It was our 2nd day on my church’s pilgrimage to England. We were at the start of a 10-day pilgrimage tracing our Anglican roots when we heard of the bombing in Manchester at a concert on May 22. We were safely in London, but our hearts went out to the children and families impacted. We noticed the extra police at the cathedrals and palaces that we visited and the moments of silence held throughout the country. Britons that we talked with didn’t express fear and were comforted by the extra police presence. The lines were long at many venues; tourists from other countries also didn’t seem to be deterred by the evil in the world.

Saturday night a friend mentioned that another event had happened at London Bridge. We were at that very spot only 2 weeks ago!

On Sunday back in Nashville, we experienced a historic event: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville and the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee came together for a joint worship service: Common Prayer+Common Mission. At this Evensong celebration we were reminded on this Pentecost Sunday that the Holy Spirit comes to all Christians empowering us to love our God and to spread God’s love to one another. It was with sadness that we jointly mourned the Saturday death of Bishop David Choby of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville. We trust that his passing will draw us even closer together as we draw on an even greater dependence on the Holy Spirit in our lives.

There is evil in the world and it is unpredictable. However, it will not stop us from forging friendships and relationships built upon the love of Christ. Together we can overcome evil just as we have done throughout the ages. We recognize the evil in our world, but we continue to care for those we love in our friends, our families and communities.

Blessings,
Agatha