The Right People for the Right Time

27Jun

On Sunday, June 30 at 10 AM, together with the people of St Peter's, Key West, we will celebrate the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, Apostles in the nave of St Paul's, Key West. Please join us in person or online for this joyful day of our shared patronal feast.

Peter and Paul, an apostolic odd couple as I like to call them, share a feast day because tradition holds that they were martyred on the same day (June 29) about four years apart, first Peter then Paul. They were very different personalities with very different gifts. And, though they were both brought up in the same religious tradition, they had very different religious pedigrees and credentials. This diversity proved a strength more than an obstacle.

Each of them was persuaded by personal experience to extend the embrace of the Jesus Movement to everyone who wished to join and become a lifelong apprentice of Jesus' Way of Love. Because each of them were willing to continue adapting to changing circumstances all around them and continue to be led by the Holy Spirit into new and sometimes scary territory, we are part of the Church today.

On Wednesday, June 26, at the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Louisville, KY, the House of Bishops elected the Right Reverend Sean W. Rowe, Bishop of Northwest Pennsylvania and Western New York, as the 28th Presiding Bishop of our Church. The House of Deputies joyfully concurred with this election. Bishop Sean will begin his nine-year term on November 1, 2024.

Bishop Rowe is a very different personality from our current Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Michael B. Curry. He also has different gifts and a different background. Just as Bishop Curry was the right person for the job of Presiding Bishop at his election nine years ago, Bishop Rowe seems to be the Holy Spirit-inspired choice for these next nine years. Just as Bishop Curry was elected on the first ballot by an overwhelming majority of bishops voting in 2015, Bishop Rowe was elected on the first ballot by a huge majority on Wednesday.

None of us is called to do everything. None of us is able to do everything. Each of us is called to something and often to different things in different stages and seasons of life. In the face of rapid change and unprecedented challenges, we may be tempted to close ourselves off and turn inward. Yet the good news of God in Christ is needed now more than ever in a chaotic and divided world. The call of this moment is to face outward and meet people where they are.

May God bless Bishop Curry as he looks to his well-deserved retirement and Bishop Rowe as he takes up the mantle as our youngest Presiding Bishop ever. And may God bless all God's Church and the Episcopal branch of it as we make our way forward, step by step, into God's unfolding future.

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Posted by The Very Reverend Donna S. Mote, PhD

Our 34th rector, Dr Mote, was installed by Bishop Eaton on Saturday, June 5th, 2021.  Prior to joining St Paul's, she served as the Vicar of ATL (Episcopal Chaplain to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport).  With Bishop Robert C. Wright she authored, The Go Guide: 10 Steps for Innovations in Ministry from Luke 10. Beginning in 2016, Donna served on the bishop's staff as Missioner for Engagement and Innovation in the Diocese of Atlanta, to consult on, coach, strategize, support, promote, and provoke innovations in ministry in Middle and North Georgia.  She was also Chaplain to the Georgia State Defense Force and the 76th Support Brigade.

Donna earned degrees from Shorter College (BA), Southern Seminary (MDiv), and Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion (PhD) and completed Anglican studies at Sewanee: The University of the South. Donna was raised up for ordination by the parish of St Bartholomew’s, Atlanta. She is an Associate of the Order of St Helena.  Donna is married to Rebecca England, and they have two sons, Anderson and Jordan.

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