17 January 2024

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. ~ I Samuel 3:10

Beloved,

When we are first called to our life’s purpose, the voice of God, though familiar, is not always extraordinary or well-defined. It is often as ordinary as the call of our families and friends. As such, its beckoning cry is easily ignored, overlooked, or even silenced. Extraordinary moments and circumstances tend to grab our attention quickly and for an instant. It is, however, the ordinary in these extraordinary situations, and our connections to them, that invites us to return again and again to the possibility that God is really speaking to us. When we experience a glimpse of this clarity, we find the courage, and are encouraged, to stay and listen. This call, this voice, is the first seed bearing witness to God’s presence within us.

In a few weeks (Feb. 16 and 17) we will gather again as the people of God, the Episcopal Church in Arkansas, at our annual Diocesan Convention. The theme for this year’s convention is “Seeds of Hope.” We will come remembering the wisdom of our ancient past that reminds us, like the child Samuel, to say, “Speak, Lord for your servant is listening.”

Listening to God, or anyone for that matter, is difficult. Even as a spiritual practice, listening is challenging, especially when our minds are already convinced about a particular experience or reality. This is the very moment when we should make a concerted effort to ask God to speak to us.

As your bishop, I am trying to listen to what God is saying and revealing through each of you. Better yet, I am trying to pay attention. So, I am inviting you to share with me and be open to all that God is revealing to us. It is my expectation that God’s revelation and our listening will be the “Seeds of Hope” that will bear witness to the work and presence of God among us. For this, I ask you to come and share, come and see, come and be open.

With Epiphany joy, I am,

+John Harmon
Bishop of Arkansas

Antony of Egypt, 2024 January 17