It’s raining in New York. Seems appropriate somehow because we lost our friend and colleague, Jim Kelsey, over the weekend. The 54 year old Episcopal Bishop of Northern Michigan was killed in an automobile accident while returning from a normal Sunday visitation to one of his parishes in the Upper Peninsula.
I sometimes wonder why more of us aren’t killed in this way, since most bishops spend much of their lives in automobiles visiting parishes for confirmation, driving to diocesan meetings, coming home late at night after mediating in some kind of parish dust-up.
Our Presiding Bishop described Jim as one of the bright lights of our church. Certainly he was smart, committed, and passionate about God, God’s people, and God’s justice. She also said we would miss his “easy grace.”
As I said in my post to our bishops’ list serve: I find it impossible to improve on that description and will never be able to hear the phrase “easy grace” without thinking of Jim.
He’ll be missed. And today…
It’s raining in New York.
That We All May Be One 
June 7, 2007 at 2:56 pm |
What a terrible loss. May light perpetual shine upon him. And what a reminder about the fragility of life and the wonderful gift each of us are to each other.