The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop has published a booklet introducing the four nominees by way of a short essay on their vision for the church, and biographical information. The booklet is available in English, French, and Spanish. A form for submitting questions to be asked at the candidates’ forum at General Convention is included with the link.
The nominees also responded on video to two questions:
1. What changes would you encourage in the Church to enable us to be the Church God is calling us to be?
2. In the Good News of Jesus, what do you feel most called to share with the Church in this moment?
Introducing Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal:
“ The peace of Christ is always about engagement with the neighbor, beginning with whoever crosses our path or lives close by, and working out from there. So the zone of peace we establish with one another as communities of Christian practice should push us outward into our neighborhood and beyond.”
Introducing Bishop Michael B. Curry
“ I pray for a Church passionately committed to making disciples who follow in the way of Jesus of Nazareth in the Episcopal tradition and who in so doing participate in the realization of the dream of God for this world. A church like that will really be a house of prayer for all people. The face of a church like that will reflect the faces of all the peoples of our lands in all our wondrous God-given variety. A church like that will be truly catholic. A church like that will bear witness by its very life to the unconquerable love of God we know in Jesus. That church will proclaim the word of God with power, evangelize as much by listening as by sharing, embody hospitality with authenticity, serve, witness and prophesy deliverance in our local and global societies. The discipleship of a church like that will truly follow in the way of Jesus of Nazareth and make a transformative difference in this world. That’s the church I pray for.”
Introducing Bishop Ian T. Douglas:
“Our primary vocation, given to us in baptism, is
to participate in God’s mission of restoration and reconciliation.
Following Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are
agents of God’s love for the whole world. The Church is a
result of our faithfulness to this mission of God and not an end
to be maintained.”
Introducing Bishop Dabney T. Smith:
“This scriptural teaching continuously inspires me. “If any one is in Christ, there is a new creation:…. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17ff.) We are given the blessing and the gift of living for others with God’s love. I am excited for the ministry of the Episcopal Church in living the ministry of reconciliation. I believe it is God’s desire and our purpose.”
Find more here.
Posted by Rosalind Hughes