October 30, 2008
Dear saints,
Greetings in Christ, our eternal hope! Thank you for a memorable first convention with
you. The loveliness of gathering as a family was incredibly precious and energizing.
Thank you again for the genuine warmth of your reception to us as a family.
As we celebrate the feast of All Saints we find our encouragement in the memory of
those who have gone before us into God’s eternal rest. The faith of those who fought to
overcome personal and societal ills during their earthly pilgrimage and those who
brought lasting joy to the Church is a constant reminder to us that God’s faithfulness is
ours to claim for our time. We are indeed surrounded by the seen and unseen cloud of
witnesses who compass us about. We are encouraged that nothing can separate us
from the love of God. We are also commissioned to be available as radiant witnesses of
Christ in us the hope of glory. As one little boy observed after looking at a stained glass
window, “A saint is someone the light shines through.”
In these fearful times, I invite you to embrace this radiant hope. On another note, in
regard to the monetary concerns raised by the convention, please know that the re-
membered Diocesan Council, in these unprecedented times will continue to monitor the
situation and deal with it as necessary. We will do this together and we will do it out of
our faith, not our fear. I invite you to keep this process in your prayer as we discern it
and lay it out. You are certainly in my prayer as you make adjustments at home.
We would also like to remind you that in the next few months Diocesan Council will
meet, not at D-House, but in your area. We will send out a schedule and locations for
these late in November. These will be listening opportunities to hear your hopes and
aspirations especially in this climate of fear. Please make sure you and your
congregants (especially your youth!) are aware of these intentional listening sessions.
They will be open to ALL your members and we hope you will promote them in every
possible way. Remember to pray and play, and don’t forget to VOTE!
Peace,
Prince
PS: since some of you asked for it, we are attaching the substance of my sermon from
the Saturday Eucharist (October 25, 2008) at Diocesan Convention