Dcn Leah Sandwell-Weiss
Dear friends,
Today we observe the lives of two men: one most Christians have heard of, the Apostle Barnabas, and one most haven’t, Enmegahbowh, the first Native American ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. These two men, separated by time, geography, culture, and language, also have a few things in common. Both were missionaries who went to people within and outside their own cultures to spread the word of God.
Most of the information about Barnabas comes from Acts and a few of Paul’s letters, where he is identified as a Jew, originally named Joseph, from Cyprus. Barnabas appears to mean "son of encouragement." At some point, he becomes a follower of Jesus. He hears about Paul’s conversion and his work with the Gentiles, but realizes that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem don’t trust him. Barnabas is trusted, though, and, apparently on his word, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem start to accept Paul.
The Jerusalem leaders sent Barnabas to Antioch to reach out to the Gentiles. He searches for Paul and the two of them worked together in Antioch and on missionary trips to the Gentiles for several years. They split over a conflict over whether Mark, a younger missionary, can be trusted to continue the work. Barnabas takes Mark with him to Cyprus. According to tradition, Barnabas founded the Cypriot Orthodox Church and was eventually martyred there.
We know more about Enmegahbowh, partly because late in life he wrote about his work. He was born sometime around 1820 in Canada, the son of a chief of an Ojibwe Band. He was raised in a Christian village affiliated with the Methodist church and originally became a Methodist missionary. After failing in that endeavor in Minnesota, he met an Episcopal missionary there and was baptized in 1851. He was ordained deacon in 1859 and priest in 1867. He helped found the mission church of St Columba, Minnesota, and was buried there in 1902.
Trained as a medicine man, Enmegahbowh used his cross-cultural background to found missions, train other native Christian leaders, and develop mission strategies and policies within the Episcopalian Church. He was a peacemaker between the Anglos and the Native peoples and between Native tribes, preventing the spread of a revolt against the Anglos in 1862 by warning a nearby settlement, and later encouraging a peace treaty between the Sioux and the Chippewa, traditional enemies. His Ojibwa name means “The man who stands by his people.”
The Diocese of Minnesota commissioned indigenous artist, The Rev’d Johnson Loud, Jr., to write an icon of Enmegahbowh for the 100th anniversary of his death. The icon contains two critical symbolic elements: fire—the catalyst for change—and a peace pipe, a powerful summation of his life. You can see pictures of him and learn more about his story in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/KD2CMo_9KIc.
Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God, who led your pilgrim people of old by fire and cloud: Grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of your servant Enmegahbowh, may lead your people with fiery zeal and gentle humility. This we ask through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Dcn Leah