Sen. Raphael Warnock to Preach at Cathedral in Tribute to HBCUs
Washington National Cathedral will welcome Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) as the guest preacher for its annual HBCU Sunday on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, as the Cathedral celebrates Black History Month and pays tribute to the legacies of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Warnock, who also serves as Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, will return to the Cathedral to preach, where he most recently preached for the Juneteenth holiday in 2023 from the same pulpit where his predecessor at Ebenezer, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached his final Sunday sermon in 1968.
The fifth annual HBCU Sunday service draws hundreds of alumni and students from the country’s HBCUs. This year’s service will feature guest music by the North Carolina Central University Choir and Cathedral musicians.
More than 100 HBCUs exist in the United States. Most were established in the South after the American Civil War, often with the assistance of religious missionary organizations based in the northern United States. HBCUs opened the door of educational opportunity for many African Americans who were once legally denied an education.
In addition, HBCUs have provided African American students with a nurturing environment to explore their collective identities and cultures. HBCUs have played a vital role in educating many individuals and communities and strengthening this nation.
Senator Warnock was raised in a large family in Savannah, Ga., headed by two pastors, and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, one of the nation’s best-known HBCUs. He received his doctoral degree from Union Theological Seminary and in 2005, became the youngest person named to lead the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. He was elected the first Black Senator in Georgia history in 2021 and reelected in 2022.
Members of the media are invited to RSVP for access. The Cathedral will also have an HD live stream of the service at this link, which is free to use with credit to Washington National Cathedral.
What: HBCU Sunday at Washington National Cathedral
Where: Washington National Cathedral; 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC
When: Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 11:15 a.m.
RSVP: To RSVP, please reply to this email at [email protected].
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Lincoln Le, 954-701-1363, [email protected]
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About Washington National Cathedral
Grounded in the reconciling love of Jesus Christ, Washington National Cathedral is a house of prayer for all people, conceived by our founders to serve as a great church for national purposes.