This week Deacons Ashley and Jessica and I began the process of storing away the office in Fargo in preparation for moving the “diocesan center” closer to the center of the diocese. We were thoughtful and intentional about both the important paperwork that records the life and legacy of the Episcopal Church in North Dakota, and the sentimental and sacred things that we have accumulated and carried along the way. As I say, this is an ongoing process as we create a structure that offers us safe and secure storage, easy access and an ability to retrieve records and precious items easily and quickly. I crave your prayers for us as we continue this difficult work.
The elected leadership of this diocese (diocesan council, standing committee, finance and others) conferred on the decision to make this move. They considered factors such as financial stewardship, ease of access and, frankly, wear and tear on the Bishop. And while it all made sense on paper and in our heads, it took a while for us all to process the emotions that come with closing … well, anything, really.
I believe, and I hope you do, too, that names matter. What we call things reminds us of what we believe about them, and keeps us grounded in that belief. This is why it is important to remember that the building is “the building.” It is not the church. YOU are the church. WE are the church; the building is the building.
So it is with the diocesan center. YOU are the diocese. Wherever we are gathered, WE are the diocese. The “diocesan center” is an office space and some storage. We are not closing or even moving the diocesan center. Put your hand on your heart right now: THAT is the diocesan center. That beating heart is the reason our predecessors established a foothold in Fargo when it made the most logistical sense. Not to lay down roots there, but in order to stretch ministry into the diocese, to make it possible to do ministry among the faithful. Which is what we are doing now.
All this makes me want to say this to you: I don’t have plans to close any church building in this diocese. I cannot promise it will never come to that, but it is something I will resist with energy and decide in community. Our buildings are dear. And, they are just that: buildings. We often refer to them as “the church” as in, “come see the church.” But let us never forget that WE are the church. YOU are the church. The building is “the building.”
I will confess that the work this week has been harder than I expected. It took me back to the days that my sister and I spent packing up my mother’s things after she had passed away. And cleaning the bedroom of my oldest child when she got her first apartment and officially “moved out of home.” (There are still two totes of her things in my garage which comfort me, even though I wish she would come get them.) We all have these phases in our lives, when change that makes very good sense, stirs up emotion we hoped were well buried.
Change is hard on us all. But stagnation is not the way forward. Whatever change you are processing, whatever feelings you are packing up and trying to store away, please know that we, Jessica, Ashley and I, care for and about you and pray for you without ceasing.
The new mailing address for the office is:
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NORTH DAKOTA,
547 S. 7TH ST, SUITE 367,
BISMARCK, ND 58504.
The phone numbers are the same, the email addresses are the same, it is just the mailing address that has changed.
You remain in my prayers,
+Shay
