Bishop Poulson

• Read Bishop Poulson Reed's 2024 Convention address HERE.

Benedict and the Christian Membrane

It’s been a long time since I studied biology, but on this feast day of Saint Benedict, I find myself thinking about membranes. Benedict’s Rule helps the Christian communities that follow it create a kind of membrane that both separates them from aspects of the outside world, while also interacting with it, bringing in and sending out what are needed for the organism’s health.

Almost no Benedictine monasteries or convents are completely cut off from the world. However self-sufficient the community, some of the basics of life must usually be brought in. Some of the professed religious may have ministries outside of the “membrane.” And, most importantly, Benedictine communities are known for their profound hospitality, seeing the guest as Christ. 

Perhaps Benedict’s greatest legacy is how many of the communities that follow his Rule continue not only to exist, but to thrive in our modern world, some 1500 years after he compiled it.

My own main interest, as someone in a dispersed Benedictine community (orderoftheascension.org) with a modified Benedictine Rule, is how might the wider, non-monastic Church be blessed and shaped by God through Benedict’s witness, down the ages. I would highlight three aspects.

First, our congregations can keep a pattern of prayer and worship. As anyone who has gone on retreat at a Benedictine community can attest, there is something powerful about how God works on us through the pattern of prayer, even for a few days or a week. 

Congregations that move past the Sunday morning only routine by adding the daily prayers of the Church (the Daily Office) offer a deep hospitality to members and guests alike who seek Christ. This is not as difficult as it may seem. A committed group of fewer than 10 clergy and lay people can maintain a twice a day pattern, and fewer still for once daily in the morning or evening. A time of contemplative dwelling in Holy Scripture could be added before or after, another venerable Benedictine practice of listening to God.

Second, congregations can practice hospitality. How many of our beautiful sacred spaces stand empty and locked tight most of the time? Opening our doors not only for daily prayer, but as places of silence and refuge from the outside world, and keeping library hours for reading would embody our theology of welcome. Meals together are some of the essential acts of community-building in Benedictine communities, and can do the same in our congregations among guests and friends.

And lastly, friendship. The Benedictine Rule is designed as a “school for the Lord’s service” and works by making room for friendships to develop, for encouragement, support, and occasionally correction. Our healthiest congregations nurture Christian friendship in small groups, and do so with intention, not just settling for putting out the coffee pot (though that’s a good start!).

Congregations can find in this ancient Rule inspiration and practical tools for keeping a healthy membrane that protects and nourishes the community within, through patterns of prayer and friendship that connect us with Christ and one another, while engaging with the outside world as disciples, serving the vulnerable, and inviting others into the loving hospitality of God.

Dear Friends in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma,

In a little over a week, we will experience a natural event that never fails to capture our attention: a solar eclipse.

Eclipses have played an extraordinary role in human history, intriguing the human imagination, and often seeming to connect the human and divine. Some have even speculated that it was by an eclipse that God darkened the sky at Jesus’ crucifixion. But what connection might we find between the eclipse on April 8 and Eastertide? Perhaps this: it is not that Jesus Christ is a symbol that points to the Sun in our sky, but that the Sun is a symbol that points to Christ. After all, God the Son existed long before the Sun did.

The Bible is filled with imagery of Jesus Christ not only as the SON of God, but as one like the SUN. Those who were eagerly longing for a savior looked to the prophet Malachi, who spoke of a “sun of righteousness” who would arise, scattering all the shades of night, as the hymn says. The Gospels speak of Christ as “the light of the world” (John), the great light who shines on those who have dwelled in darkness and the shadow of death (Luke). Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians says that “Christ will shine on you.” And at his transfiguration on the holy mountain, Jesus’ face shines like the sun, his clothes as white as pure light.

My friends, whenever we are in awe of the natural world around us, and especially anything with light (sun, moon, and stars), let us not forget that they point to God. As psalm 19 says so eloquently: “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.” The whole of creation sings the praises of God, the Father and Creator, God the Son, present from the foundation of all things, and God the Holy Spirit, who hovered over all at the beginning.

And the very height of our praise, and that of creation, and of the heavenly host is for the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that so wonderfully restored all that God had so wonderfully created.

I wish you and yours a blessed and a very happy Easter.

The Rt. Rev. Poulson C. Reed, Bishop of Oklahoma

Why I'm More Hopeful About The Episcopal Church

The 81st General Convention is behind us, and, somewhat to my surprise, I find myself more hopeful about our Episcopal Church than I've been in a long time. If I’m honest, I’m someone who treasures the ministry on the ground in my diocese, especially with our congregations, and only somewhat begrudgingly accepts that my role comes with a wider Church component! But I left this General Convention hopeful about our denomination. I'm hopeful not because we have found a clear way through or around the enormous obstacles to mission and even our survival (we haven't), but rather because I see signs that we are more ready to do the hard work to which God is calling us, and more clear in what that work looks like. I see this in several areas.

Leadership

The tenure of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has been remarkable. His preaching and witness have been (and still are) ablaze with the light of the Gospel, the love of Jesus always in his heart and on his lips. Through a tumultuous season, he not only held much together, but gave The Episcopal Church a nationally (and internationally) recognized voice. It was a joy to celebrate him in so many different ways at this Convention.

But I find a different kind of inspiration in our new Presiding Bishop-elect. In a first ballot election, the House of Bishops has shown our confidence in the Right Reverend Sean Rowe, and in his vision for churchwide structures, budgets, and staff re-oriented to resource mission in dioceses and congregations (instead of the other way around). His decision to forego a large installation service in favor of a scaled down ceremony strikes just the right notes. Taken together, our Presiding Bishop-elect and President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris represent not only a major generational shift (both are in their 40’s), but also deep experience in various efforts to reform our churchwide governance in recent years.

Vitality

As a bishop who has prioritized congregational vitality in our Diocese of Oklahoma as our main focus, I was greatly encouraged by resolution A044 (“Develop Sustainable Congregational Revitalization Ministries”). Not the typical resolution asking for a new staff “desk” or large grant, this requests much more: that we look honestly at our decline, and make vitality a top priority, by gathering data and recommendations, and convening conversations that lead to action. The resolution actually asks that the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies “take personal responsibility for convening the bodies needed to begin this work.” I am grateful to the Committee on Congregational Vitality and Data-Driven Initiatives not only for the resolution, but for gathering a large group at the Convention itself for a time of sharing and support. 

Structure

Not only do we have churchwide leadership who are going to prioritize a thoughtful evaluation of our governance, budget, and staffing, but we also saw a continuing trend of dioceses prayerfully merging. The new dioceses formed in Wisconsin and Michigan, and the elevating of Navajoland to missionary diocese were both spiritual and strategic decisions that I believe will bear much fruit, by God’s grace. In each instance, the joy on the floor was palpable. Our Church still probably has too many dioceses and too many bishops, but this was a solid move in the right direction. 

Politics 

Like some others, I am not a big fan of how much time and energy we spend at General Convention on a variety of resolutions on matters of politics and world affairs that will likely have little impact, beyond pleasing the activists on the one side and alienating those on the other side. We passed our share of these resolutions this time. But after a lot of back and forth, the main resolution on Israel, Palestine, and Gaza (D013) came via a compromise, crafted by a small group from both houses (a conference committee). Not everyone was happy, but I appreciated the effort to come up with a statement many of us could get behind, grounded in faith and acknowledging the tragic complexities of the situation. Some of this effort came from the extraordinary move of taking time in the House of Bishops for actual conversation and discernment at tables (as we had done in Baltimore two years’ prior on the topic of Prayer Book revision).

Inclusive and Credal

Not just in our legislative work, but in our worship and even in the feel of several conversations I had, it seemed to me that our Church has mostly settled into a stance of sacramentally inclusive but grounded in the theology of the creeds. All the sacraments for all the baptized (including marriage and ordination) is now the accepted reality in virtually all dioceses (including, I am happy to say, my own) and the General Convention moved forward on marriage equality in the Prayer Book with almost no dissention. At the same time, I didn’t detect much of the “fingers crossed during the creeds” joking that I used to hear often in the Church a decade ago. To me, inclusive and credal is both theologically sound, and a winsome message as we share God’s love with others.

Conclusion

The challenges ahead for The Episcopal Church are massive. Our half-century of decline shows no sign of slowing, and was likely accelerated by the pandemic. Even as some extended theological battles in our denomination are coming to an end, new divisive issues are beginning to show themselves. 

Can we discern new ways, with God’s help, to restore more vitality to our Church at every level? Can we actually begin to wrestle with our bloated meetings, budget, and staffing on the church-wide level, either to cut back or reform? What will be our place in the ever-changing Anglican Communion? Will we keep gracious space for theological minorities, and continue to allow the centrality of both the teaching and the liturgies of the 1979 Prayer Book for those who cherish them?

If our main purpose is to keep our eyes on Jesus in order to follow him, it matters what else gets our attention. At this moment, I feel hopeful that this Church that I love is taking steps in the right direction.

Poulson Reed, OA (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma)

All Shall Be Well

I love music. Advent is a season, in particular, in which I listen to a lot of music, in person, online, and in the car. I enjoy it, and also find it useful in my spiritual preparation for Christmas. I listen to Advent carol services, hymns and anthems, then as Advent winds down, Handel’s Messiah, and usually some more contemporary music, too.

This year, a particular contemporary song has been speaking to me: Sandra McCracken’s “All is Well” from 2019. It’s a beautiful, tender song, with a simple, almost childlike refrain: “All is well. All is well. God with us, Emmanuel.”

Part of what keeps drawing me to the song is its echo of that famous line from Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

2023 is the 650th anniversary of the divine visions of Mother Julian that inspired her to write “Revelations of Divine Love,” the earliest known surviving work in English written by a woman. It is a profound and prayerful meditation that has pointed countless people towards Christ.

In our troubled times, to say that all is well or even that all shall be well invites incredulity and even scorn. So much is wrong in our world today: wars, disease, injustice, hatred, division, poverty. But as our Advent season ends and the 12 days of Christmas begin, we proclaim as people of faith that all shall be well.

We say this not out of naivete, or denial, but because we believe that God is with us, Emmanuel. “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).

Because God was born for us and is with us in Jesus Christ, we have no need to fear. For we not only have a Savior who knows our human suffering, who comforts us in our sorrows, but a Savior who, when he comes again, will set all things right, on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus Christ was born, lived, died, was raised, and ascended into heaven that the world might be saved through him. Even sin and death have been vanquished by God’s gracious love.

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” For God is with us, Emmanuel.

Merry Christmas.

 The Right Reverend Poulson Reed

Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma 

Dear Friends in Oklahoma,

I’ve been saddened to hear this week the reports of a 16-year-old identifying as non-binary, a student at Owasso High School, dying on February 8 after being in a fight in a school bathroom on February 7. There are conflicting reports about what occurred and why, and investigations are ongoing. But for now, the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma states again our respect for the dignity of every human being, and we pray for Nex Benedict and for their family and friends:

O God, whose beloved Son took children into his arms and

blessed them: Give us grace to entrust Nex to your never-

failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly

kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and

reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for

ever. Amen.

Blessings,

Bishop Poulson

Dear Friends in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma,

As you will see below, I am one of the initial signers for a statement from Christian leaders in Oklahoma opposing the death penalty. This group of signers represents a wide range of Christian denominations and churches, and is in response to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals setting execution dates for 25 prisoners over the next two years.

As I have said several times, most recently at our Diocesan Convention, I am very selective in choosing when to speak out on issues of public policy. I do so rarely, and only when a matter is directly relevant to Oklahoma, has grave moral implications, and can be informed by the teachings of the Bible and the Episcopal Church. I believe the death penalty is just such an issue. I appreciate that this particular statement is not overly partisan, but is deeply grounded in Christian theology.

I know that Episcopalians in Oklahoma have a wide range of views on the death penalty, and I both understand and respect that not everyone will agree with this statement. Nonetheless, I hope that everyone will read it, and will pray for all those affected by violence in our state, especially the victims and their loved ones.

Christ & Capital Punishment Statement

Statement on the Recent Supreme Court Decision and Legislation in Oklahoma on Abortion

By The Rt. Rev. Poulson Reed, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma

Since 1967, the Episcopal Church has articulated and reaffirmed through General Convention resolutions its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive, or judicial action by local, state, or national governments that abridges a woman's right to make an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that limits her access to safe means of acting on that decision.

These resolutions emphasize that the inception of new human life, being a manifestation of God's love, is sacred and should not be approached lightly but with a full understanding of the responsibility bestowed by God to conceive and give birth.

Furthermore, the Church acknowledges the tragic dimension of all abortions, advocating their use only in extreme situations and opposing their use for birth control, family planning, sex selection, or convenience.

In the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, we recognize the diverse and Biblically informed views among our laypeople and clergy on this profound moral issue. Our congregations will react to the recent Supreme Court decision in various ways: through prayer, pastoral care, and public advocacy, particularly concerning the recent legislative actions in Oklahoma. Others may choose different paths that align with their contexts and values.

I lament the current political climate's discouragement of commonsense approaches to this and other issues, and the appalling lack of resources to support parents and families, especially the impoverished and those raising children with special needs.

I urge Oklahoma Episcopalians, both individually and collectively, to exercise your conscience as you see fit, to remain understanding and compassionate towards one another during these divisive times, and to respect the dignity of every human being, despite deep-seated disagreements.

This moment calls for us to avoid demonizing others, including on social media, and to remember our shared creation in God's image, while still advocating firmly for our beliefs. I hope we can unite in our spiritual, emotional, and financial support for pregnant individuals, particularly those in poverty, and in our commitment to the well-being of vulnerable children, including those in foster care or awaiting adoption.

For the full text of the General Convention resolutions, please visit: https://episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_search.pl.

2022 Statement:

Many of our Episcopal congregations across Oklahoma are the only houses of worship in their areas where LGBTQ+ people and their families are truly welcomed. In the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, we love all people, because God loves all. We welcome all people to all the sacraments, through baptism. And we invite all people to growth as disciples of Jesus Christ, by God's abundant grace.

2023 Statement:

Whom you love ought not to be an obstacle to making a lifelong commitment to a partner or serving God and God’s people as a priest or deacon. We believe this not to go along with any trends, but because we believe it to be a faithful interpretation of the Bible, through the lens of the Church’s tradition, the creeds, and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

“Make Us Instruments of Your Peace”: On the Upcoming Election

The Right Reverend Poulson Reed, Bishop of Oklahoma

To the beloved in Christ in Oklahoma,

This week, we celebrated the feast day of Saint Francis. Saint Francis is rightly remembered for his love of animals and all of God’s creation. He devoted his life to serving the poor, calling others by his preaching and his radical simplicity of life to do the same. He is also credited with composing the “Prayer of Saint Francis,” and whether he was its author or its inspiration, it certainly reflects his Christian witness and his faith in the power of God to work through people to bring life, love, and hope out of death, hatred, and despair.

As we approach the upcoming election in our nation in the midst of bitter partisan division, global pandemic, and social and economic upheaval, I call upon the Episcopalians of our diocese to pray the Prayer of Saint Francis regularly (perhaps daily, or on the four Sundays preceding the election), and to strive to live its Christ-like teachings wherever we may be, including on social media.

First, may we pray. The Prayer of Saint Francis, the Prayers for National Life in our Book of Common Prayer (pages 820-823), and other prayers, offered fervently and with sincerity, have power beyond our human understanding to shape our hearts, minds, the nation, and the world, by God’s grace. Prayer is no small thing; it is essential and effectual.

Second, may we strive to live as followers of Jesus Christ at all times and in all places, and especially in the midst of anxiety and tumult. In this election season, our political choices ought to be informed by our faith. Core Biblical principles, such as caring for the vulnerable, loving our enemies, striving for justice and peace, and cultivating the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and the core Episcopal values of our Baptismal Covenant are often inconvenient, countercultural, difficult, and downright uncomfortable. But they are our values, and it is up to each of us to discern prayerfully and thoughtfully how they align with the political candidates and issues before us.

There are good Episcopalians who are Democrats, and good Episcopalians who are Republicans, and good folks in between. The Gospel often lines up imperfectly with political parties, and faithful people can agree on a faith value (say, the importance of helping the poor) without agreeing on how best to do so.

Whatever the outcome of the upcoming election, may we have grace to see those who differ from us as fellow children of God. The Scriptures make clear that there are times for righteous anger against injustice. Civility, while good, has its limits. But may we never say or think of another “I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:21).

We might consider adopting in our lives and in our congregations the “With Malice Toward None Pledge” that says: “Regardless of how the election turns out, I will not hold hate, disdain, or ridicule for those who voted differently from me. Whether I am pleased or upset about the outcome, I will seek to understand the concerns and aspirations of those who voted differently and look for opportunities to work with people with whom I disagree.”

We can seek common ground, common gratitude, and common prayer, even when there is a chasm between us. We can disagree fervently, without hating one another.

Please know that I am praying for all of us, our individuals, congregations, and institutions, at this challenging time. We have a gift to offer our communities, by proclaiming a kingdom that is not of this world, and a prince of peace who rules humbly and lovingly over it, yet with power. As we await with longing the final fulfillment of that heavenly kingdom, we ask God to use us for good:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is

hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where

there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where

there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where

there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to

be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is

in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we

are born to eternal life. Amen.

In Christ’s Peace,

Bishop Poulson

For more information on the “With Malice Toward None” pledge, see HERE