Encouraging Believers in the Wake of White Supremacy Rally
On Thursday, September 7, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, preached at a special service of Holy Eucharist at St. Paul’s Memorial Church in Charlottesville. The service was held on a day when Bishop Curry made a pastoral visit to Episcopal clergy in the Charlottesville area and met with the governance bodies of the Diocese, representing the prayerful concern of the whole Church in his role as chief priest and pastor following the traumatic weekend of August 11 and 12.
In spite of the suffering past events has brought to our town and nation as a whole, Bishop Curry encouraged believers to remain steadfast and embrace the way of love:
“Imagine if love was the cardinal principle by which we lived and by which our legislatures vote. Imagine Congress. Imagine the White House. Imagine the United Nations. Imagine our churches. Imagine our communities, our homes. This way of Jesus, which is the way of the cross, which is the way of unselfish, sacrificial love is the way that changes lives and can change the world.
Our brother Charles Marsh at the University of Virginia, said this: ‘Jesus had founded the most revolutionary movement in human history, a movement built on the unconditional love of God and for the sake of the world, and a mandate to a community of people who lived that love, and in so doing, it changed the world.’
Don’t be ashamed to treat people with love. And don’t be ashamed to bear witness to the way of love. And don’t be ashamed to share the word of love, in word and deed, because this way of crucified love has changed lives and the world before and it can change it again. So Charlottesville, Virginia, lift up your head, straighten your back, walk together. Walk together, children! Black, white, red, yellow, and brown: walk together, children! Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, atheists: walk together, people of good will! Walk together, and work together! And live the way of love until the love of God transforms this world.”
To watch the entire service, click here. Bishop Curry’s biography can be found here.
The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry was installed as the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015. He was elected and confirmed at the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, UT, on June 27, 2015. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and chair of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church.
Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.