Ubuntu

As I wrote yesterday, I am in Anaheim, California for The General Convention of The Episcopal Church. The theme for this once every three years meeting is "Ubuntu, I in You and You in Me." It was spelled out at length in a book by the Rev. Micahel Battle sent to deputies in advance of the convention. Those of us in the Diocese of Georgia know Michael Battle as he has spoken to us in our diocesan convention and taught at Honey Creek.

Michael did the Church a service in traveling to South Africa to study with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and learn from his battle against Apartheid. From this, he came to write about the theology of Ubuntu, a difficult to translate word that reveals the African thought that I am because we are. I find my identity in us.

It is a very African way of approaching both philosophy and theology and it is deeply grounded in scripture. Christianity has always been a team sport and even solo Christians (hermits for example) know that they are "a part of the main" to borrow a phrase from Anglican poet John Donne.

So I am at The General Convention, fully entering into my own small role in this large meeting, knowing that I need the Body of Christ (those with whom I agree as well as those who make me embarrassed to be Christian) and it is in that Body that I myself am found. Because of Christ's presence in y'all, I am.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
Clergy Deputy, Diocese of Georgia