Greeting given by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the 152nd Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York on Saturday, November 14, 2020, virtually via Zoom.
Transcript
Hello to Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe and to all of the clergy and lay delegates who gather together for this, the 152nd Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. On behalf of your brothers, sisters, and siblings who are The Episcopal church, wherever we may be found, I bring you their greetings, assure you of their love and their prayers. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I wish that I could actually be with you as we had planned before the pandemic, and I look forward to being able to be with you when it is possible again to travel and to meet in person, and that day will indeed come. Please know that you are part of a worldwide fellowship of faith. People who have sought to follow Jesus Christ and his Way of Love in the particular way of Anglican and Episcopal Christianity.
Just this past week, I was meeting with the primates, the archbishops, presiding bishops and moderators from the Anglican Communion around the world, and we met with the Archbishop of Canterbury for two days. And one of the things I remembered as we were meeting and listening to the stories from around the world, how this pandemic has affected us all. I am reminded of the fact that we are part of a great fellowship. We are a part of not only The Episcopal Church, we are part of the Anglican Communion, some 85 million Anglicans around the world. And we are part of a communion and fellowship of Christians dispersed throughout the world. But we are also part of the community of peoples of faith, of all stripes and types. And more than that, we are part of the great fellowship of the entire human family of God. We are part of God’s family and meant to live as members of God’s family. And as every one of us knows, family only grows and thrives when it is built on love.
Your convention theme is “Sustained in God’s Love.” The truth is we will make it through this time of pandemic, a time of racial reckoning in our country, a time of a difficult election, the time of a country still divided. We will make it through together sustained by the love of God, committed to the Way of Love that Jesus taught us. A Way of Love that is unselfish, that is sacrificial, that seeks the good and the welfare and the well-being of others, as well as the self. That Way of Love can not only sustain us, it can lead us and guide us.
May that love of God sustain you. May that love of God uphold you. May that love of God lead you. As the old song said, “Lead me, guide me along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray.” God love you. God bless you. You have a good cConvention and I’ll see you real soon.
