Bishop White delivered her first address to the diocese during the closing Eucharist of the 150th Diocesan Convention.
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” Jesus says,
“And remember: I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Our theme for this year’s diocesan convention is Gather-Transform-Send. It’s the title of a core model of the College for Congregational Development, and it is also the unique purpose of a church: to gather those called by God as the Body of Christ, into a community where God transforms our lives, and sent out by the Holy Spirit to be salt and light and leaven to the world.
It’s a pattern, this model, and once you see it in one place, you can see it all over.
We find it clearly in the passage for today’s Eucharist, drawn from the readings for the Mission of the Church.
Jesus has spent the early part of Matthew’s gospel gathering the disciples, who dropped their nets to follow him.
He walked with them, and taught them; he broke bread with them and sometimes he chastised them. They heard him preach, and they watched as he navigated tests by the Pharisees and scribes. They saw him cast out demons, and heal people, and raise up those who had died. They saw him do miracles – miracles they held in their own hands. Somewhere along the way, they began to accept realities they could not comprehend. Somewhere along the way, their hearts broke open. Somewhere along the way, their lives were transformed.
And then the cross. And then the tomb. And then the women.
And now, in today’s gospel, the eleven come together again on the mountain to which Jesus directed them. They see him, and they worship him, but some doubt. And then…he sends them out: “Go, therefore,” he says, “make disciples of all the nations. Go. And remember: I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Once you see the pattern, I contend that you can’t unsee it.
Jesus gathers his disciples from their fields and their fishing boats and their tax collecting stalls. He travels with them and teaches them and loves them and prays for them and challenges them. He cultivates the transformation of their souls. And now he sends them, charging them to go and find others to follow, as they are…with the promise that they’re not alone – that Jesus is with them, is with us, always.
Beloved of God, what a joy it is to be with you as your bishop for this 150th convention of the Diocese of Southern Ohio. A year ago, this was my very first occasion with you as your bishop-elect. My, what a year it has been.
My, what a year, to see God gathering us, transforming our hearts, and sending us forth.
GATHER
Even before I knew you, I knew about your desire to gather. One of the things that drew me to you was that your diocesan profile named your longing for a bishop who would be with you.
- From the beginning, I have sought opportunities to do that; in the past eleven months, we have gathered: at the January clergy overnight; at the liturgy and festivities of my ordination and consecration; at our March clergy renewal of vows, where I will tell you that the Holy Spirit was in that place; in teaching the Gather-Transform-Send model for the first time in this diocese at the Columbus area vestry day; for Rogation Day at Procter, when I blessed pigs and sheep and chicken and children and the beautiful land;
in giving thanks for our elders at the St. Simeon & Anna celebration; when we gathered for conversation and worship and wide-open fellowship for the Holy Cross clergy day in September - I’ve gathered with you for official bishop visitations, for celebrations of new ministry, for other parish events, and sadly, on the five occasions this year when we have buried beloved deacons and priests: altogether I have had 22 official visitations so far this year; I have physically put my feet on the ground of 47 of our 71 churches, and have made 53 specific visits to congregations, both official and unofficial
- I began holding 1:1 meetings with clergy in the month of their birthday, so far, 46 priests and deacons taken me up on that invitation
- April-May: more than 20 gatherings w/more than 200 people across the diocese as we began to discern our shared mission as a diocese; you will find the diocesan mission, values, and priorities in your convention book; now the implementation team carries that good work forward
- I’m grateful for the team of lay and ordained people from across the diocese now exploring the possibility of re-engaging by local region, which you had the chance to talk about during lunch
- Gathering now, right here, for this convention, as lay and clergy leaders across the diocese. Most of you are in-person, making this a time to do the business of our common life and also to be equipped for ministry through yesterday’s workshops, and to build relationships across parish boundaries
TRANSFORM
As we gather, I believe God is at work in our midst, even now, bringing about the transformation of our lives – and of our life together – as God’s beloved disciples. I see this happening in specific ways:
- We are beginning to develop a different understanding of who the diocese is: The diocese is not 412 Sycamore Street; The diocese is Us – all of us – all 71 communities of faith across Southern Ohio. We are a network of disciples, not a central office in Cincinnati. With that, I anticipate a shift in how we function together as a diocese:
if the local congregation is the reliable place of God’s transformation, as I believe it is, our ministry is not to look inward, to the workings of our diocesan office or to any one person. Instead, the posture of the diocesan staff and leadership is moving outward, to be with the Body of Christ in our various communities, connecting with you and equipping you to have what you need, in order to do the good work that God gives you to do.
- We are changing the way we talk about, make decisions about, and use our money: This year saw action from the Diocesan Council to return nearly $500,000 in surplus funds to congregations, in the form of a mission share credit. In addition, Council ended the true-up practice, and voted to reduce the mission share formula by 15% in 2025, as our mission share review committee works toward a clearer and more accessible assessment to begin in 2026. Diocesan staff and leadership are actively working to uncomplicate and demystify the inner workings of diocesan finance, toward a goal of greater transparency, reduced barriers to participation, and more intentional stewardship of the gifts entrusted to our care.
- We are moving toward greater connectedness and communication: Canon Katie Forsyth began in her role as canon for communications, working with her team which includes Canon Julie Murray, canon for community engagement, and will soon add a database manager who will help build a network to connect us to one another. In the near term, as I have promised many of you, I welcome you to look at the staff page of our website, where you’ll find a “Who to Call” directory that tells you who can be of support to you in particular areas of ministry. In the months to come, I hope you’ll take part in continued efforts to relate to one another as disciples, remembering that we belong to one another and to God.
- In this 150th year of our life as a diocese, we continue the work of repairing the breach that Bishop Breidenthal issued, and Bishop Smith underscored, work begun by the diocesan reparations task force: I am grateful that Miriam McKenney began her work this past week as the full-time missioner for Beloved Community.
I look forward to calling a new missioner for Black ministries and a new missioner for Latino ministries early in the new year. Please save the date for a celebration of our 150th anniversary as a diocese, on September 27 at the Procter Center. There, we will have the opportunity to tell the truth about who we are and who we have been, to proclaim the dream to which God calls us, to celebrate in worship, and to share together in a feast.
SEND
As disciples of Jesus who experience God’s transformation, the Holy Spirit then sends us out to live differently, as a result.
- This year you will notice our diocesan staff being sent: The change in our orientation and defining of our mission to embody the Gospel of Jesus and share in God’s transformation of our communities means that I will be sending our staff members out in our various congregations throughout the diocese. They will be coming to see you – not because there’s a problem, not to check up on you. They will be coming to you because they want to know you as colleagues, because they seek to build connections, because they want to hear the good news of how God is at work in your midst. And because they want to know what you need in order to flourish in your various ministries. In 2025, we have traveling staff workdays scheduled in every region of the diocese – this means that instead of needing to come to our office, or talk with one of us by phone or by Zoom, you will be able to come meet with me or with members of diocesan staff in a local church that is more convenient for you: at Trinity Church, Troy; at St. Mark’s, Upper Arlington; at St. Phillip’s Circleville; at St. Andrew’s, Evanston; and at St. Peter’s, Gallipolis. This is what a diocese can look like: disciples who are with one another, in support of each other, who share a common mission, common values, and common priorities.
- In 2025 we all will be sent differently as leaders, as we develop structures that support and align with our shared mission as a diocese. The best description I have for this approach to leadership is a porous one:
together we will build a structure that people understand, and know how to take part. This means leadership bodies that support thriving congregations, where people serve in roles that are clear, roles that they are equipped to take on; and then, after a season of leading, they step back to make room for others to serve. As church, we cannot afford to protect role or position. We need all of us, with our various gifts; and we need to rely in faithful and practical and generous ways on those good gifts that God has given each one of us to share. Our money will never do the work of discipleship on our behalf. Our money will not save us. It can’t. But Jesus has, and does, and will.
- As we go forth from this convention, over the course of the year ahead, I believe that God sends us to live ever more tangibly into the promises of our baptismal covenant. The world needs us to embody God’s good news – I believe it always has, but I am viscerally confident of that right now. And so, yes, beloved, know that you are sent from this place to continue the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to break bread, and to pray. Know that you are sent to persevere in resisting evil, and to seek and serve Jesus in everyone. You are sent to proclaim the gospel, by what you say and what you do. And finally, truly, you are sent from this place to respect the dignity of every single person you meet, and to work with one another for justice and peace.
INTO OUR CONTEXT
Remember that as we are sent, we do not go alone. We have Jesus, who promises us that he will be with us always. And we have each other. And we go to the places and people with whom we already live and move and have our being, as this pattern continues over and over again.
Our context has shifted in these past months, as you know:
- In order to re-orient our focus on congregations and equip and support your local ministries, I reorganized our staff. While it was necessary, I also recognize that it was painful.
We are navigating a season in-between, with some staff having departed, continuing staff assuming additional work in the short term, and now new staff beginning their work – with more new staff to join us in the months ahead. This is difficult, and I appreciate your grace in those moments when there have been gaps. We are working together to do a new thing, in a system that was acclimated to a different way of functioning. As we go forward, we are striving to be clear about the essentials, to align our work with the mission to which God calls us. The values we’ve claimed as we do this are integrity and relationship and love. Those continue to shape the ministry we share. I’m grateful to the Rev. Canon Jodi Baron, our canon to the ordinary and chief of staff, for her leadership and care through this process.
- The place we have gathered most frequently this year, the place most geographically accessible to the whole diocese, is the Procter Center. It has been a joy to see our new co-executive directors, Jerusalem and Nathan Greer, make it a place of welcome for people from our diocese and beyond – a place where we build relationships, where we are well fed (thank you, Xandra Sharpe!), where we worship, where our children are cherished, a sacred place where we all can be formed more and more deeply as disciples of Jesus. As we have gathered there, we have also seen the constraints that Jerusalem and Nathan and the staff and board face, in trying to live into Procter’s ministry: our cabins were donated from Wright-Patterson Airforce Base 70 years ago, when – at that point – they had reached the end of their useful life for the United States government. Without sufficient heating in the winter or air conditioning in the summer, those cabins don’t provide the spaces that meet our need to come together. Rooms in Thompson Lodge are comfortable, but there are not enough of them. I am grateful to Nathan and Jerusalem for asking good questions, and shepherding a parallel conversation with a team from Ministry Architects, the same consultants we are working with in developing and aligning our shared diocesan mission, to move forward in developing Procter to be the place that we, as a diocese, need for it to be.
- Finally, our continued transformation will be shaped by the launch of our College for Congregational Development. I’ve been talking about this since before I met you, and its primary model – Gather-Transform-Send – has shaped our time here together. As of yesterday, our registration for next summer is open, and you all have the first opportunity to sign up! What I want you to know about the College is this: I am not a believer in shiny-object syndrome. I do not believe anything outside of Jesus will save us. The gift of the College is that it gives us practical, fruitful ways to lead faithfully and well as disciples, and to invite others to do the same. My prayer is that it will help us create a shared vocabulary for what it means to build up the Body of Christ. The work of the College is good, and hard, and it will challenge you to grow in both faith and practice. I believe the work of ministry, both lay and ordained, is worth doing well. The tools I’ve learned through the College are tools for ministry that I use every day, with gratitude. Please reach out to Canon Meredith Day Hearn with questions, as she will be leading our College.
Beloved, God has gathered us together as the Body of Christ from 71 congregations across Southern Ohio for this particular time. Remember who you are, as disciples of Jesus. Remember that we belong to one another, and that, together, we belong to God.
I know that we face challenges, right now, and in the time that lies ahead of us. And I trust that God is at work in our midst, even now. I pray that amid the changes and chances of this moment, God is always about the work of transformation of our souls.
I pray that as the Holy Spirit sends us forth from this place, we will go, knowing that we do not go alone. I pray that we will remember, as Jesus calls us to – remember that he is with us always, even to the very end of the age.
