To the people of the Diocese of Lexington, beloved in Christ:

 

Like you, I have been deeply affected by recent events both at home and abroad. In response, I commend to you the clarion call of the Bishop of Minnesota and the heartfelt challenge of our Presiding Bishop. Unfortunately, these same events have affected people across our country in very different ways: some celebrate the protection of our national interests, while others decry a threat to democracy. 

 

It’s as if we are living in two different countries. One, which operates by a set of rules and regulations that impact most of us most of the time, and another, which is arbitrary and where violence goes unchecked. These two realities now exist side by side in these United States of America.

 

This reality demands that we take a deeper look into our common life. St. Paul seems to agree when he writes to the Church saying, “our fight is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness, and against spiritual forces of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12). 

 

We may want to respond with righteous anger or triumphant shouts, but this will not end the cycle of conflict because it does not address the core issue. Instead, God calls us to follow a more arduous way, that of the cross. A path that looks foolish to a world bent on ambition and violence, and yet, it is the power of God to save us and our nation.

 

At the cross, we discover both God’s wondrous love for each of us and the depth of our individual and collective brokenness. This is no safe hiding place or utopian ideal. But, as we follow Jesus, we are empowered to confront the deeper reality of evil at its source and are compelled to make a choice. As our Presiding Bishop wrote, “we no longer live in a time when we can expect to practice our faith without risk, and we are confronting what vulnerable communities of faith have experienced for generations.”

 

The way of the cross begins with prayer.

 

In prayer, we bring our deepest desires, fears, and ambitions before God, where they are transformed. This is not an avoidance, for prayer is the precursor to action. In prayer, we are reassured of God’s love, aligned to God’s purpose, and pointed in the right direction, so that we can each, in our own way, respond to God’s injunction spoken through the prophet Micah: “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God” (Michah 6:8). Prayer is the place where we each hear God’s call and are sent out in Christ’s name.

 

Therefore, friends in Christ, I invite you to join me in a day of prayer on February 11. Let us set aside time to be with God and each other in prayer as we respond to the call of Jesus to “deny [our]selves and take up [our]cross and follow [him]” (Matthew 16:24). Only then shall we each understand how we are to act as God’s peacemakers in the world. For as members of Christ’s body, each has a role to play. 

 

On this day, we will have centers of prayer in each of the three Regions of our Diocese. I will join our host for the Blue Grass Region, Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, the Mountain Region will be hosted by St. Patrick’s, Somerset, and Northern Kentucky by Trinity, Covington. Details will be sent out early next week.

 

At a time when many feel helpless, lost, and afraid, let us come together in prayer so that by the Spirit of God we may be equipped to bring the light of Christ’s hope to all in need. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”(2 Timothy 1:7).

 

In the name of the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus the Christ,

 

+Mark