A Part of the Whole

This past weekend was the 144th annual convention of my diocese.

(For those of you who aren't Anglican, once a year all the leadership of our diocese comes together to hear from our bishop and standing committee, and to make decisions about our life together.  The business can be as mundane as approving budgets or as exciting as welcoming new congregations into our community and hearing about who they are and what they're doing.)

So this past weekend was our 144th gathering, but it was my first time to attend.  All clergy come, as well as appointed lay people.  I was just barely recovering from several days of sickness, and in some ways barely present, self-consciously sneezing and wiping my nose off to the side, clutching my coffee for warmth.  I came both out of sense of duty to the diocese, and with the hope of making connections with folks for our mission.  I came ready to be bored.

I left realizing (and regretting) how much I've missed by skipping other diocesan events.  I will just share two reasons.

First, I need to remember and reenter the reality that my family is a part of something bigger -- bigger than just our family, bigger than just our congregation, bigger even than our mission to Uganda.  Being at the convention reawakened me to that reality.  All over the Pittsburgh area and beyond, there are individuals and communities loving God and his people in so many ways, and we're a part of that family.  Whatever we do in Ambridge or Africa is one part of a whole work that's being accomplished in and through a wonderful organism, an amazing body of Christians called the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.

That's one of the reasons we're Anglican -- we're not just part of a lonely parish struggling to make it on its own.  We're part of a larger, interdependent community that shares in the trials and joys of serving God.

Second, I need to remember and reengage with the wonderful people that make up this diocese.  I saw so many women and men there about whom I thought, "I wish I had more time to get to know that person, to be with those people."  These are people following the command of Jesus to love each other, even at the cost of laying down their lives.  You see it in both their weariness and their joy.  (For one example of this, see Father Scott Homer's recent post to his blog.)

I'm grateful my family is a part of this family.