Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Scarfe family WhatsApp page was exploding as we waited for the outcome of the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd this past week. This family network stretches from Scotland to the South coast of England, and then from Baltimore to San Diego. It includes a daughter who was going on a run, and wanted to be texted as soon as we knew. It was also the occasion of a rare and direct question from our other daughter: “So, question to dad – how do you feel about the Chauvin verdict? As the only white guy in the family, but a father of two black guys, what are your thoughts?” She added, “I remember overhearing the talks to Dom and El about how to behave when police may stop them."
My response was that I was teary eyed, and hopeful that this might be a historical turning point that people have been seeking – one of those leaps forward towards a new perspective and mindfulness on what it means to be humans created in the image of God. There was no assurance of what the verdict would be, for not far away we had just witnessed another trigger-anxious police incident with the killing of Daunte Wright. Our own Iowa state legislature has felt comfortable censuring history in its consideration of a bill that removes perceived divisive content from diversity awareness training – such as concepts of a system or a state’s laws being racist, or whiteness being privileged. And when many places are seriously asking the question what next on how we undertake public safety, and overhaul a system that creates violence against people of color 2.5 times over that on whites, we have just passed legislation that undergirds the business-as-usual attitude that gave rise to what we have witnessed in Minneapolis, and certainly doesn’t move us forward.
In 2015 our Presiding Bishop set a new course for The Episcopal Church in his linking evangelism and racial reconciliation, and engaging this within a responsibility for Creation Care. He speaks of God as Loving, Life-Giving and Liberating, and is convinced that “being a Christian is not essentially about joining a church or being a nice person, but about following in the footsteps of Jesus, taking his teaching seriously, letting his Spirit take the lead in our lives, and in so doing helping to change the world from our nightmare into God’s dream."
We all have to “do the work” of racial reconciliation in our personal and communal capacities. As a staff we are reading Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste, which seeks to illuminate the issues of our racial divisions through the notion of a caste system, comparing it to other examples such as India and 1930’s Germany. We have needed the support of doing this together and if I was to put into one phrase what this work is about I would say seeing people as if for the first time. I think of Thomas Merton’s epiphany as he stood “In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world…This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud.”
Elsewhere he writes that “we are where God intends us to be”—in other words, all of the happenings of this week, and the ongoing work we have to do in crafting our society through relationship, perception of one another, and yes, the establishing of our values in law that works towards our better selves rather than reinforces our worse, is what God intends us to engage because “we are where we are." And we all start out from different places and God desires to fix our eyes on how His reign of Love can be.
We have a Beloved Community Initiative in the Diocese of Iowa. I have been saying this a lot recently, and I do so because I believe that this is a timely gift for us from the Spirit in finding ourselves where we find ourselves. We assume that Thomas Merton sought to spend his life oriented towards the knowledge of God; and that his experience on Fourth and Walnut was a breakout from that effort. And I trust that the same Spirit is at work within us all.
A lot of people are asking what next? The place where George Floyd was killed is now George Floyd Square, and it is a place where people are expected to behave with a modicum of reverence. The square once had a gas station, and all that remains of that station is the price sign. Since the murder the sign has counted days asking a question: How many days until justice for George Floyd? On Tuesday it was changed to read “Justice served” and then a question mark was added and it became “Justice served?” The question mark reminds us that while this verdict brings accountability, the work of justice continues. The question mark remains on the sign, and maybe it will remain as a constant reminder that we are all called to this work of racial reconciliation, and that it is part of the Good News. We are where God has placed us for this moment of human endeavor and of human imagination.
Merton goes on to reflect: “Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. But this cannot be seen, only believed, and ‘understood’ by a peculiar gift." That is how evangelism and reconciliation come together.
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
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A.C.T.S. - After COVID Telling Stories of the Spirit
Celebration of A.C.T.S. - May 1, 2021 9:30am - 12:00pm
As a diocese, we know each of our churches experienced a variety of challenges and new experiences. We know all of our people found themselves confronted with risks, new ideas, sorrows, excitement, and love. And as life with a pandemic moves on, we would like to reflect and celebrate where we have been and where we are sensing we might be moving. One thing we know is that God has been and is with us on this journey. We know the Spirit has been active in so many ways in our lives.
We will share stories from around the diocese about this year in the pandemic. Time in smaller groups to explore ideas and questions.
A time of celebration and learning.
All are welcome!
For your prayers during Eastertide: 40 Devotions on Creation
Bishop Scarfe is inviting individuals and congregations in Iowa during Eastertide to make use of a set of devotions from the 'Green Anglicans' network; as Brechin had done in Lent to honor the memory of Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya. The Planting Seeds of Hope devotions are available for download here and you're asked to enter at the beginning during this Earth Day week, lifting the strength of our collective prayers daily for 40 days, for hope to rise around 'this fragile earth, our island home'
COVID Vaccine Information
A tool to help you track down COVID-19 vaccine appointment openings at Iowa pharmacies. Updated every minute - keep refreshing the page or clicking "Check for New Appointments"
Now tracking 400+ locations around Iowa. Find a location close to you that has appointments available, then click the 'Book an Appointment' link.
Resources:
on Twitter, follow @IAVaccineAlerts
Sacred Ground Circles
Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.
The 11-session series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.
Circles will meet every other week for 11 sessions via Zoom:
Mondays 6:30-8:30pm beginning 5/24
Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm beginning 5/25
Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm beginning 5/27
Sundays 1:30-3:30pm beginning 5/30
Dismantling Racism Training
Register for online training
Grounded in The Episcopal Church's commitment to dismantling racism as essential to our formation as Christians, this ONLINE training is open to all persons who would like to deepen their understanding of racism, prejudice, and privilege.
The training will consist of 2 sessions from 10:00am-12:00pm and 12:30pm-2:30pm, with a break for lunch.
Vestry Update and Training
As Annual Meetings conclude, please send updated Vestry lists to Elizabeth Adams at eadams@iowaepiscopal.org
REQUIRED TRAINING
New Vestry members need to complete these 2 trainings within the first six months of joining the Vestry:
Safeguarding God’s People
Each congregation has a Safeguarding Administrator to set you up with online training. You can contact Amy Mellies at amellies@iowaepiscopal.org for contact information.
Dismantling Racism Training
Visit the Beloved Community Initiative website for upcoming Dismantling Racism Training dates.
EPIC Diocesan Summer Camp2021: July 5-9
The EPIC planning team has been very busy planning an in-person camp this year. EPIC will look different for a number of reasons, partly because we will be at a new location, the Christian Conference Center in Newton, and because of COVID protocol. We are also working on an online option for those who might not be comfortable with in-person camp this summer.
EPIC is for youth entering 4th grade through 12th grade. Registration will open on May 1. Information will be sent to families and posted on the Children and Youth Ministry page of the diocesan website.
Celebrating 2021 Graduates
As we did in 2020, we would like to celebrate our graduates of 2021. We will celebrate graduates from pre-school, kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade, high school or college.
Please send us a photo and brief description of your graduate so we can celebrate them as a diocese in our weekly e-News and on social media. Send information to Amy Mellies at amellies@iowaepiscopal.org.
Episcopal Service Corps
Are you called to a #ServiceYear through Episcopal Service Corps?
Open House - May 4 at 7:00pm CDT
Discerning a service year?
If you're a young adult between 21 and 32 years of age, join ESC program directors and Corps members for an online Open House, May 4 at 7 pm CDT. During the hour you'll have a chance to talk to ESC alumni and current Corps members, find out what it's like to serve through ESC, and ask any questions you may have.
Take our Discernment Quiz: http://bit.ly/ESCdiscern to learn more about the variety of opportunities available through ESC.
If you are considering a year of service through ESC, be sure to apply soon! We accept applications until every service opportunity is filled.
Application: https://bit.ly/ESCApplication
Podcast Corner
Podcast for Nerdy Christians
Join hosts and Episcopal priests Carrie Combs and Adam Thomas for this podcast for progressive Christians who love Hogwarts, Hobbits, and Jesus, too.
They recommend starting with Season 2 (when they got their audio stuff together) then going back to Season 1 if you like it.
Currently Up: We're posting a mini-season in between Seasons 3 and 4 in order to jump from Harry Potter 3 to Harry Potter 7. We'll deep dive into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when we get to season 4. For now, in Season 3 and 3/4, we're spending one episode each chatting about the really long, middle year Harry Potter novels.
