Carlye J. Hughes's blog

God understands that some part of us has the struggle that Paul names in Romans – that we do the things that we don't mean to do. And Lent gives us a chance to look at that, to turn ourselves, again and again, back to God, and ask the question, “What is it that I am called to do now? And what do I need to ask forgiveness for? And who do I need to forgive?” (Time: 3:59.)

Bishop Hughes describes how, when she has met with congregations during these years of pandemic, despite all the challenges people face, the word she hears most often is "blessed." She hears stories of gratitude and hope – and she urges us to share those stories.

"The blessing of Black History Month is it reminds us we are in relationships that are to be honored and treasured," says Bishop Hughes, "but to honor and treasure them we have to know each other better."

"An important thing for us to remember in this season of Epiphany," says Bishop Hughes, is "the many ways in which Jesus is revealed, including the ways that Jesus is revealed through us. Everywhere we go, in every interaction that we have with every person that we see, we have an opportunity to present Jesus to the rest of the world." (Time: 4:04.)

"It doesn't take much effort to see that if there's a thing that defines this time right now, it seems to be anger," says Bishop Hughes. "Who are we to be in the midst of that? How are we to be God's emissaries? How are we to be the witnesses of God's love in this time that we're in?" (Time: 4:48.)

What if we lowered our sense of importance and expectation about all the things that need to be done before Christmas, and instead of expecting things to go perfectly or to get the perfect thing or give the perfect thing, what if instead our focus was on the way we could be the gift this Christmas?

In this first week of Advent, Bishop Hughes asks us: "Consider how you can look for the hope. Look for the hope that is Jesus in your life or Jesus in the world. And not only look for the hope – how can you be the hope? In what ways can you offer the hope to someone else?"

Speaking from Clergy Conference, Bishop Hughes shares the question on which the clergy are focused and with which all the clergy and laity will be living for months and years to come: In a dramatically changed world, who is God calling us to be as church, now?

Bishop Hughes talks about how the concept of "boldness" has emerged as a guiding principle both as a diocesan community and as individual members of it.

Bishop Hughes notes that during this complicated time, it is not unusual for someone to say to her, “I don't know how to hold on to hope right now. I’m so frustrated, I am so angry, I have had enough.” Or, “I’m exhausted, I can't bring myself to care anymore.” And when she replies, “How about we pray?” there's a sense of hope that is reborn in wanting to pray.