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Though slavery in New York State had ended nearly twenty years before St. Luke’s founding, parish historian Lys Marigold has shown that the Gardiner family - significant founders memorialized in seven stained glass windows - were directly connected to the slavery economy. The Rev. Benjamin Shambaugh, rector, preached about this history on the first Sunday of February, Black History Month, this year. His sermon, and the bulletin for that service that included special prayers for the occasion, are available below.

The parish is also connected to the Plain Sight Project, a collaboration between the East Hampton Star newspaper, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm on Shelter Island, and various local historians and historical societies in the area. The Plain Sight Project works to restore the stories of enslaved persons in the East End of Long Island from the mid-17th century onward to their essential place in American history. Links to their website, and to a collaboration they did with Sag Harbor Cinema called Forgetting to Remember, are available on the Resources tab above.