Kelsi Vanada

Dear friends,

Today we celebrate the consecration of Samuel Seabury, the first American Bishop, born in 1729 in Groton, Connecticut.

He was loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution, serving as a chaplain in the British army. But after the Revolution, a secret meeting of Connecticut clergymen named him to seek Episcopal consecration in England. As he could not swear allegiance to the crown, he was instead consecrated by the Episcopal Church in Scotland on this day in 1784, before returning home to New England.

In the collect for Samuel Seabury, we give thanks to God for the “gift of the episcopate.” Episcopate (which I admit I had to look up) means “church governance under the leadership of bishops.”

To be sure, episcopates—being composed of human beings—are not perfect. But this leadership structure is meant to guard against cults of personality forming around one leader without limits on their power and influence.

I got to experience our episcopate in action at the recent Diocesan Convention, when I cast my vote in the elections and weighed in on constitution & canon changes as a delegate from Saint Philip’s. There was plenty of healthy disagreement, and I was encouraged by our church structure’s participatory nature.

Today, I pray for the Rt Rev’d Sean Rowe, our brand-new Presiding Bishop. And for the Rt Rev’d Jennifer Reddall, our Bishop of the Diocese of Arizona. She confirmed me in January 2023, along with a number of you—and she used my sunscreen once on a sunny day at La Casa de la Misericordia in Nogales! Bishops are human, and also called to lead, supervise, and unite the church.

Here’s a line I could never have believed I’d one day write: Thanks be to God for the gift of the episcopate.

Peace,

—Kelsi

Sources: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/ and Lesser Feasts and Fasts