As the results of the elections were coming in, clergy contacted me about providing an opportunity to gather the next day to process their own reactions and to prepare for how to respond to their faith communities. I was on my way to lead a retreat with Brian McLaren and Becca Stevens so I was unable to attend, but did all that I could to support and provide resources for their desire to gather.
They did invite me to send any “words of wisdom,” so this was what I sent:
Dear friends,
- We are Resurrection people. How do we proclaim hope in a time that will for many feel like Good Friday?
- We are Reconciliation people. How do we work to bring forth healing amidst so much division?
- We are Baptismal Covenant people. How do we move forward to, “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?”
Please be assured of my ongoing prayers for you, ECMN and our nation. And know how deeply I appreciate your continued willingness to use your gifts for ministry.
Regardless of where we stand with the outcome of the elections, for those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus, we are always called to be the light bearers of hope.
As those people of hope we are endlessly invited to use the gifts God has bestowed upon us to join in God’s mission of reconciliation. We are called to bring forth our gifts to help bring about God’s deep desire for healing, which is so desperately needed.
And we are called as hope bearers to fully embrace the healing ministry of God’s mission of reconciliation with absolute respect for the dignity of EVERY human being.
All of us who have chosen to follow in the way of Jesus are called to the work of Resurrection, Reconciliation and Respect to bring forth Hope, Healing and Humanity. This is not new work, my friends. It was the work of the early followers of Jesus. It was the work of Bishop Whipple and our early ancestors. And it continues to be our work as Minnesotan Episcopalians as we walk with all who feel they have or will be marginalized.
I want to conclude with expressing my deep gratitude to all of our clergy in ECMN. Each and every one of them thoughtfully and prayerfully have responded, as they have felt called to be the best pastors, prophets and partners to their faith communities and their neighbors.
That hope and healing obviously must incorporate the process of repentance, required of all parties in this deeply divided society, including the church for its own roles in historic patterns of oppression and continuing separation. Thereafter, I suggest that the Covenant struggle demands our leading priority.