How many degrees of separation?



Episcopalians live in a very small Church.

For example:  Reg, the Senior Warden of my home parish (St. Boniface Church, Siesta Key, FL) recently took a trip to New Orleans, where he took a tour of some of the glorious Victorian Homes in that City.

At one of the houses he “happened” to mention that our current  South West Florida Bishop, (Dabney Smith), had lived a door or two away when he served a parish in “NOLA” (New Orleans, Louisiana).

Upon the mention of the Diocese of South West Florida, another tourist pricked up his ears and asked Reg:  “Do you know an Episcopal Priest named Michael Povey who has retired to Sarasota?”

Reg admitted that he knew me.

The other tourist identified himself as John S.  He further related that he is the partner of David, a Priest in the Diocese of Newark.

Gosh-and-be-golly -  David and I were colleagues in the Diocese of Western Mass.  In fact he served with me at St. Stephen’s, Pittsfield, MA, and he became the interim Rector when I left there in 2000.

I had lunch with David and with John S. when they were on vacation in Sarasota last year.

The Episcopal Church is very small!  And I suspect that there are but two or three (not six) degrees of separation in God’s good world.

So:  Reg the Senior Warden of the parish at which I am a member went to NOLA.

There he encountered John, the partner of David.   

David served with me at St. Stephen's, Pittsfield.

Cool, cool, cool!!!!!!!! 



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