by Rev. Dr. Jim Warnock
We just had a very successful visit with Bishop LaBelle. It was his first time with us, though he’s been to our facility before with the Goshen congregation. I wanted to offer a few thoughts on his time.
We have had one baptism this year, back on Easter Sunday, and there were none scheduled for this visit. We’ve had one confirmation since I’ve been here, and there were none of those either. The Bishop was actually quite happy to do a very simple Rite II Prayer A service. If there had been confirmations or baptisms, he would have done them, but this was a nice change of pace for him. It was quite amusing to watch, and it went well. Of course, the website smallchurchmusic.com that we use for our hymns crashed on this particular morning. That is why we sang “Amazing Grace” as we processed. It’s one that everyone knows. Kresha thanks the Bishop for saving the day.
The lunch was great. The Bishop enjoyed meeting with all of you. The Bishop’s Committee met with him afterward. One important thing emerged from that. We now have a proposed Memorandum of Understanding for our relations with the Goshen congregation. Until our last Diocesan Convention, they were renting from us. That Convention regularized all of the African parishes as missions, the same status All Saints’ holds. The proposed MOU will define our roles and set up a joint committee to address any issues that arise over time. This is a very positive step. It has gone to the diocesan chancellor for his review.
Among the clergy and given the current political strife in our country, Bishop LaBelle has acknowledged the role of clergy in addressing issues of public morality. He’s put it in terms of being political but not partisan. Jesus was political in his day, being very critical of the injustices imposed by the ruling classes in his world. We also need to address injustice when it becomes evident. You can see this in the wording on our church doors that restricts unlawful entry by ICE agents. We also have to be nonpartisan. We cannot simply be the Democratic or Republican party at prayer.
My view on this has been to preach over and again that Jesus commands us to love God and neighbor. (We can throw in our enemies as well.) We cannot support those who preach hate, who seek division, who employ racist language. It doesn’t matter where they originate. This is who we are.
I like the way Bishop LaBelle phrased it. “Wrestle with the gospel. Speak out against injustice, taking your cues from the Magnificat, or the text of Isaiah that Jesus used for his first sermon, or any of the prophets, or whatever texts that come our way from the lectionary on any given Sunday. … those texts have a way of lining up and exegeting our society in ways that only the Spirit could imagine. And know that when you preach in that way, those words are, in fact, deeply political and also the gospel truth.” 1
1 Bishop Philip LaBelle, email to diocesan clergy, July 13, 2026.