An Oasis of Beloved Community

But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were* in secret.

John 7. 1 - 13

This week, here in the middle of Lent, I came upon an oasis of Beloved Community. Six hundred or so Episcopalians gathered in the Diocese of Florida, a diocese riven with division and tension; the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable; Jesus was moving among us, unlike his secret movement at the Festival of Booths. I saw his face in the diversity, the love and the hospitality. I felt his presence in the hugs, the tears and the laughs. We were on Sacred Ground, and I wished I could have taken my shoes off. I felt so much more whole than I have felt for many many years.

The Soul of the Episcopal Church is alive and well. Thanks be to God.