Bishop candidates

My week has been taken over by bishop candidates. A laywoman and I are taking turns "shepherding" Robert Koomson, or helping him navigate all the small group rooms and ins and outs of the "presentations" this week. These are forums at churches ALL over Chicago and northern Illinois that gives our eight (8!) candidates a chance to share their vision and answer lots of questions. Although I'm sure there is some element of a popularity contest here - who's wearing the sharpest outfit? who has the nicest haircut? who feels like my friend? who tells the funniest jokes? who is the priest I wish I could be or who I wish could be my parish priest? who makes the statement I want to make about our diocese and the church?

The question we should be asking is, of course: Who would be the best bishop for Chicago right now? Regardless of all those other factors, some of which actually are worth considering along the way, that is the question the Spirit wants to help us discern right now. Although I'm certainly not above getting lost in all those seventh-grade class-president type questions. I've been noticing haircuts and thinking about political statements more than I care to admit.

But how can we KNOW who would be the best bishop for Chicago? Well, we can read the diocesan profile. I was on the subcommittee that developed and wrote this evaluation of our diocese, its needs, its history, and its possibilities. I confess: it's kind of long (sorry about that!). But we tried to be honest and thorough.

In my own discernment, I'm thinking about how many churches we've closed in the past ten years, about the need for spreading the word about Jesus, getting publicity as the Episcopal Church, doing anti-racism work in our city, and spreading God's love as far around our churches as we can.

But I also like what the search committee offers on discernment (from the website):
"Prayerfully consider the ways in which each nominee might be called to be the bishop of Chicago." It's a good discipline to think about how EACH person might be called to be our bishop, even the candidates I'm not so sure about.

So, on Tuesday I drove across the city to Glen Ellyn. Tonight I'm driving across the city again to Palos Park. I'm crashing at my parents' house, and getting up early to cross the neighborhood to 63rd Street in Chicago. Then I'm deaconing at a friends' wedding! THEN I need to finish my sermon because I'm preaching Sunday morning. (My last Sunday at St. John's, where I've been serving as a deacon during my search process.) Then, after preaching at two services, I'm driving across the STATE to Dixon. Then I'm driving Robert home to Evanston. Then I am going to eat a mint-chocolate Haagan Dazs ice cream bar and fall asleep reading Kennon Callahan and/or Jane Austen.