The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray was named to sainthood in The Episcopal Church in 2012. She challenged customs, norms, and laws in the cause of justice and full inclusion. Her mission and boundary smashing continue to challenge us today. Drawn from deep pain and deeper faith, she saw identity as a continually evolving gift from God with human co-creation.

While today we might assign gender pronouns and categories only available in our times, we are acutely aware of Dr. Murray’s struggle and refusal to accept labels, categories, or any limits in understanding the transcendence of the soul.  Emulating that struggle in life and justice, we encourage each speaker to choose the pronouns and gender identity that are most resonant with them when describing Murray.

In this project’s reference to our saint, we rely on the norms established by historians and theologians of Murray. Inasmuch as we respect other ways of referring to her, Emmanuel Church’s reference to Murray will follow the feminine singular: she, her, hers, the pronouns she used to describe herself in her lifetime. Similarly, we encourage respect for the gender pronouns colleagues choose in referring to Dr. Murray.