A Word from Bishop LaBelle

Dear Friends in the Diocese of Olympia,

The events of this past week in our country—including the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and the shooting of two others in Portland, OR—have been deeply troubling to many. I commend the statement from the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya, Bishop of Minnesota, to you. (Find it at https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/01/08/minnesota-bishop-invokes-story-of-herod-in-statement-lamenting-ice-killing-of-woman/) As Bishop Loya says, “Our call is to stand in the midst of a world where Herod continues to flex and posture, not in outrage or with reciprocal violence, but gazing in wonder and expectation for the joyful manifestation of Jesus wherever the poor, the outsider, the weak, and the oppressed are to be found.”

I’ve just returned from a contemplative retreat with sixteen other bishops—including Bishop Loya. Our retreat leader pointed us toward these words from Thomas Merton: “Action is the stream. Contemplation is the spring.” Contemplation and prayer feed the spring of water in our inner life, which then feeds the stream of action and how we engage the world. This contemplative work must be done first and with regularity if our actions are to remain pure and in the way of Jesus. If we disregard tending to our souls, we run the risk of making our desires to do good solely about ourselves and potentially being harmful, both to ourselves and to others.

Make no mistake, the way of Jesus is the way of non-violence. His is the way of love. That does not mean that we do not stand up when we encounter injustice in this world—because we should. Instead, the way of love means that we seek out ways of being the body of Christ in the world and in our neighborhoods exhibiting the humility and peace of Jesus. Stilling our souls in the presence of Jesus is foundational to this action.

For those seeking to respond to this heart-wrenching week through your presence and action—both good and necessary work—please begin with a time of contemplation, prayer, and stillness in the presence of God. For all of us, let’s nurture that spring of water in our own souls by remaining connected to Jesus and praying for peace. This is the only way hope and joy will be found in our world: true and lasting peace begins in our own hearts and the ways in which we treat our neighbors.

As we remember Jesus’ Baptism on Sunday, I hope that each of us will live into our own baptismal call to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

Faithfully,
+Phil