The Rt. Rev. Douglas Sparks, Seabury Western ’89, kicked off the Big Provincial Gathering in South Bend, Indiana on the evening of April 25 with a conversation on his experience “Walking the Potawatomi Trail of Death.” The Bishop of Northern Indiana as well as President of our Board of Directors, Sparks shared stories about his sabbatical pilgrimage with the 100 attendees gathered at a festive reception hosted by Bexley Seabury Seminary.
During his pilgrimage, Sparks walked the 660-mile route trail taken by the Potawatomi people when they were forcibly removed by militia in 1838 from Indiana to reservation lands in eastern Kansas. Sparks chose to make the pilgrimage “of lament and remembrance” after praying and consulting with leaders from the indigenous community. Learn more about the pilgrimage in the Episcopal News Service.
Sparks recognized the importance of making this journey and sharing his experiences as a critical element of acknowledging responsibility as the first step in leading reconciliation in his Diocese. This is “one way to begin to repair the breach with our indigenous siblings,” he explained to the assembly from Province V of the Episcopal Church, “acknowledging our own complicity and working to make a positive impact through our own actions, being an example to others.”
Bishop Sparks recent worked with the Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations legislative committees to urge approval of resolution A048 allowing for the exchangeability of deacons between The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Bexley Seabury was not only a sponsor of the Big Provincial Gathering, two professors led workshops for the attendees. Julie Lytle, Director of Distributive and Lifelong Learning Initiatives presented “A Christian Life of Faith: Signs and Thresholds along The Way.” Mary Crist, Visiting Professor of Education and Indigenous Studies and Coordinator, Indigenous Theological Education for the Episcopal Church presented “Getting to Reconciliation in Five (Not So Easy) Steps.” In addition, alum Heather Barta, Seabury Western ’04 led the events as Province V coordinator, and M.E. Eccles, Seabury Western ’03, was on hand as a member of the Province V executive board and was elected to the Episcopal Church Executive Council.