Washington District Newsletter-August 2012

AugustNew2012_WEYTWHHS.docx

 

Perceptions from a Pewboy
(offered by a superintendent to the people with whom he journeys)
Gratitude.
 
That is the word that best describes what occupies the depths of my soul as I type these words.
 
Gratitude.   Pervasive, overwhelming, transformational, joy-producing gratitude.
 
I am grateful to have been called upon by the annual conference to serve as an episcopal candidate at the 2012 Jurisdictional Conference. It was a meaningful, revelatory, and exhausting journey, one for which I prepared carefully but without any expectation concerning the possibility of being elected a bishop. I simply wanted to represent Western Pennsylvania well and to share my authentic self with my sisters and brothers in the jurisdiction. By God’s grace, I believe that I honored the process by my words, actions, and temperament. To have served as an Episcopal candidate was a tremendous honor, and I am grateful for the privilege of walking that particular path.
 
I am grateful because I know for a fact that many of you—if not all of you—faithfully surrounded me with your ministry of prayer throughout the days of jurisdictional conference. Throughout the experience, even during the more difficult moments, I felt both undergirded and sustained by a peace and strength that were almost supernatural in their vibrancy. I choose to believe that these were the result of your heartfelt prayers for me. I am grateful for the manner in which you stood alongside me, prayerfully and graciously, throughout these days of discernment.
 
I am grateful for my wife Tara and for my friend Joel Garrett, both of whom sat with me during every interview and every meal at the jurisdictional conference. Their supportive presence and consistent encouragement kept me rightly centered throughout the conference.
 
I am grateful for the opportunity to continue in ministry as your district superintendent. When I withdrew from the episcopal election process during the 13th ballot, any sense of disappointment on my part quickly evaporated when I realized that I would be able to return home to people I dearly love in order to walk with them into a new season of ministry. I consider this to be nothing less than a profound blessing.
 
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not express my gratitude for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose grace is my only hope and whose love is my only redemption.
 
To be the district superintendent of the Washington District is every bit as much of an honor for me as the episcopacy ever could be. To serve as your colleague in ministry and brother in Christ is nothing less than a labor of love. And for that particular labor, I am deeply and profoundly…
 
…grateful.
           
Gratefully and prayerfully,
Eric Park