The Bishop's Blog: For Gates of Hope

We are challenged to stand with the living Christ at the gates of hope. It is the place of truth-telling, about our own souls first of all and their condition; the place of resistance and defiance, the place from which we see the world both as it is and as it could be, as it will be; the place from which we glimpse not only struggle, but joy in the struggle. We stand there, with the Christ who sets us free, beckoning and calling, telling people what we see, asking people what they see.

Pentecost: gathering in and sending out

Posted by Mark Beckwith on May 20, 2013

The Holy Spirit brings people together – so that we can see and understand each other at the deepest level. And the understanding is, for Christians, that we are all connected through that same Spirit.

On Pentecost afternoon, the Holy Spirit brought many parts of the diocese together to sing, to pray – to have our ministries blessed – and to be fed and freed by the Spirit.

Pentecost: Understanding one another at the soul level

Posted by Mark Beckwith on May 8, 2013

The feast of Pentecost commemorates the release of the Holy Spirit. It is long thought of as the birthday of the church. Scripture records the first Pentecost as happening when people were gathered in one place (Acts 2:1). My guess is that they gathered outside, partly because there were far too many people to be contained indoors and partly because the Spirit, which in Hebrew is Ruah (or breath or wind of God), is most manifest outside.

The discipline of hospitality in the face of violence

Posted by Mark Beckwith on April 23, 2013

"...I was a stranger and you welcomed me..." Matthew 25:35

I have never owned a gun. I last fired one when I was about twelve years old, at a rifle range while at summer camp. I am not part of the gun culture, and know very little about it - except for the flood of resistance released by a portion of that culture toward any legislation that intends to reduce gun violence.

After the Boston bombing, finding - and sharing - Christ's peace

Posted by Mark Beckwith on April 16, 2013

Boston Marathon 2013 PHOTO CREDIT: Sonia Su flickr.com/photos/sonia_su/865347169

The violence continues.

On Monday afternoon, three people were killed and scores were injured in Boston. Details are still emerging, but it has unleashed a level of fear – and brought our psyches immediately back to the tragedy of 9/11. We talked with our children last night; and they said that all their friends who had run on Monday reported that they were all right. A priest friend of mine from Massachusetts told me this morning that both of his sons had been at the finish line cheering on friends, but they left before the explosions.

Living Hallelujah

Posted by Mark Beckwith on April 10, 2013

I prefer to put an H at the front of the word “Alleluia,” because then it requires more energy to say it – or shout it or sing it. Hallelujah. Halleluia, Hamdalilah (the Arabic translation which Muslims use), Alleluia – however you say it or spell it; it is an expression of deep joy. We Christians reintroduce Hallelujah at Easter, because of the joy that is released in the Resurrection – “Alleluia: Christ is Risen!” Because Jesus rose from the tomb, Hallelujah erupts from the depth of the soul.

In snow and rain, a liturgical witness against violence

Posted by Mark Beckwith on March 26, 2013

Bishop Mark Beckwith and fellow bishops walk down Pennsylvania Ave.

I believe that we Episcopalians tell our story through our liturgy – and that's what we did yesterday in our nation's capital.

Addressing gun violence from a place of faith (with resources)

Posted by Mark Beckwith on March 13, 2013

Much of my time at our recently concluded House of Bishops meeting was spent dealing with responding to gun violence. A group of us met by conference call before our gathering, met several times during our time together in North Carolina, and have committed to continuing to work together beyond our meeting. We organized an entire afternoon and evening on the subject. We produced a "Word to the Church," which I commend for your reading: Godly Leadership in the Face of Violence.

Do not stand idly by

Posted by Mark Beckwith on February 27, 2013

I watched a TV show last night in which, in the course of an hour, at least eight people were shot dead. The violence was glorified, in that the “good” guys prevailed. And the violence was trivialized, in that the” bad” guys were nameless and clearly anti-social; no blood was seen and no tears were shed. Everybody on the show, including me watching it, moved on without any reflection that lives were taken.

On Shrove Tuesday, our Epiphany sojourn through "Help Thanks Wow" concludes

Posted by Mark Beckwith on February 12, 2013

It is Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras. The day before the beginning of the Lenten season. The end of my/our sojourn through Anne Lamott’s book Help Thanks Wow.

Even Winter Storm Nemo is no match for the wow of God's love

Posted by Mark Beckwith on February 9, 2013

NASA satellite photo of Winter Storm Nemo, February 8, 2013.

One of my first wows was being taken to my first major league ballpark – Wrigley Field in Chicago. I was six. My dad took me. Everything about it was wow (and still is whenever I walk into a ballpark). I don’t remember what I said when I first walked in – if I said anything. “When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere.” (Page 73, Help Thanks Wow.)