The Work Ahead

FROM THE RECTOR

Last weekend, two dozen people from St. Paul’s joined hundreds of other Episcopalians in Little Rock for Bishop John Harmon’s ordination. It was an incredible service filled with joy, hope, enthusiasm, and grace. You can watch the entire service here, and every minute is worthwhile, but, if three hours of church feels like too much, consider skipping ahead to the one-hour mark and listening to the sermon given by the Rt. Rev. Nathan Baxter, retired bishop of Central Pennsylvania.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Baxter urged us to recognize that, among the many saints looking down with joy on that faithful event, was the Rt. Rev. Edward Thomas Denby, who in 1918 became the first African-American bishop in The Episcopal Church. Bishop Denby served as a suffragan bishop here in the Diocese of Arkansas and in the Province of the Southwest. Our diocese, therefore, has an important place in the history of The Episcopal Church, and it is our God-given work to explore that part of our history and tell our church’s story in the context of the lives of people of color in our state.

Telling that story faithfully, however, is not easy. It requires a willingness to confront moments from our past that we would rather not reencounter. It requires demythologizing some of the sacred stories we have inherited. And it requires us to develop meaningful relationships with Black people, whose ancestral stories we must hear with openness and honesty, and that requires time, effort, and humility.

For several years, our diocese, including our own parish, has failed to make the work of racial reconciliation a shared priority. There have been plenty of isolated efforts—guest speakers, historical remembrances, group pilgrimages, and newsletter articles like this one—but we have not made racial healing important enough to shape the work that we do as Episcopalians in Arkansas. The election and ordination of Bishop Harmon is not a sign that that work is being fulfilled, but it is an opportunity to shift our priorities in a way that helps us pursue it more fully.

The work of dismantling racism is not the work of our Black and Brown neighbors. It is the work of White Christians. We believe that, as the apostle Paul wrote, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Because the cross of Christ has made us one body, there can be no separation between us, yet we have a long history of rejecting that truth and imposing that separation upon others because of their race, ethnicity, and gender. And, even if most of those formal divisions have been removed, their legacy continues to divide us. Nevertheless, we believe that God has given us the power to be reconciled to each other, but we can only experience that power through the hard, painful, and life-giving work of confession, repentance, and restoration.

At the ordination last Saturday, I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me in ways I did not expect. As we sang hymns that I remember from my childhood in a southern Methodist church but which we do not sing very often at St. Paul’s, I felt a pull back to the core expressions of our faith. As I listened to a sermon that was longer and more wide-ranging than I am used to, I felt an eagerness to hear the proclamation of the Good News by voices to which I typically do not listen. As I heard the joyful yelps and trills of worshippers who came to celebrate Bishop Harmon’s ordination, I felt a desire to sing and shout the praiseworthy goodness of God in ways I might usually find strange and intimidating. In short, I felt called by the Holy Spirit into the work of the gospel in new ways.

How is God calling the Diocese of Arkansas to do something new in this next chapter of our life together? How is God calling St. Paul’s to be a leader in that work? How is God calling you to give your heart, mind, soul, and strength to the love of God that knows no limits? I do not know how that work will take shape, but I do know that it is work I am called to pursue, and I trust that it is work that we, as a parish, are called to share. I hope you will join me in asking God to show it to us and to give us the humility and faith we need to carry it out in God’s name.

Yours Faithfully,

Evan D. Garner