To God’s Beloveds in the Northwest Intermountain Synod,

As many of you were aware, I was on sabbatical for the summer. This 90-day sabbatical is provided in the 5th year of a bishop’s term to allow the bishop time for rest, recovery, and discernment around whether they are called to serve another term as Bishop.

As I went into my sabbatical, I had many plans in place to have a productive sabbatical. Imagine my gratitude when my spiritual director challenged me on why I felt like a word rooted in the word “sabbath” needed to be tied to the word “productive”. I carried this insight with me as the sabbatical I had planned ended up not being the sabbath I was given. Life happens, even when one is taking a break.

My sabbatical by some numbers:

Days taken: 90
Miles traveled (approximate): 9,221
Books read: 11
Kids graduated: 1
Bouts of COVID: 1
Churchwide events: 1
Naps: Many

In 20 years of ministry, I have never been given a sabbatical, so I was a bit uncertain what to expect. With my term as bishop coming to an end, my primary goal of the sabbatical was to have time away in order to discern if I was called to continue the work of the office of bishop—and if I continue to discern a call to the work, how do I want to go about doing it.

When one is elected bishop, one almost immediately loses control of one’s life. In 2017, just after I greeted the assembly in Spokane following my election as bishop, I was handed a manila envelope full of the dates of meetings I was expected to be present for. To me the message was clear: sink or swim. And so I swam. There was very little time to reflect on how I was called to do this work—there was just the expectation that I would enter into the workflow with as little disruption to the system as I could manage. I got my feet under me and kept my head mostly above water for three years. Then: COVID.

I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and energy communicating around the impacts of COVID, so I won’t go into that here. Instead, I want to acknowledge that while COVID was devastating, it also gave us time to really examine the how and why of the work we do together. And in the two years of quarantine, we learned many new tools to facilitate the work we have in front of us. For two years, we were asked to do ministry in completely new ways—all of which challenged us in ways we wouldn’t have willingly engaged in the days prior to the pandemic.

The system I was plugged into in 2017 shut down. That system needed people on the move all the time to function. COVID required the revision of that system—and from Chicago to Chewelah, we are not done re-imagining what & how God is calling us to be. 

My sabbatical allowed me to process what I learned about the work of a bishop—what is truly important, and what was just done because it had been done for 35 years. It allowed me to take time to deliberately reflect on how I want to embody the role of bishop—given the abrupt bifurcation I experienced in the role with the onset of the pandemic, I had a unique point of view to take advantage of.

I also consulted with people I trusted around my discernment. I spoke with a therapist, a spiritual director, friends, colleagues, and especially: my family. I did this to make sure my perspective of my effectiveness in this role was accurate, as well as to get out of my own head to discuss future directions the Church might be guided to. And in the case of my family: I needed to know if the work I did on behalf of the Church wasn’t asking more than they could give. No matter what I felt I was being called to: if they disagreed, the discernment was at an end.

I am pleased to share with the synod the outcome of the primary work of my sabbatical: through prayer, consultation, and reflection I have discerned that God is asking me to stand for re-election to the Office of Bishop in the NW Intermountain Synod. And while I can find myself at loggerheads with the Almighty from time to time: I am glad to allow my name to continue forward in the process toward re-election.  This is precious work among precious people, work I am deeply honored to have been called to do for the last five years and am not ready to put the yoke down.

But this discernment around continuing into a second term is not mine alone. Constitutionally, we are required to have an election for a bishop, which we will hold at our synod assembly in April of 2023. The synod is also called to enter into a time of discernment. Are we called to continue as bishop and synod?  Am I the right leader for you all in these days? Is God calling a different pastor to serve in this office? This is your work to do as a synod, and you will accomplish this work in your cluster meetings this fall.

Whether my call as your bishop will continue into another term or not: I come back to work today with a sense of joy! My calendar is full again, we are looking forward to in-person gatherings this fall across the synod. We have ordinations to plan, installations to oversee, relationships to nurture. I have missed you all! I’m glad to be back.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Bishop Kristen