by Rev. Dr. Jim Warnock
Recently I had a 1:00 a.m. call-out from the fire department. They sent me to the Women’s Shelter for a death of one of the residents. I don’t usually get called to the shelter since they always have staff on-scene. This time the engine crew wanted me to talk with a young African woman who was deeply upset by the death she’d witnessed.
Ludmila, an elderly Russian woman, had died after being sick for most of the day. Faith, the young woman, had stayed at her side all that time. When I saw Faith, she was being helped by three middle aged American women, all of them residents at the shelter. They were reassuring her, bringing her a Coke, telling her that she’d done exactly what Ludmila had needed. It was really nice to see them, standing outside the door in the middle of the night caring for this young person. I only added that, because of her, an aging Russian woman, far from her home and anyone who knew her, had not died alone. The last thing she saw was Faith caring for her.
This struck me as a powerful statement of our calling as Christians. We are called to be the peacemakers, the ones who stand by those who suffer. This is what we do especially in today’s distressed world.
Our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, has given us his thoughts as well. He talks about the institutional things the Episcopal Church is doing. Here in Tacoma the things we do are more personal. Please read the Bishop’s thoughts and join me in prayer for our world (maybe especially for people like Ludmila and Faith).
Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church:
I am writing to you from Geneva, where I am meeting with global partners at the World Council of Churches and the United Nations Refugee Agency. As we have discussed how our institutions might act faithfully and boldly in these turbulent times, I have been reflecting on
how we Episcopalians can respond to what is unfolding around us as followers of the Risen Christ whose first allegiance is to the kingdom of God, not to any nation or political party.
The events of the last several days lend urgency to this spiritual challenge. Earlier this week, President Trump’s executive order banning or restricting travel from 19 countries went into effect. This order impacts countries that are home to dioceses of The Episcopal Church and many of our Anglican Communion partners, and I have written to the bishops and primates in those countries to express our concern.
The unwarranted deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps on the streets of Los Angeles also signals a dangerous turn. As the bishops of California have written, these military deployments risk escalating the confrontations unnecessarily and set a dangerous precedent
for future deployments that heighten tensions rather than resolve them. As Christians committed to strive for justice and peace among all people, we know that there is a better way.
What we are witnessing is the kind of distortion that arises when institutions like the military and the State Department are turned on the people they were meant to protect. These mainstays of the federal government, designed to safeguard civil society and promote peace and stability, are now being weaponized for political advantage. The violence on television is not our only risk. We are also seeing federal budget proposals that would shift resources from the poor to the wealthy; due process being denied to immigrants; and the defunding of essential public health, social service, and foreign aid programs that have long fulfilled the Gospel mandate to care for the vulnerable, children, and those who are hungry and sick.
With all of this in mind, we are finding ways to respond as Christians to what we see happening around us. We are exploring options to support litigation challenging the travel ban on the ground of religious freedom; advocating for federal spending that safeguards the welfare of the
most vulnerable; caring for immigrants and refugees in our congregations and communities; and standing in solidarity with other faith groups. In short, we are practicing institutional resistance rooted not in partisan allegiance, but in Christian conviction.
At its best, our church is capable of moral clarity and resolute commitment to justice. I believe we can bring those strengths to bear on this gathering storm. Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last
institutions capable of resisting the injustice now being promulgated. That is not a role we sought—but it is one we are called to.
In Geneva, I have been reminded that we are part of a global communion of hope in the Risen Christ. We do not stand alone as we live by our baptismal promises: to persevere in resisting evil, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human
being. In these troubling times, may we find courage and resilience in our identity as members of the Body of Christ.
Yours in Christ,
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe, Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church