Listen & Reach out in Faith

A unique moment happened on Tuesday of Convention in the House of Deputies. We voted unanimously for C095 which is the resolution that sets up a task force to reimagine the church. The house broke into applause and sang. It was one of those very special moments that you remember!  The wind of change has been blowing in the house since the start of this convention and today’s vote confirmed that there is a strong desire in the Episcopal Church for change in our structure, our budgeting process and our inclusion of those under 40. What that will look like is unknown, but the message is clear – everything is on the table and the voices of those who are often not heard are wanted in this conversation.

Shortly after this vote, we took the vote on A049 which is the resolution on Blessing of Same Gender services. And it was not the same unanimous vote. Rather there were a lot of political moves to rephrase the resolution, requests for vote by order and other motions that took time and began to try the patience of the deputies. But the vote was finally taken and the resolution passed. 

So while we can agree on the need to restructure the church and we can celebrate being open to what lies ahead, we still find ourselves struggling with how to really be open and include everyone in all the fullness of our life as a Christian community.

So once again I am reminded that we are not the perfect church – in fact we have a long way to go. We often miss the mark that Christ set for us, but we continue to be willing to be in conversation and we are willing to do the hard work of listening to each other. We need to remind ourselves that we need to make more efforts to reach out to the young, the marginalized, the unchurched and the others we want so much to invite to the table. And that we will continue to disagree about some issues, but together we are willing to step out in faith and see where the Spirit is calling us.

Salli Hartman

Salli Hartman is an alternate convention deputy and member of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Silver Spring, MD.