A Shepherd In The Field

This is on my desk to remind me. We must know spiritual things spiritually. —1 Corinthians 2: 13 This past week a Priest kindly approached me.  “Bishop, can I say something in love, truth, and respect?”  I responded,  “Yes, of course.”  The Priest continued “We love you.  There are many of us who worried that you are working too hard. Significant work has been accomplished during your first six months, but we do not want you to be overwhelmed with work and kill yourself.”   I thanked the Priest, smiled, and we began the conversation.  I described how God has a way of speaking to the heart, continually reaffirming through people and places what I experienced and learned in prayer.  How two events over the last month led me to a healthy, transformative and holy place.  This holy place is the urging to be “Daniel” and live into the question “What is God calling me to do as your Bishop?” The first sacred event was my time in Albuquerque over Christmas with Suzanne and Jud

(Before I begin this post, I would like to assure all that I have not forgotten one church.  Not a single one.  I am behind but no one is forgotten.  I will catch up!) Angels in our midst.   A friend and I were having lunch, and the topic turned to the pilgrimage. He asked a profound question as to the charism and identity of individual churches.  He asked: “what are the angels of the place?”   He was referring to Walter Wink’s discussion on the “angel of a church.”  Wink writes that the angel of the church is the sense of both personality and vocation that reflects where a congregation has come from, where it is going, and what it is like to live within the spiritual life of the place.   My friend asked probing questions such as: Do the angels of the churches seek progress? Do the angels find peace, seek support and encourage accord? This time together caused me to reflect on each place I have visited and the angels of the diocese.  I found myself discerning “what are t