Dear Incarnation,
This Sunday is Christ the King, the final Sunday of the church year, when we declare the reign of Jesus and look toward the coming of his upside-down kingdom. Brace yourselves: this year's lectionary readings are pretty wild — and our liturgy will do its best to follow suit! It's our practice to have kids help lead the major feast days at Incarnation, so Atrium and nursery will take a break as the kids help us celebrate Jesus' rule over all things. Paper crowns and joyful praises will feature heavily! #keepincarnationweird
Kevin Soo introduced me to the song above this week, and I love its upside-down take on Christ the King:
"His power is working through the weak
His wisdom is speaking through foolish things
The last, the lost, the least
He's building his kingdom with these
For our Lord sits up high
But He looks down low, He looks down low . . ."
Amen! Our king looks down low, and our children will help us have eyes to see him this Sunday.
***
This past weekend was our annual Diocesan Synod, and since I am often asked about what it means to be part of a diocese, I thought I'd write more about that this week.
Incarnation is a member of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (DOMA), a regional collective of churches under the spiritual care and leadership of a common bishop, Chris Warner. Each year the churches of the diocese come together for synod (essentially a giant church meeting) where we hear updates from across the diocese, pray for one another and our common mission, and carry out important acts of governance. Anyone can attend synod, so if you're curious to get to know our diocese, come along next year! In addition to regular attenders, each church has a certain number of delegates to synod who can vote in matters of governance. The number of delegates is based on the size of the church; we currently have two. Every clergy person is also a delegate to synod (i.e., me, Katie, David).
Katie and I both fill a number of roles in our diocese. Katie is our diocesan Mission Advocate, helping our churches grow in mission and representing DOMA at the mission gatherings of the broader province (that's why she always gets asked to come and preach somewhere else on World Mission Sunday, and why she's a regular workshop leader at synod). I love knowing that Katie's voice is part of shaping conversations about mission, and that churches around the province are benefiting from her wisdom and experience in international affairs, peacebuilding, and ministry in postcolonial contexts.
I serve on our diocesan Standing Committee (like the vestry of the diocese) and chair our diocesan Finance Committee; fortunately, there is no Finance Committee Sunday in the liturgical calendar, so my preaching requests are far fewer! I also serve on the Great Commission Committee of the diocese, which supports the outreach and planting efforts of our churches.
You may wonder why we, as busy pastors and moms, would give our already limited time to serving the diocese. Don't we already have enough on our plates? (Well, yes. Always!) But we were ordained as priests in a church that extends beyond our local congregation; we are part of a regional (diocese), national (province), and global communion with brothers and sisters around the world. And so we invest our time in the nurture, growth, and health of this broader church. Our local context here at Incarnation — the privilege of pastoring this flock, hearing your stories, and being on pilgrimage together — has particularly shaped the kind of church I hope to see, one in which:
Everyone has a voice, not just the wealthy, polished, and prominent;
The most vulnerable are protected and justice is upheld;
Men and women serve together in mutual submission and unity, even across theological difference;
Clergy do not see themselves as spiritual elites, but follow Jesus on his path of humility and obscurity;
Leaders don't get bogged down in all the trappings of "doing church" but are enlivened by a common spirit to join Jesus in his mission;
We pray together, often;
We grow together in our love for God and neighbors, and grow in our capacity to enjoy God's love for us; and
We practice radical generosity and radical trust in God's provision; not solving our resource constraints with conventional DC wisdom, but through prayer and fasting for God's abundant provision.
This is the kind of church I want to see and that I believe the world needs, and so I give my time in small ways to helping to build it here in our diocese.
I saw so much evidence of this kind of church at last weekend's synod. I was particularly moved by the stories shared by our bishop and church planters. Small stories about people from all walks of life — elderly widows, blue collar young men, migrant house cleaners, awkward middle schoolers, lonely college students, and so many more — who are encountering the liberating love of Christ for the first time through the ministry of our diocesan churches. I was SO inspired by my colleagues' courage, creativity, humility, and pastoral sensitivity in taking the gospel of Jesus to people for whom it is truly good news. It really is so good to be part of a diocese, a body larger and more varied than our immediate church context, where we can celebrate each other's joys and carry each other's burdens.
If this inspires you like it did me, and if you'd like a small taste of what it means to participate in the broader life of a diocese, perhaps you'd like to make a gift to the diocese's designated fund for mission, which funds the pioneering work of our church planters. You can give here, and all contributions are currently being matched 2-for-1 by a generous donor. Or you can join me in praying that God would water and tend each new seed being lovingly sown by faithful people throughout DOMA.
Everytime I go to synod and chat with my fellow clergy, I am reinvigorated with the privilege and joy of serving as your rector. It's a bit like having dinner at someone else's house as a kid — the hospitality and conversation is great, but by the end of the night, you're reminded of everything you love about your own family table and ready to go home. Thanks for being the worshipful, welcoming, wonder-filled people that you are, Incarnation.
See you Sunday around the family table,
Amy
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