The Rt. Rev. Graham Kings

The Rt. Rev. Graham Kings perfectly played the role of setup man during Friday night’s Eucharist at the Forty-Eighth Annual Convention of The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida.

Kings, much like a point guard in basketball or middle reliever in baseball, set the stage for what was to come. He regaled attendees with a touch of Anglican history, two poems he wrote, and stories of missions and evangelism.

One such story involved the Rendille people in Kenya. A national bishop traveled from Marsabit and shared Jesus with the unreached group. Afterward, some of the tribe asked if they could pray to this Jesus. The bishop said yes, and the people prayed for water, a much-needed commodity in the semi-arid dessert. Of course, soon after they prayed, the Rendille started digging.

“They found water,” said Kings, in Orlando for the second time in less than a year and less than a week after his father’s death. “They named the well The Jesus Well. So when other Rendille came for water and asked who Jesus was, the story continued.”

That kind of ongoing evangelism is what the world needs, according to Kings. From his poem, “The Resistance Movement,” written during Holy Week in 1987 and referring to Martin Luther, Rosa Parks and Mother Teresa, Kings said, “What we need today in the United States of America and throughout the whole world is people like Luther, Parks, and Mother Teresa.

“We need those people in this diocese,” he continued. “There might be people in this room who can hear a call to do that—to be part of the Kingdom of God because this is God’s Resistance Movement.”

King’s call to action provided the perfect setup for the theme of the convention: “Forming Partnerships for the Great Commission.”