The Diocese of Massachusetts and the Bishop John M. Burgess Massachusetts Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians are coordinating this year’s Juneteenth Celebration on June 19, 2026. St. Cyprian’s Church, 1073 Tremont Street, will be the site of the 10am service and gathering afterward. All are invited to St. Cyprian’s to share the experience and spirit of Juneteenth.

Preaching will be the Reverend Canon Jordan F. Casson of St Michael’s Church, (Anglican/Episcopal), Yeadon, PA. The Rev. Canon Casson was commissioned Canon for Peace and Reconciliation for the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 2020. He chairs the Diocese of PA Absalom Jones Committee and leads the Loving Presence initiative for the diocese.

Canon Casson’s years of advocacy and support for social justice led to his induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers and Scholars in 2014. Established in 1985, the Board honors global religious and ethical leaders who exemplify a commitment to nonviolence, social justice, and civil rights, and who are dedicated to advancing peace, human rights, and moral social responsibility.

We recommend Annette Gordon-Reed’s Juneteenth (New York Liveright, 2021), a succinct and thoughtful blend of personal history and historical scholarship on the meaning of the commemoration to her family and to our country.

In this video, she describes reactions to official document, General Orders, No. 3, which announced the declaration of freedom for enslaved persons in Texas. Jubilation was met with retaliation for that jubilation, reflecting both the reactions to the ending of legal enslavement, and the beginning of a renewed advocacy and struggle for civil rights in this country.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin