Loading...Two hundred and fifty years ago, May 28, 1775, the first public service from the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer took place near what is now Boonesborough, Kentucky. The location was under “the spreading branches of a great elm tree” which was known as the Church Tree. It was the Sunday after Ascension Day.
Before there was the Commonwealth of Kentucky, there was Common Prayer. That date, May 28, 1775, followed the conclusion of a legislative session of the House of Delegates of the Colony of Transylvania, from May 23 to the 27th. The session was called by Col. Henderson. One of the delegates in attendance was the Rev John Lyth, a Church of England clergyman, who officiated at the Service, presumably Morning Prayer and Litany.
Unbeknownst to residents, two significant events had occurred in the colonies. On March 23, Patrick Henry had declared “Give me liberty or give me death” in his stirring call for independence delivered in St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia, followed by what is known as the “shot heard round the world” April 19th in an armed confrontation between colonists and British soldiers at Lexington and Concord. News of these events reached Boonesborough on May 29, the day after the Service which included prayers for England’s “most gracious Sovereign Lord King George.”
The Great Elm was chosen as the site for the service as 100 people could be seated beneath the tree’s branches. This Great Elm’s presence was, in the words of Colonel Henderson, “one of the many proofs of existence from all eternity of its Divine Master.”
The legislative session enacted 9 laws and agreed upon a form of government that would shortly be amended following news of events in the colonies seeking independence.
The Rev. Lyth remained in Boonesborough for the summer of 1775 and then moved to Harrodsburg. Thus, missionary activity from Anglican clergy was planted here 17 years before Kentucky was admitted to the union in 1792.
It was estimated that nearly half of those relocating in Kentucky were Anglicans who would become American Episcopalians, and clergy officiated at divine services in many places following statehood. In 1829 the Diocese of Kentucky was created by an act of The General Convention.
There were three parishes, in Lexington, Danville, and here in Louisville.
Between 1824 and 1829, the state had one resident clergyman, the Rev Dr. Chapman in Lexington. His successor in 1830, was the Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, who in 1832 was elected as our diocese’s first bishop. Bishop Smith served as diocesan for 52 years, which is thought to be the longest single episcopate in Anglican history. (That record is very safe.) (The Great Elm, by Swinford and Lee.)
As the Commonwealth experienced growth fueled by people seeking a new life, the Episcopal Church expanded as well.
Growth was sustained by two related components. Laity in an emerging population center would organize, and a missionary priest passing through would provide services, baptisms and the Holy Communion.
As seen in 1775 with the Rev. Mr. Lyth, population centers were where commerce and government of some sort was located.
Services were held, often Sunday Schools and early public schools were founded and run by the laity, and health services provided.
The few clergy were more itinerant than resident. The concept of a priest or transitional deacon serving one congregation would not develop for decades. As the history of every one of our congregations shows, a church was founded either by the laity of a neighboring parish or mission in our earliest years, or later, by the laity and clergy of a neighboring parish.
This mission was grounded in Jesus’ Great Commission to go into to all the world to preach the saving Gospel and baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, commitment to evangelize and share the catholic and reformed faith and worship of the Church of England which became known as Anglicanism took a place of prominence.
From the records of our earliest diocesan conventions, the highest priority was given to missionary expansion. Those earliest records are sparse, but all include reports of baptisms since the last convention, how often Holy Communion was celebrated, and how many adults were counted in the congregation, whether existing parish or a new congregation.
For a new congregation, news was shared of which congregation had shared their clergy to care for the spiritual needs of those in another town. Often the sponsoring parish sent an offering of money and perhaps communion vessels a baptismal font, or a few prayer books. All of this news was a cause of great celebration and prayers of thanksgiving to Almighty God.
That spirit of evangelism is in our ecclesial DNA. Within that heritage is embedded a glorious truth for us today.
Beloved, we are in the midst of another evangelistic era today. Contexts have of course changed, but the reason for the creation and existence of the Diocese of Kentucky has not.
There is no greater priority before us than the Great Commission. This is the focus of our common life, rooted in common prayer.
Further, the examples set by our spiritual forebearers - devoted laity, deacons, priests, and bishops - are worth taking to heart and applying. And that begins with me.
Since our last convention I have read a sampling of annual addresses or other writings by my bishop predecessors.
The emphasis on expanding mission is a constant. The care of souls through sharing the Good News in ways that people are transformed by Jesus’ death and resurrection, which transformed death into the gateway to everlasting life with God motivated generosity.
In the minutes of conventions throughout the years, I am struck by the lack of the language of triumphalism and replacing Jesus’ saving acts with human own cleverness and self-righteousness. Far from it.
In this age when objective data is used in so many spheres, when analytics inform decisions in medicine, business and whether a football team should go for a first down on 4th and 1, we too have data that clearly demonstrates spiritual humility coupled with missionary focus that looks beyond our parochial boundaries produces a bountiful harvest.
Holy Partnership is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Our structures can enable partnership and also create obstacles.
Among the most powerful antidotes to obstacles is conversation, as well as shared moments of worship and hands on mission.
The task force on Structure and Relationship created by last year’s convention has experienced the sacred power of story-telling, hearing accounts of shared support leading to the new life borne from partnerships. The task force presented a workshop and a written report is included in the advance reports.
There is a strong desire throughout our diocese to strengthen the bonds of affection that make us one body in the One Spirit.
This same strong desire is found and supported by our ongoing mission to reckon with racism. Our convention two years ago established a task force to Address Racial Economic Disparities as a constituent part of knowing our diocesan story in order to move towards the Beloved Community.
For several years diocesan congregations have been resourced by the Racial Healing Commission through training and presentations to effectively learn about their history, and using the truths discovered to help inform parochial mission and ministry. Those stories also inform our understanding of our diocesan heritage and mission.
John 8:32 says that the truth will set you free. This verse is part of the teaching that in Jesus, God’s life and vision is found. That means this mission of knowing stories, reckoning, and amending our own lives and the life of the Church to enter more deeply into Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
It is the same foundation for the Collect for Purity: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.
Opening our hearts and revealing anything that remains hidden are integral to our common worship and common life.
In June St. Francis in the Fields, Harrods Creek, partnered with The Living Church Foundation to hold a conference devoted to engaging models of missionary growth that have worked in different contexts.
On the final morning, the panel of distinguished speakers took questions. I eventually asked what is the bishop’s role in supporting mission work that doesn’t easily fit common approaches, which in fact can break new ground that can be uncomfortable.
One response I took to heart. Father Scott Gunn, the executive director of Forward Movement, took the mic. After agreeing with previous answers, he said something like this:
We, the Episcopal Church, need to let our bishops be bishops. Among the particular roles of the bishop is to teach the faith as the prayerbook says, but we the Church have added many other things to our bishops’ plates and prioritized those other things to the point that there is little time to teach.
So this isn’t something that starts with you, Bishop White, it starts with us. Our bishops 15 16 receive the charism, a gift of the Holy Spirit at their consecration, to be teachers.
Father Scott’s remark remains within me.
When you pray for me every Sunday by name, I ask that your intention be for my particular call to be a teacher of the faith.
Which brings me to my conclusion. The last few months I have been mentioning in my sermons a moment from the prayerbook liturgy for the Ordination and Consecration of a Bishop. After the sermon, six questions are posed to the bishop-elect before receiving the laying on of hands.
The one constantly on my heart is the sixth question, which I place before us all this morning:
“Will you be merciful to all, show compassion to the poor and stranger, and defend those who have no helper?”
The reply is: I will for the sake of Christ Jesus.
Fulfilling that vow today can lead to all sorts of consequences, in fact it is likely. But trusting in God means we are never alone, no matter the consequences that may come.
It is said that First Responders are those who do not run away from danger, but run toward it in order to save victims.
In Baptism, we are reborn in order to run toward those who are victims of prejudice, inequality, scapegoating, and indifference because of who God created them to be.
We will not reject these sisters, brothers and siblings, nor run away. We WILL rely on God’s gifts of compassion, mercy, and courage to seek and serve Christ in all people, and defend the vulnerable and exploited who have no helper.
Our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable, are experiencing a deficit of compassion. In baptism, God sends us to bind up every wound.
In baptism we have been made servants, to enter those barren places where a deficit of compassion exists, and revive and restore such lifeless places until our neighborhoods overflow with mercy.
Continue to be compassionate, courageous, and engaged.
You all inspire me, and I am grateful. God bless! Thank you.
