Marriage
Institutional Resistance Rooted in Christian Conviction
Jun. 13, 2025 16:09 Filed in: Commentaries
Friends,
Last Sunday, we baptized eight (!) young people, we prayed for Morris+ as he steps into retirement from being the deacon assigned at Grace Episcopal Church, we celebrated Linnea's graduation, we had a parade of birds, there was a fabulous anthem from some of our younger singers -- it was a day full of the Holy Spirit! You can listen to Morris' sermon here.
We're going to need to keep following where that Holy Spirit is leading. In a letter to the whole church today, our Presiding Bishop says, "At its best, our church is capable of moral clarity and resolute commitment to justice. I believe we can bring those strengths to bear on this gathering storm. Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last institutions capable of resisting the injustice now being promulgated. That is not a role we sought—but it is one we are called to... We are finding ways to respond as Christians to what we see happening around us," the Most Rev. Sean Rowe said. "In short, we are practicing institutional resistance rooted not in partisan allegiance, but in Christian conviction." The Presiding Bishop was speaking specifically of the new travel bans and unwarranted deployment of military personnel in Los Angeles. Alongside those challenges, today, some of our fellow followers of the way of Jesus have voted to turn their energies toward banning marriage equality.
In this Pride Month, and in this season in our city and our country, practicing Jesus' way of resilient, defiant, embodied, joyful love has never been more important. Read on for a few ways you can put your faith into practice.
See you in church!
Susan+
Last Sunday, we baptized eight (!) young people, we prayed for Morris+ as he steps into retirement from being the deacon assigned at Grace Episcopal Church, we celebrated Linnea's graduation, we had a parade of birds, there was a fabulous anthem from some of our younger singers -- it was a day full of the Holy Spirit! You can listen to Morris' sermon here.
We're going to need to keep following where that Holy Spirit is leading. In a letter to the whole church today, our Presiding Bishop says, "At its best, our church is capable of moral clarity and resolute commitment to justice. I believe we can bring those strengths to bear on this gathering storm. Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last institutions capable of resisting the injustice now being promulgated. That is not a role we sought—but it is one we are called to... We are finding ways to respond as Christians to what we see happening around us," the Most Rev. Sean Rowe said. "In short, we are practicing institutional resistance rooted not in partisan allegiance, but in Christian conviction." The Presiding Bishop was speaking specifically of the new travel bans and unwarranted deployment of military personnel in Los Angeles. Alongside those challenges, today, some of our fellow followers of the way of Jesus have voted to turn their energies toward banning marriage equality.
In this Pride Month, and in this season in our city and our country, practicing Jesus' way of resilient, defiant, embodied, joyful love has never been more important. Read on for a few ways you can put your faith into practice.
See you in church!
Susan+