Challenging Violence - ECW Sermon by Bishop Curry

Bishop Jim Curry gave an outstanding sermon on challenging violence at our ECW Lunchoen on May 1.

You can find it here:  http://www.ctepiscopal.org/News/customer-files/BishopJamesCurrySermon_ECWMay2014.pdf

A small excerpt:

In Connecticut there are well over 1000
Christian Churches – and scores of
synagogues and mosques. And most of them are islands
of good works and faithful
people that are insulated and
isolated from one another.
I know that is true among
Episcopal Churches. If we truly believe in
Jesus Christ - if we
believe that he has
created in himself one new humanity – then we
as his disciples have to act out of the
power which is ours in Christ. We need to
reach out to one another for our common good.

The cross that I wear was made for me by an artist from the country of
Mozambique. It is made out of pieces of
destroyed automatic weapons – AK47’s --- that
were used in their long and bloody civil war. For over twenty years Mozambique has
been at peace. And a great reason for that is
that the churches came
together after the war
to encourage people to turn in
their guns and weapons of war
in exchange for instruments
of production in their new society. Over
the years nearly a million guns have been
collected and destroyed. Mozambican artist
s have taken these destroyed weapons and
made them into art – objects of beauty and imagination. 

This cross tells the story
of our faith. Weapons of war and instruments of
violence have been broken apart and reshaped
into the greatest sign
of peace and hope the
world has ever known. On the cross, God took the worst that we humans can do to one
another – to torture and kill each other – and
in Jesus’ love for us – broke the violence
and reshaped it into the greatest sign of hope and peace for all time.  

In God, with Christ, and in
the power of the Spirit we have the ability to challenge
violence. You and I are people of
the cross of hope and disciples of the Christ who is our
peace and who has broken down all dividing walls. Today, let us renew our common
work to end violence in every community - remembering those who have died
(Marcelina, Ben, Charlotte, Shane, Taijhon
and Torrence and those we name now aloud
or silently) and remembering those who live with
the scars of violence (Takira, Tyrek, the
parents of Hartford, New Haven, Milford and Newtown and so many more). May God
give us strength and courage and singleness of heart to do this work