As dean of Bishop Kemper School for Ministry I get to visit parishes all over our four sponsoring Episcopal dioceses, and in the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as well. Several times now I have preached and presided in congregations founded by our patron saint, Bishop Jackson Kemper. I am sure grateful that we chose to name ourselves after him!
When Bishop Kemper became the missionary bishop of the West--of the great outdoors, as some joked!--some surely must have told him that he didn't have enough money or personnel and had no way of knowing what he was getting into in that vast unknown world. But Bishop Kemper felt called, he trusted in God, and so he just got on his horse and rode. Thanks to his faith and courage the Episcopal Church was well established in many a state, and the Anglican heritage became firmly rooted throughout the Midwest.
Our experience at BKSM is strikingly similar. Well, we have more resources than the good bishop did, counting on a splendid faculty gathered from our three state area. Yet compared to many theological schools, we are cash poor. And in a whole new era for theological education, we certainly cannot predict everything that will happen to us! I did not expect us to find so much common ground with our Lutheran partners so soon. I did not anticipate so many conversations about collaboration with other formation programs all across the US. I did not expect the rapid growth of the number of Latino congregations in this part of the world, placing very different educational demands on us.
Like Bishop Kemper, at BKSM we try to be faithful and to trust in God. We are determined to support the mission of the church in this exciting new age every way we can. Like Bishop Kemper, we find good co-workers everywhere. The Spirit is at work!
So let's get on the horse and ride!
In your specific context, what does this mean for you? I'd love to hear from you!
When Bishop Kemper became the missionary bishop of the West--of the great outdoors, as some joked!--some surely must have told him that he didn't have enough money or personnel and had no way of knowing what he was getting into in that vast unknown world. But Bishop Kemper felt called, he trusted in God, and so he just got on his horse and rode. Thanks to his faith and courage the Episcopal Church was well established in many a state, and the Anglican heritage became firmly rooted throughout the Midwest.
Our experience at BKSM is strikingly similar. Well, we have more resources than the good bishop did, counting on a splendid faculty gathered from our three state area. Yet compared to many theological schools, we are cash poor. And in a whole new era for theological education, we certainly cannot predict everything that will happen to us! I did not expect us to find so much common ground with our Lutheran partners so soon. I did not anticipate so many conversations about collaboration with other formation programs all across the US. I did not expect the rapid growth of the number of Latino congregations in this part of the world, placing very different educational demands on us.
Like Bishop Kemper, at BKSM we try to be faithful and to trust in God. We are determined to support the mission of the church in this exciting new age every way we can. Like Bishop Kemper, we find good co-workers everywhere. The Spirit is at work!
So let's get on the horse and ride!
In your specific context, what does this mean for you? I'd love to hear from you!
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