Greetings!
I am excited to embark on this sacred journey of racial justice and reconciliation with you.
We are living in challenging and dark times. The remnants of racism and slavery are still with us. We have witnessed it in the video footage of the murders of African Americans. We hear it in the hateful, nationalist rhetoric of individuals and groups, most claiming to identify themselves as “Christians.” And there are still pockets within our communities refusing to acknowledge that systemic racism exists, thereby slowing down the necessary reckoning and healing that needs to happen to build God’s Beloved Community. However, as Episcopalians, we are uniquely called to discern, reckon, and heal together.
It has been a long time since we have been able to gather, celebrate, learn, and worship together.
Thankfully, this summer, we will have an opportunity to gather as members of the Beloved Community.
“It’s All About Love,” a churchwide festival of worship, learning, community, and action for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, will take place in Baltimore, Maryland, from July 9-12, 2023. “It’s All About Love” features three Jesus Movement festival “tents”—centered on evangelism, creation care, and racial justice. Each tent will be the focus of an evening revival worship service and a central plenary speaker. And there will be dozens of daytime workshops, panels, practice opportunities, and other ways to engage. If you are interested in conducting a workshop, please submit your ideas by April 15. Most of all, we will be together again!
Hope to see you there. Learn more on the festival website.
In addition, the Office of Reconciliation, Justice, and Creation Care will host Sacred Ground participants and circles for regional convenings. We will unite as God’s people, ready to serve and become Beloved Community today. There will be bumps on the road, and some tears may be shed along the way. But as Episcopalians, we will endure the storms together. We will become the Beloved Community for ourselves, our neighbors, and our God.
I look forward to discerning, healing, and joining you on this journey.
Be love,
Rev. Miguel Bustos