The episcopal election in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle has come and gone, and I will stay in Brandon for the time being. That's alright. There is much work to be done here, and I was really beginning to feel the pressure of that unfinished business in the last two weeks. I have a strong sense of what has to happen at St. Matthew's, and leaving to become a bishop somewhere else would have put all of that work on hold, at the very least. At worst, it would have so delayed things that the Cathedral never recovered.

When I got the news that my friend Greg Kerr-Wilson had been elected, my first feeling -- and the one that has persisted! -- was one of relief. Oh good! We don't have to move, finding all those new relationships that we are really only just establishing here in Brandon. It's a small thing, but my barber has just figured out what I like in a haircut. Who wants to do that over again, if you don't really have to?

Nonetheless ... I have no regrets about letting my name stand. I didn't put quite as much "heart" into the process as I did in Edmonton in 1997, even though I knew my chances were much better. One bit of feedback I have received is that people didn't get much sense of who I am from the material I submitted. It was rather matter-of-fact, I suppose. But that's OK. I was third on the ballot out of six, and the two ahead of me are both people I respect. No shame in anything.

What has been gratifying is the response of the people here, who are almost uniformly grateful that I am staying. (There may be a few others, but of course I haven't heard from them...yet?) It may not just be me, but the desire to avoid more changes. We had a Parish Planning Meeting a couple of weeks ago, in which we spent some time going through parish annual reports. One of the things that came clear to me, which I had not really clued into before, was that the parish had really been in transition since late 2000, when the previous bishop announced his pending retirement. Over the next several years, my predecessor prepared to take on the Diocesan Administrator role, then moved to Synod Office part-time, then was elected as Bishop. The year of searching for a new Dean was a big time of uncertainty, which was followed by a couple of years of adjusting to my style. It's really only in the past 6-8 months that I have had the sense of being settled, and of truly being the parson here.

The congregation's reaction to my non-departure has only reinforced that sense. So -- here I stay, until God calls again.

I seem to be praying a lot of Gethsemane prayers lately.
  Nevertheless, Father, not my will but yours be done.

Amen.