| The East Tennessee
Episcopalian Aug.-Sept. 2000 |
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| A Message
From the Bishop
Annie and I traveled to Denver a day before our General Convention obligations began. We used that day to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Park. On that trip up into the Park, we passed through several towns. And, in one of those towns, an official road sign proclaimed, "In case of flooding, climb to higher ground." The two of us looked at each other, laughing, and asked if the other person had read the same thing. It seemed to be a message that was unnecessary, while also providing sound - if obvious - advice. In the two weeks that followed, I grew to appreciate that road sign as a symbol of General Convention for me. In fact, I thought of it often during the days of Convention. The message on that sign became for me a primary theme in understanding how we worked in representing the Church in Denver. We faced challenges and issues during our two weeks in Colorado. Among them, our relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a call to increase our own membership substantially in the next twenty years, and various concerns relating to human sexuality gained the most attention. In each case, debate threatened to flood us with matters that could bog us down in details or to sweep us away in the torrent of strong feelings. However, we managed to climb to higher ground in dealing with each challenge. We have not yet worked out everything in our emerging relationship with the Lutherans, but we have positively committed ourselves to a common journey with them. We do not know the strategies or the sources of funding that will enable us to double our membership by 2020, but we have chosen to take our Lord's Great Commission very seriously. We continue to be uneasy with differing expressions of sexuality, but we remain committed to conversation with one another and to stating clearly that principles of love, fidelity, and compassion should apply in all sexual relationships. Thus, I believe that General Convention served the Church well when we met in Denver. We experienced floods of feelings and of special interests and of particular points of view. However, we climbed to the higher ground that I would name "love." This is the higher ground offered by our Lord and for which we prayed prior to General Convention and all during that gathering. This ground offers hope for the life of the Church in the future. And from this higher ground of love, I continue to pray for the sight of Christ that we may see the road ahead on which He would have us travel. I invite your prayers. Faithfully
yours, |
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Dear
Friends,
