Congregation Visitations: Spring 2024
Here you’ll find stories and reflections about Bishop Skirving’s visits to congregations around the diocese this Spring, in order of recency.
June
June 2, 2024: St. Paul’s, Beaufort
This morning, Sandy and I worshipped with the people of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort NC. A largely full church was led with great music, and we sang well! Lots of women and men, younger and older, were confirmed and received or reaffirmed their baptismal vows. I had the chance for lots of good conversations during the reception, and then a time to meet with the Vestry. Really great to hear about all of the ways that this congregation is reaching out to its community! Grateful to be with rector, the Rev. Tambria Lee, and associate rector, the Rev. Ashley Simpson, and with all of the people of St. Paul’s. With our recent move, this is now my shortest Sunday morning drive …all of 5.4 miles and 11 minutes!
May
May 25, 2024: Ordinations at St. John’s, Fayetteville
What a great day in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, as we gathered at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville for the ordination of Jon Sargeant and Matt Overturf as deacons! They’re in the front row, to the right.
It struck me today that ordaining women and men for diaconal and priestly ministries, and equipping all of the baptized for their various ministries are amongst the most important things we can do as an Episcopal diocese. Pretty obvious, right? But it is good to be reminded!
May 12, 2024: St. Mary’s, Burgaw
Today I worshiped with the people of Saint Mary’s Church Burgaw NC. A beautiful church, lovingly maintained by its members. Meeting with the Vestry before worship, I was able to learn more about the congregation’s engagement in serving the needs of its community, and something of their hopes and dreams for their future. The congregation has had a long-term relationship with St. James Parish in Wilmington and its clergy, and now enjoys the Sunday morning leadership of a number of Lutheran and Episcopal clergy.
May 6, 2024: St. James and St. Paul’s, Wilmington
May 6, 2024: St. James and St. Paul’s, Wilmington Visits
A happy, high-energy morning with the people of St. James Parish in Wilmington, with worship at 8am and 10:15am and a number of Christian formation events between services, including one gathering that asked the intriguing question “Why a Diocese?” A great group of teens and adults were confirmed, received or reaffirmed their baptismal vows. I managed to leave my sermon notes in the vesting room …twice …and yet I think God’s Holy Spirit carried me/us through alright! Great to reconnect with so many members who are or who have been leaders at St. James and/or in the wider Church. Lots of signs that God is continuing to do new things in the midst of the people of this congregation!
Sunday part two – an afternoon visit with the people of St Paul’s Episcopal Church_Wilmington NC. We started with worship in their beautiful church, with three confirmed and two who reaffirmed their faith. Then we gathered for an “indoor” picnic in the parish hall …standing room only …while many wandered outside to join in a plant sale/exchange/give-away. Meanwhile, their senior warden gave me an overview of their plans to make their facility more accessible and to update and refresh other parts of their historic space.
Another wonderful day in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, as I joined with faithful communities of people committed to living their faith in ways that will be of benefit to those around them! To God be the glory!
April
April 21, 2024: St. Anne’s, Jacksonville
Some Sundays I forget to take my camera out of my pocket …so this week I’ll just share the link to the livestream recording of today’s worship: https://fb.watch/rERIo0rUvR/. Thanks to the people of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church-Jacksonville, NC for continuing to share livestreams of their weekly worship! Amongst those who join with them this way is a young marine who is away from Camp Lejeune on deployment.
I’ll also share the link to their website …just in case you know someone whom God might be calling to be their next priest! Have a look, and share this as you wish: https://stannesjaxnc.org
Worship this morning was high in energy and enthusiasm, with perhaps more children present than I have ever seen there before. Shelby was confirmed and Chris was received. It was a joy to be with this congregation!
April 14, 2024: St. Luke’s/St. Anne’s, Roper; Grace, Plymouth; and St. James, Belhaven
April 14, 2024: St. Luke’s/St. Anne’s, Roper, etc. Visit
Some of us gathered for a photograph after worship at St. Luke’s and St. Anne’s in Roper this morning. Maurice Hill (two to my right) publicly reaffirmed the vows of his baptism today. This is a congregation with a remarkable history!
The Rev. Tommy Drake offers the dismissal after a celebration at Grace Church in Plymouth that included the baptism of an infant and the reception into The Episcopal Church of an adult. I love the bright blue sky and gold stars on the ceiling over the altar, and appreciate the fabricate art which hangs during the season of Easter.
St James Episcopal Church in Belhaven was packed full this afternoon for a service that included the confirmation of twenty young people and the first communion for one young girl. Just before offering the blessing, I asked the congregation to smile and wave, as a greeting to the wider Church. The leadership of St. James Church works hard to welcome members of the local Latino community, and have been doing so for many years! Many thanks to Martha Gonzalez for interpreting my words today for the benefit of the Spanish-only speakers!
Before they headed over to the parish hall for cake, I asked those who had just been confirmed, and the one who’d had her first communion, to take time to pose for a picture for me.
What a day! Today, I got to join the people of St. Luke’s & St. Anne’s in Roper, of Grace, Plymouth, and of St. James, Belhaven as our Easter celebrations continue. The people of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina are diverse in most every way you can measure it, and today it was my privilege to lead worship and preach in three remarkably different congregations that are within a relatively short drive of each other. I’ll share some story with each of the pictures.
Grateful to be able to spend much of the day with the Rev. Tommy Drake, with whom it was a pleasure to serve!
April 13, 2024: New Beginnings, Trinity Center, and Daughters of the King, St. Timothy’s, Greenville
April 13, 2024: New Beginnings and Daughters of the King
A busy weekend in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, with a New Beginnings weekend at Trinity Center and a gathering of the The Order of the Daughters of the King, Inc. at Saint Timothy’s Episcopal, Greenville NC.
New Beginnings is a Christian faith formation ministry with middle school youth led by high school youth and supported by adults. Grateful that I was able to stop in briefly yesterday as the leadership was finishing its setup. Lots of excitement! Thanks to all involved with Christian Formation in the Diocese of East Carolina!
The Daughters of the King is an international ministry for women focused on prayer, service and evangelism, with chapters in many of the congregations of our diocese. Glad that I could be with them for their annual assembly.
Tomorrow holds visits for me with our congregations in Roper (9:30am), Plymouth (11am) and Belhaven (3pm) …pictures and stories to follow!
April 7, 2024: St. Andrew’s, Goldsboro
On the Sunday that we proclaim the words of Jesus to his followers, “Peace be with you!’ I worshiped in a church with a dove in the window over the altar! It was great to celebrate Easter 2 with the saints of Saint Andrew’s Church in Goldsboro, and to share in good and creative conversation with them about the ways that God is calling them forward!
March
March 31, 2024: St. Francis by the Sea, Salter Path
March 31, 2024: St. Francis by the Sea, Salter Path Visit
As if a sunrise service at the beach was not wonderful enough, I was also privileged to be able to celebrate Easter worship with the people of Saint Francis by the Sea in Salter Path at both 9 & 11am. Not too many empty seats, great music, an enthusiastic welcome to visitors and great clergy and lay leadership that made it easy for me to join them. Alleluia! Christ is risen!
March 31, 2024: St. Andrew’s, Morehead City at Trinity Center
Alleluia! Christ is risen! So grateful to be able to join the people of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Morehead City, NC in an Easter sunrise service at the beach pavilion at Trinity Center. The pavilion was filled with people as we dedicated a new font, baptized Tina, shared communion and watched the sunrise. The birds sang, the surf rolled in and dolphins were spotted! What a glorious way to celebrate Easter morning!
March 24, 2024: Holy Trinity, Hertford
An enthusiastic “in person” congregation was joined by others via livestream today, as the people of The Church of the Holy Trinity in Hertford NC celebrated Palm/Passion Sunday with a bell choir prelude, a carefully crafted liturgy with the reading of the Passion and great singing, and with a wonderful reception afterward. My meditation focused on the apostle Paul’s words from Philippians 2: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
Many thanks to the lay leadership who, with good support from supply clergy, are guiding the congregation during their time of transition between rectors.
March 17, 2024: Trinity, Lumberton
A joyful morning with the people of Trinity Episcopal Church in Lumberton. Five were confirmed and two were received. It was great to be with them in their church again. The last time I was there they were deep into overhauling their ventilation system with all sorts of related renovations, and they were worshiping in their parish hall. What a beautiful job they’ve done!
Pictured are those confirmed and received, with their sponsors and with Cherry Beasley and the Rev. Gene Wayman who prepared them for today’s service.
And then, as always, a lovely and peaceful drive home through this peaceful and beautiful slice of God’s creation that I am blessed to call home!
March 10, 2024: Church of the Good Shepherd, Wilmington
A great welcome this morning from the people of the Church of the Good Shepherd Wilmington NC! Members of this “lay led” congregation did a superb job of planning and leading our liturgy, with an inspired singing of “Amazing Grace” during communion. Over coffee and cake, we had an enthusiastic conversation about where these people believe God to be leading them, with lots of good questions for me about potential clergy availability. All of this and a beautiful drive there and home through coastal East Carolina. #gratitude
February 27-March 5, 2024: House of Bishops Retreat
House of Bishops Retreat 2024
The House of Bishops, Spring 2024 edition, as posed this morning at Camp Allen. Thanks to Bishop Frank Logue for pulling us together and for taking this photo. It’s always good to have a record of our changing face(s)! As many of my colleagues have shared, when posting this same picture, 36% of the members of the House of Bishops are now women! What an incredible and wonderful transformation during my 9+ years as bishop!
A peaceful look out into the piney woods of Texas, from my room at Camp Allen. That’s where the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church is gathering for its spring retreat. Have already had some good conversations with colleagues, and I’m looking forward to all that God’s Spirit will bring us during this week together.
With colleagues Alan Gates (Massachusetts) and Brian Seage (Mississippi), I have been a member of the 2014 class of bishops in @theepiscopalchurch Tonight might have been our “last supper” together, as Alan and Brian will retire before our next House of Bishops gathering, leaving me as something of a “free agent” I suppose. I remain so grateful for their friendship and wise counsel! Thanks to Alan for the photo!
Enjoying some quiet moments before Sunday worship. This has been a very prayerful time with our House of Bishops. I am grateful for all of my colleagues who have planned for and led our time together, and I am grateful for good and holy conversations.
Time to say “hasta luego” to the members of my House of Bishops table group, including Dean E. Wolfe (Kansas, res.) Craig Loya (Minnesota), Cristobal Leon (Ecuador Littoral) and Elias Garcia Cardenas (Colombia). We are one of the two or three table groups that includes both Spanish and English speaking bishops. With the help of our wonderful interpreter, Gabriela, our conversations reflected a rich diversity of experiences and context. Lots to learn from one another!
February
February 18, 2024: Blessed Absalom Jones Service at St. Augustine’s, Kinston
February 18, 2024: Absalom Jones at St. Augustine’s, Kinston
Great to join with folks from across The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina this afternoon for a celebration in honor of Blessed Absalom Jones, hosted at St. Augustine’s Church in Kinston. The Rev. Skip Walker was our preacher. Thanks to everyone who planned and led our worship, and who provided such great hospitality.
January
January 21, 2024: Zion, Washington
January 21, 2024: Zion, Washington Visit
Lively, joyful worship and a relaxed, scrumptious meal waited for all who gathered at Zion Episcopal Church (Washington, North Carolina) this morning. Five members were confirmed and two were received. This congregation raises tens of thousands of dollars every year for local outreach ministries, by hosting regular rummage sales that draw lots of support from the wider community. Thanks to the Rev. Alan Neale and the whole congregation for the warm hospitality and for their faithful ministry. I’ll add captions with each photograph.