Hello EDSD!

I am delighted to finally be on the ground and among you as your new Canon to the Ordinary for Leadership Development. At the time of writing, I’ve been in California for a whole thirteen days, but already I can tell that my initial impressions from the interview stage were correct: you have a stellar team here in the Offices of the Bishop. From Bishop Susan on out, these are folks who know deeply what their ministry is and are skilled and passionate for that work. As I begin to meet the people of the diocese, I am learning this is widespread: you are a remarkable group of Christ followers. You are active in your communities, you have a story to tell of God’s work among you, and you even seem to like each other! I’m deeply privileged to be able to join you. 

I’ve been invited to share a few things about me and a tiny bit of my story here, to help you get to know me – and I am eager to hear your stories soon, as I travel around the diocese.   

There’s the basics: I’ve moved here from Indianapolis, IN, following five years of transitional ministry in three very different congregations (one recent church plant, one small-but-mighty church, and one large endowed parish). Before that, I spent six years in campus ministry in St. Louis, MO, and seven as an associate rector in Ann Arbor, MI. And yes, even before that, I was a born-and-bred Midwesterner, growing up outside Cleveland, OH, and attending seminary in Evanston, IL. (I did venture past the Great Lakes region to attend Smith College, but gravity pulled me right back afterward.)  

There’s the “what brought you here” angle:  Spending the last five years in interim and interim-adjacent ministries helped me clarify that the real heart of my priesthood has always centered around discernment: equipping individuals and congregations to ask meaningful questions and identify faithful answers. I saw that same heart in the description for this Canon role, and though I didn’t think I was looking for a new position, I found myself unable to ignore the posting when people put it in front of me. I was compelled by your diocesan vision of Courageous Love and the way this position pulls together congregational development, transition ministry, and care for clergy and lay leaders.  

Then there’s the “but who really are you” side… and I confess, I always feel flummoxed as to what other people might want to know about me early on. So, a few jobs back, I once asked a few friends what *they* thought people should know about me as I come into a new community. Here are their top five! 

1. I love to cook for other people. I’m particularly devoted to the Smitten Kitchen as a source of inspiration, and especially to her salted brown-butter crispy treats as a means of relationship-building. 
2. I am wildly undecided about whether to call the little moving pictures on social media “jifs” or “gifs” because I see good logic on both sides, but I embrace them as a means of nuanced communication with no ambivalence whatsoever.  
3. My conversational vocabulary and phrasing were deeply formed in my 20s by the writing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The West Wing, so much so that I don’t always notice when I’m making a show reference (but I do always enjoy it when people point them out)! 
4. My love for the Indigo Girls has been constant and true since I discovered them at camp at age 11. I have probably seen them live more times than all other bands combined. 
5. Even though I’m a cradle Episcopalian, my favorite hymn is a Lutheran one: All Are Welcome by Marty Haugen. I love it because it doesn’t claim that we’re there yet in building a fully inclusive, justice-oriented community; it names the places we need to go as followers of Jesus. I especially love to sing it at the end of a service so that we name what kind of church and world we want to build – one where prophets speak, and love is found, and each person’s best dreams and visions are part of the whole – and then it sends us out to go actually do it! 

I’m excited to meet you all over the coming months and begin to hear who you are and how the Holy Spirit has moved in your lives. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with my favorite Lenten blessing: 

May God the Lover, who does not despise the broken spirit, give to you a contrite heart. May Christ the Beloved, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, heal you by his wounds. May the Holy Spirit of Love, who leads us into all truth, speak to you words of pardon and peace. And the blessing of God the Three in One be among you and remain with you always. Amen.