The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
February 2007

Bishop's Reflections

The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. (Luke 10:2)

Many of you have heard Jesus say this in the readings appointed for ordinations and the investiture of new clergy. It is meant to get us going with mission work, for if the harvest is already visible it will all go to waste if we do not bring it in!

This passage comes to mind because a new group of 'laborers' has appeared in our Diocese for the work of mission in Southwest Utah and Page, Arizona. I am sure you all know this is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the nation, yet we have had just three smallish congregations there.

Now, by God's grace, the time is ripe for us to get on with evangelism and growth in this area. For years we have thought about this— have even studied the landscape and imagined the possibilities—but suddenly things are coming together for serious planning. Not since I became a bishop have I experienced such focused energy for a large scale regional mission in Utah.

The key element here is a team of ministry leaders who are committed to this work—in their congregations and in the surrounding areas. Dave Bailey, Mary June Nestler and I met with them January 2-4, to discover the talents and willingness now available there. An experienced consultant on church planting and growth led our time together, and in the process we truly bonded as a mutually supportive team.

Present were:

• Steve and Jean Keplinger, who have led a healthy and rapidly growing community of Episcopalians in Page, AZ, which our Diocese adopted in 2001. Their energy and commitment has inspired amazing activity among all ages of people, in worship, teaching and outreach. This summer they will begin their Project Jubilee building program so their facilities will catch up with their numbers and their outreach mission in Page.
• Catherine Gregg, a priest from Los Angeles, who has been called to serve as the new rector of Grace Church in St. George, and her husband Douglas, a Presbyterian minister. They have both felt a strong attraction to this part of Utah for some time, and were particularly pleased to find a collegial community of leaders just waiting to welcome them!
• Susan Wiltsey has decided to leave her work as a teacher and do full time ministry as a priest of the church. For the present she will serve part-time as vicar of St. Jude's in Cedar City and part-time as the leader of a new house church ("Spirit of the Desert") in Ivins, UT, a suburb of St. George. (She was also elected as president of the Diocesan Standing Committee, so she will be one busy woman!)

Kay Cook and Lee Montgomery were also present at this SW regional ministry gathering. Both are members of St. Jude's and are in our local training program for ordination.

So, seven local leaders, with strong support from the Diocese, and hopes for a larger circle of people to work with us in this exciting new venture. As I say, the time is right, and teamwork is right, too. Isolated clergy are never as effective as they can be with committed colleagues around.

I am aware that many think new missions will draw people away from established churches, but data shows that exactly the opposite is the case. When each does well, all do well.

I ask your prayers, and your suggestions for this wonderful opportunity emerging in our Diocese.

Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish

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