Today in the America Episcopal church we celebrate the consecration of Samuel Seabury (1729-1796) as our first American bishop. He later succeeded William White as our second Presiding Bishop ( I guess “Archbishop” didn’t sound Democratic enough….) Our current PB is the first Africa American, Michael Curry.

                                                   Psalm 89:1

Your 

love, 

O 

Lord,

 for 

ever 

will 

I sing; 

from age to age 

my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.

After the American Revolution (during which Seabury was loyal to Britain) the new American Episcopal church had a problem - wanting to continue the apostolic succes-sion of bishops, 

but no longer able to swear their loyalty to the King,  the titular head of the Church after Henry VIII broke away from Rome.  In June 1783 Samuel Seabury sailed for England seeking to be consecrated. At length he was forced to turn from England to Scotland, which was a “non-juring “ church and there, on June 14, 1784 in the private chapel of the bishop in Aberdeen, Seabury was consecrated as our first Bishop. Then 

he faced the 8-12 week journey home by sea….  To ensure that the hands that are laid on a bishop go physically back to the Hands that were laid on Peter, there are always three bishops present at a conse-cration. Although Bill Mahedy used to say that would really happened when they they all laid hands on the new bishop, what really happened was that they took out their spine, it is an important physical reminder that we together are the Body of Christ.