We Love You, Baltimore!

Welcome to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Baltimore, MD!

Baltimore, nick-named Charm City, combines a rich history and just small town charm with the industrial energy of a major city. Baltimore is where The Star Spangled Banner (written at Ft. McHenry, which can be seen from the Inner Harbor) was penned. In Baltimore, you can get a crab cake, a chicken box with a half-n-half (for the uninitiated: 5 fried chicken wings with western fries, a.k.a. potato wedges and a beverage that is half iced tea and half lemonade), or a great Italian dish in Little Italy.  However, what makes Baltimore kind of unique among General Convention cities is that this is the first time since the 1997 Convention in Philadelphia that the General Convention will be held in a majority Black city. Baltimore is more than 60% Black, has a majority Black city council, a Black mayor, and is home to two Historically Black Universities: Morgan State University and Coppin State University. Baltimore is home to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, and it is the birthplace of such icons as Thurgood Marshall, Pauli Murray, and Cab Calloway. And, while Baltimore has its issues around policing and Black bodies, what cannot be denied is the rich and powerful legacy African Americans have had here in Charm City.

General Convention is in the right spot for addressing the challenges ahead. In 2015, and again in 2018, the General Convention doubled down on its commitment to face the racial inequities still seen in The Episcopal Church and our larger society. This year, a number of resolutions will again call on The Episcopal Church to maintain or expand its commitment to racial equity and inclusion and to become a different church. Black people, who have a long-held history in The Episcopal Church, are not the only ones we are to be thinking about when we are thinking about inclusion together. The church will have the opportunity to attend to the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ people in leadership and discipleship. 

In advance of this General Convention, a sign of the Spirit at work might be glimpsed in the way that various caucuses have worked together, while maintaining their distinctive goals and identities. Working across difference, communities that have been historically marginalized and excluded are coming together in order to make their voices heard, clarified, and amplified. These various caucuses know that when we seek to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church, we need to attune our ears to listen to all voices, especially those that have been rejected.

The Church has a chance now to live into its promise of full inclusion of all of God’s people. General Convention, The Church, each Diocese, each congregation and community must look at itself and ask: Who is here, and who is not? Each must ask itself who are we missing from our tables of welcome and how do we engage those who are missing. Each must ask how do we fully include all of God’s children in the work of the Church, and how will that work of inclusion change the work of the Church.  We have a great moment to follow the Spirit’s lead, and Baltimore is the perfect city for this holy conversation.