Weekly Reflection - 3/12/2024

St. Mary's Reflection: The Rev. Kira Austin-Young

The Bishop is Coming! The Bishop is Coming!

This coming Sunday, March 17th, Bishop Marc Andrus will preach and preside at all three of our morning liturgies in addition to joining us for a reception in between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. With his impending retirement and the ordination of our Bishop-Elect Austin K. Rios, this will be Bishop Andrus’ final visitation to St. Mary’s. The Bishop’s Visitation is an expression of the mission and ministry of the church and an extension of the charge given at a bishop’s ordination to “encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries, nourish them from the riches of God’s grace, pray for them without ceasing, and celebrate with them the sacraments of our redemption.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 518).

In the theological understanding of the Episcopal Church of how the church is organized, which traces back to the early church, the Bishop is the chief pastor, and the diocese is the smallest unit of the church. In the history of the Church, as dioceses developed and grew, and as parishes multiplied within a diocese, the bishop of the local church was no longer the celebrant of the Eucharist in every place, and this responsibility was delegated to priests along with “the cure of souls.” The default to congregationalism throughout American religious history has made it challenging to live into that framework. After all, we say that we “belong to St. Mary’s” not that we “belong to the Episcopal Diocese of California.” One way of understanding it is that each individual parish or mission is like a franchise of the Diocese. We have freedom, up to a point, to exercise our particular ministry and gifts in our local setting. Nevertheless, our fellowship as Christians stretches beyond our individual congregation and binds us to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ.

This particular visitation both gives us a chance to showcase the vibrancy of our ministries at St. Mary’s, be reminded of our connection to the broader Church, and to thank and celebrate Bishop Andrus for his over-17 years of ministry as Bishop of the Diocese of California. We hope you will be a part of this celebration this Sunday!

The Rev. Kira Austin-Young,

Associate Rector