Monday, March 24, 2014

Episcopal HOB meeting: Daily Account for March 22, 2014


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Media Release

The Episcopal Church
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Episcopal HOB meeting: Daily Account for March 22, 2014

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Spring 2014 retreat meeting:
Daily Account for Saturday, March 22

The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is meeting in retreat at the Camp Allen Conference & Retreat Center in Navasota, TX (Diocese of Texas) from March 21 to March 26.  The following is an account of the activities for Saturday, March 22.

The theme for the spring meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops is How Shall We Sing The Lord's Song in a Strange Land?

The day began with Morning Prayer, with a reflection presented by Bishop Mary Glasspool of Los Angeles followed by silent reflection and meditation. She shared her experience of moving from the East Coast to the "foreign land" of Southern California. Using the familiar Emmaus road story, she built up to talking about Christ's presence in the Holy Eucharist saying, "And what we are  to recognize here, in the Eucharist – in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the wine at table – is Christ's Presence as the stranger becomes Companion.  And what we are to see, as well, is that the action doesn't stop at the table.  That, for us, is Emmaus. We are called to go back to Jerusalem – to go out into the world – in joyful witness to Christ's love. To feed the hungry; heal the sick; clothe the naked; free the oppressed; shelter the homeless; confront evil, sin and injustice and manifest, to the glory of God the power of the love that has overcome death."  She concluded her spirited charge to bishops:  "I suggest that, if you find that the strange land is where you live, you might consider rediscovering yourself so that you can be all of who you are. Offer hospitality and create space for the other…. And, above all, remember it's the LORD's song – so don't forget to sing it."  This gave the bishops plenty to pray about for the rest of the morning.

Bishop Eugene Sutton of Maryland presided at Eucharist. Prayers of the People were led by Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts.

The emcee for the day was Bishop Paul Lambert of Dallas.

The bishops met with their provinces at lunch to discuss mutual and regional happenings and concerns.  They will meet with their classes in the evening.

Sabbath time will begin after dinner.

Note: on Friday evening, the House of Bishops honored Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts on the 25th anniversary of her consecration. A resolution honoring her will be presented during the HOB business meeting on Tuesday.

 

 

Media Briefers for Saturday, March 22

Bishop Doug Fisher, Diocese of Western Massachusetts
Bishop William Franklin, Diocese of Western New York
Bishop Don Johnson, Diocese of West Tennessee

 

Follow on Twitter #hobspring14

 


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Episcopal Church House of Bishops Spring 2014 retreat meeting:
Daily Account for Saturday, March 22

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Quotes

  • "Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a life and a living process." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • "Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer." Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • "Perfection, in a Christian sense, means becoming mature enough to give ourselves to others." Kathleen Norris
  • "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley
  • "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." G. K. Chesterton
  • "One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans." C. S. Lewis
  • "When we say, 'I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,' we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the church seldom asks us for forgiveness." Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
  • "Christians are hard to tolerate; I don't know how Jesus does it." Bono
  • "It's too easy to get caught in our little church subcultures, and the result is that the only younger people we might know are Christians who are already inside the church." Dan Kimball