Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2015 Issue | Page 7

Bishop Goff:
What’s an example
of a ministry that
energizes you?
I find it really energizing
to work through a complex
problem with a group of
people: to break it down and
untangle the knot; when
there’s a problem that’s
knotted, to separate out the
emotion from the objective
reality as best we can.

Picard “names the problem, gets all the right people together … and then asks the
whole assembled team for ideas and suggestions. And everyone, no matter what
their rank, is treated as an equal partner in that process. And after hearing the ideas
and suggestions, he makes the final decision, and then says, ‘Make it so.’”

It’s not always as easy as it sounds in Star Trek. “Every once in a while,
there’s not time to engage in a process like that,” notes Goff. But no matter the
circumstances, she says, “Our call as leaders is to care for the whole organization,
the whole community, the whole system.” She adds, “It’s important for leaders to
be people of compassion, but to look with a wide angle lens.”

That’s a balancing act that can be a challenge, particularly in a church community
with a diverse makeup, full of different needs. And that means that there are certain
skill sets that might apply to church leaders that don’t necessarily translate into
the secular world. “There’s a particular kind of self-awareness that belongs in the
ministry of the Church,” says Johnston, “which must always be an awareness of
being in relationship with God and God’s imagination. That’s where unlikeliness
happens. And I think we have to trust the unlikely.” Those intangible qualities of
leadership are important in other ways: “We cannot be too hemmed in by the hard
facts,” says Johnston, “because the life of the Church is built on not simply the
factual information in front of us. It’s based on a vision that is the Gospels.”

Gulick has another attribute to add to that list: “The capacity to believe, to
really believe, in the leadership potential of our brothers and sisters in Christ.” He
explains, “I think we need leaders who are catalysts and less defined by their ego
needs for affirmation or for esteem. When you find a priest who is really invested
and really trusts her people and those people really trust and believe in her, then the
catalytic energy of that is profound.”

Gulick puts his leadership approach this way: “The best leadership is servant
leadership, where you don’t lead apart from God’s people, but you lead with the
clarity that you are in the midst of God’s people.” That’s been a guiding principle
throughout his ministry. One of the joys and challenges of the ministry of a bishop,
he explains, is going into situation after situation that shows the vastly different
realities of congregational life, from a baptism to a burial on the same day.

“Part of what you do as a bishop is you hold the center that is Jesus Christ in
the midst of that,” says Gulick. “It’s unsettled in some ways and it calls for a lot of
adjustments, but all those situations I find to be such a privilege.”
Our Governing Bodies and Advisory Groups
Here’s a look at how our governing structure in the Diocese of Virginia works.
Our bishops are our chief local authority.
The Constitution & Canons are the documents by which we govern ourselves.
The Annual Council is the main governing body of the Diocese of Virginia.

Bishop Johnston:
What’s your favorite
day of the week?
Sunday is the day when I wake
up energized because I get to
go out to our congregations
and be with our clergy and be
with the parish or mission’s
leadership. I get to meet the
people who compose that
family in God and take part in
baptism and confirmation and
reception and reaffirmation.

The Executive Board meets to conduct Council business in between sessions of
Council. The Board consists of one lay or clergy representative elected from each
region.
The Standing Committee is the council of advice to the bishop. 
General Convention is the triennial governing meeting of the Episcopal Church.
The Deans & Presidents are clergy and lay representatives of each of the 1