“Will we have to wear masks?” The time is nearing that our churches will be able to open for worship. It will not happen everywhere at once; it will happen at different times in different places. But even when it happens, one thing is already clear: We are not going back to...
I think we can all agree that the novelty has now entirely worn off “novel Coronavirus.” A little unexpected time at home is almost always a gift; but it is hard to find any silver lining at all in weeks of disruption, shattered economies, and the unabated fear of infection by a...
An Easter Message from the Bishop The police in the neighborhood called the Cathedral this week. It wasn’t a courtesy call; they were calling to make certain it was clear no services are permitted in the building, not for Easter or any other purpose. They were given...
A Pastoral Word from the Bishop: When I was very young and growing up in Michigan, a frequent occurrence of the humid midwestern summers were tornadoes. They were very rare storms of ferocious and concentrated destructive power; in the unlikely event they visited your town, one home...
My sisters and brothers in Christ, In this season of unexpected isolation, I invite you, on behalf of the entire Convocation, to join people from across Europe as we gather to begin our walk through Holy Week as a single, faithful community. We cannot be where we would...
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Our Lengthened Lent has now come into clearer focus. The extraordinary has somehow settled into new routines; the gifts of adaptability and resilience with which we have been blessed are coming to the fore, and we are making our way into a...
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Perhaps for the first time in our long history, not one of our churches in Europe will be open for worship this coming Sunday. It is not war that has caused this; it is a virus that is ravaging the planet, causing tremendous worry and great...
My sisters and brothers in Christ, The Third Sunday in Lent this year will be the first Sunday most of us will ever have known of not being able to join in worship with our community in our church. The entire week just past has felt like running on a treadmill at...
Convocation Statement regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak... To the clergy and lay leadership of the Convocation, The emergence of cases of COVID-19 (the “coronavirus”) in Europe, and recent deaths in northern Italy associated with the virus, should be a matter of...
Feast of St. James of JerusalemActs 15:19: “Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those...who are turning to God.” Even if this is supposed to be the bishop’s annual address to the Convention of the Convocation, it still says “sermon” in...