Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Spring 2014 Issue | Page 3

Our Identity: Our Mission
the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston

In one form or another, it’s a question
I’m asked all the time: “What is a
diocese?” You could put this question in
a number of different ways: “What does
the Diocese do?” “Why do we need the
Diocese?” “What does being a diocese
actually mean?” “Isn’t the Diocese really
just the bishops and the staff?” These
are for starters, and I’m sure you know
what I’m getting at. And then there’s the
big one: “What does the Diocese do for
me?/us?/my church?”

If any of this sounds or feels
familiar, then I wish you could have
been at our diocesan Annual Council
in January. Of course, some 800 or
so of you were there. Based on the
tremendous feedback we’ve since
received, that Council went a long way
in answering those questions above. For
example, one comment read, “After this
experience, I now feel better connected
to the Diocese.” Other messages
commonly used words like “inspiring,”
“new day,” “uplifting,” “visionary”
and “concrete.” Just what was it, I
wondered, that brought forth such an
overwhelmingly enthusiastic response,
even producing such a characterization
as “Chalk one up to the Holy M