Diocese of Montana Newsletter, April 2021
By Bishop Marty Stebbins
An Empty Tomb
What do you do with an empty tomb? Empty tombs mean that there is nothing dead remaining. But we use tombs to hide dead, rotting things. I am not talking about physical bodies, though we could when you think that over a half million Americans died that may not have otherwise died. Mostly what I am referring to is those parts of our lives which are not the Good News. As we live our lives, we fill a tomb within our souls of all the hate, fear, biases, wrong desires and actions and the inactions that prevent us from living fully within Christ. Then Jesus does that radical love action and dies on a Roman cross, condemned by his own people. And why? Because he loved and empowered people who society said were not worthy. He spoke truth to the powers of this world which only like the truth that they generate themselves. He emptied out the soul tombs of countless people by saying their sins were forgiven and healing them. (Click here to continue reading)
Click here to read the complete newsletter, including the following:
- An Empty Tomb, by Bishop Marty Stebbins
- Partners for Sacred Places
- New Dollars/New Partners Training
- COVID-19 update
- Diocesan Calendar
- Ecumenical Dialogues and Interreligious Organizations
- Faith Climate Action Week
- The Way of Love: Zoom classes begin April 6
- Camp Marshall: Grace Family Camp and Family Camps
- Finance Corner, by Barb Hagen: Laundry Art
- Camp Marshall Summer Staffing
- Anti-Racism Training
- Grace Camp Quilting Retreat: April 15-18, 2021
- WEBS 2021 Spring Book Study
- Episcopal Church House of Bishops: Sermon from the Presiding Bishop
- Scholarships needed: Camp Marshall
- Camp Marshall Labor of Love weekend, April 9-10
- UTO Corner, by Vicki Van Rensselaer
- Celebrate Camp Marshall Weekend: August 13-15