Episcopal Church bishops confirm members, attend Love is the Way Festival on Saturday

Two deacons will join the priesthood of the Episcopal Church during a confirmation ceremony in Bloomington on Saturday.

The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and the Right Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis, also will confirm about 40 members of the diocese. 

The Diocese of Indianapolis includes central and southern Indiana, encompassing Bloomington. The deacons to be confirmed at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Joél Munoz and Jason Fortner, are from Indianapolis and Lebanon, respectively. The members to be confirmed to the Diocese of Indianapolis are from all over central and southern Indiana. Curry also will preach during a worship service at the Monroe Convention Center.

Curry and Baskerville-Burrows, along with anyone inclined to attend, will participate in a Love is the Way Festival at 2:30 p.m. The celebration will include music, food and activities in the parking lot. Both Curry and Baskerville-Burrows will speak.

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Folk singer Dale Bitner and a gospel choir from Trinity Episcopal Church and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church are some of the featured artists. La Poblana, Döner Kebab and Kona Ice food trucks will be selling food and drinks. 

Baskerville-Burrows was elected bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis in October 2016 and ordained and consecrated in April 2017. She is the first Black woman to be elected a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church. She oversees 47 congregations across south-central Indiana. Previously she was an ordained priest for about 25 years and was on the bishop staff for the Diocese of Chicago for five years.

The Episcopal Church is a community of Christians who follow a way of love, Baskerville-Burrows said. The members of the denomination love sacramental life and want to bring the world closer to God’s dream through worship, helping the community and serving others.

“We follow the loving, liberating and life giving way of Jesus,” she said.

Baskerville-Burrows said Curry is a renowned speaker and a representative of the Episcopal Church on the international stage, so it is particularly special for him to visit. 

“He is probably in the top five of most inspiring preachers of our time,” she said. “He’ll be there giving a message of love for our community that, in these hard days, we are needing all the messages of love and encouragement we can get.”

She said she expects about 500 people to attend.

“We chose Bloomington because it’s a central place for all of us to gather,” she said. “We hope everyone in the whole community will join us.”

Baskerville-Burrows said she hopes anyone who is curious will stop by on Saturday.

“We are trying to spread the Gospel, a message of love, and we want everyone to hear it,” she said.

Reach Luzane Draughon at ldraughon@gannett.com or @luzdraughon on Twitter.