Bishop's Pages
Dear Friends –
Yes, it was a very fine party. Thank you all for the opportunity to be with so many of you and to recall fondly why this has been such a fruitful time in my life. Seeing so many friends in one place was a treat, and I couldn’t help but recall a feel-ing I had at an early diocesan convention when I could acknowledge by name the first thirteen people who rose to speak. For one who came as a stranger in your midst, I leave no long able to hide there. We are friends. And as such we have learned to walk together even though there have been times when we had not seen eye-to-eye on issues. That is the real gift I will treasure long after I have moved on to the next phase of my life.
I would be remiss, however, if I did not recognize the purse gathered by all of you totaling almost $9500. WOW!! It has been divided between Episcopal Relief and Development (for children’s programs) and the Kenyan Children’s Foundation, two organizations close to my heart. Thank you. And a special thanks to Sterling and Winston, two young men at the Church of the Ascension who raised $300 for ERD’s Nets for Life (malaria prevention) program by playing a charity basketball game with some of their Roman Catholic peers. What a great idea and what a great gift in my honor. I was awed by their creativity and humbled by the gift. And a very special thank you to Sharron Hollingsworth, not only for organizing the party, but for her consistent and persistent ministry in so many ways in our diocese. What a won-derful gift to us all. Thank you one and all.
Our special convention to elect the next bishop went very smoothly, and we were successful in reaching a decision in an orderly and prayerful manner that befits the way the church can do our business. We were all blessed that four persons would offer themselves to be considered for this position, any one of whom would have successfully brought their own special gifts to the office. As we move forward to receive Brian as our next bishop, remember also to give thanks for Rich, Faith and Kel-sey and their openness to our consideration of them as our bishop. Our cup does in-deed overflow with God’s blessings.
Because Brian already lives with us, it is tempting to expect too much from him too soon. I encourage you to give him the space he needs to say goodbye to his con-gregation as their priest and to begin to move into his new vocation (calling). I encourage you to let him make his move to Boise without waiting on his doorstep to get an answer to your questions about the future of your congregation or your minis-try. (I know – some of us are anxious to see if he will give us an answer to our question which is different from what we have gotten from the incumbent. And he may. But rushing that process does not honor Brian’s need to begin to see and ex-perience our diocese as a whole, not as a collection of individual congregations each competing for its own piece of some imag-ined pie.) And I encourage you to let his family make this important adjustment for their lives. It is never easy to leave one place and settle in a new one, even when we do not physically move to a new set-ting. In the end, we know all will be well, even without our intervention.
As you may know, I decided not to go to the Lambeth Conference. I have struggled to come back from my last che-motherapy, being very easily winded and chronically tired. Living on an English college campus would have been a chal-lenge I did not think I was up to. I am dis-appointed, but I am also prizing this time to recuperate and prepare for the next steps in my recovery. As always I cherish your prayers and hold you close to my heart with great gratitude as the journey goes forward. God’s Peace and Blessings always. - HBB
