Bishop's Page

Bishop-Elect Michael Louis Vono

September, 2010
"SAY, SPEAK LORD FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING"
1 SAMUEL 3: 9

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Years ago in my former parish I remember a young agitated mother telling, or should I say trying to teach her son, not to talk so much. In fact I am coming to the conclusion that most mothers are fond of teaching their loquacious children the importance of listening before they speak. My former parishioner said to her son: “God gave you two ears and only one mouth, so that you can listen twice as much as you talk!” I certainly appreciated the message. This is a memorable comment and very good spiritual advice for adults as well as children. Perhaps this truism has been forgotten, after all we do live in a highly sophisticated electronic age in which everywhere we turn someone or something is speaking. We hear voices everywhere; elevators announce the floor, cars tell us our key is still in the ignition or the door is open, greeting cards now speak or sing their message, answering machines tell us who is calling and our cellular phones provoke us to constant talking and text messaging. Listening twice as much as talking is the lesson we learn in the familiar and moving Old Testament story of the elder Eli and the little boy Samuel's night time calling by the Lord. This story’s timely message is a valuable one for all of us especially as we begin the busy church month of September. The message is making time for the importance of LISTENING.

It was nearly three centuries ago, that Soren Kierkegaard said that if he were a medical doctor and was allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, he would prescribe SILENCE. Kierkegaard wrote that even if the word of God were proclaimed, it would not be heard or heeded "for there is too much noise and busyness in our world.” Many of us know or at least are aware that this is uncomfortably true. The world today is a dangerous place and is characterized by stressful global anxiety as nations talk of war rather than listening to voices of diplomacy; people speaking of hatred, discrimination and revenge rather than listening to voices of reconciliation and community; the dissatisfied fanatic wields violence and terror as a loud threatening voice to be heard rather than listening to voices of peace, compromise, problem solving or political negotiations; some world leaders incessantly speak of force and even military might rather than listening to voices of non-violence, advocacy for justice, equity, mercy and LOVE . Speaking critically to this world, where there is too much noise and busyness, the reformer, Martin Luther in his day, insisted that God remains and always will be "a deus loquens" (a speaking God). God's Word cannot be silenced. We are created to LISTEN for God’s call.

Likened to the experience of that young boy Samuel and Eli, it takes time for us to clearly hear and interpret God's word and to fully understand what God calls each one of us to do, to be and to become. St. Paul taught this to the Romans (8:28) saying, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Why is listening/hearing so important for us Christians? Because St. Paul also said to the Romans(10:17) that "faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the Word of Christ.” This September you and I will be very aware of God’s calling and his revelatory purpose for each one of us individually as well as a Diocese. The Rio Grande, as it continues it’s journey of ‘new life and reconciliation,’ is prayerfully and intently listening for the Lord‘s calling according to His purpose. The divine reality we sense and name as God, who is intimately made known to us through his Son Jesus Christ, is revealed shrouded in the mystery of silence and listening. The biblical witness is all about God's calling, His still small voice speaking constantly to all His beloved. The Lord God still calls out to ordinary people like you and me and in our hearing and listening by grace we finally come to partial understanding. Creation after all is a speech event. When God's Word is spoken and we hear it, we inevitably change, grow and become a new creation. God’s voice is audible sound to our spiritual ears and souls which are both uniquely created to listen. Psalm 29 makes this explicit; “The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty” (3,4). Thanks be to God we are created to be a LISTENING PEOPLE.

It took both Eli and Samuel, the aged experienced servant and the youthful inexperienced servant, three times before they were able to be still and clearly acknowledge God's Word. My former parishioner gave her son good advice which I cherish and now pass on to you; “God gave us two ears and only one mouth, so that we would listen twice as much as talk.”

Lord Jesus, as we enter this busy month of September seeking your will and purpose for this Diocese, grant us your grace to be able to clearly hear and LISTEN to your calling.

Amen and Bless you all.

Michael+

August, 2010
"We should listen with the ears of God, that we may speak the word of God."
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Dear Friends and People in the Diocese of the Rio Grande,

Greetings to each one of you. In these hot early summer days I have been reflecting on how the Church’s Scripture lessons and yearly liturgical celebrations inspire Christians everywhere to rediscover the wondrous and miraculous stories of both God’s incarnation in Jesus born in Bethlehem as well as God’s gracious activity recognized in Jesus’ public activities and teachings. This miraculous discovery which in essence reoccurs in every age, by the grace of God’s Holy Spirit, gradually emerges from within our human spiritual awareness and expanding capacity to perceive through all our senses the divine presence of Holiness. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book Life Together, “We should listen with the ears of God, that we may speak the Word of God”. In these busy days of my transitioning to the Rio Grande I find myself more and more needing to listen with the ears of God. This is my daily spiritual discipline.

I believe that Jesus, the incarnate Word of God is truly “Emanuel–God now with us.” Look around and see how all creation mysteriously reflects the likeness and image of God. Look at each other and realize that humanity in all its complexity and mystery is uniquely made in the likeness and image of God. The creation stories in the book of Genesis make these truths crystal clear. As Christ’s chosen and intentional followers we are created to represent in our very persons a loving, approachable and personal God in the midst of an imperfect, estranged and fallen world. I believe that humanity’s heart, mind and soul is created to be eternally predisposed to this divine consciousness of Emanuel. The Church’s belief that Jesus Christ is none other than God come in human flesh not only inevitably alters how we see the world and each other as part of God’s creation but also shapes our understanding of our unique missional vocation to be the living expression of God’s presence as the loving redemptive body of Christ today. Christians everywhere in the world need to listen with the ears of God in order to speak the Word of God. The world needs to be inspired and rediscover the wondrous and miraculous story of God’s incarnation in Jesus of Bethlehem. This is not just a Christmas story but a story to be told and lived into each day.

As I mentioned several times during the discernment walkabouts, this past Advent season my spiritual discipline included reading a book by Paul-Gordon Chandler, entitled ‘Songs in Waiting -Spiritual Reflections On Christ’s Birth’ (Morehouse Publishing 2009). Chandler observes that “the entire nativity narrative is a compilation of stories of individuals – Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and Simeon - in immensely discouraging circumstances who were surprised by God and God’s action towards them. It is in the greatest hardships of their (our) lives –genuine ‘wilderness experiences’ – that God comes to surprise them.” (p. 10 ). He then goes on to quote a wonderful Arab proverb which caught my attention. This proverb captures in essence the spirit of both our personal and our communal ‘wilderness experiences’; ‘The further you go into the desert, the closer you come to God’. The appreciative value of any ‘wilderness experience’ is in recognizing that it represents the place where God brings both deliverance and new life. Nevertheless, we know that the process of deliverance and new life also brings both some discomfort as well as unwelcome pain, yet are these not the very channels which enable new vision and new hope?

The desert-like wilderness experience clearly seems to be the spiritual place where our Anglican and other church communities find themselves at the present time in history. I am sensing and observing that today many Christians keenly feel the anxiety and discomfort of discouraging fear and are worrying about the fragile changing circumstances of recent controversial church conflicts, as well as the uncertain phenomenon of pressure politics in communal life. We are rightly concerned about the future unity of our Anglican Communion. Yet, beyond these somewhat mundane institutional problems, complexities and worries is the greater spiritual consciousness we all need to recognize and embrace; ‘God is with us’. No journeys are made in isolation apart from the One who journeyed into this world so that we might learn a more constructive way of living together. Christ is the centre of community/communion and only in Christ are we able to confidently accept all life’s uncertain journeys relying on our faith, hope, trust and love. The Lord of the Church is with us and no foundation can be shaken or broken, and nor can those who live and witness intentionally in Christ be distracted from the unshakable faithfulness we are called to. Our unique Christian missional vocation in Christ Jesus is to be living reflections of the image and likeness of God in this world. Like Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and Simeon we also will be - and should expect to be - surprised by God. The Risen Lord is always near and is the Lord of the Church. It’s good for us to often recite this proverb, ‘The further you go into the desert, the closer you come to God’.

My dear people of faith in Christ Jesus: even now in these uncertain times let us willingly go further into the desert trusting, believing and expecting that we will inevitably come closer to God and in the end be very surprised! Also, let us all listen with the ears of God so that we may only speak the Word of God.

Fr. Michael+
Bishop-Elect

Spring, 2010
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything…” (Phil. 4:4-6)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

C.S. Lewis believed that experiencing the depth of joy in our being, feeling the laughter of the love of life well up in our spirits and burst out of our mouths is a ‘divine gift’ from God. It seems that St. Paul received and learned to cherish this spiritual gift while traveling the difficult road to Damascus. The story of his complicated yet profound witness of life and ministry provides us with a unique dynamic model of Christian witness in an uncertain and dangerous world. The life, mind-set and spirit of St. Paul pervades every aspect of our Anglican community’s witness. God reveals himself in our Lord Jesus, and came into human life so that our joy may be found and be complete. In the New Testament Jesus teaches us about this mystery of intermingled life with God, and that our ‘joy’ comes from the possibility of knowing and loving God in Christ Jesus (John 15:11). Are you experiencing difficulty in finding true joy these days, or feeling genuine joyfulness in today’s difficult and conflicted world? Throughout this Easter-Pentecost season the ongoing story of Christ’s redemptive mission is one in which each one of our lives play a important part. By our desire to serve others and exercise the variety of ministries to which we are called, Christ’s mission in the Church and in the world continues through us.

I believe that the historical and spiritual narrative of the Diocese of the Rio Grande represents not merely the many challenges and accomplishments of your various ministries since 1952 but rather are representative symbols - stories of the joy (divine gift) as well as disappointments you have experienced in carrying out Christ’s mission and witness to the Gospel in the Land of Enchantment. The source and energy of our enthusiasm and joy is in representing Christ and his Church. As the Book of Common Prayer Catechism states, it is ‘in bearing witness to him (Christ) wherever we may be; and according to the gifts given us, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world’. In this way we take our place in the universal life, worship, and governance of the Church (BCP p.855). Your mission statement which describes you as a ‘missionary people’ brings to mind that the imperative mission of Christ’s universal Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. I pray that we will all take this divine mandate very seriously. Let this be our spiritual focus throughout these days of Eastertide and Pentecost. Thanks be to God.

Did you know that in ancient Judaism when a young boy undertook his first lesson in Torah study, an old Hasidic tradition called for a golden drop of honey to be dripped onto the first page of the Torah, reminding the young student of the essential sweetness of God’s word? Several prophets in the Old Testament such as Ezra and Nehemiah would remind the people that joy should be their proper response to God’s word even if it is a necessary word of judgment. For these two prophets, when the walls of the city of Jerusalem are rebuilt, the Word of the Lord will live again in their souls, ears and in their hearts, and the prophets goes on to say, “The joy of the Lord is (the people’s) strength.” This is as true now as it was in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Yes, our humanity is flawed and fractured by our sins and waywardness... and yet we can nevertheless return again and again to the deep well of God’s forgiveness, love, grace and joy through Christ Jesus and draw from him all that we need to refill our waning courage, strength of will and goodness of heart. Joy is our divine destiny. The ministry we do is Christ’s own ministry. The mission we are sent on is Christ’s own mission. Joy is at the heart of Christian life. We in the Diocese of the Rio Grande need to take these New Testament mandates very seriously. Thanks be to God.

The past several years have been filled with global uncertainty - the anxiety caused by wars, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, draught, disease, international conflicts and financial instability - leading many people into a soaring melancholy arising out of a sense of helplessness and fear. Many people in the universal Church of Christ seem overwhelmed by this sense of global crisis and have consequently become spiritually disabled, experiencing no sense of ‘well-being’. The world community in general seems to have become more estranged to Julian of Norwich’s faith that ‘all will be well’ and are unable to cling to a sense of hopefulness. Yet are we not an interdependent global family of One God? The need for every race and nation, creed and religion to acknowledge and realize its dependence upon each other for survival is more critical than ever. In this context we people in New Mexico need to continue a witness to another reality, spiritually rooted in the faith, hope, love and joy found in Christ Jesus. As a constituent part of an international Anglican faith community we still uniquely represent a crossroads of peoples, beliefs and faith traditions as we daily carry out Christ’s work of reconciliation and the proclamation that God’s Holy Spirit is in the mix of humanity’s complexities. Christ draws all people to himself. Our church doors and the doors of our hearts remain constantly open despite the encroaching worldwide dangers and uncertainties. Our confidence and boldness evident in our activities of serving the Lord’s pilgrim people, travelers, refugees and transient poor in both our cities and rural communities is rooted in our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ - ‘the joy of the Lord is strength’ - and arises from the inspiring example of St. Paul, who reached out tirelessly to the poor, despised, displaced and those who were not at first welcomed as believers of God’s kingdom. We pray that our ministries may be vibrant expressions of our faith and that our ever clarifying mission goals become more and more clear. Thanks be to God.

In this Spring season of new beginnings and of new life I urge you to courageously and prayerfully journey into joyful living and hope. Let each one of us take on the Lord’s labors and as individuals and as a community grow in the knowledge of the Lord’s Spirit and divine love graciously given for each of our lives.

‘ Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice’.

Wishing you a Springtime of Easter and Pentecostal JOY

Con el amor en el Senor Jesucristo

Blessings,

Michael+
Bishop-elect

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GREETINGS FROM THE PEOPLE OF ST. PAUL'S WITHIN THE WALLS, ROME

To the people of the Diocese of the Rio Grande:

Blessings and greetings to you on this day, the feast of the Good Shepherd and the anniversary of Italian Liberation. Our hearts are joined with yours in joyful prayer as we celebrate the election of our beloved Rector, The Rev. Dr. Michael L. Vono, as your new Bishop.
We send you these photos as our gift to you on this momentous occasion, and we will be with you in prayer over the next few months as Fr. Michael+ prepares for his new ministry among you. Please keep us also in your prayers as we move into a phase of transition.
May God bless you all,

Maria Grazia Rizzo (Senior Warden)
Robina Kawungu (Junior Warden)
The Vestry and people of St. Paul’s Within the Walls

Rome, 25th April 2010

The People of St. Paul's (taken following the 10:30 AM Eucharist)

The People of St. Paul's (taken following the 1:00 PM Latin American Mass)

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May 25, 2010: Bishop-elect Michael's Pentecost Message to the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande: