Bishops representing the Episcopal Church are coming to Syracuse as the local Central New York Denomination Consecrates its first female Bishop tomorrow, the eleventh for the church. The Presiding US Bishop of the Church, The Most Reverend Michael Curry will preside over the service. He is the first African-American to lead the church. In terms of instilling Social Justice, he likens what he think needs to be done by people to the teachings of the church.
“And when I say it looks something like Jesus of Nazareth, I mean the Jesus of Nazareth who said ‘the spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to set at liberty all those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable.’ The Jesus of Nazareth who said ‘all of religion” all of it ‘is summed up in love of God and love of neighbor.’”
Coming off the recent Presidential election and the divide expressed across the country, Reverend Dr. DeDe Duncan-Probe, who will be sworn in tomorrow, says her church can help.
“We come out of a place of people who are different and have very different views of the world coming together to honor the dignity of every person and seek and serve Christ in every person. And I think in this time in this place the Episcopal Church has a relevancy that is really unique. We have people of all types in our pews. We have people who have all kinds of opinions but when we come together it is not about our opinions, it’s about our common purpose and that purpose is lived in action.”
In terms of becoming the first Bishops for their respective gender and race within the Episcopal Church, Bishop Curry says he relies on an old hymn to stay focused.
“You got this whole hymn that says, ‘in Christ there is no east no west, in Him no south or north but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide Earth.’ While that hymn is true but getting to there is hard work. And I think that’s been and will be the great challenge for us as Church, as nation, as global community.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York has about 13,000 members within 86 churches and chapels. The ceremony takes place Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool. A total of 130 Episcopal Bishops from as far away as El Salvador to Long Island will be in attendance.
