What is a bishop? - St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
What is a bishop? - St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
What is a bishop? - St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Photos by <strong>St</strong>acia Schoeffler, Sarah Bartenstein<br />
Photo by Whitney Bender<br />
B<strong>is</strong>hop Johnston confirms 78 in the Ep<strong>is</strong>copal <strong>Church</strong><br />
B<strong>is</strong>hop Johnston, Weezie Blanchard and Leigh Preston are shown with youth and adults presented for confirmation at the 9 a.m. service (left) and the 11:15 a.m. service (right).<br />
On Sunday, May 13, the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston, the B<strong>is</strong>hop of<br />
Virginia, v<strong>is</strong>ited <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s for our annual b<strong>is</strong>hop’s v<strong>is</strong>it. During the<br />
9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services, B<strong>is</strong>hop Johnston confirmed, received<br />
and reaffirmed 78 youth and adults. Confirmation <strong>is</strong> a mature commitment to<br />
Chr<strong>is</strong>t and an affirmation of the prom<strong>is</strong>es which may have been made by one’s<br />
parents and godparents when one <strong>is</strong> an infant or a child.<br />
Our youth are prepared for confirmation through the Sunday morning, youth<br />
group and weekend components of the Journey to Adulthood program. Adults<br />
take part in a seven-week Inquirers Class led by <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s clergy.<br />
The candidates had an opportunity to spend informal time with B<strong>is</strong>hop<br />
Johnston the evening before the services: the b<strong>is</strong>hop had dinner with youth<br />
confirmands, and adult candidates joined them afterwards for dessert.<br />
We have a new b<strong>is</strong>hop-elect!<br />
On Saturday, April 21, clergy and lay representatives<br />
of each of the par<strong>is</strong>hes in the Diocese of Virginia,<br />
including <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s, gathered at <strong>St</strong>. George’s <strong>Church</strong><br />
in Fredericksburg to select a new b<strong>is</strong>hop who will work<br />
with the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston, our diocesan (head)<br />
b<strong>is</strong>hop. Th<strong>is</strong> election came after a lengthy process of<br />
deliberation during which six men and women were<br />
nominated for the office of suffragan b<strong>is</strong>hop, a kind of<br />
ass<strong>is</strong>ting b<strong>is</strong>hop.<br />
Delegates chose the Rev. Canon Susan Goff, 58, who <strong>is</strong> known to many at <strong>St</strong>.<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephen’s, since she and her husband, the Rev. Tom Holliday, regularly attend<br />
the Celtic service and other offerings here. Canon Goff also recently led, with<br />
the Rev. Weezie Blanchard, a retreat for our vestry.<br />
The b<strong>is</strong>hop-elect has extensive experience in par<strong>is</strong>h and school settings,<br />
including at <strong>St</strong>. Catherine’s School. Most recently, she has served B<strong>is</strong>hop<br />
Johnston as “canon to the ordinary,” h<strong>is</strong> chief clergy ass<strong>is</strong>tant. She <strong>is</strong> the first<br />
woman elected to serve as a b<strong>is</strong>hop in the Diocese of Virginia.<br />
In many parts of the Anglican Communion, b<strong>is</strong>hops are appointed, but in<br />
the American church, we elect b<strong>is</strong>hops through a democratic process which<br />
includes receiving the consent of the entire Ep<strong>is</strong>copal <strong>Church</strong> before the person<br />
elected <strong>is</strong> ordained as a b<strong>is</strong>hop. Th<strong>is</strong> recognizes that we are in relationship to one<br />
another, and that while a b<strong>is</strong>hop may be elected to serve in a particular diocese,<br />
she or he <strong>is</strong> a b<strong>is</strong>hop for the whole church. Canon Goff’s ordination as a b<strong>is</strong>hop<br />
<strong>is</strong> scheduled for Saturday, July 28, at <strong>St</strong>. Paul’s <strong>Church</strong> in Richmond.<br />
Our spiritual formation program for youth in grades 6-12 includes<br />
a special experience that will take place th<strong>is</strong> summer for eight of our<br />
9th and 10th graders, a spiritual pilgrimage that <strong>is</strong> a life-changing<br />
journey for them and their adult chaperones.<br />
The pilgrimage takes place every other summer, and th<strong>is</strong> will be the third<br />
such pilgrimage for <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s youth since the program began. In<br />
2008, the first group to go on a pilgrimage from <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s traveled<br />
to Italy to walk in the footsteps of <strong>St</strong>. Franc<strong>is</strong> and <strong>St</strong>. Clare. Their leaders<br />
were Sarah Morr<strong>is</strong> (then our youth director), par<strong>is</strong>hioner Riker Purcell,<br />
and Bill Campbell and Whitney Bender (our youth interns at that time).<br />
In 2010, Whitney – who had become youth director – was joined by<br />
associate for Chr<strong>is</strong>tian formation and education Gene LeCouteur to lead<br />
a group to Ireland to follow the paths of <strong>St</strong>. Patrick and <strong>St</strong>. Kevin.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> year, our 9th and 10th graders have chosen Italy, and will be<br />
led by Gene and par<strong>is</strong>hioner Ruthie Burke as they study and v<strong>is</strong>it<br />
places that were important in the lives of <strong>St</strong>. Franc<strong>is</strong> and <strong>St</strong>. Benedict.<br />
They will lead daily worship, keep an account of their experiences<br />
on a blog, and will stay for part of their trip at the Monastery of <strong>St</strong>.<br />
Scholastica (named for <strong>St</strong>. Benedict’s s<strong>is</strong>ter), in the shadow of the<br />
Monastery of <strong>St</strong>. Benedict. Their itinerary includes v<strong>is</strong>its to Rome,<br />
Ass<strong>is</strong>i, Greccio, and other locations.<br />
Both of the saints that our youth have been studying were founders<br />
of monastic communities. <strong>St</strong>. Benedict, in particular, <strong>is</strong> known for<br />
<strong>What</strong> <strong>is</strong> a b<strong>is</strong>hop? B<strong>is</strong>hops as we know them in the Ep<strong>is</strong>copal <strong>Church</strong><br />
emerged in New Testament times. They were called by the title “ep<strong>is</strong>kopos,” a Greek<br />
word that means “overseer.” The Anglican Communion today teaches that we can<br />
trace a direct line from these earliest overseers of the <strong>Church</strong> to today’s b<strong>is</strong>hops. The<br />
original overseers in the church were the Apostles chosen by Jesus, whom he called to<br />
follow him, to whom he taught h<strong>is</strong> message, and whom he prepared for leadership.<br />
As we know, the earliest followers<br />
of Jesus were h<strong>is</strong> fellow Jews. But as<br />
the Gospel message quickly began<br />
to touch more and more lives,<br />
especially through the min<strong>is</strong>try of<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles,<br />
people from a variety of backgrounds<br />
and expanding geographical areas<br />
became attracted to the new faith.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> growth not only added organizational problems and theological complexity, it<br />
also expanded the responsibilities of the Chr<strong>is</strong>tian community and created a need for<br />
more leadership. Persons deemed worthy of leadership positions were chosen to ass<strong>is</strong>t<br />
the Apostles and their successors in passing on the faith to new generations. By the<br />
2nd century, however, fewer women were being ordained to positions of leadership in<br />
the <strong>Church</strong>. That exclusion lasted in the Ep<strong>is</strong>copal <strong>Church</strong> until the late 20th century,<br />
but women are now welcomed to all orders of the clergy in our church, including the<br />
office of b<strong>is</strong>hop.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> description was provided by the education subcommittee of the B<strong>is</strong>hop Suffragan Nominating<br />
Committee. Th<strong>is</strong> subcommittee created a series on the role of b<strong>is</strong>hops, available on the diocesan Web<br />
site at http://www.thediocese.net/B<strong>is</strong>hopSuffraganSearchProcess/.<br />
Our bookstore carries several<br />
books on the Ep<strong>is</strong>copal <strong>Church</strong><br />
and what it means to be an<br />
Ep<strong>is</strong>copalian:<br />
Did you know that a mitre—the<br />
hat worn by some b<strong>is</strong>hops during<br />
worship—<strong>is</strong> meant to symbolize<br />
the tongues of fire at Pentecost<br />
(Acts 2:3)?<br />
The Book of Common Prayer <strong>is</strong> also a rich resource, both in the<br />
Catech<strong>is</strong>m (page 845), the H<strong>is</strong>torical Documents (page 863),<br />
and in the introductions to the Sacraments (Holy Bapt<strong>is</strong>m,<br />
page 299, Holy Euchar<strong>is</strong>t, page 323) and pastoral<br />
offices such as Confirmation, Marriage and Burial.<br />
Young pilgrims to walk in the paths of Benedict and Franc<strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s youth on<br />
pilgrimage in Ireland, 2010.<br />
Photo by Sarah Bartenstein<br />
• A People Called Ep<strong>is</strong>copalians by John Westerhoff<br />
• Those Ep<strong>is</strong>kopols by Denn<strong>is</strong> Maynard<br />
• The Ep<strong>is</strong>copal Handbook<br />
• A Dictionary for Ep<strong>is</strong>copalians by John N. Wall<br />
h<strong>is</strong> “rule,” from which many other monastic communities developed<br />
their own rule of life. (You can read about “rule of life” on page 2.)<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Benedict <strong>is</strong>, appropriately, the patron saint of students.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Franc<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> well known as the patron saint of animals, the environment<br />
and as one of the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena). It <strong>is</strong><br />
customary for Ep<strong>is</strong>copal churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals<br />
on or near h<strong>is</strong> feast day of October 4, as we do here at <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen’s. <strong>St</strong>.<br />
Franc<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> also remembered for having been brought up in privileged<br />
circumstances before renouncing h<strong>is</strong> wealth to begin a religious order.<br />
Our group of pilgrims includes Colby Bedell, John Dav<strong>is</strong>, Caroline<br />
Jones, Hannah Krudys, Brice Martin, William Mayer, Hallie<br />
Reichel and Catherine Simpson. These young people have faithfully<br />
participated in Sunday morning, evening and weekend-long events<br />
in preparation for the pilgrimage, and all have taken part in various<br />
fundra<strong>is</strong>ers to defray the costs of the trip.<br />
Please hold these young people and their adult guides in your prayers<br />
as they embark on their pilgrimage, June 22-July 1.<br />
We will post photos and accounts of their experiences in a future<br />
edition of Seasons of the Spirit. To v<strong>is</strong>it the pilgrimage blog during<br />
their trip, go to our Web site, saintstephensrichmond.net/youth,<br />
where there will be a link to the blog.<br />
SAINT STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH PENTECOST 1 | SUmmER 2012 3