In the wake of the death of George Floyd while in police custody, the bishop and bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota urged all Minnesota Episcopalians to “commit again to the work of racial reconciliation and justice.”
The statement, by Bishop Brian N. Prior and Bishop-Elect Craig Loya, expressed support for protests and said “The systemic racism revealed in the killing of George Floyd is not limited to police precincts, it is also present in our own church.” They provided links to enable donations to the Floyd family and to several “organizations working on the front line of these issues.”
There was also a link to a previous statement by Loya, posted to Facebook less than 24 hours after the May 25 incident, in which he said: “America in 2020 is the place where black men are regularly murdered by police while they are handcuffed and begging for their lives. This simply does not happen to people who look like me.”
Loya is scheduled to be consecrated the X Bishop of Minnesota on June 6. Prior has served in that role since early 2010.
— Kirk Petersen
Kirk Petersen began reporting news for TLC as a freelancer in 2016, and was Associate Editor from 2019 to 2024, focusing especially on matters of governance in the Episcopal Church.
