By: The Rev. Allan Wallace, St. Paul’s, New Albany and Elise Shrock, Diocesan Communication Director
This summer, a delegation from the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis journeyed to Brazil to deepen our relationship with our diocesan companions in the Anglican Diocese of Brasília—and what we found there wasn’t just their overflowing hospitality, but a powerful sense of shared mission. From hemisphere to hemisphere, language to language, it was clear: the Spirit that moves among us here in Indianapolis is alive and well in the heart of Brazil!
We witnessed ministries that echo our own hopes, dreams, and commitments—especially the work of building truly inclusive communities. In Brasília, we visited congregations where LGBTQ people are not just welcomed but celebrated, where transgender people can access affirming healthcare, where reproductive justice is upheld as a sacred right, and where people living with HIV and AIDS are embraced with compassion, not stigma. Their witness reminded us deeply of the holy work we hold close at Trinity Haven—our own beacon for LGBTQ youth in Indiana—and the sacred truth that all God’s children deserve dignity, safety, and belonging.
At Brasília PRIDE, Bishop Jennifer and Dean Gray Lesesne stood atop a float, addressing the full crowd with words of love and liberation, a public testament to our shared courage and commitment; God loves you, no exceptions!
We also took part in a tree planting as an act of faith and communion. Their tree-planting ministry, like our own Rev. Charles Mason‘s efforts, is rooted in the belief that tending the Earth is an act of worship and solidarity. In both dioceses, these trees are more than symbols—they’re living commitments to future generations, to ecological justice, and to healing a planet groaning for renewal.
In conversations over coffee and pão de queijo (cheese bread), we also saw how their care for unhoused neighbors reflects the best of our own diocesan values. In kitchens, warm meals are lovingly prepared in community and taken out into the streets, not just as acts of charity but as expressions of mutual relationship and solidarity. People are known by name, not by need. It’s the same kind of gospel-shaped community we see in congregations across our diocese—where food pantries are prayerful spaces, where Parish Halls full of warm meals feel like sanctuaries.
As Episcopalians, we strive to see, hear, and love each other boldly and authentically in a diverse world where our Christlikeness unites us in prayer, relationship, and mission across difference. Global Missions is one way to broaden our reach while stretching ourselves in new ways that bring us closer to one another and to God’s call to live the way of love.
The diocesan Global Missions Commission has been and continues to be in relationship with our diocesan partners in Brasilia as well as Haiti. These types of relationships take us back to our roots as members of the Anglican Communion, connected in prayer and mission with our brothers and sisters across the globe. It is our hope that we can not only remain connected to our global partners, but that we will make stronger connections right here in our diocese as we continue to grow those relationships and learn from one another.
If you are interested in learning more about Global Missions, would like a member of the Global Missions Commission to visit your parish, or you want to get involved by offering financial support, discerning a parish-to-parish relationship, or joining the Global Missions Commission, please email the Rev. Allan Wallace.
We may be thousands of miles apart from our companion dioceses, but we are tethered by love, by justice, by a vision of the Church as refuge and rebel both. In Brasília, we didn’t just find companions. We found kin.
Thanks be to God for the tie that binds us—stronger than distance, deeper than difference, rooted in Christ’s liberating love.
