Dear friends,
In a world where it sometimes seems as if we are bombarded with grim and sad news I give you two causes for celebration this weekend.
First, tomorrow (Saturday) at noon, Jessy Hamilton and Adam Steinke will be married. It will not be the celebration they had originally planned. The grooms, two witnesses, and I will be the only people there. But at the end of it they will be married in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the state. And next year, we hope, they will have a big celebration of their first anniversary. Tomorrow’s service will be live-streamed on Facebook from both Jessy and Adam’s pages, so you may all be part of their virtual community. The service begins at noon. And Adam plans to change his last name to Hamilton.
The second celebration is also something you can watch live on Facebook. Colin Brown, a former parishioner, will be ordained to the priesthood at 2 p.m. tomorrow. It will be streamed on the Diocese of Atlanta’s Facebook page. It, too, will not be the kind of celebration one normally sees at an ordination. The only attendees will be the ordinands, Bishop Wright, and two priests who will lay hands on Colin and the others being ordained, representing all the priests of the diocese. Even their families will not be able to attend. But we rejoice with Colin and give thanks for his ministry. Next month he will begin as associate rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Brookhaven.
Finally, today I share with you a video I found very moving. Moral leadership sometimes comes from unexpected places. This video is from the University of Alabama football team. I encourage you to watch it.
https://youtu.be/Pu2LOSGbNpg
See you tonight at 8.