Surfacing with an Announcement
This and all prior posts were originally published on www.plainsongfarm.com
I guess I wasn’t back after all.
It’s been a month since I last posted… a month during which some part of my subconscious was holding its breath, waiting and wondering what would become of much of my past year’s work.
On May 11, 2012, along with twelve other people, I began work as a member of our diocesan bishop search team. The bishop search quickly moved to the top of my priority list, and especially as we got to the final stages, it became all-consuming. We officially ended our work when we announced our nominations, and I thought that meant my brain would return to full duty. But, as it turns out, an important part was waiting… waiting for the outcome.
(Parenthetical note: The Episcopal Church’s bishop search process works this way:
- a search team nominates multiple candidates;
- more candidates can be nominated by petition;
- information about the candidates is published and candidates visit the diocese;
- an election is held. The candidate who receives a majority of laity AND a majority of clergy becomes bishop. Votes are taken and tallies announced until these majorities are received. It’s transparent, democratic, and occasionally nail-biting.)
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan held our Electing Convention last Saturday. The delegates chose a bishop. We now know our next bishop will be the Rev. Whayne Hougland, Jr. I am confident that we will be blessed by his ministry with us. Thanks be to God!
And I need to start blogging again, but not at www.plainsongfarm.com.
A long time ago, I began to dream of small, sustainable farm grounded in Benedictine spirituality, a place to teach Christian faith and practice, with a focus on engaging emerging generations. My husband and I own the 10 acres that could support it, and for a long time I’ve been exploring ways that I could bring it into being. I’ve talked with our current bishop, with current farmers, and surfed countless websites.
Only one thing has become clear to me in this process: God made me a dreamer, an organizer, and a planner, but not a farmer. Consequently, I really don’t know what will happen with this dream, or with this 10 acres. Your prayers, advice, and connections are requested!
I do know one thing: the Plainsong Farm URL can’t be my general-purpose blogging site anymore. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be moving my church-geek posts over to www.churchwork.com and my general-interest posts to www.nuryaloveparish.com. I’ll keep the farm-related postings here.
Once I get the new sites up and running I’ll post with some more details.
In the meantime, thank you for reading – and thank you for commenting – and thank you for paying attention to this site after its long silences.
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