Bishop Minns Letters

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Spiritual renewal is still an urgent call for each one of us as an individual as well as for the communities that we serve. Jesus reminds us that the Gospel always comes with a promise: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

The events of that first Easter morning stretch our imagination. There are humorous moments mixed with the recognition that something of enormous cosmic import has just occurred. The image of an angel perched on a stone that has just been rolled back from the tomb, and Mary mistaking the resurrected Jesus for the gardener—these are almost playful scenes in our minds, yet the world-shaking significance of the Resurrection should bring us to our knees in awe. It must be stressed that the historic Christian teaching has always been that we believe that Jesus experienced a bodily resurrection, not merely the resuscitation of a corpse or a spiritual transformation.

I have always enjoyed a parade, so Palm Sunday has always been a favorite festival of mine. When we planted the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Palm Sunday we arranged for a mini-parade of donkey rides for children from the parking lot to the front door. It was a big hit, although they were disappointed that I didn’t let the donkey carry them all the way inside!

Having had the privilege of serving as your interim bishop for almost eighteen months, let me offer a few observations and warnings. Your new bishop will not be Superman, nor the Son of God, nor even the Apostle Paul. Instead he will be these five things.

The first and perhaps most important question is, “What are we retiring to?” Not “What are we retiring from?” Bishop Dave Bena, a dear friend and mentor, has retired a number of times. He retired from military service (he served with distinction as a Marine and then in the US Air Force), and he retired as the suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, as my suffragan bishop in CANA, and most recently as the assistant bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. He is something of an expert on retirement! But he spells it “retire-ment,” declaring that it is an opportunity to change tires and start a new journey.

A few days ago, a friend told me, “You are failure at retirement!” I understood this as a rather backhanded compliment, but it did start me thinking about what success and failure at retirement look like.

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19)

At a time when the world was far from settled, the apostle Paul wrote, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1–2)

We were on a family vacation and visiting a church that was new to us. The liturgy was familiar, and we were blessed by the music and the preaching. At communion time, Angela, Rachel, and I headed for the altar rail to receive the elements, and on the way back I was aware of a middle-aged couple who were looking quite intently at us. They didn’t seem unfriendly, so I nodded and smiled, but they continued to stare.