Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses

By The Rev. Linda Spiers

Amid the flurry of General Convention resolutions and legislative committee meetings and evening offerings is the profound call to pray in and through all things. Day 7 (July 1) was a good example when we remembered Hiram Hisanori Kano at our daily Eucharist. I had already attended my early morning Ecumenical and Interreligious Committee meeting which began with prayer. I then headed to the enormous worship space to claim seats for Paul Carling, Thom Peters, and me, for the three of us have generally sat together each morning.

Imagine worshiping with 1,500+ people each day. Paul, Thom and I sit close to the front, just behind seating for the deaf where we witness that community signing the prayers and hymns with their fingers dancing the words. The altar and baptismal font are both gigantic and are also right in front of us.

Hiram Hisanori Kano was a Japanese missionary priest serving in Nebraska and was incarcerated with other Japanese immigrants after the Pearl Harbor attack. Check out his courageous story in this related article. In his honor the Kenshin Taiko Drummers brought Japanese culture into our daily Eucharist with their powerful and spirit-filled drumming. The Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms, preached. Her ministry helps support survivors of trafficking, addiction and violence. Through her own courageous story she invited us to see and live into the ways that love heals.

Our House of Deputies (HOD) chaplain originates from South Africa and has us singing and moving with inclusive prayer that reminds us continually that we are all one. Our HOD sessions begin with prayer. Our July 1 deliberations regarding the two marriage equality resolutions (A054 and A036) were thoughtful and respectful of the other. Before votes were taken prayer centered us.

The day ended with the Utah Showcase when the Kenshin Taiko Drummers returned as part of an evening of music at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. That night of fun began and ended with prayer. We are indeed praying in and through all things and reminded daily that an enormous cloud of witnesses surrounds us.

General Convention: More Than Technical Change?

A reflection by The Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

I am often asked why I am priest. The short answer is that I had an incredibly inspiring parish priest when I was a child. The longer answer is that I had bone cancer when I was thirteen. That experience made me profoundly aware of my own mortality at an age when most of my peers were just testing to see how far they could push the envelope and see if they really were invincible. The experience of becoming aware of my own mortality at such a young age left me longing to spend my life working in a community of people who understand the sacredness and fragility of human life. While there are certainly many places where this could be true, for me it was the Church. I love that Church is a community that has deep and meaningful conversations (all the time!) about what really matters. It is a community that understands the sacredness of life. It is a community that seeks to live most of the time at a deeper level than much of secular society. People of faith are often less concerned with the superficial and more ready to engage with the questions of what gives life meaning.

Having experienced profound suffering at a young age, I treasured the opportunity to be a part of, to spend my life serving, a community that shared my values and believed that it is possible to make meaning out of our experiences of suffering. The story at the heart of our faith, the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, does just that.

As I prepare to head to General Convention in just over a week, I have been thinking about why I love The Episcopal Church. Why have I given my life to serving this institution? I have been thinking about the joy and the gratitude I feel for the privilege of being a part of a community of faithful Christians who daily challenge (in a good way), comfort and inspire me. I am grounding myself in all that joy and gratitude because I want them to be my guiding principles as I go about the legislative business of General Convention.

I want to stay focused on what I love and what draws me into The Episcopal Church. I do not mean that I should be fiercely hanging on to things of the past – far from it. I think we very much need to be willing to do our common life in new and different ways. I do believe that if I can keep myself grounded in the gifts of my faith life, if I can keep focused on that deep love of God in Christ which makes me smile and gives me peace, then my time in Salt Lake City will be remarkable. It will enable me to leave feeling as though I have been a part of a celebratory gathering that has inspired me to a new way of being about God’s work in the world. It will be far more than just a political gathering of a parliamentary body.

It is my hope that General Convention will be transformative for those of us gathered and for the Church.

Molly James is a clergy deputy to General Convention and the Dean of Formation for the Episcopal Church in CT. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Hartford Seminary and The University of St. Joseph. She serves as the co-chair of The Young Clergy Women Project. She is married to Reade, a mechanical engineer. They have two children, Katherine and Halsted. Molly enjoys cooking and eating good food, reading, writing and the splendor of God’s Creation.

This post originally appeared on the Blog of The Scholar Priest Initiative.