September 20, 2026

Dear Family a d Friends,

I write to share the deep gratitude and inspiration that marked my recent visit to The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SsAM) in downtown Wilmington. What began as a stop on my fourth pilgrimage, Hall to Hall: Liberty’s Flame for Equality, became a profound encounter with a living community of faith—one that embodies hospitality, service, and the radical love of God for all people.

DL Casson, the Parish Administrator, stands at the heart of the parish’s daily life and outreach. Drawing on extensive experience in higher education management, community development, and public health applied research, she brings both skill and heart to her role. A former Trustee of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a longtime advocate for equitable access to healthy food, housing, and opportunity, D-L now oversees SsAM’s finances and administrative functions while coordinating ministries, training liturgical participants, and warmly greeting all who enter. It was D-L who graciously greeted me and opened the church so that I could stay—an act of hospitality that made my visit possible and deeply meaningful.

SsAM’s programs extend that same spirit outward into the city. The church partners closely with Friendship House to offer practical care for neighbors experiencing homelessness—through laundry ministry, Code Purple and Code Orange extreme-weather shelters, and the beloved Quiche House breakfast. Each Sunday morning a hot meal is prepared and served to more than a hundred community members, feeding both body and spirit. The parish also supports local food pantries, the Apostles in Mission (AIM) advocacy fund, an Environmental Justice Ministry, the Choir School of Delaware, Children’s Chapel, adult formation, and broader efforts for peace, racial reconciliation, and empowerment. These ministries flow naturally from the congregation’s history: the 1996 joining of a predominantly Black and a predominantly White downtown church into one inclusive body committed to justice and reconciliation.

Among the many faithful servants I met, I especially want to highlight Paul Tanner, a member of the Vestry. Paul cooks for the community Saturday breakfast program, beginning the preparation that sustains so many. His steady, generous service reflects the quiet faithfulness that strengthens the whole parish.

I stayed for the 8:00 a.m. service. The Rev. Canon Brad Hinton, Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Church in Delaware, preached with clarity and heart, skillfully connecting the dots from the parish’s rich past to its vibrant present. The liturgy was amazing—reverent, welcoming, and alive with the Spirit. I took particular note of the second reading from Philippians 1:21-30:

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well—since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

In that moment the text felt both personal and communal, a reminder that our lives are held in Christ and that we are called to encourage one another until we meet again.

I left invigorated for the next leg of my pilgrimage. The experience at SsAM has strengthened my resolve to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, for mercy for Bishop Trevor, for an AI SWF, and above all for the community of Christians who daily exemplify the love of God for all people. In the faces, the meals, the liturgy, and the quiet acts of welcome at Saints Andrew and Matthew, I glimpsed that love made visible.

Please join this work. If you are able , support ongoing pilgrimage and advocacy of Katrina’s Dream with a gift. Every contribution helps keep the flame of equality burning.

And please sign and share the petition urging Senator Murkowski to champion S.J. Res. 38 and remove the arbitrary deadline on the Equal Rights Amendment:. Your signature and your sharing amplify the call that there is no deadline on equality.

Love and Light in Christ,

Helene de Boissiere – Swanson