Oakerhater Sunday 2023

St. Paul's Cathedral welcomes the Rev. Canon Mary Crist, Ed.D to celebrate the Feast of St. David Pendleton Oakerhater on Sunday, August 27th. The Feast Day will hold one service at 9am featuring music from the Caddo drummers and a sermon by Dr. Crist. Food and drinks will be served immediately following the service in the Reception Area. A fire-side chat with Dr. Crist and Dean Churchwell will begin shortly after folks get their food and gather back in the Cathedral.

Mary Crist (Pitakii/Eagle Woman) is enrolled Blackfeet from Montana. She is a member of the presiding bishop’s staff as the Coordinator of Indigenous Theological Education for The Episcopal Church. She is also a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles serving at St. Michael’s Ministry Center in Riverside and the coordinator of Indigenous Ministries in the diocese. As a university professor and dean of the School of Education, she has consulted in special education in Russia, Lebanon, Japan, and Saipan. Her husband, Will Crist, is also a priest and business owner. They have two children, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. She earned the Doctor of Education at Columbia University in New York, Master of Divinity at Claremont School of Theology, Master of Education at Pan American University, and Bachelor of Arts at the University of California Berkeley. She is the author of “Frybread in Canaan” and “Native Christian Perspectives on Reconciliation”, both published in the First Peoples Theology Journal as well as articles in early childhood education, special education, and online instructional design. Recently, she has focused teaching about the Doctrine of Discovery and ways to reconceptualize Indigenous theological education.

The Feast of St. Oakerhater is held annual at St. Paul's Cathedral as a way to commemorate the first Native American Deacon in the Episcopal Church who served the Cheyenne-Arapaho people in Western Oklahoma. He founded the Whirlwind Mission in Watonga, OK that is still in operation under the leadership of Deacon Pat Gonzales. For more information about David Pendleton Oakerhater click here.