Diocese calling slavery “part of the fabric” of the Episcopal Church and stating that the denomination is “trying to repair this fabric” through reparations.
For background, on July 10, 2025, Religion News Service (RNS) reported that the Episcopal Diocese of New York had created a fund to support racial reparations within the church and in New York at large, with the Rev. Marisa Sifontes saying that the money would fund grants and loan forgiveness for black New Yorkers.
Speaking to RNS, the Rt. Rev. Matthew F. Heyd, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, said that the fund was created because “New York was the center of the salve trade in the United States,” adding, “That evil is part of the fabric of the diocese, and we’re trying to repair this fabric.”
Continuing, Heyd said that the Episcopal Church was “using a reparations lens for all of our work,” adding, “It’s not just the fund, but it’s a whole constellation of ways in which we’re understanding part of our spiritual formation as undoing racism and responding and dismantling white supremacy.”
In addition, Rev. Sifontes said that the fund was “the next step in almost 20 years of work that the diocese has been doing to recognize that reparations is not just important work, but it’s part of our gospel call to reconciliation and to live in beloved community,” with RNS adding that the fund would continue to be replenished when the denomination sells property.
Importantly, the Episcopal Church also issued a statement on June 18, 2025, supporting Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) in her push for reparations, writing that the congresswoman “affirmed the strength of the reparations movement and announced growing support for H.R.40, legislation that she is championing to address the harmful legacy of slavery and establish a federal commission to develop reparations proposals for African American descendants of enslaved people.”
Continuing, the church’s news service stated that H.R.40, a piece of proposed legislation calling for reparations, serves as “a powerful counterweight to the unprecedented onslaught against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Trump Administration and a call to action to address the systemic oppression of Black people.”
In addition, the denomination quoted Rep.Pressley in its statement, saying, “The state of our reparations movement is strong and in this moment of heightened anti-Blackness in America, we are more resolved than ever.” The congresswoman continued, “H.R. 40 is racial justice, economic justice, and a moral imperative, and it is deeply necessary to confront America’s damning history of systemic racism head-on.”
Featured image credit: Shutterstock