[Episcopal Diocese of Maryland] A message from the bishops of the Diocese of Maryland follows.

Engaging in the ministry of reconciliation
November 9, 2016

Dear friends in Christ,

We’ve just endured what may be the longest presidential campaign in our nation’s history. It was corrosive, bitter, coarse and filled with fear and bitterness. It’s now over.

Our work is before us. It’s spelled out in the words of Jesus and in our baptismal covenant. Followers of Jesus will heed the commandment to love God with all our hearts, all our minds and all our might, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’re also called to seek justice and peace, to serve Christ in all persons, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

We are guided by our vision as a diocese to be a community of love. Our mission couldn’t be more clear. If we continue to encounter Christ everywhere, to be faithful to Gospel principles, then we’ll be empowered to engage in God’s work of reconciliation in a divided and polarized nation.

Monarchs and potentates, prime ministers and presidents come and go. But as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” It is that same Jesus we serve.

We can all begin today by saying the Prayer for the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority and asking God for the grace to claim our citizenship in God’s kingdom here on earth.

“O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to your merciful care, that, being guided by your Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace. Grant to the President of the United States, the Governor of this State, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 820)

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Bishop of Maryland

The Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen
Assistant Bishop of Maryland