We had a couple of Alex's high school friends come stay with us for a couple of days. It had been a long time since he had seen them, and it was fun to chat and hang out with them. Alex showed them around and we took them to a couple of the local restaurants. They came to church with us and played games with the kids on Sunday afternoon. Alex and I actually had to stay after church that day because the Stake President extended a calling to Alex to serve as the new Bishop of our ward. That's a big deal because he oversees and leads our whole church congregation. He provides counsel, extends callings to ward members, oversees welfare and financial needs, leads the youth, and many other things. Everyone knew that our previous Bishop was due for a release and speculating who would be called next. Some of our friends thought it would be Alex, but he didn't think it would be him. It was a pretty daunting and overwhelming responsibility for him to accept, but I know he'll do well. He is great at talking with people and has leadership skills and experience with public speaking from his job. Now the decision making... well, he'll have to get better at that! I really felt the Spirit as the Stake President was extending the call, and I know the Lord will help us serve. People have asked how I'm feeling, and honestly I think the weight is on Alex's shoulders. I feel like he has to support the whole congregation, and I just have to support Alex.
The Stake President also came and spoke with our kids before they announced it at church. They didn't seem surprised - more just like "okay, cool". They're great kids already, so they don't have to worry about living up to higher standards or something with people watching them as "Bishop's kids," if that's a thing.
Not only did Alex get sustained as Bishop, but they also re-organized 3 wards in our area with boundary changes. The wards are organized by geographical boundaries, so members are assigned to wards based on where they live. Sometimes they re-organize the boundaries to balance out the number of ward members or help boost ward membership numbers for wards whose numbers are low. So Alex basically also has to welcome some new ward members and call them to positions in the ward, and we lost several members to another ward. So many positions need to be filled or presidencies re-organized.
It's a good thing we still go to the temple once a month, because we need the extra peace and blessings the temple brings!
Alex's high school friends (left) and the new Bishopric (right)
No comments:
Post a Comment