Disciple: The Next Steps Begin

By The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple

These are exciting days, as we have a new bishop-elect, the Rev. Samuel Rodman. Now the next phase of transition begins: bringing Sam and Debbie Rodman “home” to North Carolina.

A new set of preparations begins: consecration planning, finding a dwelling in Raleigh, and a pile of paperwork concerning consents from bishops and standing committees across our multinational province of The Episcopal Church. More committee work begins. The coordination of more logistics begins. Thankfully, our bishop-elect plans to visit the Diocese several times over the next two months in anticipation of beginning his ministry among us in early June.

At our Special Electing Convention on Saturday, March 4, we saw and felt the Holy Spirit’s powerful presence. We felt it most palpably and dearly in the four nominees themselves — each man offering himself in humble service to the glory of God and for the sake of the church and the world. What wondrous love is theirs to go through such an arduous process so faithfully and gracefully.

We saw and felt the holiness of God in the spirit of hospitality provided by the many staff members and volunteers who saw to every detail, from parking hundreds of cars to carefully orchestrating Communion for everyone in attendance, from food for the body to music for the soul. Even and especially in the very few glitches along the way, we saw a powerful spirit of patience and forbearance among our many members. When and if something was not going according to plan, we stayed calm, adjusted and carried on.

Though this is possible only by the grace of God, it must be acknowledged that various earthen vessels — i.e. God’s people — worked very, very hard and thoughtfully to bring about a day of prayer, discernment, decision and great thanksgiving. I saw an organist paying close attention to the timing of bells and music and the shape of liturgy. I saw a communications team artfully relaying information across a crowded space and out into the world for folks following from afar. I saw Standing Committee members call an audible when the bishop diocesan pro tempore lost her place in the script. I saw pastoral care and sensitivity for all concerned in a complicated day of relaying news to the nominees and their families.

Most of all, I saw the people of God — clergy and delegates — faithfully and prayerfully listening to the Spirit of the living God.

As Bishop-elect Rodman pointed out in his remarks to the Special Convention following his election on the third ballot, the season of Lent prevents us from using the A-word. Even so, our hearts are glad and our spirits rejoice in the knowledge that God continues to bless the people of the Diocese of North Carolina and calls us to continue to move forward — boldly, faithfully and deliberately.

This means that while we are still waiting to welcome our new bishop we are not standing around. Not in the least! Our shared work to equip the saints for ministry continues at a heart-healthy pace.

Our diocesan priorities, the twin foci of evangelism and reconciliation, go hand in hand. To share the gospel of Jesus (or evangelion in Greek) means to share the good news that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. As St. Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (Corinthians 2:17-20)

We are learning to be ambassadors — or evangelists — of Christ’s reconciling “loving, liberating and life-giving love,” as the Presiding Bishop puts it. The best way to learn how to do this is to practice and train. By Easter Sunday an updated version of Go Speak: Sharing Our Faith cards will be available to use in your worship communities and institutions. This enhanced version contains new prompts to share how our faith in Jesus informs our work for racial reconciliation. These questions help each of us recall and unlock the moments where race, church, society, sin and grace have intersected in our own lives.

I am thrilled to announce that subsidies to attend Racial Equity Institute training are now available from the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee. Project Resource is harnessing the interdisciplinary talents of our diocesan staff and lay leaders to enhance stewardship efforts throughout the diocese. This is only the start of so much work being done on so many fronts.

As I listen to the news about our state, our country and the world, it is difficult not to feel alarmed and even discouraged. The evidence of deep divisions and shrill voices of aggrieved parties are impossible to miss. As I have written before, it is not a time to turn away or tune out. In fact, we should strive to be more informed and observant than ever. Never has loving our neighbors as ourselves been a more important act of faith and maybe even an act of resistance and sacrifice. It is essential to be as good at listening for the real pain and fear underneath all this conflict as it is to offer our own opinions as to the causes and solutions.

For me, however, my spirit is constantly and daily revived again and again by the joyful, worshipful and energetic life of our churches. As I visit all over this diocese, which is my calling as a bishop, and as I take hours each week to immerse myself in a different worship community, I am overjoyed to see all the signs of life and vitality from the smallest, most rural missions with a quarter-time priest to our largest downtown churches with multiple staff members. World-changing witness is measured by hearts, minds and bodies offered in thanksgiving and praise, not parochial reports!

Are our churches facing challenges and constraints? Yes. Some more than others. Are they daunted or despairing? Emphatically, no. Are they increasingly creative and adaptive? Indeed. Will some doors close? Probably. Will new opportunities arise? Most assuredly.

The journey that is Lent, the way of the cross, the road of discipleship with Jesus has never been an easy or pain-free path. But we trust in God. We’ve seen the coming of God’s glory. We share in the dream of God for reconciliation of heaven and earth embodied in the real presence of Jesus Christ: yesterday, today and forever.

The Rt. Rev. Anne E. Hodges-Copple is the bishop diocesan pro tempore of the Diocese of North Carolina.