Just back from Convention-
Last year, the Eucharist at Diocesan Convention was at the end of the day and within it was the ordination of Linda Wilson to the Sacred Order of Deacons. Bishop Johnson preached his farewell sermon after ten happy months as your assisting bishop. At the end of the service, he handed the pastoral staff to me and there has not been a single moment of regret for either Mariann or me. We believe we are in the midst of a new day for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and are delighted to be part of it.
In my written report in your Pre-Convention booklet, I recounted much of the activity that has occupied my time this past year. In my address last night, I offered a perspective on where I believe the diocese is now. And so, in this sermon, I will not repeat either of those summaries. Rather, I invite you to join with me in reflecting briefly on the individuals commemorated this day, and then on the Gospel lesson chosen for this Lesser Feast, with an eye to how it speaks to us today.
Let’s begin with a short excursion through history.
Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas Ridley lived in tumultuous times in the church. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has had its share of tumult the past couple of years, and I do not want to dismiss that, but compared to the church of the mid-sixteenth century, our tumult was but a burp.
These three men were all bishops and men of extraordinary faith. They were loyal to King Henry VIII in a time when church and state were so intertwined that when the king sneezed, the bishops wiped their noses.
More here-
http://www.episcopalpgh.org/2010-price-convention-sermon/
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