BISHOP MARIANN’S WRITINGS
The Still Days: Entering the Mystery of Holy Week
We join with Christians around the world in the observance of Holy Week, culminating with our celebration on Easter morning. These are what our spiritual forebears called “the still days,” inviting us, amid all that our lives demand of us, to take this time to ponder the way of the cross and the hope of resurrection.
On the Receiving End of Mercy
Last Saturday I spoke at a fundraising breakfast for Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, a social service organization established by Episcopal congregations to address the needs of unemployed and homeless residents in the greater Washington region. Samaritan Ministry is one of the bright lights of our diocese; its mission inspired by Jesus’ parable that teaches us what it looks like to love our neighbor and to receive the love of neighbor in our hour of need.
Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington Next Step Breakfast 2025 Keynote Address
Thanks as well to all gathered here on a Saturday morning as we rededicate ourselves to a ministry that empowers and equips us to be the best of who we are and are called to be as followers of Jesus. I am always inspired to be among the seasoned, long-standing supporters of Samaritan Ministry, whether here or in the congregations you call home.
Enough Love for All
Jesus loved to tell stories of the lost being found. There once was a shepherd, Jesus said, who had a hundred sheep, and he loved them all. He loved them so much that when one became lost, he left the other ninety-nine in search of the one and afterwards invited his friends and neighbors to join in his joy of having found the beloved sheep.
Burning Bushes Everywhere
If you feel as if large parts of the world are on fire now, even in your personal world, and if you are wondering where God is in all that is happening, rest assured that you’re not alone. There are burning bushes everywhere
You Are Not an Imposter
I wonder if you have heard of the phrase “Imposter Syndrome.” An imposter is a person who pretends that they are someone they are not, often with the intent to deceive others for harmful purposes. Think of all the email scams sent by people who claim to be a close friend or family member in need of emergency assistance. But not all such pretenses are for ill-gain.
Finding Ourselves in the Wilderness
Among the biblical images that speak to our life experiences, surely wilderness is particularly helpful now. I am grateful for Lent this year, the season patterned after the forty days Jesus spent being tested in the wilderness and the forty years the people wandered in the wilderness.
Tending to Our Hearts
Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
In the name of God, Amen. I’ve spent time this week looking up and reading biblical passages that speak directly to the human heart. Our hearts, in biblical understanding, are what hold all that is true about us in our innermost being—our souls, our spirits, our true and deeper selves—as contrasted with some the outward things about us with which we mostly define ourselves and the part of us that we present to others.
Love is Contagious
We typically associate the word “contagious” with negative things, mostly diseases—germs or viruses that spread from one person to another by direct or indirect contact. In that context, contagions are unnerving, and, at times, frightening because we can’t see them. Yet they affect us nonetheless, and until we understand how a given germ or virus is spread, we are seemingly helpless to stop it.
Drawing from the Wells that Sustain Us
However one feels about the changes in the federal government, the impact on many in our congregations and the communities we serve has been dramatic. Lives and livelihoods are being upended. I give thanks for the pastoral care our clergy and lay leaders are providing in this time, and I commit diocesan resources to support you in any way we can.
