Dear Friends in Christ,

We know that as Episcopalians we are part of the larger Diocese of Virginia.  What difference does that identity make?

As this email hits your inboxes, I will be with Mother Emma and Father Jon at the Diocese of Virginia’s Annual Convention, held Friday and Saturday in Fredericksburg.  Chad Eckles will be with us as Grace Church’s delegate and Ceila Schultz as a youth delegate.

We will do the kind of work that the business meeting of any large organization does: We elect people to serve in various offices.  We pass a budget.  We approve resolutions.  (This year, there is a proposed resolution repudiating Christian Nationalism.)

We celebrate what we do as a diocese.  But we also celebrate who we are.  At a Thursday night evensong, diocesan Bishop Mark Stevenson will give a pastoral address which outlines his vision for the coming year.  We’ll hear from Ian Markham, the Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary.  We attend workshops on topics such as digital evangelism, property planning, and teaching the bible.

All of this matters because we do it together.  In the Episcopal Church, we are not lone rangers.  We test our vision for the future with one another, and we share in the work of ministry.  In some denominations, an individual pastor with a strong personality can set (or hijack) the direction of a parish.  Not so in our polity.

The work we do, we do hand in hand with others, because the work is larger than any one person or any one parish.  When we talk about and pray for Christian unity, this is part of what we mean.

I hope you will join me in praying for our convention:

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

Anne+

P.S.  At this convention, I will be taking on a new duty in the church, serving for the coming three years as the Dean of the Alexandria Region.  In that role, I support my fellow clergy in their ministry.  Please pray for me as well.