A new plaque outside Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven includes a straightforward question from the baptismal covenant of the Book of Common Prayer: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?”
The plaque was unveiled Sunday afternoon as Grace Church became the 28th site on the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard.
The church was designated to honor the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first African-American Episcopal priest, the Rt. Rev. John Melville Burgess, the first African American diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church and a Vineyard resident, and artist and muralist Allan Rohan Crite, whose mural adorns a wall in the church’s youth room.
The parish house was filled with guests to celebrate the designation.