The Saints of God Are in this Together
Dear Friends,
This Sunday, we will be celebrating All Saints’ Day, and we will also be receiving a visit from our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, who will preside at the rites of initiation, including Baptisms, Confirmations, Reception, and Reaffirmation. Each of these are significant in the life of our parish family; they invite us to acknowledge our connection to the Saints who have preceded and follow us, and our connection to the beloved Saints of today throughout the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, including you and me.
Before I went to seminary, I wasn’t aware of the origins of visitations by our bishop, and like many, I thought it was largely for the purpose of administering Confirmation rites in a particular parish. What I discovered was that this understanding stands in stark contrast to the practice of the church in the first few centuries, in which the congregation was seen as an assembly of all the Christians in a given community, presided over by one bishop, assisted by the college of presbyters (priests) and deacons, and gathered around one table at which they share the one bread by which they were made one body.
In the words of Liturgical Scholar Howard Galley, "With the growth of the church, the ideal of a single assembly for worship in each city became difficult to maintain, and, with the spread of Christianity outside the larger cities, was necessarily abandoned. What was not abandoned, however, was the view of the bishop as one who signifies our union with the entire Body of Christ, who is set apart for the 'apostolic work of leading, supervising, and uniting the church.'” (BCP 510)
Rather than greatly increasing the number of bishops (which would have diminished the sense of unity even more), the solution was to deputize presbyters to preside at the Eucharist in the bishop’s name. Seen from this perspective, when the bishop’s Eucharist is scheduled to take place in a parish such as St. John’s, the bishop is taking the opportunity to preside in person, rather than by deputy, symbolizing to everyone our unity with the wider church.
As I’ve pondered this in anticipation of Bishop Goff’s visit, I am reminded that even though sometimes we feel we are “going it alone” – as individuals and as a Parish, we are not. In my own vocation as a priest, which requires a good measure of independence in order to be present to and tend to what is to come forth, I know how important it is for me to stay close to the people and places who help me know who I am and what God has called me to do and to be in this world. Likewise, and particularly in the wake of a pandemic that has separated us physically, I believe it is crucial for our parish family to connect with those who can provide insight and energy and encouragement for our shared vocation as members of Christ’s one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church.
We’re coming up on a day that invites us to remember that although we are each called to some measure of independence in order to discern what God wants to bring forth in our lives, we never go about this entirely alone. We are in this together - as individual parishioners, as a parish of the Diocese of Virginia, and as siblings with All the Saints in the household of God.
With thanksgiving,
Amelie+
