Dear Members,

I want to share something with you that has been unfolding in my life over the last several months: after a season of prayer and discernment, I have been identified as the candidate for election as our diocese’s next Suffragan Bishop.

Many of you know that, alongside my work at Trinity, I have served our diocese, Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO), since 2018. That work has given me the privilege of serving churches and leaders around the country, particularly in church planting and leadership development. It has also become increasingly connected to something we have been discovering together in recent years: God has called Trinity not simply to be a healthy local church, but to be a resource church, one that gives away what God has entrusted to us for the wider body of Christ.

Some months ago, our bishop, Jeff Bailey, asked me to consider allowing my name to go forward to become a Suffragan Bishop in C4SO. A Suffragan Bishop, in case you’re wondering, serves under the diocesan bishop in the pastoral care, leadership, and oversight of the churches and clergy of the diocese. This will be a part-time role. For me, this would mean helping Bishop Jeff and his team serve our growing diocese while continuing to serve as Trinity’s Lead Pastor.

I did not seek this role, and it was not something I had been planning. But I was honored by Bishop Jeff’s invitation and felt I needed to take it seriously.

Karyn and I began to pray and discern together. From there, I invited a small group of trusted leaders into the process, including members of Trinity’s Senior Leadership Team, our wardens and finance chair, along with trusted friends and colleagues within C4SO. Because of the nature of the vetting process, I was asked to keep my candidacy confidential during these early stages and involve only this smaller circle in the discernment.

Over the past several months, I have gone through extensive assessments, interviews, background checks, and conversations with diocesan leaders and a panel of four current ACNA bishops. The C4SO screening committee, in collaboration with Bishop Jeff, has now formally identified me as the candidate for election. Earlier this week, I also received the unanimous assent of the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America to stand for election.

There are still important steps ahead, which you can read more about below. So, while the process is well underway, there is still discernment ahead, and I will continue holding all of this with open hands.

I wanted you, our members, to hear this directly from me. I will share this news more broadly with our whole congregation on Sunday, and we will continue to make space for questions and conversation in the months ahead. Official communications from C4SO about the process and my candidacy are also beginning to go out to clergy across our diocese.

I know one of the first questions many of you will have is: Does this mean Kris is leaving Trinity?

No.

I will remain Trinity’s Lead Pastor. I love this church and continue to feel deeply called to the work God has given us here. If I am eventually consecrated as a bishop, I will take on additional responsibilities within C4SO, and there will likely be some adjustments over time. But, to be clear, I do not see this as a move away from Trinity. I see it as an extension of the calling God has already been cultivating among us.

When we planted Trinity in 2002, I could never have imagined all the places God would take this community. Over the years, we have planted churches, sent leaders, shared resources, and found ourselves serving people and communities well beyond our walls. I don’t know exactly what this next chapter holds, but I trust it’s part of the same story God has been writing here for more than twenty years.

Most of all, I want to invite you to pray with us. Pray for Karyn and me, for Bishop Jeff and the leaders of C4SO, and for Trinity. Pray that throughout this process, we would listen carefully to Jesus and have the courage to follow wherever He leads.

I am deeply grateful for this church and for the privilege of being your pastor.

Finally, in addition to reading more below, I hope you’ll plan to join us for our Member Meeting on October 7. We'll devote part of our time together that evening to this news. You’ll hear from me and Erin Reynolds, our Senior Warden, as we reflect together on why we are approaching this possible new role with both excitement and peace.

With love,
Kris
Lead Pastor