Good News and Governance

Jesus came proclaiming the good news of God’s reign. What did this good news look like? Freedom from oppression, renunciation of evil, healing of broken bodies and troubled souls, walking the way of love. As baptized Christians, our ministry is to follow the way of Jesus and to use the gifts God has given us to love others and be the good news in the world.

In the Episcopal Church, our Catechism, which is an outline of the faith, teaches us that part of the ministry of members of our church is to “take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.” (The Book of Common Prayer p. 855).  Thus, Episcopalians consider governance a ministry. Good governance replaces oppression with justice, ensures a community cares for all its members, seeks to bring healing where there is brokenness, and provides stability so that the community flourishes. When we exercise the ministry of governance in the church, we strive to reflect the good news that Jesus brought to the world. We do not always succeed in this, and yet as a church we continue our efforts to walk in the way of love.

Deputy Kitch address the House of Deputies
Photo credit: Cynthia Black 2024

The governing body of the Episcopal Church is the General Convention, which consists of the House of Deputies and House of Bishops and meets every three years to take up the business of the church. I attended my first General Convention in 1979 as part of the youth presence. Last week, I attended my 6th  convention as an elected deputy from a diocese and served as chair of the House of Deputies Legislative Committee on Governance and Structure (LC03). I also completed my six-year term as a member of the Executive Council, the governing board of the Episcopal Church. I love the ministry of Church governance.

So, what did we do at the 81st General Convention? I want to highlight three actions of convention which make my heart glad. My deepest joy as chair of LC03 was facilitating the petition of the Navajoland Area Mission to become a missionary diocese. As a diocese rather than an area mission, Navajoland will be able to call its own bishop instead of having one appointed for them, and to choose someone who reflects the values, teachings, and traditions of the Diné.

I also helped draft a resolution concerning diocesan leadership in the diocese of Haiti. Many of you know that the Republic of Haiti is currently experiencing socioeconomic and political crisis. You may not know that the Episcopal Church in Haiti is our most populous diocese. They have been without a bishop since 2018. The resolution that LC03 perfected will give the diocese a way forward in solidifying diocesan leadership and electing its next bishop.

On the floor of convention, I participated in a unanimous vote (there were over 800 deputies present, so that is saying something) to change the language of our catechism concerning marriage so that it now states, “Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which two people enter into a life-long union,” rather than specifying that marriage is between a woman and a man. This act ensures our teaching reflects our previous action from the 2015 General Convention where the Episcopal Church changed our canons to support same-sex marriage and the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the life of our church.

In the end, the 81st General Convention processed 394 resolutions covering topics such as Prayer Book and Hymnal revision, amendments to our canons, statements on Israel and Palestine, approval of the churchwide three-year budget, and reforms to our disciplinary canons. Significantly, the House of Bishops elected, with the House of Deputies confirming, Bishop Sean W. Rowe as our next presiding Bishop.

As with any human institution, our church is imperfect. Nevertheless, I remain firmly committed to my ministry in governance, adding my spiritual gifts to the work of reforming churchwide structures and systems to best reflect the way of love.

Moment of Remembrance

Carleton College Reunion

Multi-Faith Service

June 16, 2024

What is a moment of remembrance? A moment can be the briefest bit of time. Or an exact point in time. Or even the appropriate time for doing something. And in the physics of time, a moment can be expansive.

And remembrance? To remember is to re-member, to take the members of a body and put them back together. A reunion itself is a kind of remembrance, as we gather again as members of a community that once was and reconstitute ourselves into the community of this moment. Carleton alums and friends and family and staff and faculty gathered together, members of one body.

And as we engage in this re-membering, we also bring into the now, into this moment, those whom we have lost. Some of their names are printed in the worship program for this morning. Other names we carry in our hearts. In naming them, we claim them. As part of this community, part of this body, part of who we are. This is the thing about being members of a community; we all impact each other. And that impact cannot really be measured.

What we do here today is important. And not just because we are honoring those whom we have lost, and making space for grief, and recalling friendships. But also because we acknowledge the breadth and strength and love of this community. A community that intentionally reaches into the past and pulls into this moment all of its members in order to be whole. And at some future time, we too will be re-membered and pulled forward.

When I was a Carleton student, you could often--very often--find me in the dance studio. I loved the time I spent there and the lasting friendships created in that space. And I like to think that what we are doing today is participating in an ongoing dance, connecting us to steps that have been laid down in the past, and creating momentum that is already reaching toward all who come next, inviting them to join.

There has been much to stir our memories these past few days. Stirrings that touch our hearts, and stirrings that mix past experiences into a now. And so in this now, in this moment, in this appropriate time, I invite you to light a candle for those you have lost, as together we remember.

Easter joy

Easter Day

Hallelujah!

Sing to the Lord a new song;

sing God’s praise in the congregation of the faithful.

Psalm 149:1

Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
Daniel Bonnell 2023
ink on grocery bag

Easter joy

is the joy that comes in the morning

after a night of weeping

and speaks to the deepest grief

Easter joy

is at first unrecognizable

and then speaks our name

and we are saved

Easter joy

unsettles the very foundations of the universe

and renews creation

Easter joy

commands us to go

compels us to proclaim

its breathtaking goodness

with every Alleluia!

The morning after

 Holy Saturday

Let my prayer enter into your presence;

incline your ear to my lamentation.

Psalm 88:2

the morning after comes

heavy

with the weight of death

the reality of grief

and shards of broken hope

the morning after

all has collapsed

into emptiness

to be filled

with lamentation

but not yet

now there is only silence

as time stops

and creation holds it breath

Emptying

Good Friday

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

and are so far from the words of my distress

Psalm 22:1

The emptying has begun

of expectation

of certainty

of false hope

empty altar

empty cup and plate

holy things

emptied

of purpose

cruel wind

emptying

bystanders

of compassion

a God

so far 

too far from the cry

blood and water

poured out

leaving a body

empty of life

Next

Maundy Thursday

I spread out my hands to you;

my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.

Psalm 143:6

the next step

is irrevocable

the breath after that

a gasp

a choked cry

at the tenderness

displayed in the midst

of inevitable betrayal

the next heartbeat

pained by abandonment

and the fear

of all that comes

next

Gracious space

Wednesday in Holy Week

 

I would flee to a far-off place

and make my lodging in the wilderness

Psalm 55:8

The space around me is gracious

open

waiting

expanding into sacred time

which cannot be counted in minutes

hours or days

measured rather

by encounters

with faithful conversation

quiet confessions

the rhythm of worship

of preparation

I collect distractions

gather them up

then scatter them

set them aside

the final stretch of wilderness

a clearing

an emptying

making way