EDUSC at the Installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church

by Carrie Graves 

All Hallow’s Eve was a clear-skied, cool day in Washington, DC. The National Cathedral stood out against the sky like a “castle,” as one DC Uber driver put it. The Cathedral was ready for a big event to take place on her grounds and in her sanctuary the next day on All Saints’. Her noonday bells began to clang with Beethoven’s 9^th, followed by Lift Every Voice and Sing, hinting at the cycle of the Good News to take place over the next 24 hours.

All Hallow’s Eve is the time when we, as Christians, can recognize, act out and even laugh at the darkness inside and outside of ourselves, knowing that the next day, we celebrate the community of saints. On the third day, we recognize the redemption of All Souls and the notion that, as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry would say, “All Lives Matter.”

The evening of October 31^st in Georgetown was one of welcome, joy and celebration. Families came out in droves to trick or treat, and the stranger was greeted happily at every door in the neighborhood of Glover Park. The diverse community – students, parents, people of faith from several religious denominations, and an international families– gathered to be together and have fun, laughing at the darkness that separates us during the day.

The next morning brought light rain, a good sign, perhaps, as is told to a bride on her rainy wedding day? By 10:30 am, hundreds of people stood in a semi-circle in front of the Cathedral, excitedly awaiting their turn to enter. The rain had let up, a cool breeze blew, and the international family that comprises The Episcopal Church greeted each other with joy, hinting at what it might be like in the kingdom of heaven, where we are all together, feasting in love as one.

Scotty Burch and Angela Daniel
photo credit Episcopa Diocese
of Upper SC 

As I approached the enormous line with anticipation, I did not expect to see anyone I knew. I heard my name. It was Mary Waldo. I walked a few more feet and saw Scooty Burch and Angela Daniel (Province IV President), two of our deputies to General Convention, at which we elected our new Presiding Bishop this summer in Salt Lake City.

Scooty’s husband, Dr. Earl Burch, had traveled across the sea to Haiti the day before in his role as EDUSC Partnership Cange Coordinator. Yet the Bishop of Haiti was just across the driveway from us in Washington, DC, perhaps having crossed Earl in the air on Saturday? Father

Father Casseus
photo credit
Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

Casseus, Canon to the Ordinary to the Diocese of Haiti, stood in line in front of the Cathedral. The web of connection was almost tangible. The line continued to grow into what was “one of the longest lines in Cathedral history,” according to a staff person.

Looking to the center I saw a straight line of bishops making a cross through the semi-circle of congregants. Bishop Waldo came scooting up to his place in line with an excited air. Getting permission from Cathedral staff, I ran over to greet him. Seconds later Bishop Gene Robinson walked up to greets us both – all together for this happy occasion, regardless of doctrinal position.

Bishop Waldo
before the service
photo credit
Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

It was time for me to head to the east end of the Cathedral, where I could enter the South Balcony for my press seat. And then... it was time to get up and run back to the front of the Cathedral to await Bishop Curry’s knock for entry to the Cathedral.

By this time the sun was shining brightly on the Presiding Bishop’s head.

Bishop Curry seeks entry to the Cathedral
photo credit Episcopal Diocese Upper SC

(According to the Canons of The Episcopal Church, Bishop Curry became our Presiding Bishop on November 1, which began at midnight the night before.) He waited peacefully on the Cathedral steps for the sign to request entry to the Cathedral where he would be installed (an installation is literally the sitting of a bishop in the bishop’s seat in his or her cathedral).

Bishop Curry enters the Cathedral
photo credit Episcopal Diocese
of Upper SC

After the knock the seconds ticked by timelessly, Bishop Curry jovially wondering if he might be granted entrance after all. The time finally came. The Great West Doors opened, and the Presiding Bishop, mitre on his head and staff in hand, entered. Those of us with cameras and a press pass ran back around the east end and plunged into the medieval-style winding stone staircase to the south balcony, still blinded by the sun, trying not to fall on our faces.

Words echoed from the back of the nave:

Dear friends in Christ, we bring before you this pastor and bishop who has served among us faithfully. With gratitude in our hearts, we send him forth to be Chief Pastor and Primate of this Church.

Tell us who you are.

I am Michael Bruce Curry, a child of God, baptized in St. Simon of Cyrene Church on May 3, 1953, and since that time I have sought to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.

Our 26^th Presiding Bishop, The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, blessed water. She and Bishop Curry practically danced up the nave to Wade in the Water, asperging the congregation. Approaching the Great Choir, Bishop Curry was led to the Presiding Bishop’s stall:

Bishop's Stall at WNC
photo credit Episopal Diocese of Upper SC

On this historic day we extend to you the hospitality of the Cathedral Church for the exercise of your ministry, and invite you to take your seat in this chair, which is symbolic of the office of Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and Primate.

After kneeling and praying, Bishop Curry joined Bishop Katharine in front of the altar to receive the Pastoral Staff, symbol of his authority and ministry as Chief Pastor and Primate of The Episcopal Church.

Bishop Curry accepted, and Bishop Katharine

Bishop Katharine
hugs Bishop Curry
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

threw her arms around him in a gesture of love and gratitude for his service and ministry.

The Liturgy of the Word was filled with prayers, songs and lessons read and sung in different languages and styles, representing the worldwide presence of The Episcopal Church and connecting us across all cultural traditions within the Church.

And then, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the preaching! Michael Curry doesn’t preach without exclamation points. You can watch his sermon here:

Bishop Curry’s faithful love of all people rang through in his words, sharing the love of Jesus with ALL people. He urged us to care for Mother Earth and every person that dwells here with us, letting no child starve, enivisoning "a new heaven and a new earth." This is the Jesus Movement, Curry announced. We are his disciples. We are all part of the Jesus Movement.

Perhaps the most moving part of the sermon is the story he told about a black couple, she an Episcopalian, he studying to be a Baptist minister. They attended worship one Sunday in the 1940s at an Episcopal Church – before Rosa Parks sat down on the bus and while Martin Luther King was still in seminary. They approached the rail for communion. Bishop Curry, in his traditional humor-filled preaching style (see the list of Top Ten Things Most Likely to Be Heard in a Michael Curry Sermon here), acted out the role of the priest bearing the wine who had only one cup. What to do?!

That couple were served from the one cup. (Equipped with hyper-zoom vision it’s likely we could have seen goosebumps on the arms of the people in the Cathedral in that moment.) The man decided right there that any church where black and white could be served from one cup was a church he wanted to be a part of. He hadn't thought that could happen in America. Spoiler Alert: Bishop Curry stated that the couple were the parents of your Presiding Bishop. Silence followed…

This story is perhaps most powerful to those of us in the South, who also probably cannot imagine this event occurring in America before desegregation. Bishop Curry used the story to highlight that his ministry in the next nine years will be about reconciliation of all people, but that a key stepping stone to the coming of the kingdom is racial reconciliation in the United States. (If you haven’t watched A Seat at the Table, an ETV documentary on race reconciliation, you may view it here.)

The Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

The Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls sang Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory as the offertory hymn. The sounds of loud singing, timpani and drums filled the Cathedral.

Bishop Curry began to celebrate his first Holy Eucharist as Presiding Bishop. After his blessing the bread and wine, all sang the Lord’s Prayer (Albert Hay Malotte 1895 – 1964). 

Holding hands in the north transept
during the Lord's Prayer
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

In the north transept, clergy and communicants held hands across the aisle. Midway down the nave, the acolytes held hands. On either side of the nave, bishops, communicants, and staff held hands. At the doxology (For thine is the kingdom…) the people raised their held hands, gently lowering them back down to land with the Amen. It was a Kairos moment.

Hands raised and held during the doxology in the nave
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

For the closing hymn, all sang a joy-filled rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing. It was three hours after the procession began. 

And then the people exited to wait in line. For nearly three more hours Bishop Curry stood, guarded by police officers and surrounded by a near mob, greeting and loving and hugging and blessing everyone who came into his presence. One young police officer stated, “This is like the Pope came back!”

At one point during the receiving event, a tall priest came rambling up beside the line saying “I gotta cut to the front of the line. I got a plane to catch.” As he got closer he began shouting, “That’s MY son! That’s MY son!” Again, goosebumps all around as people scrambled to get out their cameras and phones to capture a proud mother and father with their son.

Bishop Curry with his father
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

Bishop Curry with his parents
photo credit Episcopal Diocese of Upper SC

On All Saints' Day, the National Cathedral looked down to her front lawn to see people from all cultures, countries, and even religious traditions gathered together to celebrate their common bond in the love of God, just a few blocks away from historic Holy Rood Cemetery. The night before, that cemetery was the perfect scene for a Halloween story. The next day, it was the burial place of saints, 1,000 of whom are African American, slave and free. Burials no longer take place in this cemetery that stands at the highest point in Washington, DC. May we no longer bury our bonds with all people as the children of God.

The people of EDUSC welcome the one who is sent, The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, first among equals. We look forward to our shared ministry with you as the people of The Episcopal Church.