He Leadeth Me

After my meeting with the Commission on the Deaconate I began to ponder an idea of visiting churches. After my meeting with the Bishop I felt this urging to not keep it an idea but begin doing it.

The Episcopal Church is organized by Diocese, within the Diocese are Regions, within the Regions are Parishes. When I am ordained as a Deacon I will serve under the Bishop at the Parishes he sends me. I will do my initial field work while at the Diaconal Formation Institute at my sending parish and then I will be sent to another parish to continue my field work and possibly another parish to do my Practicum.

The Diocese I belong to is huge, in fact it might be the largest in the U.S., in my Region alone there are 20 parishes. I am in just one of 15 Regions. I was thinking I could visit just one parish a month, but even in 2 years I would just see my region and 4 more churches!

I am not sure how to blog about my adventures in church visiting. So I haven't yet. I made my first visit to a church in another state right before I began my blog so I didn't write about it. I made my second visit to a church in another diocese in our state and I didn't blog about it. But last night I visited a church in my Diocese and I really want to blog about it. I think I will call this series of blogs "He Leadeth Me".

I want to experience the hand of God as it is being experienced throughout our Diocese. I want to meet the people who come to worship, I want to feel the Holy Spirit moving amongst the congregations, I want to hear them talk about the way they love and serve their neighbor. It is fine to read on their websites, look at pictures of their church, their work. But I don't just want to research them, I want to know them. I want to be in communion with my brothers and sisters who might live in the mountains, near the river, in the depths of suburbia and the inner streets of our capital city. One of the great beauties of the Episcopal church is how the church holds in tandem its great diversity with its most inner sameness. I imagine it is the beauty of the kingdom, all God's children expressing their love and joy in Him in all their created uniqueness.

Blessed worship to you this morning, Holly