Hello church.
Happy Ascension Day! This is a grand, grand day in the church. We celebrate Jesus fulfilling his ultimate destiny—foretold in scripture and by himself— that following his crucifixion and resurrection he would leave behind the human and earthly for the divine and heavenly, and equip us with power and authority to keep making earth look and feel more like heaven.
Because I am leaving you—not behind, and certainly not for the divine!—but for sabbatical, the staff and I chose today for me to announce our call to the 207th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Maine. It will be on Saturday, November 7 at the Abramson Community Education Center (which includes Hannaford Hall) on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland.
Over the coming months, please check your email for information about the convention schedule and details about learning opportunities, worship, and all the business we will discuss. There is no shortage of work for us to do: combating racism, standing up for the rights of LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable communities, supporting immigrants, eliminating domestic poverty, and caring for creation. Our annual convention gives us the opportunity to come together and, bolstered by our faith in Jesus Christ, cultivate the relationships, policies, and programs that advance our common mission. You are invited and encouraged to attend.
The meeting will be livestreamed for those who can’t be with us in person, but delegates and clergy do need to be there in person in order to vote.
Like last year, there will be two preconvention online meetings designed for clergy, delegates, and alternate delegates on Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Thursday, Oct. 29. Please add these dates to your calendar. Anyone interested in learning more about convention is welcome to attend.
For me, this year’s convention is especially exciting, because it will be the first time I’ll be among you following a four-month absence. And, since the organizing and execution is in the capable hands of the Loring House staff, Liturgical Commission, Resolutions Committee, and many others, I can’t wait to see what you all have planned!
Visit our website, episcopalmaine.org, for more information or reach out to anyone on the staff.
Finally, a Collect for Ascension Day:
Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.