Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2012 Issue | Page 3

TRANSITIONS: A LOT OF WORK, NO PROBLEM!
THE RT. REV. SHANNON S. JOHNSTON
Change can be challenging. Over the past several years, we in
the Diocese of Virginia have been faced with a lot of it. But it
is abundantly clear to me now that, together, we know how
to do it.

Take this new Virginia Episcopalian you are now holding,
for example. Re-launched after over two years of planning,
the Virginia Episcopalian now becomes a feature-based
publication that aims to give you a broader, more in-depth
perspective. The reason for this change is simple: because of
the very nature of a bi-monthly publication schedule, the news
that was carried in our previous newspaper was always quite
a bit behind the times. Our electronic and even postal service
capabilities allow us to bring you the news on a more frequent
basis and so there is no longer a real need for what we have
been doing. This new publication will improve what you have
been receiving from the diocesan offices about our common
life as the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia.

Faithful transitions are never “change for change’s
sake.” There must always be reasons rooted in present-day
life that have a compelling vision for what is to come. I trust
that you will see these in our new magazine, just as you have
understood and supported the several major transitions we
have seen in the past few years. A review of even just a few
of the changes we have faced and made work in these times
would tell the tale of the Diocese of Virginia’s ability to chart
a new course and hold strongly in the process, just as we are
doing now with the retirement of the Rt. Rev. David Jones
as our bishop suffragan and the process of electing a new
bishop suffragan.

Any transition will call us not only to change but also
renewal. It will take us into reflection and ask us to bring the
best of ourselves to the task. It will summon momentous
energy, showing our ability to rise to the occasion. Most
always accompanied by some degree of anxiety, transitions
must work with that natural (but temporary) disorientation
that comes with change in such a way that we remain open
to the dynamic possibilities of the moment. This is where
vision comes in. Leadership must articulate the vision
which then empowers us all to accept the promise that is at
hand and then work with the good that is emerging. That
articulation of vision is absolutely key for renewal to result
from change.

The obstacle to vision is the fact that there will always
be some persons who will not be open to any rationale for
a particular change, needing to hold onto what has been.
You will immediately recognize the fact that this scenario is
hardly uncommon. This face-off will often come to a “tipping
point,” a time when leadership either presses on–believing

wholeheartedly in the transition at hand–or pulls back
(sometimes necessarily), choosing instead the predictability
or the stability of the status-quo.

Such obstacles, though always a possibility, have not
been a problem for our diocese over the years. As I noted
at the beginning of this article, we have had a plate-full of
transitions in our recent history. You have met each one
head-on and moved forward, overcoming all inherent
difficulties. Consider briefly only some of these transitions:
2006 Bishop Peter James

Lee, nearing 25 years of
highly respected service,
announces his intention
to resign and calls for
the election of a bishop
coadjutor as his successor.
2007 I am elected and

consecrated as the bishop
coadjutor and begin ministry
throughout the Diocese.
2008  enry Burt succeeds Patrick
H
Getlein as chief of staff and
diocesan secretary in the
middle of a very active phase
of litigation.
2009  aren Glasco, Bishop Lee’s
K
assistant for 24 years, retires.
2009  ishop Lee retires.
B
I become the 13th bishop
of Virginia.

2010  my Williams takes up
A
the role as the diocesan
bishop’s administrative
assistant.
2010 The Rev. Canon Susan Goff

begins her ministry as canon
to the ordinary, a position
that we have not had in this
diocese since 1993.
2011  he Rt. Rev. David Jones,
T
bishop suffragan since 1995,
announces his plans for
resignation and retirement.
2011  he Rt. Rev. Ted Gulick
T
begins his ministry as
assistant bishop.
2011 The process to present
nominees for the new bishop
suffragan is underway, for an
election to be held on April
21, 2012.

It think it is fair to say that, by now, “Transitions R Us!” I don’t
think that we are any worse for wear; in fact, I firmly believe
that we are stronger for it all.

Ultimately, for those who embrace and work with
transitions and for those who resist them, the results of the
changes must speak for themselves. Every transition must, in
the end, produce its own justification. Given the bottom-line
in all that we have sorted out together, I am happy and proud
of what we have done as a diocesan family in Christ. t

Winter 2012 / VIRGINIA EPISCOPALIAN

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