As many of us enjoy much needed summer vacations, events in our world and our Church remind us that the Holy Spirit is still very busy! We have all been praying for the 12 children and their soccer coach trapped in a cave in Thailand. On Tuesday, we learned that not one of those children was lost; all, together with their coach, were safely extracted from that perilous situation without serious harm, injury, or death. We thank God for this miraculous turn of events. We thank God for so many heroes yet unknown and especially for the one who died in the rescue attempt, the divers, the engineers, the medical team, the news media, all those who brought these people to life for us to see and to know and to care about deeply. Every parent could feel the agony of the parents standing at the mouth of that cave. As Episcopalians, we have also been praying for those gathered at the 79th General Convention (GC79) in Austin, Texas. We’ve prayed especially for the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies who were tasked with voting on various issues impacting the life of our Church. As is the case with general conventions, the impact of the proceedings at GC79 will be felt over the coming weeks, months, and years. One of the many GC79 highlights of local interest was the welcoming back of the Diocese of Cuba to the Episcopal Church, reversing legislation passed in 1966 that removed Cuba as a diocese. For so many, particularly our retired Bishop Frade, this act of reconciliation brings much hope for the future of our relationship with our Cuban brothers and sisters. Whether we are working or playing this summer, we have the blessed assurance that the Holy Spirit will continue to be active in our personal lives, and the life of our family, our parish, our Church, and our world.
In Christ,
– Paul