“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.” – Psalm 23:1.
Psalm 23 is truly a wonderful expression of what we expect of a bishop as servant, teacher and shepherd in the image of the Greatest of shepherds, our Lord Jesus Christ, who called us to follow him on the path of serving and caring for people.
For me, Bishop Mary has been a shepherd. As the first female bishop in our diocese, she brought a different way of being a bishop, adding to the role the very particular touch of assurance that a mother can provide.
That’s why, after our trip to Tanzania visiting our partner diocese of Masasi, I got used to calling her ‘‘Askofu Mama’’ in Swahili.
In the Diocese of Masasi the Bishop’s wife is called ‘‘Mama Askofu’’ and the Bishop himself is lovingly called ‘‘Baba Askofu’’, which means Father Bishop.
So if the Bishop is a woman like our own Mary, we can’t call her ‘‘Mama Askofu’’, which would make Mark Gibson the Bishop (I appreciate Mark, too)! Instead, she should be called Askofu Mama, which means Mother Bishop.
Dear Askofu Mama Mary, thank you for being a shepherd to the flock and a guiding light in our lives. As a pioneer, you have quietly strengthened our openness to the richness of our diversity and committed our diocesan church to listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through who we are. Your dedication to the Lord’s work has touched our hearts and souls for ten years. For your wisdom, guidance, and unwavering faith, we are forever grateful. You were and will be a blessing to our diocese of Montreal. We thank God for that.
Asante sana Askofu Mama Mary!
