Easter Day always brings to mind fond memories from my childhood. One that sticks in my mind, perhaps just for the simplicity of the event, is of my two sisters and me in new Easter clothes standing in our front yard in northeast Baltimore. All the while my Mom and Dad are attempting to get us to hold still long enough to get pictures of us in our fresh regalia. This was a big deal. Even as a child I realized that the cost of the new clothes had a significant impact on the family budget.

We knew something special was going on. We knew not only because of the new clothes, but also because such a fuss was being made over us. We also knew something was happening at our home parish, The Church of the Messiah, which was the reason for the dress up. Everything felt new. It was in the excitement of the air. The day itself seemed new. There was a freshness and aliveness among the people as at no other time. I didn’t know why, but this young boy felt new as well. In fact, I knew I was new! Something was happening.

Now I know more clearly that something was happening because something had happened on that first Easter Day. It was not the resurrection of an idea, or a belief system, or a feeling, but of Jesus of Nazareth. Something happened to Jesus himself. The Scriptures are clear about this. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised: he is not here” (Mark 16:6). And because something happened to Jesus, something is happening amongst his people. We may not be able to explain it all nor do we need to.  Even the Scriptures don’t explain it, they proclaim it – Christ is Risen. So we too gather in a community of worshipful attention and intention, virtually or otherwise, to proclaim that something happened to Jesus. By proclaiming that truth, we look for and expect that something is happening among us.

At Easter we gather to shout God’s victory, not our own. We are raised because Jesus is raised. Out of that hope we are invited to live a life in thanksgiving for that gift with hearts bursting with joy, and thereby bring God’s transforming love to bear in all that we do. This new life takes shape as we witness for God’s peace, God’s justice, God’s embrace, and the defeat of anything that keeps anyone in the bondage of not knowing the freedom of God’s hope for her or him. It is precisely within this life that the proclamation of hope to those in need and pain takes place. Jesus’ resurrection is a radical affirmation that it is right now where eternal life becomes real in us as a people of healing for the world.

The great liturgical theologian Aidan Kavanagh said, “The Jesus of our faith died, rose, and became a people.” So we gather as a community to worship the One who is hope. As Christ is alive among us we are given the assurance that nothing can snuff out the life in us that Jesus has resurrected. Nowhere is it clearer to me than in the simple truth of God’s people struggling along with me to embrace our own gifted humanity.  We discover along the way that God’s new life is right in the midst of us. We are alive and new once again. Something is happening!

Bishop Skip

El Día de Pascua siempre me trae a la mente buenos recuerdos de mi infancia. Una que se me queda grabada, quizá sólo por la sencillez del acontecimiento, es la de mis dos hermanas y yo con ropa nueva de Pascua, de pie en nuestro patio delantero en el noreste de Baltimore. Mientras tanto, mi madre y mi padre intentan que nos quedemos quietos el tiempo suficiente para hacernos fotos con nuestros nuevos atuendos. Esto fue algo importante. Incluso cuando era niño me di cuenta que el costo de la ropa nueva tenía un impacto significativo en el presupuesto familiar.

Sabíamos que algo especial estaba pasando. Lo sabíamos no sólo por la ropa nueva, sino también por el alboroto que se armaba. También sabíamos que algo estaba sucediendo en nuestra parroquia natal, La Iglesia del Mesías, que era la razón para el vestido. Todo se sintió nuevo. La emoción estaba en el aire. El día mismo parecía nuevo. Había una frescura y una vida entre la gente como en ningún otro momento. No sabía por qué, pero este joven también se sentía nuevo. ¡De hecho, sabía que era nuevo! Algo estaba pasando.

Ahora sé más claramente que algo estaba sucediendo porque algo había sucedido en ese primer día de Pascua. No era la resurrección de una idea, o un sistema de creencias, o un sentimiento, sino de Jesús de Nazaret. Algo le pasó a Jesús mismo. Las Escrituras son claras al respecto. “Buscas a Jesús de Nazaret, que fue crucificado. Ha resucitado: no está aquí” (Marcos 16:6). Y debido a que algo le pasó a Jesús, algo está sucediendo entre su gente. Puede que no seamos capaces de explicarlo todo ni necesitamos hacerlo.  Incluso las Escrituras no lo explican, ellos lo proclaman — Cristo resucitó. Así que nosotros también nos reunimos en una comunidad de atención e intención de adoración, virtualmente o no, para proclamar que algo le sucedió a Jesús. Al proclamar esa verdad, buscamos y esperamos que algo esté sucediendo entre nosotros.

En Pascua nos reunimos para gritar la victoria de Dios, no la nuestra. Resucitamos porque Jesús ha resucitado. A partir de esa esperanza, se nos invita a vivir una vida de agradecimiento por ese don, con corazones rebosantes de alegría, y así llevar el amor transformador de Dios a todo lo que hacemos. Esta nueva vida toma forma cuando damos testimonio de la paz de Dios, de la justicia de Dios, del abrazo de Dios y de la derrota de todo lo que mantiene a alguien en la esclavitud de no conocer la libertad de la esperanza de Dios para él o ella. Es precisamente en esta vida donde tiene lugar el anuncio de la esperanza a los necesitados y al dolor. La resurrección de Jesús es una afirmación radical de que es ahora mismo cuando la vida eterna se hace realidad en nosotros como pueblo de sanación para el mundo.

El gran teólogo litúrgico Aidan Kavanagh dijo: “El Jesús de nuestra fe murió, resucitó y se hizo pueblo”. Así que nos reunimos como una comunidad para adorar a Aquel que es esperanza. Como Cristo está vivo entre nosotros se nos da la seguridad de que nada puede apagar la vida en nosotros que Jesús ha resucitado. En ningún lugar lo veo más claro que en la simple verdad del pueblo de Dios que lucha junto a mí por abrazar nuestra propia humanidad dotada.  Descubrimos a lo largo del camino que la nueva vida de Dios está en medio de nosotros. Estamos vivos y nuevos una vez más. ¡Algo estaba pasando!

Obispo Skip

During his time with the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan, Bishop Skip will offer some brief teaching on each of the major feast days. Today’s post recognizes the Feast Day of St. Joseph, March 19th, 2021. 

Some years ago a dear friend gave me an icon of St. Joseph and the Christ Child.  We were at the time young fathers.  I remember that when I first looked at it I stopped breathing for a second.  I had many times seen icons of the Blessed Mother and the Infant Jesus.  This was different.  To see the Child Jesus with his cheek pressed close to that of his earthly father’s spoke of an intimacy of father and child that reached into my soul.  I could not take my eyes off of that gossamer border demarcating two faces touching, portraying the love of a son leaning into the warmth of his father.  I wondered what the icon writer was praying when crafting such a window to gaze upon God.

Praying through that icon from time to time has been very rich.  Sometimes I am Joseph, the father.  I cannot help but ponder the responsibility he obediently embraced to be a model of faithfulness to the boy Jesus.  The story of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple begins with the words, “Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.”  Every year.  This, then, was the twelfth time since Jesus was born and in that regularity we discover a faithful Jewish family that must have formed Jesus’ heart and soul.  One wonders when he entered Jerusalem for the last time on this earth if Jesus recalled those times as a boy.  I think of my own sons, one born on this very day of the year, and yes my daughter too, and regularly pray that they may know the gift of God’s embrace deep within.  I treasure every moment of past and present when my cheek touched theirs and does again even through the electrons of a text message.

Sometimes I am the child in the icon.  I give thanks for my formation in Christian faith by my own father and these days find that I, when praying for the repose of the soul of both of my parents, give thanks for all with which they gifted me.  I will never forget a moment as a boy, and I do believe I was twelve years old, when I was watching a television program concerning nuclear annihilation.  As I remember it the statement was made in the show that all that might survive would be colonies of ants with their complex social structures, or perhaps just cockroaches which were especially impervious to radiation.  I went outside to find my father planting a tree and told him of my fear and concern.  He looked at me a moment and said, “I understand why that would bother you, but what I want you to remember is that God came to us as a human being, not an insect.”  I found strength there.  I walked away comforted and I know now my cheek and his were pressed close.

The punch line of the account in Luke of the boy Jesus in the temple and his parent’s frantic searching for him is when he says his first recorded words, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Jesus’ growing maturity is shown here as he claims his own identity. He even recognizes that his relationship with God supersedes all relationships, including that of family.  This is a hard teaching.  I dare to pray, “God, may my children, the ones for whom I would search to the end of the earth, love you more than they love me.”  Yet I also pray, “God, may they in my love, find your love.”

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!

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We bring Christmas greetings to you, the people of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan on behalf of your Standing Committees.

We know, both as the Presidents of your Standing Committees and as people in the world, this has been a hard and unusual year. Yet, in this Holiday season, we want to pause and remind all of us that, despite the challenges, the Gospel is being proclaimed, people are caring for one another and those in need, and there are amazing things happening in this corner of God’s Kingdom. There is so much that is positive, powerful, and holy in our common life together.

In this holiday season, a holiday season unlike any other we’ve experienced, it’s important not to lose sight of that.

In this season of hope, we find hope in the ways that both of our dioceses have and continue to live the Gospel in the world…

In this season of hope, we find hope in the ways that both of our dioceses have and continue to live the Gospel in the world…

This year, when the world shut down and we were unable to offer in-person worship for the first time, our lay and clergy leaders adapted quickly, with grace and great humility, to worship in an online context. Thank you.

When many went hungry, due to the economic burden of the pandemic or otherwise, our parishes responded and continue to respond by addressing food inaccessibility. Through feeding programs like Food for Life in Bay City to the Community Kitchen in Three Rivers, from meal distribution in Alpena, to the Breakfast Cafe in Grand Rapids, we fed people. Through the seventeen Episcopal congregations that joined the first Good News Gardens cohort with Plainsong Farm, we grew food to feed people. Thank you.

When asked how congregations would respond to a world in need, our communities did so quickly and with great compassion. When the vestry of Holy Trinity, Manistee made the decision to start a baby pantry in their rectory building one Sunday, supplies started moving in on Monday. When, mid-pandemic, two dams failed and the communities of Sanford and Midland were underwater, the congregations of Holy Family and St. John’s, Midland came together to provide long-term relief to families with the help of donations from across our two dioceses and beyond. To all those congregations doing amazing and responsive ministry – Thank you.

When our dioceses experienced the challenge of our bishop’s suspension, our work and ministry together as exploring dioceses did not shut down. Our Standing Committees committed to taking on this work as a joint body, in all of the challenges and opportunities that entails. Our newly bi-diocesan Evangelism taskforce came together to offer grants to parishes improving their digital proclamation of the Gospel. Our antiracism work expanded and reached across our geographic borders. Our youth have been gathering for Zoom youth group at least once a week since the pandemic began. For these and all others we haven’t mentioned – thank you.

And thank you to the faces we don’t always see. The people restocking shelves and filling to-go orders. The people treating our loved ones when they’re sick. Those dropping groceries on friend’s porches, or bundling up to check in with a friend on their front lawn. The people of our dioceses – running the tech, shopping for equipment, joining in online worship from their homes. Thank you.

While we’re not physically together, we are all the more aware of the ways in which our common life depends on one another – for all that we’ve been through together and all that we will continue to do together, thank you.

While we’re not physically together, we are all the more aware of the ways in which our common life depends on one another – for all that we’ve been through together and all that we will continue to do together, thank you.

On behalf of the Standing Committees and staffs of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. May you and your loved ones celebrate the season with care for one another, in health, in hopefulness, and in sight of the one who was born and died for us all.

Merry Christmas.

Les traemos saludos navideños a ustedes, la familia de las Diócesis Episcopales del Este y Oeste de Michigan en nombre de sus Comités Permanentes.

Sabemos, como presidentes de sus comités permanentes y como personas viviendo en el mundo, que este ha sido un año difícil e inusual. Sin embargo, en este tiempo de Navidad, queremos hacer una pausa y recordarnos a todos que, a pesar de los desafíos, se está proclamando el Evangelio, las personas se están cuidando unos a otros y a los necesitados, y que están sucediendo cosas asombrosas en este rincón del Reino de Dios. Reino. ¡Hay tanto de positivo, poderoso y santo en nuestra vida común juntos!

En este tiempo de Navidad, un fin de año diferente a cualquier otro que hayamos experimentado, es importante no perder estas realidades de vista.

En este tiempo de esperanza, encontramos esperanza en la forma en que nuestras dos diócesis han vivido y continúan viviendo el Evangelio en el mundo …

En este tiempo de esperanza, encontramos esperanza en la forma en que nuestras dos diócesis han vivido y continúan viviendo el Evangelio en el mundo …

Este año, cuando el mundo cerró sus puertas y no pudimos adorar en persona por primera vez, nuestros líderes laicos y clérigos se adaptaron rápidamente, con gracia y gran humildad, a la adoración en un contexto en línea. Muchas gracias.

Cuando muchos pasaron hambre, debido a la carga económica de la pandemia o a causa de otras razones, nuestras parroquias respondieron y continúan respondiendo, enfrentándose a la inaccesibilidad de los alimentos. A través de programas de alimentación como Food for Life en Bay City hasta la cocina comunitaria en Three Rivers, desde la distribución de comidas en Alpena hasta el Breakfast Cafe en Grand Rapids, alimentamos a la gente. A través de las diecisiete congregaciones episcopales que se unieron al primer grupo de Good News Gardens con Plainsong Farm, cultivamos alimentos para alimentar a las personas. Muchas gracias.

Cuando nuestras congregaciones tuvieron que responder a un mundo necesitado, nuestras comunidades lo hicieron rápidamente y con gran compasión. Cuando la junta de Holy Trinity, Manistee tomó la decisión un domingo de abrir un depósito de productos para bebés en el edificio de su rectoría, los suministros comenzaron a llegar el lunes. Cuando, en medio de la pandemia, dos represas fallaron y las comunidades de Sanford y Midland estaban bajo el agua, las congregaciones de Holy Family y St. John’s, Midland se unieron para brindar alivio a largo plazo a las familias con la ayuda de donaciones de nuestras dos diócesis y de más allá. A todas aquellas congregaciones que están haciendo un ministerio asombroso y comprometido con las necesidades actuales – Muchas gracias.

Cuando nuestras diócesis experimentaron el desafío de la suspensión de nuestro obispo, nuestro trabajo y ministerio juntos como diócesis en exploración no terminó. Nuestras Comisiones Permanentes se comprometieron a asumir este trabajo como un órgano conjunto, con todos los retos y oportunidades que conlleva. Nuestro nuevo grupo de trabajo de evangelización bi-diocesano se unió para ofrecer subvenciones a las parroquias para mejorar su proclamación digital del Evangelio. Nuestros esfuerzos en contra del racismo continuaron expandiéndose y llegaron incluso más allá de nuestras fronteras geográficas. Nuestros jóvenes han continuado reuniéndose vía Zoom al menos una vez a la semana desde que comenzó la pandemia. A todos estos y todos los demás que no hemos mencionado, muchas gracias.

Muchas gracias también a las caras que no siempre vemos. La gente que trabaja reabasteciendo los estantes en nuestras tiendas y realizando pedidos para llevar. Las personas que cuidan a nuestros seres queridos cuando están enfermos. Aquellos que dejan las compras en los portales de sus amigos o que se abrigan para encontrarse con amigos en un jardín al aire libre. A toda la gente de nuestras diócesis – manejando la tecnología, comprando equipos, participando en la adoración en línea desde sus hogares. Muchas gracias.

Si bien no estamos físicamente juntos, somos más conscientes de las formas en que nuestra vida en común depende los unos de los otros, por todo lo que hemos pasado juntos y todo lo que seguiremos haciendo juntos, muchas gracias.

Si bien no estamos físicamente juntos, somos más conscientes de las formas en que nuestra vida en común depende los unos de los otros, por todo lo que hemos pasado juntos y todo lo que seguiremos haciendo juntos, muchas gracias.

En nombre de los Comités Permanentes y los equipos de trabajo de las Diócesis Episcopales de Michigan Oriental y Occidental, les deseamos una muy Feliz Navidad. Que tú y tus seres queridos celebren la temporada con cariño mutuo, con salud, con ilusión y con la vista del que nació y murió por todos nosotros.

Feliz Navidad.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Today, we were notified of an accord reached between the Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, and our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Whayne M. Hougland, Jr., as part of a Title IV disciplinary action.

Bishop Hougland, in a meeting with the Bishop for Pastoral Development, the Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley, disclosed that he had made “serious mistakes” and admitted his participation in an extramarital affair. The other person involved is not Episcopalian and is not a member of the staff of either diocese. No state or federal laws have been broken.

Under the Canons of the Episcopal Church, an accord is a written resolution to the disciplinary process, which is negotiated by and agreed to by both parties.

The accord places Bishop Hougland on suspension for a minimum of one year. During that time, he will be required to undertake personal steps to be accountable to the Church and emotionally healthy for himself, his family, and his dioceses, in accordance with the Canons, which state:

The Church and each diocese shall support their members in their life in Christ and seek to resolve conflicts by promoting healing, repentance, forgiveness, restitution, justice, amendment of life and reconciliation among all involved or affected. – Canon IV.1

It is the hope of the Presiding Bishop’s office, our Standing Committees, and Bishop Hougland, that this time is one of healing and reconciliation. At the conclusion of the suspension, the Standing Committees and Bishop Hougland will decide whether to continue the relationship with Whayne as our bishop.

The Standing Committees have met and are in the process of working out the details of the one-year leave, including a plan for maintaining the daily operations of the dioceses. Specifics will be available next week. At this time, we expect to hold the ecclesiastical authority of our respective dioceses and will work with our neighboring bishops to conduct the duties that only a bishop can conduct, including ordinations and confirmations. We also are committed to affirming the vote taken last Fall to explore mutual relationship between our dioceses for 3-5 years, by making decisions together as much as is possible and appropriate, maintaining our now-regular joint meetings of Standing Committees and staffs, as well as continuing all other ongoing and potential ministry collaborations.

We ask that you not be in contact Bishop Hougland directly. Any notes may be forwarded to him through Canon Bill Spaid, wspaid@edwm.org, or may be mailed to the Western Michigan diocesan office.

Know that we are praying for you, the people of Eastern and Western Michigan, and we ask your prayers for your elected leadership, as well as for your diocesan staffs, Bishop Whayne and Dana, and for each other.

Yours in Christ,

The Standing Committees of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan

Janet Huff-Worvie, President
St. John’s, Otter Lake

The Rev. Brian Chace
Trinity, West Branch

Gary Grinn
St. Paul’s, Gladwin

The Rev. Dan Scheid
St. Paul’s, Flint

The Rev. Lydia Speller
Grace, Port Huron

Bill Thewalt
St. Christopher’s, Grand Blanc
Dave Croal, President
St. Mark’s, Coldwater

The Rev. Jodi Baron
St. Philip’s, Beulah & Holy Trinity, Manistee

Martha Bartlett
St. James, Pentwater

Anne Davidson
St. Mark’s, Coldwater

The Rev. BJ Heyboer
St. Mark’s, Newaygo

The Rev. Diane M. Pike
Southwest Michigan Episcopal Covenant

Carole Redwine
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids

The Rev. Dr. Randall Warren
St. Luke’s, Kalamazoo

To the Clergy and People of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan,

I will not have the ability to personally speak to you individually or as a group, but I appreciate the opportunity for you all to hear from me. I have not honored my ordination vows or my wedding vows, nor have I honored the faith and trust you set in me. I have much personal work to do to be healthier and rebuild my relationships.

I apologize to the people of these dioceses for betraying my sacred oath to be a wholesome example for the entire flock of the Church.

I apologize to the staff of the dioceses for abandoning you to pick up the pieces of my error.

I apologize to the clergy for my gross lapse of moral judgement, thereby damaging our sacred relationship under orders and weakening our moral authority.

I apologize to the Presiding Bishop and the members of the House of Bishops for not living up to the standards of behavior and conduct expected for Bishops and for damaging our credibility and respectability as moral leaders in society at large.

I apologize to the other party and her family for disrespecting their relationship.

And most of all, I apologize to Dana, our daughters, and our extended families for my betrayal of their gracious abiding love.

I do not yet fully understand why I behaved in this manner, but I alone am responsible for my actions and the discipline that the Presiding Bishop and I have agreed to. Over the next year, I will carefully and fully examine what I need to do to be the person you and I expect me to be. During this time, I will be repentant, take the steps I need to amend my life, and request forgiveness from those I have wronged. I am thankful for the grace of the Holy Spirit and the promise of forgiveness for those who are truly repentant. I will do the work.

Thank you, Presiding Bishop for your pastoral care and for your hard discipline, I need them both.

Thank you, Standing Committees for your leadership in this difficult time and for your graciousness to me in this difficult moment.

Thank you for your continued prayers and ongoing support and concern for Dana and our family.

Humbly,

Whayne M. Hougland, Jr.