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Way of Love

Excerpted from Practice That's Not About Perfection, But the Way of Love, by the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman

For me, the challenge to listen to hard truth, with love, and to speak hard truth, with love, is at the heart of what it means to become beloved community. One could make a case that Practicing the Way of Love should be the last piece of this work, after we have Repaired the Breach and Proclaimed the Dream. I counter that we need Practicing the Way of Love to guide us in all aspects and dimensions of this work.

We need to be grounded in the love of God as we have these hard conversations. Only it allows us to hear one another clearly when we listen AND to hear and understand how our words are received when we speak. Some have called this the art of holy listening, but it means we are fully open to the presence and experience of the other, both when they are telling their story AND when they are listening to ours.

Of course this is not easy, and it’s not even particularly natural. We are used to formulating our response even while someone else is still speaking. Taking the time to be fully attentive and to listen deeply can feel strange at first. And listening, as we speak, to how our words may be heard and received takes a different kind of focus and concentration. But this kind of listening is essential in building authentic community, in building beloved community.

Practicing the Way of Love is also a source of support and strength for us because the work is hard, the conversations can be hard, and staying emotionally present can be hard when we hear something that hurts or when we find ourselves becoming defensive.

So how do we Practice the Way of Love? First we understand what the Way of Love is. It is the way that gives us the spiritual fortitude to stay fully engaged. It is not a straight path, but rather a cycle so we may return again and again to its gifts. The cycle was introduced and outlined by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the 79th General Convention this past July: Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest, Turn.

We will introduce and speak about these steps in more detail at Convention. But I encourage you, in the lead up to Convention, to consider taking one of these steps as part of your own personal preparation, as a way of getting ready and focusing.

Maybe this is an opportunity to Learn more about some dimension of our diocesan mission you haven’t explored before. Maybe it is a time to go deeper into one of our own Becoming Beloved Community priorities articulated last year: Spiritual Formation, Collaboration, Support for Vulnerable Congregations, Care of Creation and Racial Justice and Equity. These are all part of Becoming Beloved Community.

Maybe you are feeling called to Pray in a deeper, more intentional way for the Church, for this Diocese, for our common mission, for the work of Becoming Beloved Community.

Perhaps Worship is something that has been crowded out of your schedule lately, and you want to reclaim that, to make more space and time to worship God in community with others who share in this journey.

Perhaps you are feeling a fuller sense of God’s blessing, and you want to share that with others. This could be a time for you to Bless those around you, at work, at home, at school, in some intentional and meaningful way, as you live into the promise of God’s blessing.

Or maybe God is calling you out, as you get ready for Convention, calling you to Go to a place where some of this work is already happening: The Galilee Center in East Charlotte, Christ’s Beloved Community in Winston-Salem, or San Jose in Smithfield, to name just a few. Maybe this is where your energy needs to be as we prepare to engage again in Becoming Beloved Community at Convention.

Or maybe you are tired, worn out, run down. You have been going all out for far too long and you just need to slow down and catch your breath, to Rest in God. Rest is a vital part of our journey and an important step in the Way of Love.

Or maybe it is time to Turn from where you have been focused and shift your energy and attention to a new place, a new area, where God is asking you to offer your gifts. Or perhaps there is something that has been a source of distraction for you, draining your energy, diluting your focus, and it is time to let that go, to turn and leave it behind. This can also be part of your preparation for Convention this year.

The Way of Love provides guidance on your lifelong journey, so as with any journey, start with a single step. Pick one. Don’t try to do it all at once. Reflect and discern which of these steps is calling to your heart as we get ready to gather for Convention. This will be a great point of entry for each of us into the Way of Love, and a great opportunity for all of us to experience first-hand the gift this simple rule of life can be for us as we prepare to go deeper into the work of Becoming Beloved Community.

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The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
Assistant Bishop
Jenny Beaumont
Missioner for Adult and Life-long Formation
919-600-5299 
Lisa Aycock
Lead Youth Missioner
919-600-5308 
Leah Dail
Assistant Youth Missioner
919-600-5309 

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson

Assistant Bishop

Jenny Beaumont

Missioner for Adult and Life-long Formation
919-600-5299 |

Jenny Beaumont is a cradle-born Episcopalian who has lived in the Diocese of North Carolina for most of her adult life.

Jenny is a race and reconciliation leader and a national trainer for Education on Ministry through University of the South. She was the lead author of These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith at Church and Home and co-author of These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith at Church and Home: Foundation Book, all while running a learning center created to meet the needs of families and students with specific and expert support in learning.

Reimagining Christian formation for a 21st-century context is a focus and passion for Jenny. She uses both traditional in-person gatherings as well as online models to expand offerings and networks across our diverse diocese. Jenny collaborates in efforts, strategies and approaches in adult learning, emphasizing our mission priorities.

Jenny works closely with the diocesan youth missioners and other diocesan staff, the Chartered Commission for Lifelong Christian Formation, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee, the Commission for the Diaconate and the Diocesan Council department for Christian formation, all of whom work together to continue to build relationships and cooperative efforts with formation leaders across the diocese and the wider Church.

Jenny is a Deep Living Spiritual Life Coach, certified in the Enneagram and is currently working towards her a Masters in Religious Studies from UNC-Charlotte. She lives in Charlotte with her spouse, Michael, and her three grown children. Jenny loves to read just about anything and to have her hands in the dirt—weeding, planting and sowing seeds.

Lisa Aycock

Lead Youth Missioner
919-600-5308 |

As of January 1, 2019, Lisa Aycock is the lead youth missioner in the Diocese of North Carolina.

She and her husbad, Ricky, have four kids, three granddaughters, two dogs and a flock of chickens. In her free time, Lisa enjoys gardening, photography, and spending time outdoors and at the beach.

Leah Dail

Assistant Youth Missioner
919-600-5309 |

Leah Dail is a native North Carolinian, born and raised in Raleigh. She majored in English and American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and stayed there to work at the NC Jaycee Burn Center. She is married to Rick Schertz and they have four children and two dogs. After a 15-year career at home with her kids, she was the youth minister at St. Paul’s, Cary, for the past six years. She enjoys reading, gardening, and playing games with her family.

Leah is based out of the Raleigh office.

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