The third issue of the Episcopal Church Center News has been sent to subscribers and is available online. Editor Sarah Johnson summarizes the work of the ECC as “symbiosis”
Discussing the renewed sense of collaboration that the staff of the Episcopal Church Center has exhibited as it sets about its work in 2011, Linda Watt, Chief Operating Officer, noted recently that “we are more able now to recognize each other’s worth and seek new and creative opportunities for sharing our gifts to achieve more than we could have alone. In biology, this concept is called ‘mutualistic symbiosis’ – mutual interdependence for a greater benefit. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
This spirit of unity was apparent with all the staff members I interviewed recently about their upcoming work.
Bishop Ramos-Orench pointed out that the Province IX conference “provides an opportunity for building collegiality and mutual support, breaking ingrained patterns of isolation.”
Anne Rudig remarked that what drives her work in the Office of Communication is that “we have good news to share.
And Bronwyn Clark Skov explained that one of the most important things about the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) is that it “is designed to allow youth to recognize and affirm each other’s gifts.”
The concept of symbiosis and supporting each other in mission is not new to the staff of the Episcopal Church Center, but perhaps now more than ever it is foremost in our minds as we explore new ways of working together and sharing resources. As we launch ourselves into our work for the year ahead, the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12 seem particularly relevant:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
Read the newsletter here
Other newsletters from The Episcopal Church are:
Episcopal Migration Ministries
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
ECC e-Newsletter Archive