A Word from Bishop John Rodgers

Dear Trinity Family,

Following God is a life full of surprises. Who would have thought that I would be your Interim Dean and President from August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008? Not I. One of the alumni has dubbed me “the once and future Dean,” whatever that might mean. Whatever else it means, I am one astonished (former) retiree.

We were all surprised and saddened when Paul indicated that he felt it was time for him to move on. Paul and Mary have been strong supporters of Trinity from its inception. If you look at the first picture taken of Trinity at its opening service of dedication you will find Paul there. We wish him and Mary well and will be holding them in our hearts and prayers. I bid all of you to do the same. We trust that Trinity will have a long future with Paul’s and Mary’s affection and support and ours with them.

For what do I want you to pray? Well, please pray for our joy in the Gospel. Pray that we have a deep mutual care for one another as we seek to serve, teach and learn in the days ahead. We need to model the fruit of the grace we received from the Lord. Where there are strong convictions, pray that our hearts are united. Pray that we will exchange our thoughts with humility and will be testing all things by the Word of God written. It is so easy to get hold of a half truth and fail to deal with the whole counsel of God as set forth in Scripture.

Inordinate busyness is another way to lose our joy in the Lord. Pray that we will not try to do more that time permits us to do. It is easy to live and work a “driven,” exhausted life style. This is particularly a temptation when we are “working for the Lord.” God does not ask us to do more than He gives us time to do. This applies to the staff, faculty and students. I suspect it applies to all of us reading this Seed & Harvest.

As for the year ahead, I hope we will have an excellent year of study and learning. I hope we will grow in our ability to engage the leaders of the orthodox groups in the present Anglican mix so that they will help us to see how we can best serve them and their people.  I hope they can see that what we have to offer is unique and fruitful so they will send their members to come, live and study with us. I hope we will be more in touch with the wider Christian community that they might see in Trinity a place to serve them. I hope we will have a great year with our alumni and supporters, both congregations and individuals. And, by all means, I hope the search committee will receive names from all of you and that the Lord will lead us to the right person to become the next Dean and President of Trinity.

I look forward to being part of the daily life of the School this coming year and I hope to see you there as well.

Affectionately yours,

+John