Here’s a fun fact: When I knew that I would be on the slate to become your Bishop, after about a week, right before the announcement, I withdrew from the slate.
You see, I was happy as the dean of Christ Cathedral. The congregation was healthy and strong, in a good financial position, and increasing in vitality in every measurable way. I loved my community, I loved my little house, there was no reason for me to want to leave.
But I have a very special friend group, whose counsel I take very seriously. And a member of that group reached out to me and said, “I think you are asking the wrong question.”
She said, “You are asking yourself from a place of contentment and success, why you wouldn’t want anymore. And that’s the wrong question.”
The question you should be asking yourself is, “Is there a seed that the Creator has placed in you that you have not yet brought to harvest?”
It was that question that guided me back into the search process that led to the most challenging, blessed and rewarding work I could ever have imagined: being your bishop.
Now I commend this question to you.
Through six years of transition and change, this diocese has been in the hands of competent, careful, faithful, and determined leadership. And almost all of that leadership has been lay people.
The work of governance, the work of outreach, the work of pastoral care, stewardship, and liturgy has all fallen on the shoulders of people who choose to serve the church, not as a vocation, but as a gift. Not as a job, but as an act of love, for their community, congregation and for God.
This leadership – YOU – call on the gifts God has placed in you and put them to work to build a world that points to the Kingdom of God. Everything we have today, was built in community, for community.
The diversity, vitality, and intentionality exhibited in the lay leadership in this diocese is an example to the whole church. I hope they’re watching.
I believe that a lot of that bounty came from recognizing that this diocese doesn’t look like other dioceses and it doesn’t function like a typical diocese. But the danger is that now that we appear to be more conventional – with a settled Bishop – we will default into more conventional ways of being and lose the power of innovation. We are better for having been collaborative and largely lay led. Let us not lose that. Let us not lose that advantage. Let us bring it to bear in this new season.
In this news, and in others to follow, you will see an invitation to step into leadership in the diocese in many ways. I invite you to investigate what the various committees and commissions do and ask the people who serve on them about the vision for those bodies.
Many of these bodies have members who have served a yeoman’s duty, and are ready for a rest. So committees that you might not have considered serving on before, may be open now.
As an example, Diocesan Council has divided its work into six principal areas of focus (listed below with the council members). Each member of council co-chairs a sub committee which addresses that area of ministry. They have short and long term goals, strategies to accomplish those goals, and a staff accountability partner. AND they are actively inviting people across the diocese to join in the work.
Please take a look at the list of subcommittees and their work and consider reaching out to one of the chair persons, or diocesan staff.
Look, we are all busy, none of us needs another thing to do and we sometimes (often) wish that the church just chugged along with limited energy from us. The mistake we make is looking at the work of the diocese and sighing and thinking, “Well, I guess I should offer to help.”
Instead, I invite you to consider these committees as opportunities to discover something about yourself that you’ve always wondered about, a chance to confirm a quality you’ve always suspected you had. Reach out to a member of the committee or the diocesan staff and find out what they do.
And then ask yourself the right question:
Is there a seed that the Creator has placed in you that you have not yet brought to harvest?
Is this the time?
The current Diocesan Council and Standing Committee liaisons are listed below. Can you see yourself joining these areas of ministry?
Youth Ministry (which includes Youth retreats, formation, and education)
- Raphael DeCoteau | St. Sylvan’s, Dunseith
- The Rev. Dn. Angela Goodhouse | St. Luke’s, Fort Yates
- Dn. Jessica Krzewina | dMST
- Susan Lisok | St. John the Divine, Moorhead
- Rachel Schmidt | All Saints, Minot
Creation Care:
- The Rev. Dn. Ashley Hubbard | dMST
- Amy Phllips | St. Stephen’s, Fargo
Reconciliation:
- The Rev. Peter Akicmeir | St. John the Divine, Moorhead
- Carmine Goodhouse | St. Luke’s, Fort Yates
- The Rev. Dn. Ashley Hubbard | dMST
- Karilee Lieberman | St. Paul’s, White Shield
Communication/Development (which includes Social Media, Branding, WoDakota Annual Appeal, and Congregational Vitality, not listed)
- The Rt. Rev. Shay Craig | Bishop Diocesan
- Jael Mogga | St. John the Divine, Moorhead
- The Rev. Jamie Parsley | St. Stephen’s, Fargo
Leadership Development (which includes Commission on Ministry and the Personnel Committee, not listed)
- The Rt. Rev. Shay Craig | Bishop Diocesan
- The Rev. Harvey Henderson | St. Paul’s, Grand Forks
- The Rev. Robert Hoekstra | Grace, Jamestown
- The Rev. Dn. Elsie Magnus | St. Peter’s, Walhalla
- The Rev. Hal Wiedman | St. George’s, Bismarck
Buildings/Grounds
- The Rt. Rev. Shay Craig | Bishop Diocesan
- Tyrrell DeCoteau | St. Sylvan’s, Dunseith
- The Rev. Lindsey Dwarf | St. Luke’s, Fort Yates
- Dn. Jessica Krzewina | dMST
- Jason Thoms | St. George’s, Bismarck
Finance (also includes three non-council members, not listed)
- The Rt. Rev. Shay Craig | Bishop Diocesan
- The Rev. John Floberg | Standing Rock Communities & Camp Gabriel
- The Rev. Harvey Henderson | St. Paul’s, Grand Forks
- Dn. Jessica Krzewina | dMST
- The Rev. Dn. Beth Lipp | St. George’s, Bismarck
- Jael Mogga | St. John the Divine, Moorhead
