Episcopal Intercultural Network

"I am passing out some true grit if anybody needs some. That is what my great-grandmother, Minnie Mae, used to say people needed in times like these. I am not sure exactly what true grit is but I think it is like medicine for the soul: it is good for you and it fortifies your sense of determination. And Minnie Mae was the most determined woman I ever met. She was 4’11 tall and weighed less than a hundred pounds, but she could be a force of nature when she had to be. She was ...a fierce lioness when it came to defending the poor in our little rural town. During the Depression years she used to hand out food to anyone who came to her backdoor asking for a meal. Those folks came in all sizes, shapes and colors. It did not matter to Minnie Mae. She was a source of strength, not a judge of worthiness. So I am going to take my true grit and keep my great-grandmother company while she is watching over us in heaven. True grit: I want what she had." The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston See more

Dr. Luciana Borio was just named to President-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus task force, and she'll join Dr. Anthony Fauci and NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins a...t Washington National Cathedral on Thursday night for an in-depth discussion on what happens next with COVID-19. Registration is free and open to the public, but you must register to access the program. Full details at cathedral.org!

Today I ask your prayer that we might know we are loved by God. Be silent. Be still. Alone.... Empty Before your God Say nothing. Ask nothing. Be silent. Be still. Let your God Look upon you. That is all. God knows. God understands. God loves you With enormous love, And only wants To look upon you With that love. Quiet. Still. Be. Let your God Love you. Edwina Gateley See more

From four years ago today: What has changed? What remains the same? From the Dean's Desk... As with every election, always we begin again... 10 November 2016 Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? I will, with God's help. Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? I will, with God's help. Dear Sisters & Brothers of the Saint Mark's Cathedral Community, Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep and Healer of the breach! Like many of you, I was glued Tuesday night to the television, watching closely the results of a hotly, and at times viciously, contested Presidential election. By 1am, Pennsylvania had been called for Mr. Trump and the path to the Presidency had become clear for our new President-elect. What had been done had been done. What had not been done had not been done. It was time, for me at least, to let it be and to turn in for the night. I woke up Wednesday morning, though, to a palpable weight in the air - a heaviness, at least for me, of uncertainty and disappointment. I'm cognizant of the fact that there are many among us who are rejoicing - who see in this election the beginning of a new day, the turning of a new page into a new future they hope will be more peaceful and more prosperous. And, by God's grace and wise leadership, may it be so. But I'm also cognizant of the fact that there are many among us who are lamenting this election - and rightly so, given the disparaging language and behavior directed toward them during the course of this particular campaign cycle. To these many (who are, in fact, too many to list), this election represents a very real step backward in terms of their own sense of place and purpose, their own sense of dignity and worth, security and safety. It is, for them, as if the majority of America has given political endorsement and practical assent to the verbal and physical diminishment of their person-hood, and they are rightly fearful, angry, and brokenhearted. While we're all prepared for the possibility of losing politically in an election year, few of us are prepared to lose so much personally. So while we remain open to the providential possibilities of a new political direction, and will even assure our prayers for its success, we cannot - and will not - remain silent on the personal assault directed toward so many of our beloved community members with whom we stand in unflinching solidarity. I'm well aware these dual 'partisan' realities exist both in the larger community and also right here in our own Cathedral parish. The grand casting of an 'us' vs. 'them' worldview has come home to roost right here among us, and we must ask ourselves if we're up to the task of engaging this very difficult, very painful - in fact, very frightening - conversation together: building each other up, in peace, and holding each other accountable, in love. Isaiah's sixty-fifth chapter, from which we'll read this Sunday, casts a vision for God's promised peace - a beautifully complex and diverse, if also imperfect, community of former adversaries, brought together in God's perfect love. We believe, by faith, that a perfect peace like this is God's dream for us. But we know, too, by experience, that a perfect peace like this is elusive - that it takes real risk and real work to heal the breach between us. And it takes both strength and perseverance to persist through very real disappointments and discouragements of each new day - recognizing the glacial pace with which we take two steps forward, then one step back. Hope, against all this hurt, is, to be sure, fragile at best. I'm asking you, therefore, to join me in these weeks and months ahead in a heightened recognition of the personal consequences to this fall's political process - giving particular time and energy to naming your hurts and hopes in this time of transition and making particular commitments to your own role and responsibility in continuing to gather and to heal in Christ's name. We are so much better than this season suggests - and called to do and to be so much more. Let's be gentle with ourselves and with one another and see if, together, we might rise stronger and wiser, more loving and life-giving than we've ever been before. God knows, the world needs us. Bless you, always, Paul+

From Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and Dean Randy Hollerith: The votes have been cast, the vast majority have been counted and the people of America have spoken. ...It now appears clear that Joe Biden will become the nation’s 46th president, and we will begin anew the work of repairing the frayed fabric of our common life. To President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, we offer our prayers for wisdom, grace and the certain knowledge of God’s presence in the difficult work ahead. To President Trump and Vice President Pence, we give our thanks for their service to our nation, and prayers for God’s guidance as they lay down the powers of their office. That we are a bruised and divided nation is not news. Yet only together can we meet the enormous challenges before us. All Americans, and particularly our leaders, must put the healing of the nation above partisan loyalties. As Christians, we believe that we are not alone in this endeavor. St. Paul reminds us that we will see God among us when we exhibit what he called the evidence of the Holy Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) As Americans, as we encounter those who may have cast different ballots, may we seek an extra measure of grace and compassion. Neither partisan triumphalism nor ideological defeatism will aid us in the hard work ahead. This is a time to draw upon what President Lincoln described as the better angels of our nature, and to take to heart the words he spoke in his Second Inaugural Address: With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds. We pray for this nation and for our leaders. We pray for patience and endurance. We pray that as we move forward, no one is left behind. We pray that in all we do, may we be guided by the prophet’s call to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.