“Sharing in the reconciling, liberating, jubilee ministry of God”
By the Right Reverend Thomas Clark Ely, Bishop of Vermont
Mountain Echo, November 2002
The Gospel of Luke (4:14-21) records that after our Lord’s baptism in the Jordan river, and the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returned to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit,” went to the synagogue in Nazareth, and read these words from the book of the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Isaiah 61:1,2)
When he had finished reading, Jesus made the bold claim that these prophetic words, once spoken as encouragement to the Hebrew people in exile, were being fulfilled in the hearing of those assembled. On that Sabbath day, the reconciling, liberating, jubilee mission of God was articulated loud and clear. In Jesus, this reconciling, liberating, jubilee mission was fully incarnate—alive and ready for action!
In my travels around the diocese, I am impressed by the myriad ways in which the congregations of our diocese and its people are sharing in this reconciling, liberating, jubilee mission of God. Good News is being preached to the poor, with words and concrete actions that reach out to provide relief to people in need, and which also seek to address the root causes of poverty. Release from any number of circumstances that hold people captive is being proclaimed, again not just in words but in actions—literacy volunteers, mental health services, career counseling, elderly services, youth enrichment and twelve-step programs, to name just a few. Ministries of healing and restoration abound.
The oppressed of all ages have their liberty proclaimed and their lives affirmed in and through our witness for interfaith social justice and outreach at the local and diocesan level, as well as through advocacy efforts and our commitment to open and inclusive communities of faith. Our efforts in support of peace-making, dismantling racism, accessible health care, affordable housing, livable wage and anti-hunger initiatives all help us to proclaim, with Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, the “acceptable year of the Lord.” This is what Jubilee Ministry is all about. This is powerful, Spirit-filled Evangelism!
Since 1982, the Episcopal Church has embraced Jubilee Ministry as a way for congregations and individuals to live out an important dimension of our faith, the faith of Jesus proclaimed in that Nazareth synagogue so long ago [many General Convention resolutions speak to this]. In most dioceses there are Jubilee Ministry Officers who work with the Episcopal Church Jubilee Office to encourage, highlight and support Jubilee Ministry and the congregations engaged in this ministry. From the national church Jubilee Ministry web site we read:
The mission of Jubilee Ministry is to make a direct and dynamic link between our theology and our ethics. Said another way, to connect the talk of our faith and the walk of our faith. As Christians we do this by calling the church to live out its prophetic role of empowering local people to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God” (Micah 6:8) responding to the Gospel’s call to “feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned” (Matthew 25:35).
Many congregations throughout the Episcopal Church have been designated as Jubilee Ministry Centers. When I was serving in Connecticut, one of the congregations I served was so designated because of their Food Pantry ministry, their After School Enrichment Program and their English as a Second Language Program. I think many congregations in the Diocese of Vermont are doing comparable ministries and would qualify as Jubilee Ministry Centers. Perhaps you are a member of such a congregation or organization that should be designated as a Jubilee Ministry Center?
What is a Jubilee Ministry Center? Again from the national church Jubilee Ministry web site we read:
A Jubilee Ministry Center is a congregation, an ecumenical cluster with an Episcopal presence, or an agency with connections to the Episcopal Church, already engaged in mission and ministry among and with poor and oppressed people. Each program comes out of the history of its community.
An opportunity to learn more about the Episcopal Church’s Jubilee Ministry Program will happen in Vermont during the weekend of December 6-8, 2002. The Reverend Carmen Guerrero, Episcopal Church Officer for Jubilee Ministry, will be in Vermont that weekend for conversation about Jubilee Ministry. There will be several opportunities to hear her speak and answer questions [See box below]. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Jubilee Ministry and consider whether your parish is interested in pursuing designation as a Jubilee Center. Again, based on my past experience, I think many of our congregations already meet the criteria for being so designated.
To help lead us more deeply in this exploration, I have appointed Keri Aubert, from Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Burlington and Susanna Grannis from Saint Luke’s, Chester, as co-Jubilee Ministry Officers for Vermont. I hope you will support them in this ministry and I hope you will take the time to learn more about Jubilee Ministry. Please mark your calendars and make plans to attend one of these conversations. In the power of the Spirit that inspired Jesus, I hope you will continue to share in the reconciling, liberating, jubilee ministry of God!
In the power of the Spirit,
+Thomas
Copyright ® 2002, The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. All rights Reserved.