<![CDATA[St Paul's Episcopal Church, Cambria - From the Bishop]]>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 02:08:24 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Presiding Bishop Calls for a Season of Prayer]]>Tue, 29 Mar 2016 08:08:17 GMThttp://stpaulscambria.org/from-the-bishop/march-31st-2016​Presiding Bishop calls for a season of prayer

[March 29, 2016] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has called for a season of prayer for regions of the Anglican Communion which are experiencing violence and civil strife.

“In this season of Resurrection, I call on everyone to pray for our brothers and sisters in areas where there is much burden and little hope,” the Presiding Bishop said.

In addition, in his Easter Message 2016 (available here), Presiding Bishop Curry addressed the situation in Brussels, noting, "The truth is even as we speak this Holy Week, we do so not only in the shadow of the cross but we do so in the shadow of those who have been killed in Brussels, of those who have been wounded and maimed, of those who weep and mourn.  And of a world mourning, and not too sure how to move forward.” 

Citing Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ – Presiding Bishop Curry called for prayer throughout the holy season of Easter.

​Beginning on April 3, the First Sunday of Easter, and proceeding through Pentecost May 15, The Episcopal Church is asked to pray for a particular province or region:
​
• Burundi
• Central America
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Middle East
• Pakistan
• South Sudan
More information is available here; be sure to check back for additional information throughout the Easter season.
For more information contact Elizabeth Boe, Officer for Global Networking, eboe@episcopalchurch.org.
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]]><![CDATA[Easter message from Presiding Bishop Michael]]>Fri, 25 Mar 2016 08:27:02 GMThttp://stpaulscambria.org/from-the-bishop/easter-message-from-presiding-bishop-michael
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I actually love fairy tales and I used to enjoy reading them to our children when they were young and little. Now to be sure those were the more sanitized fairy tales but there was something good about them, a way of confronting what was tough in life with genuine hope. But they were fairy tales.

This week called Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus entering Jerusalem and offering His life in the ultimate act of sacrificial love. Good Friday, the experience of betrayal, the experience of friends abandoning you, the experience of injustice and wrong, criminal self-centred conspiracies. And then beyond that Holy Week, the resurrection from the dead. This is not a fairy tale.

The truth is even as we speak this Holy Week, we do so not only in the shadow of the cross but we do so in the shadow of those who have been killed in Brussels, of those who have been wounded and maimed, of those who weep and mourn. And of a world mourning, and not too sure how to move forward. And this world does not need another fairy tale. This week’s story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale.

Some years ago in the last century George McLeod, the founder of the Iona Community, had fought in the First World War, a war that he came to realize was fought for no good reason. He eventually became ordained, and founded the Iona Community, and at one point he said this about this faith that we hold as followers of Jesus:

I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the centre of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, on the town garbage dump, at a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. It was the kind of place where cynics talk smut, thieves curse, soldiers gamble. That’s where he died. And that’s where we as Christians ought to be and what we as Christians ought to be about.
This week called Holy, the season called Easter, the remembrance of death and the realization of resurrection, this is not a fairy tale, but the revelation of ultimate reality. Now the truth is it’s easy to dismiss or discount whether by conscious conviction or by unconscious resignation to dismiss this as naïve, nice, but naïve. It’s easy to dismiss it whether consciously or unconsciously as a great hope, a wonderful ideal, but not realistic in a world like this. Maybe, parts of us I suspect wonder, maybe the strong do survive, maybe might does make right, maybe you better look out for number one. I suspect we all share those feelings once in a while.

But, I have to ask myself a question. It’s not my question, it’s Dr Phil’s, “How’s that workin’ out for ya?” How’s that workin’ out for the world? The truth is, the way the world very often operates is not working out. It’s not sustainable. It’s not the way to life. Jesus has shown us the way. He has shown us that unselfish, sacrificial love, love of God, and love of the other, is the way to life. That, my friends, is the ultimate reality. And that’s not a fairy tale.
When Jesus was executed, He was tried and convicted of crimes He never committed. He willingly gave His life. Not for Himself, but for others. And in so doing, He showed us what love looks like. That’s what we call the Way of the Cross. And that Way is the way of life and hope. And when He died, His closest followers feared that maybe the strong do survive. Maybe might does make right. And maybe we better look out for number one. ‘Cause maybe the world has won.

But three days later, something happened. Unexpected. Undreamed of. Unheralded. Three days later their world turned upside-down which is right-side up. God raised Him from the dead. And you could almost hear God thundering forth in that resurrection. Love, in the end, love wins! Love is the way! Trust me! Follow me! Believe in me! This resurrection is real! This is not a fairy tale!

So go forth into this world. Don’t be afraid. And don’t be ashamed to be people of love. And go forth into this world and help us to change it from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.

A blessed Holy Week, a blessed Easter, and go forth into the world. Amen.
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]]><![CDATA[From the Presiding Bishop ]]>Wed, 18 Nov 2015 09:07:48 GMThttp://stpaulscambria.org/from-the-bishop/from-the-presiding-bishop

Episcopal Presiding 
Bishop Michael Curry addresses Syrian refugee crisis:
​“Be not afraid!”

November 18, 2015


Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry addresses the current Syrian refugee crisis:

“Be not afraid!”  

Often in the gospels, fear grips the people of God, and time and again, either the angels, or Our Lord himself, respond with the same words of comfort: “Be not afraid.”  

In times like this fear is real.   And I share that fear with you.  Our instinct tells us to be afraid. The fight-or-flight mentality takes hold.  At the present moment, many across our Church and our world are grasped by fear in response to the terrorist attacks that unfolded in Paris last Friday.  These fears are not unfounded.  We can and should support law enforcement officials who are working hard and at great risk to protect us from crime and keep us safe.   And yet, especially when we feel legitimate fear, our faith reminds us “Be not afraid.”  The larger truth is that our ultimate security comes from God in Christ.

In the Book of Leviticus, God says to the people of Israel that, “the foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the foreigner as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”  Accordingly, we welcome the stranger.  We love our neighbor.  The Episcopal Church has long been committed to resettling refugees in our own communities fleeing violence and persecution.

The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, through its Episcopal Migration Ministries service, works with dioceses and congregations, and the United States government, to settle refugees in communities across this great country.  The Episcopal Church has been engaged in this ministry for more than 75 years.  We will not let the nightmare this world often is keep us from carrying out the words of Jesus who told us to be a neighbor to those in need.

Refugees from places like Syria seek to escape the precise same ideological and religious extremism that gave birth to the attacks in Paris.  They seek entry into our communities because their lives are imprisoned by daily fear for their existence.   Just as Jesus bids us not to be afraid, we must, in turn, pass those words of comfort to those who turn to us for help.

But Jesus calls us to go even further: not just to love our neighbors and our kin, but to love our enemies.  This is particularly difficult when we are afraid.    But even in the midst of our fear we stand on the solid ground of our faith and proclaim the faith in Christ crucified and risen from the dead.  In practical terms, this may mean finding strength in prayer, or in our neighbors, or in our churches, or in acts of solidarity with others who live in fear.   This is the hope that casts out fear.  

The fear is real.  So we pray.  We go to church.  We remember who we are in Jesus.   Our resurrection hope is larger than fear.   Let nothing keep us from that hope, that faith, that security in Gods dream for all of humanity.

“Be not afraid!”

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church


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