Bishop Hughes, recording her message while attending a conference in Virginia, observed several groups of geese flying in a V formation, and was reminded that at our last Convention we talked about how geese support and encourage one another while taking turns in the leadership position – and what lessons this holds for us in the church. (Time: 4:48.)
Video Transcript
This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. I am actually away at a conference in Roslyn, Virginia, and out on my walk this morning, was surprised at the number of geese that I saw flying into this big meadow in the middle of the Conference Center. I must have seen seven, eight, I don’t know, maybe even nine or 10, different groups, different flocks of geese coming in, flying in that characteristic V formation, and settling down here in this meadow and they’re eating. I ran to get my camera, hoping I might catch another one come in.
The thing that it reminded me of and why I decided to just do this vlog post this time with the geese in the photo, though, I don’t know that I’m getting much of a good picture of them for you as they’re walking around finding some breakfast. It reminded me of our talking about geese at our last Convention, how they fly in that V formation, and we often hear them honking as they fly overhead. And as I watched wave after wave of them come in this morning, you could hear that honking long before you could see the geese coming. And we know that that lead goose out front does some honking to make sure everybody is back there. But the geese that are flying behind the lead goose are also honking. It’s their way of encouraging that goose, “Keep going, go a little further, we’re right here behind you, you’re not by yourself.”
When they fly in that V formation, it gives them an aerodynamic that makes them faster as a group, they are able to fly faster with less energy than they would be if they were simply flying on their own. It’s a fascinating thing when you think about how much stronger they are together than they are by themselves.
And then there’s also that interesting thing about geese, that if one in the formation gets sick and needs to go to the ground, another goose, a perfectly strong, fit and healthy, well goose, will then go down to the ground with that one and stay with it until it either feels better or until it dies. And then the healthy goose, the well goose, will then either take off with another group that they see here flying or see flying overhead, or they will go on to join their own group that has flown further south or north, whichever direction they’re going in.
It’s fascinating, and they have a whole number of lessons for us about how much stronger we are as a church when we are working together. About how we take care of each other as individuals and also as parishes. How our diocese is part of something even bigger. Every parish is part of something bigger, every diocese is part of something bigger, and the whole communion around the globe is part of something bigger, that all of us are of one body.
It also teaches us something about leadership that that person out front doing the leading, the lead goose, is not meant to lead forever. They’re meant to lead and help the group along the way. And when they get tired, another goose comes up, and that’s how leadership actually works.
It’s been fun standing here watching these geese do what they do, and knowing that soon they’re going to take off and fly out again. I guess I’ll be in a meeting and won’t be able to get a good picture of it, I’m sorry for that. But they will be on their way, and we will be on our way also, especially as we gather for Convention. The second weekend of November, we will officially celebrate 150 years of serving God and serving God’s people here in Northern New Jersey. All through that time, we have been flying together. We have been celebrating each other, we’ve been encouraging each other, and we have been stronger together. That’s part of what we will do at Convention. We’ll celebrate all those people who have been lead goose, and almost every single delegate has done that at some point, we’ll encourage each other to keep on going, to know that you’re in it with someone else, you’re not doing things on your own. We’ll look back at our history, we’ll look at our present, and we’ll also talk about who we will be going forward.
I’m looking forward to this time, and I hope to see you at some point in Convention, whether it is there in person or online or talking about it in your church on a Sunday morning. Until then, look for that lead goose and encourage them. And if you’re the lead goose, make sure someone else helps you out if you’re getting tired.
