Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Summer 2012 Issue | Page 7

“Susan really does bring out the best
in the people she’s around,” said Dr.
Barbara Allison-Bryan, a member of
Abingdon, White Marsh and a member
of the Commission. “She really calls us
to our best work.”

The Rev. Debbie Rutter, rector of
Calvary, Front Royal and chair of the
Commission on Ministry, agrees. “Her
role as staff liaison is to remind us of
our mission,” said Rutter. “She keeps us
on task but yet encourages us to think
out-of-the-box.” Rutter first met Goff
in 1983, when she succeeded Goff as
chaplain at St. Margaret’s School.
“I really got to trust her as somebody
who is very competent and wise,”
said Rutter.

“It’s absolutely clear that she has
a way of seeing through a situation,
distilling a sense of call and finding
words to express the consensus of
the group in a way that is absolutely
elegant,” added Allison-Bryan – qualities

that just might translate well to the role
of bishop.

History buffs can’t help but notice
that Goff is something of a first for the
Diocese of Virginia: the first female
bishop. But on election day, “I wasn’t
hearing people say, ‘Wow, that was
something historic,’” said Goff. “We
as a diocese have come to a place …
where it’s not about gender, it’s about
call and about the movement of the
Holy Spirit.”

Johnston and Goff have worked
together to form a job description
of the suffragan position. Duties will
include working with the Committee
on Congregational Missions and
supporting mission congregations;
providing day-to-day oversight for the
Dayspring initiative; participating in the
“regular” work of a bishop, including
visitations and matters of diocesan
governance; and working to support
multicultural and ethnic ministries.

It’s this last area where you see
Goff’s eyes light up. “For me, what
the Kingdom of God is all about, the
very visual image I have of it is of the
heavenly banquet – men, women,
children, people of all nationalities,
languages, cultures, ages, genders,
physical abilities, sexual orientations,
the wealthy and the poor – are gathered
around the table,” explains Goff. “Since
that’s what the Kingdom of God is, then
that’s what the Church is called to be.”

“For the Church to be doing the
mission of Christ in the world, we are
therefore called to minister to and with
a wider variety of people than ever
before.” She added, “We’re on the cusp
of shifting from solely on ministry ‘to”
to ministry ‘with.’”

Goff will begin her ministry with the
Diocese in her new role – leaving room
for the Holy Spirit – on July 28. t

(Above left) “I haven’t always considered myself an artist,”
said Goff. But, during a trip to Asheville, N.C. in her mid-30s, she
experienced an “Aha” moment. “I realized that I really was an artist
and had been all along, and needed to be doing art as part of my
spiritual journey, my discernment, my reflection.”
(Above) Goff joins her colleague-bishops, Gulick and Johnston,
following her election. Photo: Emily Cherry
(Left) Goff was ordained a deacon in 1980 by the Rt. Rev. John
Spong, and was ordained a priest (pictured here) in 1981 by the
Rt. Rev. Robert Hall.

Summer 2012 / VIRGINIA EPISCOPALIAN

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