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Beloved!
I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, filled with gratitude, generosity, and good people. I was glad to be able to go back to Indiana to be with my family, although I look forward to when we can all be together here in future years.
I am writing on the first Sunday of Advent, a time of anticipation, preparation, and longing for the coming of light into our darkened world. It is my favorite liturgical season, in which we await new birth, the incarnation of Love itself, in Jesus Christ.
Advent is a season for hopefulness in the Church, even as hope feels evasive in the world around us. That’s why, church leaders, your labors are so important. Thank you for the careful planning and preparation which will consume so many of you, ordained and lay alike, in the busy liturgical season ahead. Your work matters.
As for me, here are a few notes about some high points of this week and last:
• Today, I visited the good folks at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Duxbury. Next Sunday, I’ll be at St. Peter's-San Pedro Church in Salem.
• On Tuesday, Bishop Carol and I travel to Minneapolis for a one-day House of Bishops meeting on Wednesday with the new Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe. It will be my first!
• On Saturday, December 7, God willing and the people consenting, I will ordain the Rev. Faith Mbuthia to the priesthood at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford, at 10:30 in the morning. You are invited!
• Speaking of ordinations, congratulations to the Rev. Aaron Ross, who was ordained to the transitional diaconate last Saturday by the Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia, Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Forces, on my behalf. At the same time, I was at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center for postulancy weekend with the Commission on Ministry and Bishop Carol. What a hope-filled weekend.
• A few of you have reached out to me with questions about how our diocese and the larger church is preparing to stand with and for our immigrant siblings, who may be under particular threat with the impending presidential transition. Canon Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa and I are attending some briefings sponsored by the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations on this topic. Canon Ntagengwa will be convening a Zoom meeting for the Ministry of Immigration Partnership on Tuesday, December 3 at 3:30 p.m. Anyone interested in this work is welcome. Please e-mail jbntagengwa@diomass.org to receive the Zoom link for more information.
Finally, I was remiss in writing about the news, two weeks ago, that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby stepped down, in light of the findings of a report about abuse in the Church of England. I grieve for all victims of abuse and trauma, especially at the hands of clergy. Please join me in praying for them. I commend Bishop Welby for taking responsibility for safeguarding failures in the CofE. These revelations are a keen reminder that we must be ever vigilant in our own adherence to Safe Church practices, in order to abide by our sacred duty of care for the most vulnerable among us. In the new year, I will be reviewing our policies and procedures in this diocese.
Blessings upon you all, during these uncertain and very short days. Light is coming into the world, my friends. As Jesus says, keep your head up!
With love,
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