Contrast between Old and New

It was good to get back to the office after being away at the House of Bishops meeting. A variety of interesting mail, telephone calls, conferences and meetings awaited my return, to put it delicately. Early in the week was a conference call for the Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church in preparation for our upcoming meeting in Memphis at which time we’ll make plans for the General Convention next summer. On Tuesday, I met with the Rev. Lynn Peterman and several interested people to hear about her visit to Uganda this past summer and especially her visit with our good friend Bishop Ernest Shalita. Part of the purpose of the meeting was to continue work toward establishing a companion diocese relationship with a diocese either in Uganda or in Tanzania. We’ll meet again in a couple of weeks.

On Friday the 24^th, I traveled to St. John’s, Fayetteville, to officiate at the funeral of Dr. William C. Powell, a long time member of St. John’s. Bill was an active leader in his community and diocese, serving on Executive Council, Standing Committee and as a Deputy to several General Conventions. His family and friends gathered to give thanks for his life and ministry and to celebrate his entrance into the larger life in God’s kingdom.

Sunday was a full and happy day. I gathered with the members of St. John the Evangelist Church in Edenton, along with members of the Ingles and Drane families, for a celebration of the Eucharist. The Rev. Web Simons was in attendance and given his long relationship with the parish, I invited him to join me at the altar to concelebrate the Eucharist. Following the service, we gathered in the parish hall for a wonderful lunch and good fellowship. (Did you know that the first woman to be ordained a priest of The Episcopal Church in North Carolina, the Rev. Wendy Raynor, was ordained at St. John’s in the late 1970s?) Later in the afternoon, I attended the 250^th anniversary celebration of the Cupola House, a landmark in historic Edenton, and saw many friends. Frances Ingles, a leader of the Friends of the Cupola House, even took me on a trip up into the cupola and the magnificent views of Edenton Bay and the Albemarle Sound beyond. A short drive across the Albemarle Sound took me to Creswell where I met late in the afternoon with the Vestry of Christ Church. We had a good meeting and conversation about the renewing energy of the congregation and about St. David’s church, which is a colonial era and historic building of colonial times in Creswell used for services on Christmas and Easter, weddings and funerals. 

Just a few moments ago, I finished a conference call with members of the Vestry of Holy Cross, a new and energetic mission congregation in Wilmington. They told me of their congregational energy and vision, significant stewardship progress in reducing their indebtedness for land purchase by half, and their plans for a new building in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

All in all an interesting and stimulating week that demonstrates the contrasts between the old and the new, the celebration of times past and rising to the challenges of the present and future here in our blessed Diocese of East Carolina these days. Let us give thanks for our past and move with confidence into the future God prepares for each and all of us. Roots and wings, roots and wings!