Four members of the Diocese of Newark experienced the Installation weekend events from unique perspectives: the Rev. Deacon Chris McCloud served as bishop’s chaplain to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) Vigil on Saturday; the Rev. Dr. Canon Sandye Wilson took on the same role at the Installation service on Sunday; Sharon Sheridan covered both days as reporter and photographer for Episcopal Journal; and the Rev. Cynthia Black attended the Installation service with her camera as well. Here are their reflections, as well as a photo gallery by Black, Sheridan and Wilson.
The Rev. Dr. Canon Sandye Wilson, Rector of St. Andrew & Holy Communion, South Orange
Wilson says she and Curry have been close friends for almost 40 years. She describes him as “my brother from another mother,” and says he describes them as “litter mates.”
“We share a deep love of Jesus, a deep love of words and preaching, a deep and ribald sense of humor and a deep hope for all that this church can be as it lives into all that God created it to be,” she said. “We are deeply committed to evangelism and racial reconciliation and transformation and we have traded theological and preaching ideas in regular phone calls. Like most good friends, we have cheered each other on in our pursuits over the years.”
Curry invited Wilson to preach at the UBE Vigil on Saturday and serve as his chaplain at the Installation service on Sunday. She also served on the Liturgy Planning Team for both of the services. She was one of the three architects of Saturday's Vigil liturgy along with the Rev. Deon Johnson and the Rev. Martini Shaw, as well as one of the service coordinators. For Sunday’s Installation service, she served as Curry’s liturgical liaison to the team at the National Cathedral.
“Incredible,” “deep joy” and "hope” were the words Wilson chose to describe the weekend. “The services represented the wholeness of the church, ethnically, culturally, geographically, sexual orientation, politically,” she said. “I always love the beauty of the long line of Bishops forming the cruciform down the center aisle. The music was fabulous and represents the reality of Anglican comprehensiveness liturgically and theologically.”
One of the most poignant moments for Wilson was the passing of the primatial staff. She spoke of the Rt. Rev. John Thomas Walker, Bishop of Washington and first African-American candidate for Presiding Bishop. In 1989, a year before Washington National Cathedral was completed, he died suddenly. At his funeral, Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man was played.
“At Sunday's service,” she said, “in Bishop Walker's cathedral, once completed, but now with scaffolding again for repairs after the earthquake, as the primatial staff was passed from Bishop Katharine to Bishop Michael, Fanfare for the Common Man was played, bringing back for many of us the connection to Bishop Walker, whose ministry and witness paved the way for Bishop Michael. This was very touching for many of us and went full circle back to an ancestor sharing in the celebration.”
Asked about her hopes for the church under Presiding Bishop Curry, Wilson said, “I hope for a church energized, renewed and refreshed by the power of the love of Jesus pulsing through our veins and out into the world. I pray for a church less obsessed with our internal struggles and more concerned about how we bear Christ into the neighborhood and into the world; how we live into the reconciling love of Jesus with others – especially those with whom we disagree the most – how we learn to dance with one another and break down those assumptions about each other that keep us from being in right relationship with each other. I pray for a church which will live into our call in Romans. ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind and spirit.’”
“Most of all,” she concluded, “I look forward to a church that can hear and live the words from the 4th chapter of Philippians: ‘rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all; the Lord is near.... Finally my beloved, whatever is good, whatever is just... if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things. What you have heard and seen in me, DO, and the God of peace will be with you.’"
The Rev. Deacon Chris McCloud
McCloud said she was invited by Wilson, on behalf of the National UBE planning committee, to participate in the UBE Vigil service. She also received tickets from UBE to attend the Installation service.
Describing both services as “electric,” McCloud said, “The anticipation at the Vigil was palpable, the people were joyful and full of renewed hope and commitment.”
About Wilson’s sermon, she said it “was really on point and energized not only the crowd attending, but Bishop Curry who was totally engaged in his listening and receiving of her words It was quite special to witness and share the bond that they have being lifelong friends.”
She noted a strong feeling of inclusiveness at the Installation service. “It reminded us all that everyone has a place in God's church and Presiding Bishop Curry spoke to this in his sermon.”
She added, “[Curry’s] energy and unquestionable love for Jesus should be bottled and given to everyone because we all need that type of infusion in our lives if we're going to go out into the world sharing the Good News!”
McCloud was particularly struck by two statements in Curry’s sermon: "When God has God's way folk don't hurt each other; when God has God's way people don't kill each other; when God has God's way we don't let children starve!” and "If it isn't about love, then it isn't about God."
She said, “This is what got me excited and ready to move differently in the world and refocus myself in my ministry both in the world and in our church.”
Sharon Sheridan of Church of the Messiah, Chester
Sheridan attended both the UBE Vigil service and the Nov. 1 Installation service as a member of the media for Episcopal Journal, particularly as a photographer.
She described both services as “wonderful, Spirit- and joy-filled liturgies that showed the Episcopal Church at its best: diverse in members and expression, unified in celebration and purpose. The services incorporated the breadth of our tradition – with many musical styles, languages, prayers, vestments and symbols – in a way that celebrated our diversity as it is rooted within our common prayer.”
She said that although thousands of people attended the services, “it still felt like worshiping with family, and I was delighted to see many familiar faces.”
She noted that both Wilson and Curry delivered powerful sermons that challenged us “to work together as part of what Presiding Bishop Curry calls the Jesus Movement,” adding, “My hope is that we accept the challenge and join together as part of the movement. I hope we all take to heart Bishop Curry’s words that, if it is not about love, it is not about God.’”
Sheridan also hopes that the world beyond our church will hear Curry’s message. “I believe he will be an articulate and visible representative of our church, and that his message is very accessible. As one 10-year-old told me after the installation service, ‘He used language that kids know. I thought that I was pretty lucky to be here listening to the sermon.’”
An MDiv student at Drew Theological School – “a very ecumenical program at a Methodist institution” – Sheridan noted, “One of the hymns Wilson quoted, God Has Work for Us to Do, and one of the hymns we sang at both services, All Are Welcome, are ones we often sing in chapel services at Drew. This reminded me that the Jesus Movement is not about one church or denomination, but a way of life Jesus calls us all to join.”
She concluded, “My hope is that we in the Episcopal Church will embrace this Way, join with others who also follow Jesus, and reach out beyond church walls to invite others to become part of the Jesus Movement. I hope we all take up the challenge, knowing God has work for us to do.”
The Rev. Cynthia Black, Rector of Church of the Redeemer, Morristown
Black, who got her ticket to the Installation service through the lottery, said she was initially ambivalent about missing Sunday and All Saints Day at Redeemer, so she asked her vestry what they thought.
“They looked at me and said ‘Huh? This historic occasion and you're thinking you wouldn’t go? Yes, of course, absolutely – and we want to hear about it!’”
Like Wilson, a high point of the Installation for Black was the handing off of the primatial staff. She had attended Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Shori’s Installation and remembered Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold – “an older white man, so much of what church had been” – handing the primatial staff to Jefferts Shori. “Now, nine years later, to see a woman hand it to an African-American, it was a very similar kind of feeling, equally as wonderful.”
Another high point for her was a playful moment between Curry and Jefferts Schori at the beginning of the asperges – the blessing with holy water – when they asperged one another, and how they then worked in concert, side by side, to asperge the congregation.
About Curry’s sermon, Black said, “It's clear that this is a new day for the church. We need to focus not on the church, the institution, but on the person.”
She says a particular challenge for Curry will be that “the world wants him to be a magician, to come in and fix all our decline, all of the social unrest of our current day. The challenge for him will be to not get sucked into that – to know that he's not the magician.”
“He has an enormous job ahead of him, as does every Presiding Bishop,” said Black. “There will be challenges that none of us can foresee. I would hope that he would be in the daily prayers of all Episcopalians.”
