Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe Calls Episcopal Church to Witness Amid Fear and Deadly Protests

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe of The Episcopal Church has issued a message that begins by describing the present as a frightening time for the church and the nation. In the pastoral letter, Rowe draws a parallel with Jesus’ own ministry, which began when John the Baptist was imprisoned by authorities who wanted to silence his preaching and prophecy.

Rowe wrote that Jesus knew what follows when earthly powers persuade people to fear one another, to regard one another as strangers, and to believe there is not enough to go around. In Jesus’ time, he said, the power of those divisions led to John’s beheading and to Jesus’ own death on the cross at the hands of Roman authorities.

Rowe said the same destructive divisions are visible today “on the streets of Minneapolis, in other places across the United States, and in other countries around the world.” He wrote that the most vulnerable people are bearing the burden, shouldering the greatest share of risk and loss, and enduring the violation of their humanity.

Rowe pointed to the apostle Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, urging believers to stop viewing others by worldly standards and to serve as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16). He wrote that this is God’s call to The Episcopal Church now, and that it is not an easy one.

In the letter, Rowe said the church can no longer expect to practice its faith without risk in the United States. He wrote that the right to worship freely, committed to the dignity of every human being, has been curtailed by fear that many immigrant Christians face when they leave their homes. He also said that peaceful protests, a right long enshrined in the Constitution, have become deadly. Carrying out basic commands of Jesus, such as feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, visiting prisoners and making peace, now involves risks for the church and grave danger for the people it serves. Rowe stated that Christians must acknowledge that “this chaos and division is not of God” and must commit to paying whatever price their witness requires.

Rowe wrote that the church will continue to be tested in the coming years as it insists that death and despair do not have the last word and as it stands with immigrants and the most vulnerable. He said the church would need to hold fast to God’s promise to make all things new.

Rowe addressed two groups in the letter. To those “in the center of the storm,” he said he is praying for them as they embody the love of Christ in their ministries and communities. To those watching with concern and fear, he asked for prayer for people who have died in protests and detention, for those who witnessed those deaths, and for everyone with authority and responsibility at this time, that they may act with wisdom, restraint and courage. He also asked for prayer for the church’s witness and for protection for those who live in fear (Psalm 34:18).

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