Episcopal Letter 2024
Friends,
Today is the Feast of Transfiguration and the anniversary of my consecration as your bishop. This is the collect for the day, which I’m sure many of you have already prayed:
“O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
What the collect calls “the disquietude of this world” I feel so deeply right now. I also feel the disquietude of the church. It seems almost an ever-present pressure, honestly. You must be feeling it too. How could we not when those we’re called to care for are always feeling it? Besides, it’s not for no reason that the tradition speaks of the priesthood as a burden!
Peter, James, and John felt this disquietude too—right in the moment of revelation. They were, Luke says, “weighed down with sleep.” How’s that for understatement? Yet they found a way to help one another stay present. Somehow, when the moment of truth came, they were awake enough to see and hear what they needed to see and hear.
That’s what I pray for us, as well. We will not always find it easy to be with Christ, and we will at times lose sight of his beauty. That has something to do with our weakness, of course, as well as our sins. But it has more to do with what Dame Julian called our “noughting”—the stripping away of all that must be stripped away for us to be at-one with Christ in our calling.
The promise of the Transfiguration, then, is not that we will always be radiant, bathed in the light of the experience of God. The promise of the Transfiguration is that even when we are at our wits’ end, utterly exhausted, the Lord will help us help one another keep our eyes open.
I am so grateful for all that you’ve done for me over the last year, the love that you’ve shown to me and my family. Thank you for your support, your prayers, and your patience. Especially that! Your faithfulness to God and to the work of God are a steadying force for me and for others. It takes a village to raise a bishop, I’m learning. And I’m glad to be able to learn it from you.
We have experienced growth this year, not only in numbers but also in spirit and strength. Thanks to you, we are starting to establish real infrastructure for the diocese, which will serve us well in the future. More than thirty new oblates have joined the Order. New priests have been ordained — David†, Daniel† Lukas, Daniel† Davis, Megan†, Stephen†, Marisa†, Phil†, Casey†, Matt†, and Aly† — as well as new deacons: Josh, Cole, Karen, Gavin, Julie, Cherith, and Bliss. In November, Cole, Bliss, and Cherith will be ordained to the priesthood. Two new cohorts have formed for those discerning Holy Orders.
All of this has required more of you. Many have taken time to teach classes for Saint Anthony Institute, to lead discussions, to offer spiritual direction, to mentor ordinands. Thank you! This is vital work. You’ve also been faithful in your giving and in your prayers, as well as in joining clergy calls and submitting your Ember Letters. I am grateful for all the points of contact that keep us in touch with one another.
I need to single out a few people for special honor for their service and leadership, including Preston†, Paul†, Deborah†, and David†, as well as Brent† and Janis†, who have agreed to help us focus on our spiritual and relational health. They have all gone above and beyond in service.
I hope to use this Feast each year to make new appointments and announce new initiatives in the Diocese. This year, I’m glad to announce that Deborah† will be serving as Abbess of our Online Abbey and Canon to the Ordinary (because she is a constant help to us all), and that David† Harvey will be the Director of the Institute. I also need to thank our Bishops Council (†Ed, †Beth, and †Michael). They continue to offer invaluable pastoral guidance and support not only to me but to so many, including by serving on the Commission on Ministry. We are beyond blessed to have them caring for us.
I need to thank Christopher† Brewer too, as well as Deacon Julie and Deacon Rob and the others who’re helping to plant our cathedral church, St Mary’s, in Chattanooga. We are officially gathering weekly on Sundays now, and continue to meet via Zoom on Tuesday evenings for catechism. We look forward to providing more updates in the coming months.
As we look to the future, please remember that you are always in my heart and prayers. I ask that you keep me in yours as well, so that together we may continue to help one another stay present to the light of Christ, guided by his grace and mercy.
May the peace of Christ be with you all, now and always.
Working with you for your joy,
†Chris