Bishop Barbara C. Harris

This morning I woke up to hear the sad news of the demise of Bishop Barbara C. Harris last night. I thought of her as my spiritual mentor.  She took a personal interest in seeing me become a priest in the church, and she advocated for me. It was she who ordained me as a deacon in 2001.  

My love and appreciation for the Episcopal Church grew more as  Diocese of Massachusetts displayed its grit in electing Barbara in 1988 to be consecrated as their suffragan Bishop in 1989 even in the face of the objection of the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of many provinces of Anglican Communion.  For them, still, today, ordaining a woman as a priest is too controversial, let alone consecrating one to be a bishop. I had the privilege of attending her historic consecration at the
Hynes Auditorium in Boston. It was under tight security, as there were death threats against her. Though she was urged to wear a bulletproof vest, she refused. As one can imagine, her consecration to be a bishop was about to usher in a significant sea change in the annals of church history.  As the first-ever female and, to boot, an African American, to become a bishop of an established church was, in her own words, "fresh winds blowing in the church, refreshing to some, frightening to others."

Over the years,  she kept in touch with me to see how I was doing. One of the things I am most grateful to her was that she accepted my invitation to come to St. Peter's in Phoenixville, where I was serving. I still remember the day she came to St. Peter's. It was one of the most bitter cold Sundays in January when our boiler gave out. Still, she preached and officiated at the table and then took off to DC, where she was to attend President Obama's first inaugural festivities in 2009.

With Bishop Harris at the last General Convention

She was a caring person.  When she found out that Susan, Manju, and I were going to South Africa to visit with Ranjit, who was doing an internship there, she helped us with funding our travel.  Three years ago, one day, she called me unexpectedly asking me to find about an inmate at Graterford Prison. For years Barbara had been in touch with this person, and then for some reason, the correspondence stopped.  She wanted me to find out as to what happened because she cared about him. Last time I saw her was at a side event during the General  Convention in Austin, Texas, where she was being honored for trailblazing ministry and advocacy for women and minorities.  She remembered to ask me about my family, especially about Ranjit and his ministry in Connecticut.

One thing I am most indebted to Barbara is her advice for me. I always like to hear her preaching. She was very down to earth and yet very profound, she found sacred even in the most profane. Her irreverent way of saying things endeared the hearts and minds of people and made them look at the Gospel in a fresh and life-giving manner. During my postulancy, one day after hearing her preached an amazing sermon, and I asked her whether she had any advice for me to be able to preach like her. With a smile on her face, she told me, 'Koshy, you will find your own voice."  I thank God for Barbara, for her courage, and for turning things upside down, for her advocacy for the marginalized, the lost, the least and the left out.
Barbara, I miss you. Hope to meet you one day up there.  

Super Tuesday Fallout

I am saddened to know that Elizabeth Warren has ended her candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination on Thursday.  Super Tuesday results closed her progressive path for nomination.  With her exit, the Democratic Party's primary contest is now down to two white male septuagenarians.

In her absence, who would pick up the concerns and issues she raised,  and fight for it as passionately and relentlessly as she did on the campaign trail?   For her, having access to healthcare and education for working families in the US is a must and a right.  Her policies on both these issues, if implemented, would address the ever-widening inequality in the US.

From a faith perspective, inequality is also a moral issue. For the church, it is a cause that requires more than charity, but a problem that needs exploration as to why it persists in the US, a nation founded on Judeo Christian values.  It may get the church into controversial territory.
Late Roman Catholic Arch Bishop of Brazil, Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, says, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

The system in place favors the economically dominant in the world. By and large, they are WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) peoples of the world. Episcopal Bishop, C Andrew Doyle, in his book, Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World, cites from a published paper, "…Americans, as a subset of global citizens, are the weirdest of the WEIRD." The WEIRDs, who make up the system, on their own, are not going to share their privilege or what favors them to achieve equality.  They perceive reality differently from others.  Bible is clear on its indictment against those who make up systems, which stacked against the poor and vulnerable. "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor their right and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:1-2. Gospel envisions an egalitarian society, the hallmark of which is equality.

The policies Warren championed on and promoted through her candidacy, to name a couple, education, and healthcare. Addressing these two key issues alone would bring about a turnaround in an ever-widening inequality in the US. Now that we no longer have that candidate on the trail talking about the problems of the working poor and the marginalized, I hope that the remaining candidates would pick up her legacy and run with it.