The Diocese of Edinburgh meets the three candidates for their episcopal election today. It is a hard process and something that often feels unsettling to be in the middle of.
Part of the problem that we have over things like this is that we often pray in the church as though the choice ultimately is made by God. It isn’t though. If it were that easy, we would just look for the person who can be judged to be most obviously prompted and called by the Holy Spirit and dismiss the rest. It isn’t like that. Everyone who makes it to this stage of an Episcopal election feels called to put themselves forward. Everyone has gifts and talents and skills that the church would affirm as God given. Every candidate feels the urgings and prompting of the Holy Spirit. That’s why it can be such a bruising business.
The truth is, the electors of the diocese have the primary responsiblity for making a choice. They get to choose the person that they will call in God’s name, to take up the post. I don’t believe that their task is simply to select the person that God has already thought of. God isn’t in the business of letting us off making tricky choices. The task of selection falls to the electors not the holy dove.
So, prayers and blessings upon them as they meet today. For the electors and the candidates. Also for those who have previously indicated an interest in the post but who have not made it to this stage.
They all meet again next week to choose, if they can, a new Bishop of Edinburgh.
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