Bishop's Southeast Residency

Beloved in Christ,

I am spending this week in residence in the Southeast Mission area, traveling along the beautiful bluffs carved over many centuries by the Mississippi, and through the magnificent heart of the Driftless area, stealing at least a few quick moments to discover previously unknown to me trout streams along the way. 

Soaking in the beauty of this place, and spending long and deep time with the clergy and people of this part of the diocese, has been the most welcome way to return from my sabbatical over the summer. Ive been overwhelmed again by the faithfulness, warmth, and vitality of the congregations in southeastern Minnesota. There is growth in both breadth and depth. Several congregations are walking more closely with one another as they continue to imagine the future God is calling forth. They are using their buildings to serve the poor and marginalized in brave and prophetic ways. I’ve heard several stories of lives being transformed, and people meeting the power of God’s love in new and deeper ways. In both large and small ways, the Episcopalians of the Driftless are hallowing this already sacred ground through their constant prayers, and lives overflowing with love. 

In Jesus, God declares unmistakably and unchangeablly that God is with us and for us. Because of Jesus, we know that nothing can take us beyond the reach of God’s healing love. The vitality so evident around the southeast is rooted in how the congregations are so plainly with and for the communities in which they are planted.

As the embrace of this region eases me back into this work I cherish, I am thanking God often this week for the inestimable gift of having been called to be with and for you, as we join Jesus in being with and for the world. It’s so good to be back. 

Grace and Peace,

The Right Rev. Craig Loya