Diocese of Albany 'in good heart'
Bishop Harold writes from the our link diocese of Albany in New York State...
A group of eleven from the Diocese of Down and Dromore arrived safely at the 2011 Albany Convention after spending some time in local parishes. The Convention is held in a wonderful Pentecostal Centre in the Adirondack mountains called 'The Camp of the Woods', which can accommodate around 1000 people, and the numbers attending the Convention each year are not far from that.
It is like being at a mix between a Diocesan Synod and Summer Madness. While the diocesan business is conducted in as efficient and speedy a way as is possible, there are also wonderful worship experiences and many workshops. This year, titles included: ‘After the healing God fills us with strength’, ‘Anglicanism and the Bible: Yesterday and Today’, and ‘Art Making as Praise and Worship’, - and those are only the ones listed under the letter ‘A’!
But what do we notice about our twin diocese of Albany this Pentecost weekend. Well, first of all, it is in good heart. Things have not been easy for and in the Episcopal Church, but the Diocese of Albany, orthodox and conservative as it is, is firmly in there! Then, there is the genuine warmth and friendliness of the people. Our link has been going now for about 12 years, and the relationships are growing in depth all the time. And, of course, the wonderful three-stranded mix of Anglo-catholicism (this diocese in its whole history has been Anglo-catholic) alongside the evangelical fervor for the Gospel, and the charismatic expectation of the immediate presence and power of the Holy Spirit, not least in the ministry of healing.
The Convention is only the beginning of several months of to-ing and fro-ing between our two dioceses. Next, fifteen young people come to us for Summer Madness, then the same number go to the Spiritual Life Center to help with summer camps. Meanwhile, one of our clergy, Chris Pollock, is spending five weeks here on a swap as part of a sabbatical. Then Nigel Mumford and his wife visit us for a wedding where their daughter is bridesmaid (a friendship going back to the link). And so it continues....
Pray for Bishop Bill Love, for our joint link with Maridi Diocese and Bishop Justin Badi.And don’t miss the opportunity to come to Albany sometime. See Canon Roderic West to arrange when!