A Positively Poetic Priest

12/14/18 When the Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, announced the Jesus Movement emphasis on the Way of Love this summer at General Convention, I heard many comments about the Episcopal Church not needing another new tagline. The Episcopal Church is already known for some of our short and sweet taglines: "The Episcopal Church welcomes you!", "We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement", "The Episcopal Church: all of the fun, none of the guilt." As much as the mainline denominations in the United States are worried about decline and decay in their churches, we all know having a new tagline isn't going to save the church. However, the introduction of the Way of Love made it clear it was not a new tagline. The Way of Love is a journey, started by God millennia ago, continued by the prophets, walked by Jesus, and carried out by the disciples and follower of Jesus throughout the centuries. The Way of Love is simply a new way of designating and st...

Did you know that our Episcopal Church is made up of dioceses in 18 different countries? I hadn't. This is just one bit of information I learned this month while at General Convention. As a first time delegate to General Convention, I was amazed and overwhelmed and inspired by the breadth and depth and diversity of the Episcopal Church at General Convention. Granted, the Episcopal Church is not perfect, and there were some long dry meetings. However I learned so much about how the church works on the international level and about good work going on throughout the Church. Every three years, delegates, bishops, youth, alternates, vendors, and more gather together at General Convention to help guide and govern the Church for the next three years. We lift each other up in prayer, celebrate good work, mourn losses and injustices, and work together to move forward along the way Jesus calls us. This year at General Convention, some big news headlines were about revision of ...