Holy Conversations - The beginning of our search for a bishop

As most of you know, our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. G. Porter Taylor has announced that he will retire next year. A Bishop Search Committeehas been formed and they are scheduling visits around the diocese to have “Holy Conversations.” It’s one of the things I really love about the Episcopal Church; when we have a decision to make all voices are invited into the process.

Redeemer has been selected as a host site for one of these Holy Conversations. We will hold two gatherings in our Parish Hall on September 1st - one from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, and the other from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Churches from around our deanery will be joining us as we enter together into this period of communal discernment.

These Holy Conversations will help the BSC begin the work of preparing our diocesan profile. The profile will be reviewed and discerned by many across the country as candidates for election are recommended to us.

Granted, the Diocese of Western North Carolina is a real gem. We are stunningly beautiful, have three conference centers, two which belong to us (Lake Logan and Valle Crucis) and one which belongs to The Episcopal Church (Kanuga). Our weather is gentle but offers seasonal variety. We are an attractive call. Many will be interested in us just because of those things.

But a bishop search, like a rector search, is about discerning. As a diocese we must get really honest about our values, our passions, and our personality. We must also claim, own, and present our challenges. Candidates aren’t going to be looking for a perfect diocese and this isn’t dating, so we don’t need to put our “best foot forward.” Candidates will be looking for a faithful diocese, a community that is willing to hear and answer God’s call to the Church in this moment in our history in WNC. They’ll be looking for a people who will honor their new bishop’s gifts of episcopal leadership while honoring their own gifts as members of the diocese, so that we can participate as one body, one spirit, in the work we are called to do in the name of Christ.

The Holy Conversations that will be conducted around the diocese are an invitation for everyone to do just that: to listen prayerfully together about how God is calling us as a diocese to move forward, and the gifts our next bishop will need to lead us faithfully into this new season of our common life. These conversations are about who we are now, who God is calling us to become, and who is the person called to lead us there. Sound familiar?

Discernment is a spiritual discipline and takes practice and intentional effort. We know what we think, and what we think we want, but are we willing also to hear what God would like us to hear?

Not all bishops fit all dioceses, and all dioceses are in continual rhythms of growth and decline – spiritually and actually. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the person God is calling to serve as our next bishop will discern that individually, while we as a diocese discern it as a community. The meeting of these faithful efforts will happen at the election next year. For now, however, our only task is to enter into Holy Conversations and empower our BSC to begin the hard work of building our diocesan profile.

Please mark your calendar and plan to share your thoughts at the conversation we’ll be hosting on Sep. 1. The election of a bishop is a wondrously spiritual process. I hope we’ll all commit to being part of it: humbly, bravely, honestly, and faithfully.