Episcopal Diocese Seeks to Highlight Acts of Kindness

A new campaign has launched in New York, but it’s not tied to a political race.

From political tension to housing insecurity to worsening floods, many New Yorkers have felt the weight of recent challenges. We all want to be thoughtful and compassionate community members, but knowing where to start isn’t always easy. Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of New York said they are turning to the roots of their faith to spread care, connection, and courage.

With the help of the Interfaith Center, the Episcopal Divinity School, and Central Synagogue, the Episcopal Diocese launched the #OneSingleAct campaign on July 1. The campaign officially runs for 100 days.

The purpose of the campaign is simple: Many of us perform gestures of kindness for our community every day, such as helping someone carry groceries or saving a cat from a tree. To participate, you can upload photos of these moments to social media with the hashtag #OneSingleAct. For non-social-media users, don’t fret; you can submit a Google Form of your act on the Diocese website.

Bishop Matthew Heyd, the spiritual and administrative leader of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, oversees 172 congregations, chaplaincies, and schools across New York.

Rev. Winnie Varghese serves as dean of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. She oversees worship and spiritual life at the cathedral and launched the campaign on her first day.

Lauren Chung, executive director of Episcopal Charities, leads the non-profit arm, which supports outreach programs connected to the Diocese.

Could you briefly introduce the campaign?

Bishop Matthew Heyd: What we see out in the world is crazier every day—we experience that in neighborhoods and we hear it in the news. The question is, What kind of culture do we want to live in? What kind of world do we hope for? We believe in a world of generosity rather than scarcity, and the chaos and cruelty that we see in the news and in our neighborhoods is not the real story.

Rev. Winnie Varghese: I got to stand on the steps of the cathedral and invite the community to be very intentional about their day-to-day and look for ways to be compassionate, to record it, and to look for other people’s compassion and kindness. Our role is to amplify that within all of the communities we are connected to, and to use our reach to amplify that message.

What inspired this campaign?

MH: There are two answers to that. First, these [acts] are things that our New York communities do every day. Our communities have been acting for care and connection for generations. In so many important ways, none of this is new. We want to make sure we’re telling, sharing, and inviting people into the story. Because of the stories of chaos and cruelty that we see in New York around anti-religious violence, immigration, or LGBTQ+ questions, it’s even more important now to tell a story of care and connection.

WV: What is brilliant is that Episcopalians, people, and our neighbors do this all the time, and it doesn’t count as news. I love that now we can tell our stories. We’re not inviting people to do or notice something different than normal; we’re inviting them to share it. It’s a baseline Christian model to say, Hey, there’s really good news out there, let’s tell that story. It’s easy to get worn down by what’s coming at us, but our faith tells us something very different: that we’re constantly building power and we have power on the ground by living into our values.

How does Episcopal faith present itself in this campaign?

WV: This campaign brilliantly takes a fundamental part of our spirituality [Christian faith], that the resurrected Christ is manifest in us through our actions, our being, and our doing. John Wesley thought that faith, trust, and belief manifest in our doing. We don’t trust because of words; we trust because of actions. This campaign puts our faith into action, but in a very manageable way that most of us already do. What we do and how we see one another is how our faith is formed. It’s how we build our spiritual muscles. It’s also a great political organizing strategy.

What do small acts mean to Episcopal faith? How do these small acts reach a broader audience?

Lauren Chung: I was just at a program in Ulster County this week where a whole group of volunteers helped distribute food, connect people to services, and provide language translation. They weren’t all Episcopalians, they weren’t even all Christians, and they weren’t even of the same background at all. They came together to serve, and say, We’re all of the same community; we are all neighbors together. We’re not those folks over here and these folks over there. Finding places like that is a really special way to connect with each other and to remember that we’re neighbors. And we offer volunteer opportunities, so if you want that, I can give that to you as well!

In what ways is this campaign a political response?

WV: A serious implication of a campaign like this is recognizing the horrifying things that are happening in our communities. We ask everyone to be courageous and not to look away because that’s how you build muscle, to never look away, ever, right? We can do that together. I think a lot of our communities are saying Stay inside. Hear your rights, they say, but I don’t think many of us feel that if we declare our rights, we’re going to be safe. We’re going to be beaten up, right? Our Diocese reflects people who are safe in these times and people who are not at all.

MH: We had a raid in front of one of our churches this week in Westchester County. We have agents wandering around our food pantries. In New York, every one of our 172 churches is meant to be a sanctuary, a safe place for belonging. Federal court is meant to be a sanctuary too. Our communities are dedicated to protecting our neighbors, standing up for basic dignity, protecting our labor scheme, and helping find safe homes. That’s what we’re going to provide and that’s what we’re doing.

What impact will this campaign have on the community?

LC: We have had quite a few volunteer attorneys really step up and be truly courageous in their communities. They’re helping folks create contingency plans for who will foster their children if they get taken, so that they have a legal process in place for who will care for their kids. We’re thankful that courageous neighbors are using their professional skills [for the community].

WV: Some of these single acts are heroic, are memories, and it is so inspiring to read them. That we stand with others, and others stand with us, is powerful these days.

MH: One of the foundations of the campaign is that our culture is at stake, and we get to choose who we are and how we want to be.

MH and WV: Invite people to join us in this campaign! It impacts our communities. Everyone can be part of it, and it’s stronger when more people join.