There is no them

I begin this morning with a definition clarification: In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a bishop is a man ordained and set apart to lead a local congregation, known as a ward. He is the presiding high priest of the ward, responsible for both spiritual and temporal needs of the members. Bishops serve without pay, are usually married, and typically serve for five years.  ( Google AI Overview ) Bishops are different in The Episcopal Church They are part of the professional clergy of The Episcopal Church with seminary education required, experience first as a Priest, and are inclusive in gender, sexuality, race and marital status.   Bishops represent Christ and his church, and they are called to provide Christian vision and leadership for their dioceses. The Book of Common Prayer (p. 855) notes that the bishop is “to act in Christ's name for the reconciliation of the world and the building up of the church; and to ordain others to continue Chr...

Pentecost is often referred to as the birth of the church: the start of the full understanding of Christian truth.   Pentecost is also sometimes described as God’s reversal of the Tower of Babel: building on what was broken when the languages were scattered. The story of the Tower of Babel, from the 11th chapter of Genesis, answers a question that many an inquisitive child has likely asked a parent: Why are there so many different people and languages in the world? The story tells us that once upon a time, the whole earth had one language. A group of people migrated to a new land, and started building a city, and then decided that they would build a tower with its tops in the heavens. The motivation for this tower is “To make a name for ourselves, otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the whole earth.” In other words, the tower was an attempt to consolidate sameness into a channeled power: power that was believed could rival God’s power, reaching the very heavens. God comes ...