In the early days of the pandemic last spring, word came that Bishop Barbara Harris had died. This giant of a woman – in impact if not physical stature – left her mark on the Church and the world in ways we will continue to discover for years to come.
Bishop Harris’s 2018 memoir, Hallelujah, Anyhow, is a book filled with hope even in the face of the many challenges that confronted her, from racism and misogyny to threats of violence when she was elected as the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion.
She took the title of this memoir from an old gospel hymn that speaks to the truth that there will be difficulties in the Christian life, but we sing our praise anyhow.
Hallelujah, anyhow,
Don't let your troubles get you down.
If Satan blocks your way
Stand right up and say: Hallelujah, anyhow.
These days, we are confronted with all manner of challenges: an unrelenting pandemic, economic peril, depression and anxiety for the future, grief at all that we have lost, and sheer exhaustion. Yet, if the message of the cross is one of resurrection and hope, we, too, can say, “Hallelujah, anyhow.”
This isn’t denial or escapism; it is firmly grounded in our faith. We do not live in a Good Friday world. We live in an Easter world, a world of resurrection. So, let us all say, “Hallelujah, anyhow!
