The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory and Power

 

Funeral for the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee Friday, July 15, 2:00 p.m. Chapel of the Cross 304 E. Franklin St. Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Clergy are invited to vest and process Funeral will also be broadcast via livestream Gifts in memory of Bishop Lee may be made to: Virginia Theological Seminary, the Peter James Lee Endowment for Small Church Revitalization in the Diocese of Virginia, or the Peter James Lee Organ Fund, Chapel of the Cross. Condolences may be sent to: The Lee Family, 511 East Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. ______________________________________________________

The Right Reverend Bishop Peter James Lee, 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, passed away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on July 2, 2022. He was 84. Bishop Lee served for 25 years as Bishop of Virginia, from 1984 to 2009.    During his tenure as Bishop, Peter Lee ordained more than 200 people to the priesthood; helped to strengthen the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia; oversaw major capital improvements to the two diocesan conference centers, Roslyn in Richmond and Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs; developed a partner relationship with the Diocese of Christ the King in South Africa; and established a program to give financial assistance to diocesan youth to make mission trips. He also helped to establish the Triangle of Hope, a covenantal relationship between the Dioceses of Virginia, Liverpool, England and now the Diocese of Kumasi, Ghana. The Triangle of Hope promotes reconciliation and healing from the three dioceses’ shared history in the slave trade.   One of the hallmarks of Bishop Lee’s episcopate was his vote in 2003 to confirm the first openly gay bishop in The Episcopal Church. That decision prompted 11 churches to break away from the Diocese, which led to a legal battle over property ownership. The Diocese ultimately won the legal dispute in 2012 when the courts ruled that the seceding churches’ buildings and land were the property of the Diocese.   Bishop Lee said that some of the highlights of his career were meeting Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and being presented to the Queen of England.   Another legacy he leaves to the Diocese of Virginia is a fund established in his name, the Peter James Lee Fund for Small Church Revitalization. The endowment fund was established in 2001 and its purpose it to assist small churches in their revitalization, preservation and expansion primarily of their facilities.     While Bishop Lee eventually found his way to seminary, ordained ministry was not his first career. Prior to his call to ministry, Bishop Lee served as an Army Intelligence Officer (61-62), then as a journalist for several newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch.   He enrolled in Duke University Law School in 1963, but it was during his first year that he felt his call to ordained ministry. It was also the year he met his wife, Kristy Margaret Knapp.    Bishop Lee graduated from VTS in 1967 and was ordained a deacon that same year. In 1968, he was ordained a priest. From 1968-1970, he served as Assistant Rector of St. John’s Lafayette Square, then became rector of Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC, where he served from 1971 – 1984. He was elected Bishop CoAdjutor of the Diocese of Virginia in 1984.     While Bishop of Virginia, he served in many leadership positions in the wider Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, including as President of the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief (1987-1993); President, American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem (1989-1996); Chairman, Board of Trustees, VTS (1993 – 2009); Chaplain, Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Washington, DC (1994-2000) and Chairman of The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in the United States (2003 – 2018).   Though he resigned as Bishop of Virginia in 2009, he continued a distinguished career in ministry. He went directly from Virginia to San Francisco where he served as Interim Dean of Grace Cathedral from 2009-2010. From 2010-2011, he served as Interim Dean of General Theological Seminary in New York City. From New York, Bishop Lee moved to Paris, where he served as Interim Dean of The American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (2012-2013). In 2013, he was elected Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, where he served as an Interim Bishop until 2014. He served in a variety of other ministries including Interim Rector, Christ Church, Georgetown, (2015 – 2017); Assisting Bishop, Diocese of North Carolina and Bishop-in-Residence, Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC.   Bishop Lee is survived by his wife, Kristina Knapp Lee, daughter Stewart, son James, and several grandchildren.   Please keep the Lee family in your prayers.

#AdventWord today is #Baptism

#AdventWord today is #Baptism 

 

Wonderful news for the Diocese of Virginia: Bishop Johnston will not seek to be Presiding Bishop!

This is wonderful news for the Diocese of Virginia: Bishop Johnston will not seek to be Presiding Bishop, which means he will remain as the Bishop of Virginia!

A Letter from the Bishop: Speculation on Presiding Bishop Nomination

12/10/2014

Dear Diocesan Family,

Over the past few months, there have been various news reports, both in print and online, that have named me as a possible candidate for nomination as our next Presiding Bishop. Since those reports have circulated, I and my diocesan staff have understandably received numerous questions and comments about my possible candidacy. Since these questions have persisted up until this time, I am writing to you to set the record straight and end any speculation or concerns.
XIII Bishop of Virginia

While it is true that some of my colleagues in the House of Bishops encouraged me to allow my name to go forward in the search process, and my name was submitted to the Committee, I am very clear and comfortable in my decision not to participate in this discernment. Therefore, I will not be considered as a possible nominee.

Given that the colleagues who encouraged me in this are people whose confidence in me and friendship I value so greatly, I approached this decision very deliberately and prayerfully over a period of time. In the end, the answer was clear; I am convinced that I was called and ordained to be Bishop of Virginia, and I intend to fulfill this great trust, privilege and responsibility for many years to come.

There is no question that the search process for our next Presiding Bishop will be well served, not only by the very fine Committee that is conducting it, but also by a number of exceptionally strong potential nominees. That Committee and all who are in this discernment will be in my daily prayers, and I ask you to include them in your own as well.

I could not ask for anything more than I already am blessed with in being bishop of this great diocese. Serving the Gospel through the ministry of bishop in this iconic place with you is the greatest honor and joy that I could ever know.

Faithfully yours,

The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston

At Shrine Mont, reflecting on 1 Corinthians 12, 13:1-5 - The Diocese of Virginia

I am at Shrine Mont, with the clergy and parish staff of the Diocese of Virginia, listening to the Rev. Dr. Frank Wade give a fascinating presentation about Spiritual Gifts and the Church.  We are about to reflect on 1 Corinthians 12 and consider in relation to our present contexts.  Very fascinating discussion and program...

...(and then later, a bike ride!!)

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

1 Corinthians 12

 ¹Now^(A) concerning^[a] spiritual gifts,^[b] brothers,^[c] I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that^(B) when you were pagans^(C) you were led astray to^(D) mute idols, however you were led.³Therefore I want you to understand that^(E) no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is^(F) accursed!" and^(G) no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.

 ⁴Now^(H) there are varieties of gifts, but^(I) the same Spirit; ⁵and^(J) there are varieties of service, but^(K) the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is^(L) the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ^7(M) To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of^(N) wisdom, and to another the utterance of^(O) knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another^(P) faith by the same Spirit, to another^(Q)gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another^(R) the working of miracles, to another^(S) prophecy, to another^(T) the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another^(U) various kinds of tongues, to another^(V) the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit,^(W)who apportions to each one individually^(X) as he wills.

 ¹²For just as^(Y) the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,^(Z) so it is with Christ. ¹³For^(AA) in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(AB) Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and^(AC) all were made to drink of one Spirit.

 ¹⁴For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸But as it is,^(AD) God arranged the members in the body, each one of them,^(AE) as he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

 ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored,^(AF) all rejoice together.

 ²⁷Now^(AG) you are the body of Christ and individually^(AH) members of it. ²⁸And^(AI) God has appointed in the church first^(AJ) apostles, second^(AK) prophets, third teachers, then^(AL) miracles, then^(AM) gifts of healing,^(AN) helping,^(AO) administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But^(AP) earnestly desire the higher gifts.

1 Corinthians 13:1-5
 ¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have^(A) prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith,^(B) so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.^3(C) If I give away all I have, and^(D) if I deliver up my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. ^4(E) Love is patient and^(F) kind; love^(G) does not envy or boast; it^(H) is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It^(I)does not insist on its own way; it^(J) is not irritable or resentful

2009 Shrine Mont Weekend