Dear fellow traveler,

At the upcoming annual retreat for priests of this diocese, Bishop Craig Loya of Minnesota will be the keynote speaker. At present, he is leading Episcopalians in his state through turbulent times. He frames the current crisis in the context of Epiphany. He reminds us that the Herods of the world, with their fear-driven campaigns, are forever with us.

The bishop cautions us not to become bewitched or mesmerized by Herod’s flexing and posturing. When a latter-day Herod says we should believe him and not our own eyes, that leader demands subservience to his policies.

The bishop calls out immigration policies based on a racially narrow lens that is enforced with “a cruel delight. Epiphany joy is grounded in the deep, defiant, revolutionary hope that we have in our hearts that love is the most powerful force in the universe.”

Our senior warden, John Bremond, the Vestry, and I would like to schedule an open forum after the 10:00am service on an upcoming Sunday in Lent for us as a community to come together and first, be with ourselves and one another as the body of Christ in considering this historical moment.

How are you being affected? Are you aware of feelings of outrage, resignation, despair, hope, fear? A mixture of these responses? Feeling whiplashed?

The purpose of this gathering is to reinforce faith in an embodied groundedness that is our high calling. We are Sermon on the Mount people. The Way of Christ is our way and not its opposite.

Anti-Christ values are being promulgated. A prominent figure has declared that the valuing of empathy is wrong. Another has declared that might makes right.

This sets him at odds with the heart of the Gospel. Our gathering will invite all viewpoints of parishioners, where we practice compassion for one another. Deep listening is hard work. It requires us to set aside our own point of view for a while to make room for the other. This is not about changing someone’s mind. It is about creating a more expansive and inclusive community.

Back to Epiphany. Travelers and seekers from the East arrived at the manger in overwhelming joy. The fearful tyrant sparked a terror campaign to wipe out any competitor to his rule of violence. That little gathering at the manger was grounded in compassion, dignity, and care for one another.

Your friend in Christ,

—Richard