Bishop Carlye Hughes

"Every Sunday when I go to church, one of the first things I say as I open the service is, what a joy it is to be together face to face," says Bishop Hughes, reflecting on the past two-plus years when COVID made gathering difficult or impossible. This Advent is especially joyful because our gatherings are starting be restored. And so, she urges us to cherish the gift of relationships, and spend some time discerning how to take care of them going forward. Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/cherishing-gift-relationships

Discernment, says Bishop Hughes, is not just for people considering ordination or churches calling their next priest. It is the responsibility of all faithful people to ask themselves, and their community, "How is God trying to lead me into the thing that God has prepared me for in this life?"

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/what-does-god-want-me-do

Bishop Hughes returns to the topic of her last vlog post, beginning anew, and addresses two ways we can approach it: as a diocese, which we will do together through our strategic visioning and planning process; and as individuals, discerning what it is God has created us for and striving to mature in our faith and spiritual life. Transcript: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/two-ways-we-can-think-about-beginning-anew

We are socialized that when September comes, we feel we should start  thinking about beginning anew, says Bishop Hughes. And this year in  particular the whole world is trying to figure out how to begin anew,  due to the changes brought by the pandemic. Given all that, she  encourages us to talk to one another about this time that we're in, and  how we want it to reflect the priorities that, individually and  collectively, we have come to know and value.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/beginning-anew

After her first General Convention in the House of Bishops, Bishop Hughes reflects on the power of community and of listening.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/power-community-general-convention

After multiple shootings over the Fourth of July weekend, including the horrific mass shooting in Highland Park, Bishop Hughes reflects, "We have protested, we have written letters, we've stood firmly, we've prayed. And if there's a thing that I feel that is missing, and it is not ours to do alone, it is when a community comes together and works for the common good."

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/finding-middle-ground

As we continue to work through the change and challenges of this time,  says Bishop Hughes, that inspiration that led us to the faith in the  first place and that keeps us going in the faith is going to be  important to us.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/blessing-professing-ones-faith

When we honor people through these awareness months, says Bishop Hughes,  it is to help us see that we're all actually part of one another. We  are all more of who we are because of all of us being part of the same  family, that is the people of God.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/may-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-awareness-month-why-do-we-celebrate-awareness

Sometimes we get so caught up with our own needs being met at church that we forget that we're part of something bigger, says Bishop Hughes. And when we gather like we did at Convention this past Saturday, we remember that we are part of something bigger: God's work.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/we-are-part-something-bigger

The enormity of the miracle that is resurrection is one that takes time  for us to celebrate. It's also one that takes time for us to reflect on,  to learn, about to think about, to explore, in order for us to live  fully as resurrected people. To live as people who claim the  resurrection, and claim the special relationship it gives us with God  through Jesus Christ.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/celebrating-50-days-easter

“As you head towards the end of Lent and into Holy Week and towards  Easter,” says Bishop Hughes, “I think it's important for all of us to be  preparing to share this thing that we love so much: that we know that  God is here for us, that God cares for us, and God is here for every  single person.”

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/what-we-can-focus-easter

Bishop Hughes reminds us that we can pray for God to do the impossible – even if we don't feel worthy or don't have the words – whether that is in our family, in our church, across the street, across the state, or across the world in Ukraine.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/freedom-pray-miracles

God understands that some part of us has the struggle that Paul names in Romans – that we do the things that we don't mean to do. And Lent gives us a chance to look at that, to turn ourselves, again and again, back to God, and ask the question, “What is it that I am called to do now? And what do I need to ask forgiveness for? And who do I need to forgive?”

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/lent-time-turn-back-god

Bishop Hughes describes how, when she has met with congregations during these years of pandemic, despite all the challenges people face, the word she hears most often is "blessed." She hears stories of gratitude and hope –  and she urges us to share those stories.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/sharing-stories-gratitude-and-hope

"The blessing of Black History Month is it reminds us we are in relationships that are to be honored and treasured," says Bishop Hughes, "but to honor and treasure them we have to know each other better."

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/its-black-history-month

"An important thing for us to remember in this season of Epiphany," says  Bishop Hughes, is "the many ways in which Jesus is revealed, including  the ways that Jesus is revealed through us. Everywhere we go, in every  interaction that we have with every person that we see, we have an  opportunity to present Jesus to the rest of the world."

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/jesus-revealed-through-us

"It doesn't take much effort to see that if there's a thing that defines this time right now, it seems to be anger," says Bishop Hughes. "Who are we to be in the midst of that? How are we to be God's emissaries? How are we to be the witnesses of God's love in this time that we're in?"

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/sharing-gods-love-when-people-are-angry