A message from Bishop vonRosenberg

June 27, 2014

The election today of the Right Reverend Michael Curry as our 27th Presiding Bishop is a historic day for the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, as well as for the whole Episcopal Church. This is a moment which is positive and hopeful for our future. Michael Curry’s election as our first African American Presiding Bishop comes against the backdrop of the terrible tragedy at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, but also amid signs of hope: a desire for racial reconciliation and a willingness to work together across the lines that have divided us to improve quality of life and educational opportunities for all. The gifts that Michael Curry brings as our next Presiding Bishop make this sense of hope real, vital and exciting. As he told the bishops and deputies assembled for the announcement today, “Nothing can stop the movement of God’s love in this world.”

Just as there is much joy in this election, there is also a great sense of gratitude for Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who will remain in office until November. As well, there is much appreciation for each of the other three nominees. As Presiding Bishop-Elect Curry told the House of Bishops today, all four candidates have been on a journey together. This is a necessary part of our governance, for people to be open to the leadings of the Spirit and the will of the Church, and I am extremely grateful that both of those movements are converging so closely together at this moment in our history.

I commend each of these leaders and their families to your prayers, along with all of the bishops and deputies who are assembled in Salt Lake City for General Convention, that our work together may indeed show “the movement of God’s love in this world.”