Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
The Church of England was in the news this week. Not so much for the unveiling of their new vision for the next decade. England has a new Prime Minister, who is Hindi. And because of the arcane nature of the Church of England, he will be the primary advisor to the king in the appointment of bishops. Wild!
This is more novelty than it is significant, sounding weirder than it is.
It is also something utterly foreign to us, not just in the U.S., but as Episcopalians. We have neither a king nor a state religion. What we do have are elections. Elections for civic offices and elections within the church for episcopal offices (ie: bishops).
Our civic elections are underway as we speak. So it seems a valuable time to remember what it is we do when we vote in any situation: shaping our community.
People are social creatures. Our greatest gift as a species is our ability to work together—to seek a shared future in common relationship. It seems most clear to anthropologists today that our survival did not depend on who was physically strongest, but on who was best connected with others. In short, sharing ensured survival; not hoarding resources or besting enemies.
We have a shared responsibility for our shared community. And as people of faith, we are commanded to craft a loving, merciful, community. Together.
With love,
Drew