The Ordination and Consecration of Paula E. Clark
as Bishop in the Church of God and Thirteenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
Last week was a glorious week-end full of many blessings for the people of the Diocese of Chicago. At the Westin, Lombard, with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, visiting bishops, friends, and dignitaries from around the country, and with the gathered people of the Diocese of Chicago, we welcomed our 13th Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Paula E. Clark.
Jenifer Gamber, in her book Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church, reminds us that, “The primary ministry of the bishop (and all ministers) is to ‘represent Christ and his Church.’ The ministry unique to the bishop is to oversee a diocese as apostle, chief priest, and pastor. As a successor to the apostles, a bishop symbolizes the unity of the priesthood throughout time and, with other bishops, symbolizes the unity of the Church. Bishops guard and teach the faith and are charged with proclaiming the word of God. Bishops alone have the authority to ordain priests.” (p. 274)
Bishop Clark welcomed the people, sharing, “This is the first day of a long episcopate, and we are excited and ready to begin.
“The process of confirming a new bishop in the Diocese of Chicago has been long, challenging, sometimes heartbreaking, but always guided by God. I would like to thank the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago for your steadfast loyalty and faith. You have believed in me, prayed for, comforted, and encouraged me even through difficult times. You have held fast to your faith and shown me what God-centered leadership really is. Most of all, you have kept the faith and overcome, despite repeated setbacks. I am so honored to serve as your Bishop. With your support, together, we will forthrightly and courageously serve God and our neighbor.
“This service formalizes what began over twenty-one months ago. Who would believe that the election of the bishop occurred on December 12, 2020? Much has transpired since then; we’ve grown, and we have remained steadfast in ministry. Indeed, we will become even more active in our ministries.”
The people of the Diocese of Chicago were thankful that this day was finally here. It had been a long journey with unpredictable twists and turns. Not only was the search for our new bishop conducted in the midst of the COVID pandemic, but once called as our bishop, Paula had her own challenges which ultimately called us to deeper faith. Bishop Clark, and the people of the Diocese, under the gentle but affirming pastoral guidance of the Standing Committee, led by The Rev. Anne B. Jolly (St. Gregory’s, Deerfield), moved together through grief and loss. Emily McFarlan Miller, reporting for the Religious News Service, shared, “Just weeks before she was set to take office in April 2021, Clark experienced a brain bleed while exercising. Surgery followed, postponing her consecration to June, then to August, then indefinitely as she worked through speech, physical and occupational therapies. As Clark regained her health, her husband, Andrew McLean, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and died in November.”
As we prayed for healing for Paula and her family, we as a diocese prayed for patience, steadfastness, and discernment. This shared journey of uncertainty added to the joy and excitement of the morning when we finally gathered to welcome Paula as our bishop. No longer bishop-elect!
“The service’s procession began with the Diamano Dancers and Drummers performing Lamba, a dance of Mandingo griots in Senegal, according to Brenda Malika Moore, the company’s artistic director. Kite bearers and vergers then led 30 bishops, more than a hundred clergy from across The Episcopal Church and lay leaders from the Diocese of Chicago to the front of a hotel ballroom brightly decorated with banners and dramatic floral arrangements.” (ENS)
Bishop Clark’s daughter read from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, reminding us, “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
During her sermon, Mariann Budde, Bishop of Washington, shared this, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, Paula Clark. The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, Diocese of Chicago… Live as if everything we’re saying here in the service is true, because it is. Nothing can separate you from the love of God revealed to us in Jesus. The One who has called you is faithful, and praise God, so are you."
Following the sermon, The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, our Presiding Bishop, moved into “The Examination.” Curry addressed Paula, “My sister, the people have chosen you and have affirmed their trust in you by acclaiming your election. A bishop in God’s holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection, interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.
“You are called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.
“With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
“Are you persuaded that God has called you to the office of bishop?”
Clark responded, “I am so persuaded.” She promised to serve in Christ’s name, to boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, and to serve all of God’s people for the sake of Christ Jesus.
Then, at long last, the assembly called on the Holy Spirit to disperse the shadows over us, to renew and strengthen God’s people, and to make Paula a bishop in God’s Church.
Bishop Clark is the first Black person and the first woman to serve as Chicago’s diocesan bishop. She leads more than 30,000 Episcopalians in 124 congregations and campus ministries across northern and west central Illinois.
And there was much rejoicing in heaven!
EXPLORE MORE
The Sermon by The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of Washington
Music from the consecration compiled by The Rev. Sierra Reyes for Apple Music users and Spotify users
The Seating of Bishop Paula E. Clark at St. James Cathedral
Front Row: Chilton Knudsen (Assisting Bishop of Chicago), Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows (Bp. Indianapolis), Paula Clark (Bp. Chicago), Michael Curry (Presiding Bishop), Douglas Sparks (Bp. Northern Indiana)
Second Row: Michie Klusmeyer (Bp. West Virginia), Daniel Richards (Bp. Upper South Carolina), Julio César Martín Trejo (Bp. Southeast Mexico), Michael Hunn (Bp. Rio Grande), Kym Lucas (Bp. Colorado), Yehiel Curry (Bp. Metropolitan Chicago Synod ELCA), Deon Johnson (Bp. Missouri), Eugene Sutton (Bp. Maryland), Jacob Ownesby (Bp. Western Louisiana), Diane Bruce (Provisional Bp. West Missouri)
Back Row: Betsey Monnot (Bp. Iowa), Allen Shin (Bp. suffragan New York), Whayne Hougland (Bp. W. & E. Michigan resigned), Mariann Budde (Bp. Washington), William Pursell (Bp. Chicago ret.), Matthew Cowden (Bp. coadjutor West Virginia), Prince Singh (Provisional Bp. W. & E. Michigan), Bonnie Perry (Bp. Michigan), Ruth Woodliff-Stanley (Bp. South. Carolina), Matthew Gunter (Bp. Fond du Lac), DeDe Duncan-Probe (Bp. Central NY), Shannon MacVean-Brown (Bp. Vermont), Wendell Gibbs (Bp. Michigan ret.)