St. Francis' Episcopal Church

Serving Eureka, Wildwood, and Surrounding Communities

The One that We Feed

A friend of mine is Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in New Orleans.  Since Hurricane Katrina, David has been called upon to be a spokesperson for the Episcopal Church in that city.  Recently, I mentioned to him that I’d seen his name in quite a few places.  Modestly, he admitted that he’d had his 15 minutes of fame.  One result of that exposure, however, is that people will stop him on the street to thank him for what the Episcopal Church has done for New Orleans.  Long after the immediate disaster, trucks continue to pull into the city with necessities.  The president of Episcopal Relief and Development has practically set up an office there.  More than that, the Episcopal Church is proving to be a bridge between other churches that usually distrust one another.  As David said, “Churches with very different theological and worship styles trust us, so we can bring these parties to the table so that we all can work together.”   

He made another interesting point.  While “mega churches” can accomplish quite a lot with their people and financial resources, when their people are scattered as in New Orleans, the church ceases to exist.  Because the Episcopal Church is a part of a national and international network, it can continue to seek and serve Christ in all even when members of a particular parish or diocese are displaced.   

When I worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital, I learned about a rare disease called Rasmussen's Encephalitis that afflicts very young children. It is characterized by seizures, paralysis on one side, inflammation of the brain, and mental deterioration.  Doctors there discovered that if they removed the half of the brain destroyed by this disease, the other half of the brain took over the functions of the removed half, and children grew to live a normal life.  The experience of the Episcopal Church in New Orleans reminds me of this.  Part of the church may be destroyed, but the rest of the church takes over so that the Body can continue to live and thrive.   

One of the great beauties and strengths of the Episcopal Church is that we are a part of a world-wide Anglican Communion.  We have sisters and brothers with whom we share a common understanding and practice of Christian faith all over the planet.  While this part of the Body of Christ was incubated in the British Isles, today there are millions of Anglicans in Africa and Asia and throughout every continent.  Their culture and language enriches our communion.  St. Francis’ was blessed with a small reminder of our fellowship in the wider communion when Bishop Bullen Dolli visited us last November.  We raised money for the people of his diocese in The Sudan, but we were greatly enriched by his presence and the prayers of his people.  

This is not to say that a church comprised of people of many languages and cultures does not have tensions.  Even within our own national body there are tensions.  We will come together in June at our General Convention in Columbus, Ohio.  I will be there as an alternate clergy deputy for the diocese.  I anticipate that there will be tensions and, perhaps, animosity.  But there will be unity, grace, joy, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  This reminds me of the story of the Indian elder who told his grandson that there were within him two wolves fighting one another:  one was the spirit of love and kindness; the other was the spirit of hatred and anger.  Wide-eyed, the child asks “Which one will win, Grandfather.”  He replied, “The one that I feed.”   

When we feed the spirit of love, unity, and kindness, we are strengthened in ourselves and in our Communion.  Please pray for the Episcopal Church that we may continue to be the kind of witness to the love of God that we have been in New Orleans.