BISHOP TO BISHOP
I had the honor and pleasure of having lunch today with my counterpart in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Dabney Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida. In a few months Bishop Smith will celebrate his second anniversary of consecration as first a Coadjutor Bishop and then as Bishop of a diocese which stretches from Hernando County in the north to Marco Island in the south. Bishop Smith was consecrated at St. Jude’s Cathedral and I was honored to be present on that occasion.
I love getting together with my colleagues who either are bishops or administrators of other Churches. We shamelessly “talk shop” and the similarity of the challenges we face is quite extraordinary. Who better to “vent” with than another bishop? I have enjoyed very cordial relations with the three episcopal bishops who have held the office since my own ordination in January of 1996 and with the two Lutheran bishops. The Lutheran Synod of Florida and the Bahamas has their offices in Tampa and the Episcopal diocese has theirs in Sarasota. Two years ago I hosted the Episcopal and Lutheran bishops at my home one night for dinner with their wives and it was very interesting to hear the challenges that the women face as “the bishop’s wife.”
Bishop Smith is young, optimistic, spiritual and I suspect a healer. We seem to hit it off and promised one another than we would schedule these luncheons on a regular basis. For me, it is something to look forward to.
+RNL
Tags: Ecumenical Dialog