June/July2011
Dear Franciscans, I spent part of the morning that I sat down to write this letter watching a live stream of the Commencement ceremony at Virginia Theological Seminary. Bishop Michael Curry was the speaker, and true to form, he delivered. I wanted to share some of this wonderful speech with you all, and would also like to reflect on his words in the context of St. Francis Church. Bishop Curry began with the quote from George Bernard Shaw, “Some people see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” He then went on to talk about the dreams of God: the dream that no child would go a day without food, the dream that ROBERT BLACK wars would cease, the dream that we could put aside our differences and do ASSISTANT RECTOR what is best for our brothers and sisters in need, the dream that the Church might reflect the radical hospitality and love of God. The dream that Bishop Curry hammered home is drawn from John 19:26-27, “Then Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.” Bishop Curry then pondered the dream of God that we might all be family, and wondered “why not?” Why do we not treat each other as brothers or sisters? Why does the younger generation see the older generations as problems instead of parents? Why do baby boomers see younger generations as lazy and uncommitted instead of children of God? Why do Jews, Muslims, and Christians kill each other instead of realizing we all have the same Father? Why do we ostracize our gay brothers and sisters? Why don’t we treat each other with the love that we treat our family? One of our core values here at St. Francis is compassion. So the same question put another way, why is the dream of God for compassionate relations between all people not yet realized? The summer is often a time when things slow down at Church, many programs and social groups take breaks for the summer. So maybe while things are a bit slower, it would be a great time to refocus ourselves on compassion. What would your family and job look like if it were full of compassion? What would St. Francis Church look like if compassion guided all of our interactions? What would Greensboro be like if everyone treated each other with compassion? Our state? Nation? World? I have a sneaking suspicion that the great prayer “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” might be closer to being realized. All of us, even if you are a compassionate person, can practice the virtue of compassion, and in doing so, work to realize the dream of God. Compassionately,
Robert