Few, if any, have fulfilled their baptismal vows as fully as the man for whom August 14th was established as his Liturgical Day in The Episcopal Church.  Jonathan Myrick Daniels: Martyr, Seminarian and Witness for Civil Rights, makes SIM especially proud, for on August 14, 1963 Jonathan applied for the first of his two SIM scholarships to attend Episcopal Theological School (ETS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts [now Episcopal Divinity School].

In March 1965, singing the Magnificat at Evening Prayer in the ETS chapel, Jonathan was inspired by the words:
 

In that moment he knew that he must travel to Selma, Alabama, to participate in various anti-segregation activities. Over the next two months he marched for voter registration and led protests, such as an inter-racial worship service at Selma's St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where African-Americans were banned from worship and where, within the month, its vestry ended their century-old segregation policies.  

Jonathan Myrick Daniels with children

In Selma Jonathan lived with the African-American family of Alice West until May when he returned to Cambridge for final exams.  When he found he "could not stand by in benevolent dispassion any longer without compromising everything I know and love and value", Jonathan returned to Selma later that summer.

On August 14, 1965 Jonathan, along with a racially mixed group of fellow marchers, was arrested and jailed for picketing racially segregated businesses.  Released six days later and ordered to leave town, Jonathan, followed orders with three other freed colleagues, a Roman Catholic priest and two teenage African-American girls. As they walked to a local store to buy soft drinks, a part-time deputy sheriff confronted them with a 12-gauge shotgun. The angry man cursed and threatened 16 year-old Ruby Sales and raised his weapon. Again, Jonathan "could not stand by" and stepped in front of Ruby. Jonathan Myrick Daniels, age 26, a man whom Alice West said, "treated [her] with respect and always called [her] Mrs. West," was instantly killed by the shotgun's blast.
 

Many accolades over almost half a century have been said and written of Jonathan's leadership.  A 1963 letter of recommendation for his SIM scholarship forecasted: "I really can see this young man emerging as a powerful force in the church, one who can be depended upon to be a good leader."  Another poignant prediction came from Alice West's nine year old daughter, Rachel:  "I knew for certain that there were really good white folks in this country, and with them on our side, we would win our freedom."
     

Of Jonathan's selfless courage, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Certainly there are no incidents more beautiful in the annals of church history.  Jonathan had a promising life cut so short by this brutal and bestial deed; but the meaning of life was so fulfilled in his death that few people in our time will know such fulfillment or meaning."     

Today SIM continues its historic ministry of investing in future ordained leaders who will make a difference for our church and the world.

Faithfully,

Tom Moore
Executive Director