REV. ROBYN GOES TO WASHINGTON, DC!

I want to tell you about a wonderful conference that I attended last month. I not only attended – I was also the facilitator of the conference planning committee! 

The 2025 Tri-History Conference was held at Saint Alban's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. (across from the National Cathedral). Programming was held the evening of June 17th through lunch on June 20th. The title of the conference was: Caminemos con Jesús (Let's Walk with Jesus): History of Latino Ministry in the Episcopal Church. 

The Keynote Speaker was the Rev. Dr. Anthony Guillén, pictured below (first image). Father Anthony was Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries of The Episcopal Church for decades, and he has recently retired. He gave a talk about the history of Latino ministry in the Episcopal church, from its beginnings at local churches in the early twentieth century up through today. Father Anthony is a pivotal figure in the history of Episcopal Latino ministry, and it was a privilege to hear his first-hand account of this important part of our church’s history. 

The second major Conference Speaker was Ray Suarez (pictured below, second image), American broadcast journalist and author, pictured here. You may have heard Ray’s voice on NPR, or seen his reporting in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and other major news outlets. Ray is a devout Episcopalian, and he gave a talk about his experience as a Latino parishioner in the Episcopal church. The title of his talk was, "Demography, Geography, and Destiny", and it was an engaging and fascinating lecture. Following the lecture, Ray hosted a book signing. 

The conference hotel was the Glover Park Hotel Georgetown, 2505 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC. Our conference planning team hosted a banquet dinner that Wednesday night for over seventy conference attendees in one of the ballrooms there. It was an elegant affair until the salmon ran out – the hotel had only cooked enough portions for 50 people, not 72! I had to sneak into the hotel kitchen and gently beg the staff to fire up some chicken breasts and whatever else they had on hand so that we could feed everyone. They did, and the banquet was saved. Not so much the loaves and fishes, but still a minor miracle, in my opinion! 

One of the highlights of the conference was our concluding Eucharist at Washington National Cathedral. It was a glorious service, and we were all so grateful to offer praise to God for a wonderful conference in such a historic and beautiful space. We filled the Cathedral with joyful liturgy and music in both Spanish and English. 

I have included a picture I took of the Cathedral (it was a beautiful day) – the children at St. Gregory’s who attend the Rise and Shine service will recognize BunBun in one of the pictures! BunBun likes to travel, and she enjoyed her visit to Washington, DC, too.  

The Tri-History Conference examines the history and heritage of the Episcopal Church and churches of the Anglican Communion. Held every three years, it is co-sponsored by three historical organizations of the Episcopal Church. Those organizations are: 

In my role as conference facilitator, I was able to secure a grant from Trinity Wall Street for $20,000 to cover the cost of simultaneous translation services, so that participants could listen to conference presentations in their choice of either Spanish or English. That was a real “win” for the conference, because it made the academic presentations from notable historians and Episcopal leaders accessible to all. 

I was chosen as the conference facilitator because I have served on the board of directors of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church since 2013 (I was even elected as the President of the Historical Society, a position I held for the full term of six years). As a trained church historian, it is important to me to be able to contribute to the body of scholarship that focuses on Episcopal church history. The conference was a lot of work: I had to give a lot of speeches (to welcome people to the conference, to introduce speakers, and to announce presentation panels) and I had to manage a lot of logistical issues. The next Tri-History Conference will be held in 2028, but I won’t be leading that one! Whew! 

The Tri-History Conference has made a difference by shining new light on an important aspect of our Episcopal church history. I learned so much, and I am so grateful for the experience. 

If you want to watch any of the presentations or speakers, conference videos will be posted in August to the Tri-History website: https://www.trihistory.org/2025.html 

To learn more about the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, and to become a member, talk to Rev. Robyn or go to the Historical Society website: https://hsec.us/

-- Rev. Dr. Robyn M. Neville, Ph.D. 

Dawn Rahicki