Dear Friends,
The past few weeks have been painful for many of us. Rescission of laws honoring protected spaces for immigrants. The looming termination of federal jobs, which directly impacts Trinity members. The ending of equity policies and limiting of LGBTQ+ protections. A rapid-pace progression of changes that could have a lasting impact on our culture, our workplaces, and our very lives.
What are we to do? What is the church to say, and how are we – as a cathedral – to respond?
The pace of the news is dizzying, by design, and while we must raise our voice when we can, we must also recognize that it would be counterproductive to react or even respond to every news cycle. We risk yielding our core values to someone else’s agenda when we do; and as the cathedral for the Diocese, we must also be mindful of speaking in a voice that always invites the whole body into a space of transformation and witness. We must remain grounded in the Gospel and our witness through time, so that we can speak with both impact and integrity. We can, and will, speak as a church about protecting the vulnerable, the stranger, the poor, the immigrant.
There are times to take action, and times to practice patience and discernment. Last year the action was clear: Trinity’s newly re-formed Social Justice Team put in countless hours participating in GCC’s Battle for Democracy. And this week our national church has joined a lawsuit to block the president’s executive order ending protected (“sanctuary”) spaces.
Many have asked about the current social justice ministry of the Cathedral. That team – which meets the 2nd Sunday of the month at 12:30 pm and is open to all – has carefully discerned, over the past year, four areas of focus: food insecurity, LGBTQ+ advocacy, affordable housing, and gun violence prevention. We are starting where we are: considering where we can have an impact, how we can raise awareness, and where we can build community around our passion for justice.
As the national landscape becomes clearer, that team may adjust its focus or they may deepen the commitment to its current work. That will evolve over time. I am grateful for the team’s ministry and discernment, and we invite the input of the whole community as that work continues.
As a cathedral, we will include in our communications ways that the Episcopal Church is doing the grounded work of social justice in a tumultuous time. I encourage you to sign up for action alerts from the Episcopal Public Policy network: this is the kind of broader advocacy for which we look to our national church.
We will also continue to lift our unfolding national story in homilies and writings, when appropriate. For example, this week I wrote in my personal blog about what I think of as poor theology coming from the executive branch. But we won’t always talk about these things…I know that every week, some come to Trinity hungry to hear a word of justice, while others need a space of holiness and rest after a tumultuous week. Part of our work is balancing these, while remaining grounded in the Gospel.
Much is changing rapidly, including the place of the church in the public square. As we discern how to bear witness to the justice, love, and mercy of God, we will also care for one another as we seek a healing encounter with the God who calls us to love mercy, kindness, and walk humbly with one another.
Faithfully,
The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens