Early in November Chris got a phone call from the Stake Executive Secretary asking to meet with him on Thursday night. Chris had an exam on Friday, so he wasn't able to meet with him. Instead they planned to meet Sunday morning before church. Before I go on, some of you who read this are not LDS (mormon) and may not understand our "vocabulary," per se. So here is some information on how our church functions and what the different names mean:
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Stakes: Most areas of the Church are divided into stakes, which usually consist of five to twelve congregations called wards or branches. The term stake was used by the prophet Isaiah. He described the latter-day Church as a tent that would be secured by stakes (see Isaiah 33:20; 54:2).
A stake is led by a stake president and two counselors. The stake president is the presiding high priest in a stake. These leaders oversee the spiritual and temporal welfare of Church members.
(Side note: The Stake Executive Secretary is the secretary to the Stake Presidency. That's who called Chris.)
Wards: As in the ancient Church, members of the Church today are organized into congregations. Large congregations (approximately 300 or more members) are called wards. Smaller congregations are called branches. A ward is led by a bishop and two counselors, who constitute a bishopric. Branches are led by a branch president and two counselors. The responsibilities of a branch president are similar to those of a bishop, described below.
Bishop: A bishop has many duties. In addition to watching over all ward members, he has special responsibility to guide the ward’s young men and young women. He oversees teaching, missionary work, and spiritual growth in the ward. He is responsible to conduct worthiness interviews, counsel Church members, and administer Church discipline. He is responsible to care for the poor and needy, and he oversees finances, records, and the use and security of the meetinghouse.
In these responsibilities and others, the bishop is assisted by two counselors, an executive secretary, clerks, and the leaders of other organizations in the ward. Leadership meetings are held regularly to allow the bishop and those who help him to counsel together about the well-being of ward members.
You can read more here, on LDS.org.
And now back to early November. Chris was a bit concerned as to what his new calling could be. The LDS church functions with an unpaid clergy. So all of these men and women who lead in our church do so without being paid. It's in addition to all of their other responsibilities in life. When the Stake Presidency extends a calling, there are only a few things it can be. It's either to be a member of the Bishopric or a ward clerk/executive secretary, or to be in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. The thing is, Chris already was the 1st counselor in the EQ Presidency so we knew it wasn't that. He was worried whatever it was would take him away from what little time he has with his family and just add on to his stress load from school. I don't think anyone really understands - apart from a select few family members and people who have gone through it themselves - what dental school is like and just how hard it is. Sure, on our blog you see us having loads of fun. Most of the time Chris is absent. I hear my kids cry for their dad on a regular basis at bedtime because he isn't home to say goodbye. I think last semester Chris went 3-4 days at a time without seeing our kids because he leaves early in the morning before they wake up and gets home late at night after they've already gone to bed. He works so hard at school. When he's home, he tries to be 100% home. He is an amazing dad and husband when he is around, and even when he's not around he is concerned about us and is there when we need him to be - no matter what he has going on. But school is his priority. Serving in our church is something we have been taught to just do - you just don't say know when someone asks you to serve. So there came his worry. What could it be for? He stopped worrying the rest of the week, though, and we headed to church on Sunday. The Stake President met with him momentarily and then the rest of us went in. He asked Chris to serve as the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric. We... were... shocked. I'll just leave it at that. Chris is only 29, which is kind of young to be in a Bishopric. He is also a student with huge demands on his time. However, he knows that he wouldn't be asked to serve if he wasn't capable of doing it (see Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.).
So the way our church works is a man or woman is asked to serve, they accept, and then it's presented to the congregation for a sustaining vote. His name is presented and the entire congregation raises their hand to show that they sustain that person. Then the congregation is asked if anyone is opposed to it. And then it's done! I think people were just as shocked as we were. We got a lot of hugs and congratulations (and I never knew how to reply to those comments) and sad looks of pity, knowing how much time it was going to take away from what little time he already had. But all in all, it was a good thing. It has been a good thing. We have been so blessed already for his service and it's been a great thing for our family. Here is a picture of the old and new bishopric, along with some members of our Stake Presidency.
And our new Bishopric... Chris, Dan Ackerman (who happens to be my awesome neurologist), and Lino Vega. Dan is very understanding of the demands on Chris's time because he is about to finish up his residency in neurology.
I think the hardest thing for us to adjust to was the fact that Chris is now gone almost all day on Sunday. Sundays used to be our family day. We would head to church, come home, the kids would nap, and Chris and I were able to spend time catching up. Now Chris has meetings that start at 6:30am and he's there are church until around 3:30pm. I am also left to sit alone with my kids during church. It was a struggle the first couple of weeks but I think we will get the hang of it sooner or later.
So that's that! It's still so strange to see Chris's name in the program.
Life brings so many changes! We embrace them and pray for the best. That's about all we can do.
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