“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”

These words, written by Martin Luther, are sitting in a frame, almost unread, on a wall of the Carriage House. I say “almost unread” because though I saw them every day, they never registered. Until now. This week, I actually noticed, and read Luther’s extraordinary articulation of “process” as the fundamental fact of existence, for the first time. And so, as happens often these days, my thoughts turn to St. Martin’s. Luther reminds me of the process of transformation happening all around us here in this community. We are in the midst of both being and becoming all at once. As we are told of the Kingdom of God, it is both here and not yet, or as Jesus tells his frightened disciples, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.” (John 7:6)

Our time is always here. That pretty much sums up the spirit occurring at St. Martin’s. Ours is not a community that trumpets it’s righteousness, but rather one in which we grow together toward an experience of God’s righteousness founded on love and its effects. For us health is not merely a destination for ourselves, but the nurturing of all life, every atom being that which was created by God. We are always in the living, always forward-breaching experience of becoming.

I must tell you how moving I am finding our biblical studies together on Wednesdays. We have two groups, one at 10:00AM, and another at 7:00PM. Right now we are traversing the deep beauty of Genesis and each conversation is different, but the depths upon depths we are able to plumb together are incredibly inspiring. As we find ourselves in the biblical stories, we are also bringing forth our lives into the inquiry. We are learning from one another how the spirit of creation comes and goes, is felt and is gone, and returns unexpectedly, in our day-to-day lives. We are exploring the exquisite in the quotidian, and it’s so much fun. This mysterious biblical message of the living God, buried in these stories, somehow brings us closer together in our common humanity, and allows us to get to know each other in unexpected ways. This all is a path we walk with God together, and it is best when shared.
We also just finished our Sacred Portion stewardship season, and it was deep, devotional, and a success. And, in this amazing process of becoming that we are about here, Sacred Portion is the perfect entre into the powerful and empowering conversation we are engaging around re-missioning St. Martin’s parish. In the coming weeks we will be taking council among ourselves, and choosing what we wish to proclaim about who we are, and who we are becoming, to the world. All of us in this community are invited and welcomed into this process. As we have been saying, now we get to imagine and live a wonderful church into a new being. And that new being will be brought about by us through the spirit of God manifest in Christ. This is a huge and unexpected gift, and an opportunity of mighty proportions.

May the blessings of God be seen and known and embodied through us, and let us be a people of lovingness and respect for all, growing into the fullness of Christ, together.

Peace,

Chris +

The Rev. Christopher Bishop was born in Cincinnati Ohio in 1960, the son of an Episcopal priest and an art historian. Chris left the fold of the church at a young age to explore life and spiritual matters on his own. In college at St. Lawrence University he discovered the world of the arts and majored in Theater.

Upon graduation, Christopher headed to New York City to pursue a career in the theater. While there he took up an active interest in writing for the screen, and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting and Directing from Columbia University. For the next 10 years, Chris worked as a film maker and founding partner in a film, video and animation company in Manhattan. During these years, though pursuing his passion for the visual and creative arts, it became clear that there was something missing from his life. Chris was drawn back to the community of the church, joined a parish, and began offering his services to the media division at the National Church.

In 2001, Chris moved to Northern Michigan, and this proved to be the time when he began to discern the presence of the Holy Spirit actively asserting itself in his life. Chris began reading the Morning Office at his parish, entered into an inquiry of faith with his priest, and began to experience first the inkling, and then the insistent call, to ordained ministry.

In 2004, he began his seminary studies at the General Theological Seminary in New York, and later studied at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia. Christopher was ordained as a transitional deacon, and later as a priest, in the Diocese of Philadelphia in 2007.

The Reverend Bishop’s first call was to All Saints Parish in Hoboken, NJ, where he served as Associate Priest and School Chaplain. In June of 2011, Chris was called to be Priest-in-Charge by the Vestry of St. Martin’s Church, Radnor. Here at St. Martin’s, Chris has been humbled and inspired by the tremendous lovingness and spirit of this community, and is excited to be accompanying St. Martin’s in its vibrant life of faith.