My response to Acts 8 Moment’s Question for Executive Council Candidates
Acts 8 Moment asked Executive Council nominees to The Episcopal Church, “How will you share your love of Jesus inside and outside the church, and how must the church change in order to be more effective at proclaiming resurrection?”
Here is my response in less than 350 words.
I am inspired by our Baptismal Covenant with its radical call to love that flows into our call to create the Kingdom of God and proclaim resurrection. I share this love and participate in kingdom building through my ongoing efforts to develop ministries that empower women, mobilize my community to against sexual and gender based violence, advocate my city government to include fully inclusive language regarding sex and gender in their nondiscrimination ordnance, and when I look for ways to include the experiences of people of color in my community. As a proud Episcopalian, I believe I best show Christ’s love by challenging my community to be a more loving and inclusive environment that upholds the dignity of all.
Our Baptismal Covenant and belief in resurrection requires our structure to be more egalitarian and open to those whose ministry or identity has often placed them on the margins of our society and of our own church. As we follow Jesus into our neighborhoods our church needs to be overtly intentional about identifying and including stories of creative and vibrant ministries at the frontiers of love. This is where our resurrected church lives. When I was a member of the Task Force for Reimaging the Episcopal Church (TREC) and a delegate representing The Episcopal Church to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women I heard amazing stories of love in action from those at the margins from Fort Worth to Honduras to Virginia.
Though these stories are in our midst they often go unheard and unheralded. We need to gather these stories lift them up, and learn from them as they are our present and future church. They must be supported through fully inclusive networks and widely accessible funding streams designed to encourage full participation by the whole church body. The Holy Spirit moves us, as it always has, to think beyond the boundaries we set for ourselves. We are being called to be doers, risk takers, and experimenters. We are being called to take a leap of faith, rely on the Holy Spirit and proclaim resurrection.