TRULY BELOVED 
A message and update from your nominee for postulancy, Myra Ryneheart Corcorran

A few weeks ago, I received a beautiful piece of artwork from a dear friend with an encouraging note. Cynthia was writing to affirm the completion of the initial three year discernment process toward Holy Orders (Priesthood). I still have many steps to go…application for postulancy, approval of the nomination to postulancy, BACOM (Bishop’s Advisory Committee on Ordinained Ministry, if I am invited to attend), then hopefully seminary…it’s all up to our Bishop when and if each step in the process continues. It is a journey, one that calls for patience and faith. (See this link for a Milestones Chart with an overview of the process).

My friend Cynthia has known me (and loved me) for 28 years. We met in 1992 when we both began working in community action at the Opportunity Council in Bellingham, WA. We are generational throwbacks, because we prefer writing letters to one another instead of making phone calls or texting. I treasure all of her letters and cards. In this particular note, she wrote “you are truly beloved.” The three black-eyed Susans in Cynthia’s collage seemed a holy trinity affirming the recent nomination to postulancy from our Bishop's Committee at Christ Episcopal Church, Blaine.

Cynthia’s gift and her note’s timing were synchronistic. I had also just attended a two day webinar “Becoming Beloved Community Now,” hosted by the Episcopal Church. I was still processing all that I had learned, but I knew that I had been profoundly moved and changed by what I heard. The artwork with its message “Beloved,” seemed to be a graced message to continue on the journey.

“Becoming Beloved Community represents not so much a set of programs as a journey, a set of interrelated commitments around which Episcopalians may organize our many efforts to respond to racial injustice and grow a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers.” – The Episcopal Church

Attending the “Becoming Beloved Community Now” webinar, along with another Cultural Competency workshop hosted by the Diocese of Olympia this summer, has been transformative and life-giving to me, in the midst a time of such racial unrest and civic upheaval in our country. I was motivated to attend because I identified cultural competency as an area of growth during my discernment process. I was compelled to attend following the news of murders of black folks and race riots all over our country. But as with many nudgings that are guided by the Spirit, I find myself called to further work and transformation. I have learned so much from listening to the stories of BIPOC folks, and humbly admit that I have much more to learn. I confess that that I didn’t even know what BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) meant two months ago, though I have long been drawn to their beautiful, challenging stories.

In the 1990s, I remember reading the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. Published in 1987 and winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the work examines the destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicles the life of a Black woman named Sethe, from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873. I read all of Toni Morrison’s books immediately following Beloved, partly because they reminded me of my Southern home and roots, but mostly because the stories of strong black women were so inspiring and gritty. I don’t remember many of the details, but The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby and Beloved imprinted themselves on my heart and soul. I recommend any and all of these books to women and men seeking to understand the African American experience.

I am also currently participating in Christ Episcopal Church’s current Zoom book study discussing So You Want to Talk About Race? In this timely book, Ijeoma Oluo, a black woman from Seattle, “guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.” -Amazon. I truly appreciate reading Ijeoma Oluo’s accounts of what it is like to live as a black woman and minority in the Seattle area, since the Pacific NW has been my home for nearly three decades now, and her experiences living here are so different from mine. (It's not too late to join us, see the invitation below with further details).

"Oluo gives us -- both white people and people of color -- that language to engage in clear, constructive, and confident dialogue with each other about how to deal with racial prejudices and biases." - National Book Review

I grew up in the 1970s and 80s in a small town in north Florida. In our town, most of the black folks lived in a segregated area called the “quarters” (and yes, unfortunately, that was short for slave quarters). There were a few exceptions, but most of the housing there was substandard (you could see the lights shining through the cracks in the walls at night, and broken windows were often covered by cardboard or sheets of tin roofing); their streets were red clay. In contrast, most white folks’ streets were paved, and our housing had insulation and air conditioning. This is just one example of the many advantages and benefits I had as a white person in our small town. I mourn today over my lack of appreciation and gratitude for all of the opportunities provided to me; I lament today over many missed opportunities to include, lift up and encourage BIPOC friends along the way.
Graphic by Becoming Beloved Community movement, The Episcopal Church

I have always considered myself to be nonracist, open and inclusive. However, I am learning, one step at a time, how some of my upbringing has taught me subtle racism that I was unaware of, and am still trying to discover and eradicate. For example, when I learned during the “Beloved Community Now” webinar that my beloved alma mater The University of the South had been a part of creating and funding the Confederacy, I remembered how as a Chapel Docent while at Sewanee I used to jokingly share a story about the frustrated efforts of the Union troops as depicted in our stained glass windows. As these and other realizations occur, I am grieving my unknowing complicity in the perpetuating the sins of racism and exclusion.

What I once accepted as the way things were and are has been changed forever, thanks to good teachings and conversations hosted by The Episcopal Church and The Diocese of Olympia.

Graphic by Becoming Beloved Community movement, The Episcopal Church

I am seeking to learn how to communicate sensitively and deeply. I know I will make mistakes (I have probably misspoken somewhere in this article). But as a white person who is privileged beyond what I understood before, it’s my beloved duty to encourage myself and others to keep learning and trying to seek forgiveness and understanding. I don’t know what’s next beyond the book study, but I trust the gift and affirmation that I am truly beloved. I also believe that we are all beloved and called. Our baptismal promises call us all to this Beloved Community work to tell the truth, proclaim the dream, repair the breach and practice the way of love. I know this work needs all of us to participate if we all are to be part of God’s beloved community. Will you join me, brothers and sisters in Christ?
Image credits: Cynthia Shealy, Goodreads, The Episcopal Church

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BECOMING BELOVED COMMUNITY

Convened by the Presiding Officers’ Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation, the three gatherings will focused on three urgent themes: Truth, Justice and Healing. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings offered prayer and reflections throughout the sessions.

The series was recorded for all of us to view at our convenience. 

Becoming Beloved Community Now: TRUTH
Telling the truth about participation in white supremacy and racial oppression. 

Becoming Beloved Community Now: JUSTICE
Changing racist systems, especially “criminal” justice and public health/COVID response.

Becoming Beloved Community Now: HEALING
Breaking free of white supremacy via training and formation.

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Beginning on August 26, we will have a book study by Zoom of So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. We will plan on 4 sessions at 5:30 pm on Wednesdays for about an hour.

This book is written by a Black woman from Seattle as a guide for the difficult conversations that we find ourselves needing to enter into in these days. It is a practical and eye-opening read. It is intended both for readers who are People of Color or are white.

The book is available at all the usual outlets and also on Kindle. Please read through Chapter 5 before our first meeting date.

Feel free to invite others to join and email The Rev. Josefina Beecher know if you will be joining us and/or if you have any questions.

Here is the Zoom meeting information for the meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/94363693751?pwd=MTVOU2F6b2lmMjYvVUkwM3lOUWVZdz09
Meeting ID: 943 6369 3751
Passcode: 382
Call In #: +1 253 215 8782

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JOIN US FOR VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR Sundays 10:45 am

Join Zoom Meeting via SMART PHONE, IPAD OR COMPUTER here:
https://zoom.us/j/92816563437?pwd=alAvTHljQlpGVS9hc2I1K0E5ODVnQT09
Meeting ID: 928 1656 3437
Password: 204251
or...
If you are using your LANDLINE OR CELL PHONE, please call
        +1 253 215 8782
You will be prompted to punch in your meeting ID number followed by # 
Meeting ID: 928 1656 3437# You then will be asked to enter your pass code followed by # Passcode: 204251#

If you normally place your pledge in the offering plate on Sundays, please consider mailing it while worship services are cancelled to 382 Boblett St., Blaine, WA 98230. You may also click on the "Donate Now" button or this link to be connected to the secure giving page on our website. Thank you!

Please note that pledges may be modified or changed, especially if you are experiencing financial hardship during the pandemic. Email Susan Thomson, our pledge secretary, if you need to make any changes.

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