"I'm not in this business to step up," he said. "Every step has been to ask what with my gifts I'm being called to do."

Lloyd sees himself on a journey, and his Boston position will be the next step in that journey. While Lloyd was discerning his future, Trinity Church was searching for a priest amid the retirement of the Rev. Anne Bonny Berryman, who succeeded Lloyd as rector in 2006. The two periods of discernment seemed to converge according to God's plan.

The dean said his new position as priest-in-charge at Trinity Church entails a structured three-year commitment. Becoming the rector again "is certainly a possibility, but it needs to be prayed through and make sense on both sides."

Even with his confidence about returning to Trinity Church, the decision to leave the cathedral was not easy for Lloyd.

"This is a very difficult choice for me; I have loved my time here," he said. "I'm giving up a great deal that I love here."

The cathedral is a focal point for political and religious leaders from across the world.

"The cathedral is a beautiful place for worship," the dean said. "It has been a tremendous gift to be able to lead the cathedral in service to the nation."

Lloyd said the cathedral has hosted an inaugural prayer service for President Obama, intercessory services for earthquake victims in Haiti and Japan and "big, important public conversations" on issues such as global poverty and the empowerment of women in the developing world.

Lloyd takes pride in the cathedral being a place where the former president of Iraq speaks, and where interfaith dialogue can occur between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Roman Catholic leaders and people of many different faiths.

The dean also was pleased by a cathedral forum featuring three former secretaries of state discussing the link between values and diplomacy in world affairs - an event attended by many college students.

The cathedral is "an amazing crossroads of faith and all the public issues of the day," Lloyd said.

Lloyd said he is especially proud of bringing "some of the most interesting leaders and thinkers in the country to speak at the cathedral" during a Sunday-morning forum he launched.

Lloyd believes the cathedral congregation, about 1,000 worshipers who attend Sunday services, "has enhanced the cathedral as a place of worship. "This is a pilgrim place," he said.

Lloyd recently unveiled what he called "a very rigorous" new strategic plan, which he said will be important in the life of the cathedral in the years to come. He said he is happy the cathedral is on sounder monetary footing than existed during the recession.

"The cathedral is doing much better financially after a very difficult couple of years," he said. Donor giving is as large as it has ever been; "our last two years we have had balanced budgets," and "we are on firm ground again."

What advice would he offer to the cathedral's next dean?

"Come with an open mind to explore the issues, and with a deep grounding in our Christian Anglican way," he said. "What I have believed so much is that the cathedral should be ... firm at the center and soft at the edges" - clearly grounded in Anglicanism but appreciating the value of all faiths in what the dean called "generous-spirited Christianity."

"What Christ does is to make our world bigger and our hearts larger," he said. The cathedral is a place for "large hearts and open spirits."

*****

BOSTON: Sam Lloyd to Return to Trinity as Priest-in-Charge
"Fresh new ministry in familiar and much-loved place" to begin in October

http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/news-from-the-vestry/465-sam-lloyd-to-return.html
July 8, 2011

The Vestry of Trinity Church Boston has announced its approval of the appointment of the Very Rev. Dr. Samuel T. Lloyd III as Priest-in-Charge, by the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Lloyd will assume the leadership role at the historic church in mid-October. He currently serves as the Dean of Washington National Cathedral, but is well-known to many in Boston, having previously served as Trinity's rector from 1993 until 2005.

"Since the announcement of the retirement of our Rector, Anne Bonnyman, we have sought a priest who is of outstanding ability as a spiritual leader through preaching and teaching; can build community within the church, and extend our involvement in the community outside our doors," said Robert Cowden, III, Senior Warden of the Trinity's Vestry (the lay board charged with overseeing finances and church property). "We concluded, in consultation with Bishop Shaw, that Sam Lloyd's considerable abilities, already demonstrated at Trinity and more broadly within the Episcopal Church, and his desire to return to his vocation as teacher, preacher, and pastor, presented an unusual opportunity for Trinity. While Sam will bring deep knowledge of Trinity from his service here before, he will focus on God's call to Trinity now."

Lloyd concurs that his new role will be "... a fresh, new ministry in what turns out to be a familiar and much loved place. Trinity has grown and continued its vibrant life in many important ways in these past years, and I have found myself engaged in a rich and often exciting ministry at the National Cathedral. And we both have also wrestled with demanding times and difficult issues. Now, though, we have an opportunity to launch a fresh journey together to discover the new thing that God wants to happen at Trinity Church."

As Priest-in-Charge, Lloyd will hold the responsibilities and duties of a rector as well as the special charge to lead a parish-wide consideration of the mission, identity and goals of the parish going forward. At the conclusion of that process, he and the parish will determine, through mutual discernment, whether he should become Rector of Trinity and lead the parish in implementation of those goals. This determination typically happens in the third year of service.

"While the return of a rector in the role of priest-in-charge is unusual, I know that Sam's particular gifts and his commitment to spiritual growth, social justice ministry and congregational development will be of great value as Trinity begins to imagine the next chapter in its future," Bishop Shaw commented.

THE VERY REV. DR. SAMUEL T. LLOYD III was installed as the ninth dean of Washington National Cathedral on April 23, 2005, charged with leadership of what is widely referred to as "the national house of prayer" and is also the official seat of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. His ministry has focused on preaching, teaching, and developing Christian community, with emphases on lay leadership, wide-ranging styles of worship, and engagement in a broad array of direct and social justice ministries, while promoting a generous-spirited, intellectually vibrant Christian faith.

Dean Lloyd previously served as rector of historic Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston, Massachusetts, for 12 years. He also served as rector of the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, Illinois; chaplain of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee; assistant to the rector and chaplain at St. Paul's Memorial Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, and as an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia. Dean Lloyd holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Virginia, an M.A. degree in English Literature from Georgetown University, and a B.A. from the University of Mississippi. He has received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from the University of the South and Virginia Theological Seminary.

ABOUT TRINITY CHURCH IN THE CITY OF BOSTON

Known for its national-landmark 1877 church building designed by legendary American architect H. H. Richardson, Trinity Church welcomes over 100,000 people every year as worshippers, tourists, meeting attendees and participants in church-run counseling and youth-mentoring programs. With a congregation of over 2,000 members and supporters, including a children's ministry with more than 200 students, a large gay and lesbian fellowship, and Nigerian Anglican fellowship, Trinity offers four worship services every Sunday and weekday Eucharists and numerous special musical and cultural programs each year.

FOOTNOTE: VOL believes is is exceedingly strange that a dean/priest in charge of the nation's leading cathedral is stepping down to take a priest-in-charge role of a parish. It is hoped we can enlighten our readers in due course.