Wednesday, June 23, 2021

The Bishop Discusses Racism

 

We have had our "new" bishop for a while now, but I had never seen him in person until he came to the potluck last week. Tonight I was originally planning to donate blood, but I mentioned to my neighbor that the bishop was giving a talk about racism, and she said, "Go to that. You can always give blood, but this is a one-off. They won't even ask why if you cancel, because people do all the time if they're not feeling well." So this morning I rescheduled the blood donation, and then I tried to call the number to RSVP for the bishop's talk, but it didn't even ring. I found a website and sent a message that way but never heard back. Anyway, the announcement on the diocesan website said RSVP's were encouraged but not necessary, so I figured it was okay to go. First I had to go to the Killer Building, and this time I took the bus because we didn't have band practice, since we had a gig on Monday. This is the first time I've used the bus pass I bought back in August last year, and they still make you wear a mask on the bus, and even at the bus stop. On the way home, one of my bus buddies was on the bus too, so that was fun. Then I didn't have much time before driving to St. James for the bishop's talk. It was a very good talk, where he acknowledged that he didn't have all the answers, but I think the fact that he's even discussing the issue is a huge step in the right direction. He was previously the bishop of Gary, Indiana, and as a young priest he served in the Dominican Republic, so at least he has some experience with nonwhite parishioners. We also got to sing some spirituals, and then afterwards there was a reception, and I ran into some people I knew and stayed way longer than I'd been planning. I was just trying to log into Night Prayer when Rich texted that it was over. Oops! But I think it's allowed to miss Night Prayer for other spiritual pursuits, like listening to the bishop discuss racism.


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