Ana Hernández

Spring Solidarity Sing – Kingston, NY

6pm Tuesday evening. Check out the Live Stream link above!

Location: Redeemer Lutheran, 104 Wurts St. Kingston, NY

Bilingual Pentecost @ Holy Cross/Santa Cruz

Bilingual Service at 10 AM with choir, organ, guitar, maybe a drum… Looking forward to my first time back in months!
In other news, Holy Cross/Santa Cruz has merged with St. John’s in Kingson and the new, voted upon church name will be Holy Spirit/Espiritu Santo – So happy about it. The first Episcopal Church in Kingston had the same name, and I like the continuity of it, but mostly, the Spirit is my best friend!

Location: 30 Pine Grove Ave. Kingston, NY 12401

Episcopal Divinity School Honors Ruby Sales

Open to the Public!
Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) will honor the life, theology, and enduring activism of Ruby Sales. Join us for a “Passing of the Torch” Ceremony & Commissioning Honoring Civil Rights Freedom Fighter Ruby Sales ’98
Sales survived an act of terror in August 1965, when she, then a 17-year-old Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) volunteer, was shielded from a shotgun blast by Jonathan Daniels, an EDS seminarian. Daniels died instantly, saving Sales’ life.

Sales went on to be a “long-distance runner for justice.” She studied at EDS and shaped a public theology rooted in the resilience and intimacy of Black folk tradition that provides a balm of hope in an age of isolation and hopelessness. Sales’ theologies will be central to this event; those in attendance will be commissioned to bring these theologies into their work for justice in their own contexts in a unique “passing of the torch” ceremony.

The Passing of the Torch
Sales’ manifesto “A Balm in Gilead” will serve as the spiritual framework for the commissioning which will call for a revolution of values in an increasingly dehumanized technological age. Sales has long warned of the intergenerational divide between the Freedom Fighters of her time and justice-advocates on the frontlines today, noting,

“We are incomplete without knowing each other. [Elders] are charged with a responsibility to bequeath to the nation the resilient spirit our ancestors intentionally gave to us.”
The ceremony will feature a formal ritual of commissioning, where Sales will be joined by fellow Freedom Fighters and emerging leaders working for justice across the country.

EDS invites all faithful justice leaders to join in this commissioning by attending the event in person or by watching the livestream on EDS’ YouTube channel.

When: Friday, May 29, 2026 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm Eastern

Who: Ruby Sales, other Civil Rights Freedom Fighters, and the alum community of EDS will be present.

Where: St. John’s Chapel on Lesley University’s South Campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts (enter from Brattle Street)

Livestream: Available on the EDS YouTube Channel.
Watch On Being Interview:Ruby’s On Being Interview
Watch Ruby’s TED Talk:
Ruby’s TED Talk

EDS Kellogg Lecture w/ Miguel De La Torre

Casual BBQ dinner on campus Friday evening. Saturday Lecture by Miguel De La Torre followed by lunch and worship in the newly renovated St. John’s Chapel, then a short program to celebrate the classes of 65-67 and a state of the school report. Should be a very fun time with some old friends.

FYI, Episcopal Divinity School awarded me Doctor of Divinity Degree (honoris causa) in 2005, which totally blew my mind.

Location: Sheraton Commander Hotel, Cambridge, MA,

Rebirth: Singing Death, Singing Life.

The Hymn Society 2026 Annual Conference July 19-22, 2026

The Annual Conference of The Hymn Society will be held at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, July 19-22, 2026, with the theme “Rebirth: Singing Death, Singing Life.”

I’ll be leading a sectional to introduce my new song collection from AugsburgFortress (coming out in May)!

The program will explore the relationship between congregational song and some of the most pressing issues of our time, including ecology, sustainability, and disability. Plenary speakers include Keri Day, Miriam Spies, and Nate Stucky. Evening hymn festivals will be led by Mark Miller, FHS, Myron Sauder, Jerome Weaver, Marcell Silva Steuernagel, Mina Choi (Organ Masterclass instructor and Morning Prayer Leader), and Braxton Shelley.

New features include: mini-hymn sings before lunch; an opportunity to reflect on sustainability and ecological justice at PTS’s Farminary with a morning of work and song; an organ masterclass; an opportunity to tour the impressive hymnological collection at the seminary library; and the contributions of songwriter-in-residence Ken Medema.

For more info, Hymn Society Annual Conference

Location: Princeton Theological Seminary