Congregation Visitations Spring 2025

As always, Sunday morning worship at St James Episcopal Church in Belhaven was a lively affair! Last week, the congregation hosted their annual Vacation Bible School and so on Sunday they celebrated! Pictured here, the children and young people offered some of the music from VBS. After worship, their offerings continued in the parish hall before the picnic lunch. The second picture includes the five acolytes and postulant Jack Jacob. During worship, we confirmed one, received four, and witnessed the reaffirmation of vows by another. Lots of people contribute to the life and ministry of this small town congregation, and for that I give a hearty “thank you!”

This morning’s visit took me to Holy Trinity Episcopal in Hampstead, where Jansen was confirmed. He is pictured here with his grandmother who presented him! The members of this congregation are between settled priests, and are currently supported by a group of supply clergy while they prayerfully contemplate their next steps. During my homily I found reason to include the Serenity Prayer, also pictured here as it hangs on our wall. Giving thanks that, in Jesus, God frees us from all that possesses us and prevents us from living fully into God’s image!

This morning’s visit took me to St James The Fisherman Episcopal Church in Shallotte, where the members are hard at work making their church buildings more attractive and more welcoming from their “Main Street.” But their evangelism initiatives are not limited to building renovations. They’re also setting up at their local outdoor market, giving away bottles of water and inviting people to join them for worship! It was good to be with the Rev. Dr. Farrell Graves and the congregation as they celebrated the Day of Pentecost with five adult members being confirmed and received.

One picture for each of my three stops this weekend …

1) A picture of the clergy gathered for the celebration of the new ministry of the people of The Church of the Holy Trinity, Hertford with their rector, the Rev. Whit Stroud …

2) Sunday morning at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Edenton with a picture of those confirmed and received …

3) A picture taken near the end of worship at St John’s Sladesville on Sunday afternoon.

In between these stops, were some shared meals and a game of golf with members of St. Paul’s. It continues to be my great privilege to serve the people of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina as we all seek to follow Jesus!

Another great Sunday morning visit in the books! Thanks to the people of St. Andrews by the Sea Episcopal Church in Nags Head for sharing a little bit of their life and ministry with me on this Memorial Day weekend! Lots of good things happening with this congregation, as they seek to serve their neighbors and address many of the challenges of life on a barrier island. As you can see from the photograph, this is another congregation with all sorts of members being baptized, confirmed, received and reaffirming their vows.

Another Sunday, and another great group of folks to be baptized, confirmed, received and reaffirmed in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. This week, I joined the Rev. Tom Warren and the people of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kinston for their 8am and 10:30am services, and for breakfast and time with many of the candidates in between. Living in Kinston, as we did for almost ten years, I’ve always been grateful for the hospitality of these fine folks. Today, besides all of the new and renewed commitments of faith, we also celebrated their hard work in making their church facilities more accessible, their work of developing outdoor space for themselves and their community, and the 50th anniversary of their preschool. To God be the glory!

On the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Philip and James (May 1st), I visited with the people of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Southport NC in the morning and St. James Parish, Wilmington in the afternoon. These were the last two stops of a triple-header weekend, that kicked off with an ordination on Saturday at St Paul’s Episcopal Church_Wilmington NC. Lots of great conversations this weekend, and lots of glimpses into the life and ministry of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina.

I’ve included two pictures of St. Philip’s Church that are available online …the current church building in Southport, and the historic church building, the remains of which can be found at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site. Had the weather been better, we would have worshiped outdoors at their historic site. Instead, after worship that included confirmations and receptions, we celebrated a picnic lunch in their still new parish hall.

Then, it was back to Wilmington for a celebration at St. James Parish that included baptism, confirmation, reception, the reaffirmation of baptismal vows and lemonade on the lawn. The pictures I’ve shared were posted on the congregation’s Facebook page.

Thanks to Eric Mills, Pamela Hayes, Phillip Craig, Gray Hodsdon and Elizabeth Phillips, the clergy who hosted these two gatherings for worship, and to all of the members of each congregation for their great hospitality.

On the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Philip and James (May 1st), I visited with the people of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Southport NC in the morning and St. James Parish, Wilmington in the afternoon. These were the last two stops of a triple-header weekend, that kicked off with an ordination on Saturday at St Paul’s Episcopal Church_Wilmington NC. Lots of great conversations this weekend, and lots of glimpses into the life and ministry of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina.

I’ve included two pictures of St. Philip’s Church that are available online …the current church building in Southport, and the historic church building, the remains of which can be found at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site. Had the weather been better, we would have worshiped outdoors at their historic site. Instead, after worship that included confirmations and receptions, we celebrated a picnic lunch in their still new parish hall.

Then, it was back to Wilmington for a celebration at St. James Parish that included baptism, confirmation, reception, the reaffirmation of baptismal vows and lemonade on the lawn. The pictures I’ve shared were posted on the congregation’s Facebook page.

Thanks to Eric Mills, Pamela Hayes, Phillip Craig, Gray Hodsdon and Elizabeth Phillips, the clergy who hosted these two gatherings for worship, and to all of the members of each congregation for their great hospitality.

The people of The Church of the Advent in Williamston have recently formed a new youth choir, offering young people from the community the chance to learn choral music. These young people sang beautifully during this morning’s 175th Anniversary celebration, and asked me to join them for a photograph to mark the occasion!

And I couldn’t resist getting a picture of this quote from Alfred North Whitehead, framed and on display on the room where I vested. Thought-provoking, as I remember Whitehead’s writing to be!

Sunday worship at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Seven Spring began outdoors this morning, with a palm procession into the church, and children shouting “Hosanna!” It was my pleasure to engage with the children who were present …they were a lot of fun! And this was the first time for me to be with this congregation since the Rev. Jon Sargeant joined them as their priest. All seem very pleased about this new relationship! As always, a bountiful and delicious covered dish meal waited for us after worship. A great way to start Holy Week!

Thanks to the people of St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wilmington NC for sharing these great photographs from this morning’s worship. Somehow I managed to leave my phone in the car and didn’t get any pictures myself! Thankfully, their pictures can tell something of the story of our time together this morning!

To witness the growth in the life of this congregation during my years as bishop has been a real blessing. They have worked hard, to be certain. Of equal certainty is that God is doing “a new thing” in their midst! What a joy it was to “perceive” this reality.

Thanks to the Reverends Caleb Lee and Michael Singer and all who shared such wonderful hospitality this morning! By a show of hands during my homily, it appeared that at least half of this very full congregation has come to St. Paul’s during the last five years. May God continue to bring growth in members, in maturity and in ministry!

The “saints” of St. Mary’s Church in Gatesville humored me with a group photo this morning, although we were missing a few who had already left for work or home. It’s always a joy to worship with these folks, to learn from them about life in Gates County, and to hear updates about their outreach ministry, Open Wide. With support from the wider community, they make sure that children facing food insecurity go home from school every Friday with a backpack full of food for the weekend. At present, they are serving 72 children and young people! I love seeing the ways that God is at work through the people of the congregations of The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina.

Another joyful Sunday morning in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, with worship and a delicious lunch at St. Thomas Ahoskie. It was my first chance to worship with the Rev. Samson Mamour since he was called as priest-in-charge of St. Thomas Ahoskie and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Windsor, NC. There were members of both congregations present, with three from Ahoskie and one from Windsor confirmed today. In fact, there were more people present than expected, with extra tables and chairs needed for everyone at lunch!

I’m grateful for the leaders of the two congregations who were willing to work together to call and share a priest. There are lots of challenges facing congregations in small eastern North Carolina communities, and I pray that God will “do a new thing” in the midst of these faithful people!

Sometimes, I forget to pull out my camera during Sunday visits …or at least I forget to pull it out while there are still people around! After morning worship with the people of St. Philip’s Church in Holly Ridge, we shared lunch and then I spent a little time with members of the Vestry. Finally, just before getting in the car to head home, I slipped back into the church to get some pictures. More about this a little later!

Like many of our congregations, these faithful people are watching the world around them change very quickly. Long a small, quiet community, they are now seeing all sorts of the growth that is taking place up and down Highway 17. Large, new housing communities are springing up within ten minutes of their church, including Evolve Holly Ridge Apartments and Summerhouse On Everett Bay.

Back to the pictures. The people of St. Philip’s Church were long served by the Rev. Tim Dols, their regular supply priest. With changes in his health, Tim needed to step away not terribly long ago. And now, in these last days, members of the congregation have learned of Tim’s death. We remembered his wife Anne in our prayers today. One of the many gifts that Tim brought in his relationship with the people of St. Philip’s was his love of iconography. Thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of the liturgical art that continues to adorn this peaceful place of worship.

So many smiles this morning, at St John’s Episcopal Church in Wilmington! Many thanks for these pictures shared with me after worship, chronicling something of “a morning in the life of a bishop!”

We celebrated the “Presentation of the Lord” during two services this morning, with a lively reception in Elebash Hall in between. At the second service, forty teens and adults formally renewed the vows of their baptism, and were confirmed, received, or reaffirmed in their faith. What a joy to be with everyone at St. John’s today!

Greetings from all of us who worshipped today at St. Peter’s Church in Sunbury! From Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, we heard that every member of the Body of Christ is valued! We’re each different and we each have a distinct function, but we’re each a part of the same body! That continues to be a part of the message of God’s good news that I seek to proclaim as I travel from congregation to congregation across The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina!

Many thanks to Hannah & Maddie, with their leadership team of former Camp Trinity staff members, for hosting our largest ever Winter Retreat for High Schoolers! With Fr. Nathan Finnin as celebrant & preacher and Caroline Harris leading the music, our worship this morning was wonderful. With 8th through 12th graders from across The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina we had nearly 70 campers in attendance, probably the largest weekend gathering of East Carolina teens during my 10+ years as bishop! So glad I could be there!

Wonderful to be able to celebrate the 2nd Sunday after Christmas with a congregation named “Emmanuel”! The good folks of Emmanuel Farmville are a small but mighty congregation that worships faithfully every week, hosts a Community Outreach Kitchen that feeds the hungry each day, and offers great hospitality whenever I visit. Three pictures today: 1) a few members pose with me; 2) a banner that hangs in their church; 3) the figurines of “the Flight into Egypt” which were in my family home, and that were partial inspiration for my sermon.