There was more excitement this past weekend beyond the Carthage Christmas Festival. It was also when the Southeast Wisconsin synod of the ELCA was to elect a new bishop, and our senior pastor and good friend Jeff Barrow was amongst the frontrunners. (He had very nearly been elected bishop five or six years ago when the most recent election took place.) I can’t go into all of the reasons why this was a momentously decisive occasion for Jeff – or why this was a crucial election for the synod, which has been racked with difficulty and controversy (including the previous bishop’s abrupt resignation). Suffice to say that this was big. . . really big. . . and as we decorated our tree with Lorelai Saturday afternoon, our thoughts and prayers were also with the pastors gathered in Milwaukee to make this important decision.
At some point, my cell phone vibrated and it turned out to be a text message from our friend Steve Smith – “Jeff just gave the best speech of his life.” That was the first we knew that Steve was on hand to witness whatever transpired with the election and that we were going to be getting news flashes from him throughout the day. (We were so thankful for that.) We could hardly wait for the next message, which was something about Jeff being tied for first place. A few minutes later, another update came in – Jeff was in the lead but by no means was anything certain. A few minutes later, I heard a shriek from the living room. It was Kathy squealing “Jeff is the Bishop! Jeff is the Bishop!” (She’s just received a text from Jeff’s wife, Kate.) A few seconds later, my phone vibrated with this message from Steve: “Jeff Won!” And I’m not sure we ever stopped grinning for the rest of the day – so pleased for Jeff, even as the realization sunk in that Jeff’s days as the senior pastor at Holy Communion were about to end.
The election was front-page news in the Racine Journal Times and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . . . and that meant that nearly every single member of Holy Communion knew about Jeff’s election before they walked into church the next morning – which was so much better than if he would have had to announce the news from the lectern. (That would have been a little too much drama, in my opinion.) There was plenty of drama as it was, because when Jeff – who was presiding that morning – went to the lectern to start the service with announcements, someone in the congregation began applauding. . . and within a couple moments, the entire congregation was on its feet, applauding and cheering Jeff for this tremendous honor. And in classic Jeff Barrow fashion, the moment the ovation finally died down his first words were “What was that for?!?” I loved that because it made light of the moment without making fun of it. It was just right- and it reminded all of us that among Jeff’s many exceptional gifts is his unerring instinct for knowing what to say and how to say it.
One of our assistant pastors, Steve Wohfeil, a master preacher if there ever was one, gave the sermon that day- and I was so glad that he chose to focus on Jeff’s election as bishop, since this all that any of us could really think about. Steve described the events of the previous day so vividly – including the memorable moment when Jeff began his main speech by taking out a pair of rough hewn work boots – and I especially loved how he invited us at one point to turn to hymn # 659 – which had been sung in Milwaukee as soon as the election was completed and the results announced. Jeff’s fellow pastors gathered around him and sang:
Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey, we are travelers on the road.
We are here to help each other walk the mile & bear the load.
I will weep when you are weeping; when you laugh I’ll laugh
with you. I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.
There was something so poignant about that moment Sunday morning as we sang that same hymn for Jeff and with Jeff, mindful of the enormous responsibilities he was about to shoulder – even as we reflected on all he has done for us at Holy Communion over the last seventeen years. I’m not sure Kathy and I have ever experienced anything quite so quintessentially bittersweet. We are thrilled for Jeff, sad for us, and glad at least that they have no plans to move and that Holy Communion is very likely to remain their church home. And until early March, I still have Jeff as the crankiest of my bosses (of my bosses at WGTD, Carthage, and Holy Communion, Jeff is by far the toughest on me) and as the pastor who has challenged and inspired and guided and loved Kathy and me through some of the best and worst days of our lives.
And now it’s time for us to share him. But like a toddler gripping tightly his favorite truck, it’s not easy. But it’s the way it has to be.
pictured above: I took several interesting photos at Holy Communion Sunday morning, including a good shot of the standing ovation given to Jeff at first service. (By the way, the place was packed.) But this photo is a little more fun. It shows Jeff right before second service helping the acolyte re-fill her candle-lighting implement (I have no idea what the proper term for this thing is) with some liquid that evidently helps it to remain lit. (They sure weren’t that fancy back when I was an acolyte.) We had quite a laugh over Jeff’s momentary struggles with the liquid and what it might do to his standing as bishop-elect if he managed to burn the church down in the process. (That’s one way to be on the front page of the paper two days in a row.) Fortunately, there were no mishaps.