The Rt. Rev. Phoebe Roaf

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RT. REV. PHOEBE ROAF

EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WEST TENNESSEE

"If you don’t mind, why don’t we start by you telling us a little bit about yourself; what would you like for people to know about you." I’m a child of God—it’s my most important self-identifier. I think my journey within our beloved Episcopal Church is really a testament of the importance of communal discernment. Because I never—as a girl growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas—thought that ordination was a possibility. My own experience has mirrored that belief. It was really a series of three con- gregations and three different dioceses, when I was a lay person, over the period of fifteen years, asking me, “Phoebe, it’s so obvious that you have a calling to ordination,” that got me to even launch on this crazy-amazing journey. So, it’s never too late to start over, to utilize your gifts and skills for the greater glory of God. Also, to have a community of faith to walk along with you in your discernment jour- ney is so important. So, I guess other than that, I would say that I’m very blessed to have friends and family who love and support me. I have been navigating this second year as a bishop in West Tennessee, in the midst of a global pandemic, with hope- fully a measure of humility and mutual/com- munal discernment to make the best of what has been a challenging set of circumstances.

Continue reading at Contemporary Koinonia