Eager to Love, Part 2 - "The Good Bishop"

As Paola and I have happily taken on the project of putting together this Autumn quarterly edition of the St. Paul's Church magazine, Letters from St. Paul's, I have been blessed with the opportunity to write a brief reflection on the Presiding Bishop Elect of the Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. Michael Bruce Curry. Those who know me will know that Bishop Curry was my parish priest at St. James' Church in Baltimore during my childhood years, and he has remained a dear family friend and role model to me during his fifteen years as Bishop of North Carolina. As a term of affection, he has come to be known in my family as "The Good Bishop". The following is my reflection on his ministry in our church.

In the Spring of 1992, my parents had just moved to Baltimore and were searching for a church home. A friend recommended an inner-city parish with a little-known dynamic young rector by the name of Michael Bruce Curry. Twenty-three years later I was blessed to sit on the floor of the House of Deputies at General Convention 2015, hearing the Rt. Rev. Michael B.

Curry announced as the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was my priest for nearly a decade and over the years, I have been blessed to know him well as a friend, mentor, pastor, bishop, and now as the leader of nearly two million Episcopalians in seventeen countries across the globe. Since long before he was Presiding Bishop or even a bishop at all, no single person has more deeply inspired me as a Christian or as a person called to ordained ministry.

In the last several months, I have had the opportunity to talk to scores of Episcopalians from dozens of dioceses about our new Presiding Bishop. Most know him as an exhilarating preacher, and a charismatic speaker. Others know him as a tireless advocate for social justice and equality. A few more speak of him as a caring pastor and a gifted administrator.

But the Michael Curry I know - the man I have loved and admired for more than two decades – is indeed all of these things, but he is marked by one even greater attribute. I know no one else on earth who is more eager to love than Michael B. Curry. Hear him speak in person or on video, whether preaching or interviewing or even giving an administrative presentation, and you will hear it seep out of his pores. Read his book, Crazy Christians and watch his love for God and humanity dripping from every page as if the ink itself were leaking. Even take a picture with him, and you will invariably see the look of profound joy and excitement, greeting everyone as his oldest and dearest friend.

No one in the Episcopal Church talks more powerfully, more convincingly, more energetically about being a disciple of Jesus Christ than our new Presiding Bishop. His infectious eagerness to love Jesus, the Church, and all God’s people (He’s fond of saying “All means ALL – or as we say in the South, ‘All Y’all”) is exactly what continues to inspire me and literally millions of other Christians to do the same.

For this reason, Bishop Curry was elected by a greater percentage than any of his predecessors in history, and he will become the first person of color ever to be Presiding Bishop. I was given the immense honor to be present on November 1^st 2015 for Bishop Curry’s installation as the 27^th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. And it is likely that at least once during his nine-year term, St. Paul’s will have the honor of a visit from this truly remarkable man. Please pray for him, and for our Church as we find ourselves eager to love in new ways, under a wonderful new leader.