“If you are a Christian, your family is not just the people with the same last name as you, but those baptized in the same name as you. “

The above quote is from the Rev. Sam Allberry—a priest in the Church of England. Although it is not unusual for a bishop in The Episcopal Church to make a point using a quote from a British cleric, outside of such Anglican circles, it is a rare event. We say up front that we are an international church—and claim both history and the Bible as our precedents. Though there are forces within our country that would draw us more inward, the Bible does exactly the opposite. The biblical and Anglican vision of the church encompasses people from “every tribe, tongue, language, people, and nation” (Revelation 5, 14, and Book of Common Prayer,  p. 93). We routinely quote as authoritative references from a book, the Bible, which has its origins in the Middle East. Many of our leaders crisscross the globe in humanitarian outreach.

In our Sunday Cycle of Prayer, we join with Christians from around the world to regularly pray for Christians regardless of their race or national origin. As the hymn says of the church’s ministry of prayer, “Through all the world her watch is keeping and rests not now by day or night” (1982 Hymnal, Hymn 24). In our view of the church and the church’s mission, our vision is local, national, and global. Thus, in our day, Christian missionaries are not just sent out from the West, but also come from countries all over the globe, some of whom have come to evangelize the United States.

If the church in Indonesia, North Korea, or Saudi Arabia is suffering, it is axiomatic that we will pray for them, offer humanitarian aid when needed, and take their concerns as our own. We never say, “If they are not from the United States, I don’t have to care about them.” Quite the opposite. Our Christian sisters and brothers are co-equal members of God’s household, and we care for their well-being, both in sentiment as well as practical ways. They are our Christian family.

Though we live in one locale and focus much of our ministry in that locale (and appropriately so), our scope, even at the local level, is meant not only to be local but also international. Given the pressures on Christians in so many places (particularly where Christians are persecuted or poverty is rampant), the Anglican Communion needs us. Plus, we need them. We need to hear their voices, to listen to the scriptures from their perspective, and to pay heed to the challenges they face.  Such interactions change us and them, making both of us more deeply Christian.

It is for all these reasons the theme of our upcoming Diocesan Convention is “Forming Partnerships for the Great Commission.” The Global Anglican Communion is a gift, and, by virtue of our identity as Episcopalians, we are a part of it. My hope is that God will use this convention to invite us more deeply into this global enterprise and to find new ways to serve in the name of Jesus Christ.

Grace to you,

Bishop Gregory O. Brewer

Want to hear more from Bishop Brewer? Read his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.