A Message from Gideon

Dear Emmanuel Church Community,

I want to share with you all that today the Diocese of Virginia will announce publicly that I am a candidate in their search for the 14th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

The slate of nominees includes 3 other very gifted and qualified priests and may expand to include candidates who are added to the slate by petition. The election for the 14th Bishop of Virginia will occur on June 4, 2022, following a series of opportunities to meet and greet the Diocese as a candidate in May. For a fuller sense of the electing process for Bishops in the Episcopal Church, there are more details to be found here: LINK

The Diocese of Virginia is a diocese of 70,000 Episcopalians worshiping in 179 congregations, learning in 6 Diocesan Schools, living in 5 Diocesan homes, and is home to 2 conference centers (Shrine Mont and Roslyn.) The Episcopal Church arrived in Virginia on the three ships that landed in Jamestown in 1607. It is the diocese where I met my wife, the diocese that sponsored me for ordination, and the diocese that I served for 14 years of my professional ministry. That I have been included in this slate is an honor. I am humbled.

I know that my inclusion in this process will bring some anxiety and distraction into the preparations for this coming summer at Emmanuel. I thank God that we are ably served by gifted colleagues and steady governance from the Managing Committee. Over the coming weeks, I will stay in touch as this journey unfolds and work with you for a possible transition. I know that we will weather this moment together and with God’s grace.

I ask you for your prayers for me, for my family, and for the church in this moment:

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Faithfully yours,

Gideon

A note from Ellen

Dear Emmanuel Church Community,

The news that Gideon has been nominated as a candidate for the 14th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is exciting and a bit disquieting.

On the one hand, we give thanks to God for the blessing of our gifted and talented clergy who has ably led us to become the kind of church that can offer leadership to the wider Episcopal Church. On the other, the possibility that Gideon might be called away from us is unsettling. Truth be told, many of us knew this day would come, as Gideon has many gifts to offer.

I'm sure you will join me with every confidence in Gideon’s ability to succeed and he has demonstrated his capacity for leadership together with us for the last 8 years.

There is a good chance that he may be called as the next Bishop of Virginia, and his courage in being part of that process is commendable. We won’t know anything, however, about his or our future until early June.

If successful, Gideon would like to spend a bit of time with us for opening Sunday, June 26th and a couple of more weeks in July. We would need to find supply priests for the balance. Until then, I ask for your prayers for St. John's Church, Gideon, his family, for our leadership, and for our beloved summer chapel as we navigate this moment of mixed blessings.

In faith and gratitude,

Ellen