Dear Siblings in Christ, 

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we are invited into the sacred act of remembering. Remembering the history of our nation and the intertwined history of the Episcopal Church. 

As Christians, we are well-versed in the practice of remembering. We remember Jesus’ time on earth, his death, resurrection, and ascension, every time we gather together for worship. We remember the last supper in our celebration of the Eucharist. We remember those nearby and faraway in our prayers. Much of our liturgy stems from honoring and remembering those who have gone before us. But the practice of remembering poses a challenging tension: how do we remember the joyful and heartbreaking moments of our past simultaneously? 

Jesus is risen, and Jesus was murdered by the state. 

God is love, and much hate has been spread in God’s name. 

The Episcopal Church has a long history of praising God since the first days of our nation’s birth, and the Episcopal Church gained much of its wealth through the enslavement and abuse of Black bodies.

The Declaration of Independence offers a lofty vision of a nation with equality for all men, and it left out the rights of women, non-white men, and non-property-owning men.   

There is history to celebrate and also history to grieve, and they are intertwined and inseparable from one another. 

It is not easy to live in these tensions, but I believe it is what we are called to do as Christians and citizens of the United States. We cannot ignore the difficult parts of our past, nor can we only dwell in grief. And most importantly, we mustn’t try to wade through the tensions alone. When we commemorate communally, we can lift up diverse opinions, perspectives, and stories. We can build spaces where all of God’s beloved children belong. We can confront what is broken and hope for a better future – one that seeks and serves Christ. 

I hope you will join us this Sunday, July 5th, as we celebrate the Feast of Independence Day (transferred from the day before) at all of our services. Together we will remember, rejoice, repent, and renew. 

Faithfully, 

Mother Emma+