“I didn’t know Christianity was about love.”
This is what our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, told a packed crowd on July 9th that he had heard after he preached at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back in 2018 (which he jokingly described as a “small family affair”). “I’m not exaggerating, over and over again,” he said he heard this from people, “And I realized that Christianity needs a revival… a revival to the teachings of this Jesus for whom love was at the very center of those teachings.”
And a revival is why nearly a thousand Episcopalians were gathered in Baltimore, Maryland listening to this fiery sermon in the heat of July. They had all come for the “It’s All About Love: A Festival for the Jesus Movement.” To be clear, this was no ordinary revival – no one night of worship under a tent. This was three full days of workshops, group discussions, presentations, and prayer centered on three main themes: Evangelism, Creation Care, and Racial Reconciliation.
There was a large group from the Diocese of Newark there too, yet they all came on their own. It was an organic response from 15 different people across our diocese, with only four joining together to attend.
The Rev. Joan Conley, Rector of St. Mark’s, Teaneck, came with JoAnn Riccardi, Marsha Mackey and Christian Paolino from her parish’s Sacred Ground group. Noting the opportunity for engagement with others who have gone through the program, she said “I really appreciated the various ’on ramps’ discussed by the Rev. Marisa Sifontes in the workshop "What comes next?: A path from Sacred Ground to Racial Justice.” She added that at the workshop “Healing the Cultural Divide between Indigenous Peoples and TEC,” what stuck with her was that evangelization is not about colonization, but is a tool for healing.
Martha Thalheimer of St. Luke’s, Montclair said she just felt called to be there. She not only attended, but served as a volunteer, helping to guide people to worship services and workshops.
It was good to see the Rt. Rev. Julio Murray, Archbishop of Central America and Bishop of Panama, and a friend to the Diocese of Newark. He is passionate about creation care and is working with many others in The Episcopal Church to plant the seeds of sustainability and environmental justice. Workshop attendees on this track learned about the impact of toxic waste and abuse of the earth on all people, especially those in the poorest communities, how to engage a parish in environmental evangelism, and the environmental advocacy work of The Episcopal Church at the United Nations.
Worship featured more than just our Presiding Bishop too. “I know it’s a cliche,” attendee Christian Paolino of St. Mark’s, Teaneck said, “but I wished I could bottle up the energy in that room and save it for the times when we could use a boost. The preaching, the music and the wisdom imparted on us gave me new energy for our work and I want to share what we learned and experienced with our parish and Regional Ministry Network.” Christian was so inspired by the revival, that he preached about it the following Sunday.
There were special places set aside for focused prayer. The Rev. Lynne Weber, as a member of The Episcopal Church Task Force in Creation Care and Environmental Racism, worked with others to create an Eco-Grief Prayer Space. There attendees could take a moment for reflection on the pain we have collectively caused, and experienced, from neglecting our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation.
From the campfire sparks that flew up to the sky on the screens at the opening worship to the rock version of “Ode to Joy” at the close of the final service, this revival had those who came fired up for the work ahead as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. But for those who could not attend, perhaps these words from Presiding Bishop Curry will inspire everyone to imagine what is possible for us, for the church, for all of God’s creation:
“Together with the God who is the source of love and life, together with God we can make poverty history together in partnership with God. We can do justice and love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Together with God we can clean up this environment so that there is plenty good room for all of God’s children. Together with God we can create societies and a world where everybody is treated as God’s somebody. Together with God we can create a world where justice really does roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Together with God, we can learn how to lay our swords and shields down by the riverside, to study war no more. When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.”
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox is Rector of Christ Church, Bloomfield/Glen Ridge.
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