In his first public (recorded) appearance since emergency brain surgery in early January, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry used his annual Easter message to give thanks for prayers and support throughout his series of medical challenges.
“Just two weeks ago, my medical team approved me to drive locally and to resume short domestic flights,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much your prayers have sustained me and my family through this medical journey. Prayer matters.”
Curry, who turned 71 on March 13, underwent unscheduled surgery for a subdural hematoma on January 6, and had a follow-up procedure January 18. On March 1, he was hospitalized overnight after a pacemaker was inserted to treat his recurring irregular heartbeat. He has been hospitalized seven times in the past year for a variety of reasons, including a previous subdural hematoma and the removal of an adrenal gland and an attached, noncancerous mass.
He spoke steadily and surely in his Easter message, albeit with considerably less energy than he has displayed in times of better health — such as in the previous year’s Easter message. The 2023 message was recorded on a balcony overlooking Paris, while this year’s message came from the study of his Raleigh, North Carolina, home.
“Without consciously deciding to do it, I actually found myself praying some words from Psalm 31, which says, ‘Into your hands, I commend my spirit,’” Curry said. Those words came to him “before surgeries and treatments, through some long nights, difficult days,” he said, adding that they were the words Jesus uttered with his last breath on the cross.
“And though he died, death did not have the last word, though he did die. He died into the hands of God and slipped out of the grip of death,” he said. “And as we now know, on the third day he rose again, and he lives.”
The 27th presiding bishop is in the final months of a nine-year term that ends November 1. His successor will be elected in June at General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. A slate of candidates is scheduled to be announced April 2.
Also in advance of Easter, the Office of Global Partnerships posted the first video in a seven-part series, “Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus: An Easter Journey with Palestinian Christians.” Additional videos, featuring Archbishop Hosam Naoum and other clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, will be posted on Wednesdays during Eastertide.
