We sat down with the Rev. Lou Parsons to hear about her experience of the work and ministry of Bishop and Council. As she prepares to finish her latest round of service on that leadership body, Rev. Parsons reflects on the challenges of the pandemic, the relationships formed through decision-making, and the joys of representing East Tennessee.
Nominations for diocesan leadership open November 15, 2023. More information on open positions is available here.
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Transcript
Rev. Lou Parsons
I’m the Reverend Lou Parsons. I’m the rector at Saint Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Ooltewah, Tennessee, and I am an outgoing member of Bishop and Council.
Bro. Andrew
What drew you to serving on Bishop and Council?
Rev. Lou Parsons
Well, I have actually served on Bishop and Council before. I had three terms on Standing Committee altogether, starting in 2005 and interspersed with a year off for between two of them and then interspersed with a year off, and then the request to serve on Bishop and Council.
After that I went back to Standing Committee and then took a year off and was asked again to serve on Bishop and Council. So together, of 21 years of ordained ministry, I’ve served on either Bishop and Council or Standing Committee 15 years.
Bro. Andrew
Has it is it been a joy? How has it felt to serve in those different capacities?
Rev. Lou Parsons
It is. It’s a privilege. It’s a passion. I feel very strongly about diocesan ministry because it’s what undergirds parish ministry. This parish wouldn’t exist if the diocese had not in 1988, purchased the land before there was even the hope of a community out here.
Bro. Andrew
Has there been any particular work of Bishop and Council that stands out to you in that way, that it has undergirded the growth or the journey of our people in East Tennessee?
Rev. Lou Parsons
There’s a couple of things that come immediately to mind. One of which is during the pandemic, the way we worked as Bishop and Council to each connect with at least three different parishes personally, and that we would reach out and keep in touch and communicate needs and communicate support during that time of pandemic. And I think for me, it was important to talk to my colleagues who were walking journeys none of us have ever walked and to say we’re not alone in doing this.
There’s people listening and we’re ready to help as we can. Secondly, one of the great gifts that I’ve seen in Bishop and Council of late is the ability to listen to the needs of the diocese and find ways to respond to it, whether it’s acting on resolutions that came out of convention and living into those resolutions or things like we are being intentional now in helping build up a fund for curacies so that we can support those people we send in seminary when they come out and keep them in our diocese.
It wasn’t that many years ago when we had several very talented people who had gone to seminary whom we could not place, and now we are being deliberate to be sure that does not happen, if we can help it.
Bro. Andrew
So I actually heard you say the word listening a lot. So one of the primary things that Bishop and Council must be to listen
Rev. Lou Parsons
Absolutely.
Bro. Andrew
…and then to strategize from that listening.
Rev. Lou Parsons
Absolutely. And we would hear things in that listening that had not necessarily occurred to us, but seemed to be important things to then share to others or we hadn’t thought about that being a challenge and we needed to start figuring out strategies for addressing such a challenge.
Bro. Andrew
Is there like another third or fourth sort of work of Bishop and Council?
Rev. Lou Parsons
I think one of the gifts of Bishop and Council is the collaboration across the diocese. One of the things I say about the privilege of serving on the diocesan level is every time I go to a gathering, I know people across the diocese. And it almost feels like a homecoming because I’ve had the privilege with working with people I would not have otherwise had such an opportunity to get to know the people across our diocese. And we are diverse group, and yet we have so much we share in common. And I’ve met so many talented people I simply wouldn’t have if I hadn’t said yes to serving on diocesan level.
Bro. Andrew
I’ve often heard that Bishop and Council is the convention between the conventions. What would you say to someone who is thinking about running for bishop and council
Rev. Lou Parsons
Please consider serving, because what we do is important for our diocese, whether it’s helping deal with the budget between conventions, whether it’s dealing with unforeseen happenings that come up in life and how we respond and how we support and how we help.
All those things are important. We’ve seen changes in a year that we couldn’t imagined because, for example, we gathered at St Paul’s February of 2020. We did not know that March 15th, 2020, somebody would blow the whistle and say, “Everybody out of the pool. You’ve got to figure out how to do church. Now, in a new way.”
And this was the body that pivoted to respond. And it took intention and it took care to do that.
We have an amazing diocese. I’ve been privileged to move around the country through the years. I got to come back home. I was raised in the Diocese of Tennessee, which then broke into three and stayed in East Tennessee. But in the grand scheme of the Episcopal Church, this is an incredible diocese. We are blessed with an amazing bishop, with a wonderful diocesan staff who is there with the attitude we’re here to help and serve.
And I know when I pick up the phone, there’s somebody on the other end who is there to support me. And I know that if I’m willing to seek such support, it’s important that I’ll also be able to offer such support. And that sense of community is one of the greatest gifts of serving on the diocesan level.
I have been privileged to serve under three bishops and it has been my privilege to work with each and every one of them. And if one hasn’t taken the time to really serve alongside such leadership, now’s the time to find out.
Bro. Andrew
Thank you, Reverend Lou Parsons, for taking time out to explore with us what it means to be on not only Bishop and Council, but on the other diocese embodies and what it is like serving these the people of East Tennessee. And what an amazing diocese that we have here. So thank you.
Rev. Lou Parsons
Thank you. It has been a real privilege to get to talk with you today and to share something that I’m truly grateful and truly love doing.
Bro. Andrew
I was actually like, did she script all of this beforehand? Like, where is the teleprompter? I’m like looking around like.
Rev. Lou Parsons
No, this is what I love.