Episcopalians dive into local voter mobilization efforts leading up to November elections

By David Paulsen

Although Episcopalians may be motivated by personal political beliefs, their church-based election efforts are necessarily nonpartisan. Those efforts also are grounded in church policies established by General Convention, which just last month passed additional resolutions calling Episcopalians to greater political engagement. That engagement has the continued support of the church’s Office of Government Relations in Washington, D.C.

For the entire article, click here: 

Daily Dig for July 21

Johann Christoph Blumhardt

We must believe that the Lord can do anything if he wants to. Yet in the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord prayed, “Not my will, but your will be done.” Even though Jesus knew he had to drink the cup of suffering, he nevertheless prayed to be spared. And then the angel strengthened him. Likewise, if we pray earnestly, it may be that an angel will quietly strengthen us so that we may bear whatever is laid on us. And, as is so often the case, the Lord may even provide more than what we need, beyond our expectation. If we pray with unceasing, childlike faith, and if it is God’s will, the Lord will let us see his glory revealed in deed and miracle. “If you are willing, you can do it” is the prayer of all those who fear him. And in his great wisdom, the Lord will say, “I am willing.”

Source: The God Who Heals

Presiding Bishop Introduces "The Way Of Love"

The Way of Love
In a sermon to the 79th annual General Convention of The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invited the Church into a new three-year initiative called The Way of Love, which centers on the seven practices for cultivating a Jesus-centered life by providing these seven practices: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest. 

Turn: Pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus
As Jesus was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. – Mark 2:14
Like the disciples, we are called by Jesus to follow the Way of Love. With God’s help, we can turn from the powers of sin, hatred, fear, injustice, and oppression toward the way of truth, love, hope, justice, and freedom. In turning, we reorient our lives to Jesus Christ, falling in love again, again, and again.

Learn: Reflect on Scripture each day, especially on Jesus’ life and teachings
“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” – John 14:23
By reading and reflecting on Scripture, especially the life and teachings of Jesus, we draw near to God and God’s word dwells in us. When we open our minds and hearts to Scripture, we learn to see God’s story and God’s activity in everyday life.

Pray: Dwell intentionally with God each day
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” – Luke 11:1
Jesus teaches us to come before God with humble hearts, boldly offering our thanksgivings and concerns to God or simply listening for God’s voice in our lives and in the world. Whether in thought, word or deed, individually or corporately, when we pray we invite and dwell in God’s loving presence.

Worship: Gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. – Luke 24:30-31
When we worship, we gather with others before God. We hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, give thanks, confess, and offer the brokenness of the world to God. As we break bread, our eyes are opened to the presence of Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are made one body, the body of Christ sent to live the Way of Love.

Bless: Share faith and unselfishly give and serve
“Freely you have received; freely give.” – Matthew 10:8
Jesus called his disciples to give, forgive, teach, and heal in his name. We are empowered by the Spirit to bless everyone we meet, practicing generosity and compassion, and proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ with hopeful words and selfless actions. We can share our stories of blessing and invite others to the Way of Love.

Go: Cross boundaries, listen deeply and live like Jesus
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” – John 20:21
As Jesus went to the highways and byways, he sends us beyond our circles and comfort, to witness to the love, justice, and truth of God with our lips and with our lives. We go to listen with humility and to join God in healing a hurting world. We go to become Beloved Community, a people reconciled in love with God and one another.

Rest: Receive the gift of God’s grace, peace, and restoration
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27
From the beginning of creation, God has established the sacred pattern of going and returning, labor and rest. Especially today, God invites us to dedicate time for restoration and wholeness - within our bodies, minds, and souls, and within our communities and institutions. By resting, we place our trust in God, the primary actor who brings all things to their fullness.

More News From The Convocation:

Episcopal leaders, shooting victim parents rally against gun violence

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Episcopal leaders and parents of Parkland shooting victims rallied in downtown Austin Sunday morning to protest gun violence.

A group of more than 70 Episcopal bishops called Bishops United Against Gun Violence gathered at Austin's Brush Square Park.

They protested during the church’s 79th General Convention. 

Speakers included Philip and April Schentrup, whose daughter was killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last February. The parents say the church should advocate against gun violence for a more peaceful nation. 

Another speaker included Abigail Zimmerman, who helped lead a school walkout in March to remember the victims of the Parkland shooting. She's a member of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and is part of the youth group there. 

Westboro Baptist Church To Protest At All Saints Episcopal Church In Austin -- Next Sunday

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting ahead of a central Austin church service Sunday morning.

Earlier in the week, the pastor at the All Saints' Episcopal Church on 209 W. 27th St. wrote a Facebook message saying an Austin police lieutenant informed him about 10 members of the infamous church would be protesting from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. The Westboro Baptist Church is known for protesting a variety of people and places it considers "sinful," often using extremely controversial signs and language. 

The church's website says they will be in Austin Saturday and Sunday picketing the Episcopal Triennial Convention being held there. Father Mike Adams from All Saints' says the Westboro Baptist Church has an ongoing protest of the Episcopal Church and its acceptance of LGBTQ people. The protesters will move from that church to St. David's Episcopal church and then the convention center. 

Austin police told Adams they would have officers there and while people have offered to create a "human wall" to block the protesters, he told them it wouldn't be necessary. Still, a counter-protest is possible.

Adams said the church will respect the Westboro Baptist Church's First Amendment rights, and will likely offer them coffee, water or donuts. He doesn't expect them to accept.

All Saints' service will continue as normal at 8 a.m.

"My hope is that none of us will get into any kind of verbal sparring or confrontation with them on our way into church even though their signage and amplified verbal chants will likely invoke and seduce such a reply. Please resist that temptation," Adams wrote on Facebook. 

Adams said they will pray for the protesters during the service that God will "soften hardened hearts."

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Scenes from The Diverted Food Pantry on July 2nd:

Mary Edgecome says, "Look, there are good things over here, too!"

Plenty of sparkling water drinks, always.

 Little Miss Klatt says that she is an expert babysitter. She's probably right.

Three full refrigerators of food that would just go into the dumpster.

The Presiding Bishop and U2

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry met backstage this week with U2 and front man Bono at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where the Episcopal Church leader and the globally renowned rockers discussed Curry’s Reclaiming Jesus initiative.

The meeting happened in the evening June 25 just before the first of a series of U2 concerts in New York on the band’s Experience + Innocence tour. A photo released by the band shows the foursome posing with Curry.

“I know of no other group that has sung and witnessed more powerfully to the way of love than U2,” Curry said June 27 in a written statement to Episcopal News Service. “It was a real blessing to sit with them to talk about Jesus, the way of love, and changing our lives and the world. They are an extraordinary community gift to us all.”

U2, which formed in the late 1970s, has been one of the most popular rock bands in the world for more than 30 years, and Bono – among that rarefied group of musicians known globally by a single name – makes headlines these days as much for his support for humanitarian causes as for his music.

Curry, too, has become something of a minor global celebrity since his sermon on the power of love at the royal wedding on May 19. After the wedding, he was invited to discuss the sermon on a dizzying variety of media outlets, from the BBC to celebrity gossip site TMZ. Curry told ENS last month that he sees the sudden attention as a unique opportunity for evangelism, as he tries in interviews to bring the conversation around to what he often calls the “Jesus Movement.”

Reclaiming Jesus is a new initiative he spearheaded this year with the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners to address “a dangerous crisis of moral and political leadership at the highest levels of our government and in our churches” and to affirm what it means to be followers of Jesus in today’s world.

U2 and Bono have not yet commented publicly on Reclaiming Jesus, though Curry said he spoke with them about its origins and intention.

“I shared with them our commitment to reclaim Jesus of Nazareth as the center of Christian  faith and life,” Curry said in his statement to ENS. “And this means a way of faith with love of God and Love of neighbor at the core. A love that is not sentimental but a disciplined commitment and spiritual practice infusing every aspect of life, personally, intra personally and politically.”

Curry didn’t say whether he was a fan of U2’s music, though he stayed June 25 to attend the concert at Madison Square Garden. He had at least one prior connection to the songs before this week: A sermon he delivered in 2006 at a U2charist service in Columbus, Ohio.

The U2charists were a popular trend in the Episcopal Church at that time, structured as a Eucharist that incorporates songs from the band, whose catalogue is thoroughly infused with Christian imagery.

Celebrating a U2charist also held a deeper purpose, calling attention to the push to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, such as eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality and fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The ONE Campaign, co-founded by Bono, was a key advocate for the Millennium Development Goals – U2’s megahit “One” became its rallying cry – and the Episcopal Church endorsed the organization’s work in a 2006 General Convention resolution.

More than 700 attended the U2charist in Columbus in 2006. Curry, the bishop of North Carolina at the time, preached in support of the Millennium Development Goals and the ONE Campaign, telling those gathered to “be a witness” for Christ. He called the goals “a way for us to discover life again as a Church … a compelling vision of the world God intended from the beginning,” according to an ENS report on the service.

It wasn’t clear whether Curry referenced U2’s music directly in the sermon, though in one unconfirmed transcription of the sermon he is quoted as referring to the band’s leader as “Brother Bono.”

– David Paulsen is an editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.