A great loss of a champion for baptismal ministry. Jim was one who knew and expressed the love of God in words and deeds. A wonderful photo of Jim at
http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2007/06/tragic-loss-for-whole-church.html

What shocking and sad news. In 2005, Karen Buchingham,
St. Thomas, Rawlins and I had the opportunity to not
only work and learn from Bishop Kelsey, on a Northern
Michigan visitor's weekend, but we shared a lovely
meal prepared by his wife, Mary, in their home.

Life is short and precious
And we do not have too much time
To gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with
us.
So be swift to love
and make haste to be kind.

Let light perpetual shine upon Bishop Jim Kelsey.
Amen,

Linda Fleming, St. Paul's Dixon, Wyoming.

Posted for Dean George Werner, retired President of the House of Deputies:

In a time when we too often seem to be flooded with discouragers, Jim was an encourager and the personification of enthusiasm...on several occasions when things were tough, I discovered an E-Mail from Jim telling me wonderful things and pushing me forward. My heart breaks for Mary and the children. George Werner, PHOD Retired

Posted for Herb Gunn, editor of The Record, Diocese of Michigan:

All Episcopalians in the state of Michigan feel the loss of an inspiring and
gentle man.

Herb Gunn

Posted for Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations:

We in the Government Relations Office join all those mourning Jim Kelsey. He was a very active member of the Bishops Working for a Just World so we had many wonderful opportunities to work with him. He brought passion, humility, and a great sense of humor to all that he did. Jim was quick to offer new ideas and to give praise. He was wise in the challenges of the church and the world, and there was no doubt about his love for the people of his diocese and of Michigan. We feel truly blessed to have known him.

Maureen Shea

Jim was a most enthusiastic Third Order Franciscan. He will be greatly missed by those of
us within the Order.

I saw him as a big warm whirlwind of a man.

Bett Wood TSSF
Cheyenne Wyoming

Mark at Goose Chase writes this remembrance:

"I want to lay Jim’s work along side the groundbreaking work of Miles Horton at the Highlander Folk School, from which sprang the heart of the Civil Right’s Revolution. It was powered by Wes Frensdorff’s “Dream” of a church of radical companionship. Jim’s church is one of great imagination, of steely commitment to a Gospel of inclusion and of astonishing gratitude. Even while he was taking on the work of reshaping congregational life in Northern Michigan, rediscovering the radical inclusion of the Good News and fighting to keep the focus on the humanizing values at the heart of the Gospel, he would write this line: 'Let us be thankful that we are a part of a Church which is trying, at least, to figure out how to bring these matters to the table, so we might discover what future God is calling us to.'"

http://liminalman.blogspot.com/2007/06/wind-is-knocked-out-of-us.html

+Jim's visionary ministry advocating for the full inclusion of all the baptized into the Body of Christ touched lives far beyond his Diocese of Northern Michigan and witnessed the deep authenticity of his commitment to TOTAL Ministry. We grieve his loss today as we give thanks for the blessing of his life and witness and for his companionship on the journey.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the. mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Rev Susan Russell.

I just participated with Bishop Kelsey in a graveside service for the husband of one of my parishioners. His confidence in the power of the resurrection sustains me at this moment ...

From Bishop Dean E. Wolfe of the Diocese of Kansas. Also available at the diocesan Web site at
http://www.episcopal-ks.org/bishop/index.html

My heart is heavy with the news that Bishop Jim Kelsey of Northern Michigan was killed in an automobile accident on the way home from a Sunday visitation. When I read the e-mail bearing this sad information, I could not fully describe my grief to my family, who wondered why tears were sliding down my face.

The fellowship of the House of Bishops is a difficult thing to communicate, and because it’s difficult to describe, it remains one of the best kept secrets in The Episcopal Church. From what I heard and read before I was elected a bishop, I expected the House of Bishops to be an unfriendly place. It was the place where the bishops of our church constantly disagreed with one another, often in a most disagreeable manner. Some of these disputes acquired a near-legendary status, and I came to my first meeting of the House with real apprehension. Would I find any evidence that the House of Bishops was a group of Christian leaders who took seriously their responsibility to love one another?

Imagine my relief when I was warmly greeted by countless bishops, and when a smiling Jim Kelsey told me to call him anytime I needed help. I never expected in a million years to be met with such authentic warmth and genuine goodwill! I did not know about the camaraderie that exists between people who do a difficult job, sometimes under extreme pressures, who hold those who do the same work with respect and appreciation. I did not know that in such a pressurized environment the bonds of affection could grow to be so strong.

Of course, there are certainly disagreements in the House of Bishops, and some are more devoted to preserving and building our community than others. Yet even when there are deep disagreements, they are typically expressed with great respect, care and concern for the other. I know not everyone has had the same experience I have had and not everyone will see the House of Bishops as I do.

I am well aware that bishops are an imperfect group of human beings, and all the sins to be found anywhere else will be found in our midst. But I think it is important for people to know that bishops who may disagree vehemently on the issues of the day often hold tremendous respect and affection for one another. Sometimes over a Diet Coke, or a glass of wine, or a penny-ante poker game, these bonds of affection are further knit together. This is important and holy work, because these bonds are often tested in the next day’s conversations.

I believe that if more Episcopalians knew of these friendships, they might be inspired to preserve the relationships they have with those with whom they disagree. They might come to appreciate those relationships just a little bit more.

More than 200 men and women from across the United States and 12 sovereign nations spend nearly four weeks together each year being the House of Bishops. We share meals, worship, conversation and the work of the Church. The days are often long and the process can be extremely tedious. We come from very different backgrounds; we have different theological perspectives and hold different expectations for our work together. We even speak different languages.

Many Episcopalians still do not know that all official business in the House of Bishops is translated into both French and Spanish. We are truly an international fellowship! But in spite of our differences, or perhaps, because of them, great friendships arise out of our time together.

I have come to see the extraordinary gifts so many of my colleagues possess. Many are extraordinary speakers and writers and theologians. Many are great administrators and church builders. All of them have great hearts. All of them have given the better part of their lives in the service of The Episcopal Church, and they take seriously their vows to guard and guide the Church as God grants them the grace and ability to do so.

So when one of them is suddenly snatched from this fellowship, the sense of loss is profound. And when the one taken from us is a leader with a deep spiritual presence and a respected, conscientious voice, then the loss is nearly inconsolable. We are numb. But we are people of deep belief, and we are nothing if not tenacious. And so we walk by faith and not by sight.

I will never forget Jim Kelsey’s extraordinary contribution to the House of Bishops. Jim and I sat at the same table during the last year in the House, and I saw, firsthand, Jim’s deep passion for Christ and the Church.

He gave smaller dioceses a larger voice.

He was adamant about building up the ministry of all the baptized.

He possessed a holy impatience, and when he saw something he believed to be wrong, he was courageous in working to make it right.

I still have unopened e-mails from Jim as he strove to find the right response to an Archbishop who would not recognize one of our own. I will miss him more than I can say, and his death makes me want to cling to my fellow bishops more closely. In Jim’s last diocesan address, his quoted “one of his favorite collects” from the Book of Common Prayer.

“Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among thing that are passing away, to hold fast to that which shall endure.”

+Dean
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe
Ninth Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

For Sharon J. Tillman, communications editor, Maryland Church News:

I did not know Bishop Kelsey. After reading so much about him I wish I had. I do know about losing a loved one in an auto accident. The shock is horrific, the anger can be consuming, and the grief long-lasting. It has been just over a year for our family and I think of my Mother-in-Law every day. I no longer cry when I hear the medi-vac helicopter has been called to the scene; I pray for the victim and their family. My kids tell Nana stories and I laugh now, remembering how much she loved all of us. I pray that you will get to that point too – in your own time and in your own way. My prayers, sympathy and understanding go out to you.

God’s Peace,

Sharon

Posted from the Diocese of Newark:
A message from Bishop Beckwith on the death of Bishop Jim Kelsey.

I am deeply saddened by the sudden death of the Rt. Rev. James Kelsey.who was killed in a car accident Sunday afternoon while returning home from a parish visitation. Bishop Kelsey had been a long-time friend of the diocese. A "bishop classmate" of Bishop Croneberger, Bishop Kelsey had visited the diocese several times. In 2005 he was our preacher at the Diocesan Convention Eucharist and led a noon day workshop on mutual ministry to the delight of the audience. He returned earlier this year in January and delivered a moving and humorous testimonial at Bishop Croneberger's farewell dinner. Along with Bishop Jack McKelvey, Bishop Kelsey organized the group of bishops who drafted the response to the Anglican Primates at the March House of Bishops' meeting.

Jim was a great friend, a gifted bishop and splendid human being.

Bishop Croneberger is traveling to Michigan to be with the Kelsey family. At this time funeral arrangements are pending.

We extend our condolences to the people of the Diocese of Northern Michigan, to Jim's wife Mary -- and their children.

Faithfully,
Mark Beckwith, Bishop of Newark

From The Rt. Rev. Bruce Caldwell - a letter to the Diocese of Wyoming.

I was, like many, shocked and am still reeling from the news. Jim was a comrade. We shared a vision of the church in common and we rolled up our sleeves and worked together. More than a comrade, though, Jim was a good friend. We had our good times together and they will be missed. I want to thank all of you who have called to check on me. I have to say my grieving is very close to the surface. I feel a deep sense of loss. Good friends, like Jim, are not replaceable. I've been asked to preside at the funeral on Friday, and hope you will continue to hold me in your prayers.

At moments like this, it is best, I think, to count our blessings, treasure the good times, and hold onto our faith and to one another.

Please pray for Mary and Jim's family and the people of Northern Michigan.

Bruce

I just heard that Jim Kelsey was killed in an automobile crash today (Sunday, June 3). Jim was the Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan and very active in spreading the word about how shared ministry worked in his neck of the woods. I worked with him at the Living Stones meetings that I attended on four different occasions. I found him to be approachable, very laid back, and he had a great sense of humor. What a loss this is - but what a blessing to have been touched by his life and his work. Rest easy, brother Jim.

From Carolyn Moomaw Chilton, Program & Congregational Development, Diocese of Virginia

He came to the meeting in a checkered short sleeved shirt and khaki pants. As we went around the table and introduced ourselves he said, simply, “I’m Jim Kelsey. I live in Northern Michigan. I’m glad to be here.”

The next day someone whispered to me that he was THE Bishop of Northern Michigan. Ha! Such refreshment!

I tried to see him differently that day. I couldn’t. He was so genuine. So Jim.

He was open and absorbent. He was participatory. He took and blessed and shared – his story, himself, his ministry. I learned.

He was, for me, a raindrop for a thirsty church. Jim, I will miss you.

Carolyn

At Ann Fontaine's request, I am copying the note I posted to the House of Bishops/Deputies e-mail listserve.

It was my great honor to "come in second" when Jim was elected (on the first ballot) Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan.

Jim and I had so many friends in common in the total ministry/mutual ministry church, but had never met, and when we met in person in one of the earlier interview sessions in Marquette, we ran into each other's arms and hugged!

Jim and I talked a lot about how easy it is to make an idol of the ministry style which engaged us both so powerfully, the apostolic model that identified local gifts for ministry, trained people and developed those gifts, and then watched over the ministering communities and helped them develop expertise in the areas of ministry to which God was calling them. I was (and am) passionate about being "Matthew 25" Christians in 1998, particularly in the areas of jail/prison and hospital visiting by specifically trained lay ministers. Jim called me after he had been bishop for about a year and told me that I had lit a fire under the UP and that they were working with the national officer for prison ministry in the DoNM! I was so thrilled.

Jim had just been awarded a D.D. honoris causa from EDS for his work in total baptismal ministry, upon which occasion Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett commended him for his gifts of hospitality and prophetic ministry in the area of baptismal ministry. She also said: "You not only speak of but you practice 'shared Episcopacy."...We are proud too that you have persistently stood in genuine friendship with lesbian and gay colleagues, worked energetically for ecological justice in territory where natural gifts have mostly been ‘mined away,’ strategically spoken truth to power in recent Bishops’ meetings, and labored as a small diocese in this large land to advance other paths where justice and mercy meet." (Thank you, Jane Cisluycis.)

Jim showed up at the Integrity Eucharist in 2000 at GC-Denver in his customary brown plaid shirt, and I told him, "I know you detest clericalism, but this is the one occasion when you HAVE to wear your purple--so people can identify you as a bishop at this particular service." He wore his purple shirt in Minneapolis at the Integrity Eucharist!

In his last diocesan convention address, Jim talked about Abp. Desmond Tutu's 2005 book, God Has A Dream. He talked about needing to be drawn out of the daily preoccupations of life and into God's dream for the Diocese of NM, for the Church and for the world. He said, "One of my favorite Collects in the Book of Common Prayer is...'Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to that which shall endure...'

"This is something I have found to be true without exception: that when we, any of us, focus on things in our lives that are passing away, we get scared, we get anxious, we get depressed, we lose hope; and when we focus on things that are being birthed and are coming newly into creation, we get excited, we get imaginative, we get optimistic, we feel drawn closer to one another, we feel as if we have meaning and purpose in this life, and we have joy."

"...I really mean to say that our best days do lie ahead. And that what is asked of us is that we give ourselves to it. That we rededicate ourselves to the Dream and to the Journey...It’s about keeping our focus upon God’s Dream. And the wonders and miracles.
"My friends, you know, we are given change as an ingredient in life. We can be frightened and anxious and resistant to it or we can embrace it as a tool to transform us...Do you see? ...that the Dream, God’s Dream, is something which reaches beyond us; beyond the horizon of our own perspective, beyond the outer limits of our sight, beyond what we can imagine possible as resulting from so small and meager a community as is ours.

"Listen again to Desmond Tutu’s words, I ask you. Listen with me, and let us see how we might discover again something about our vocation:

'If you were in heaven now you would notice the tears in God’s eyes. The tears streaming down God’s face as God looked on us and saw the awful things that we, God’s children, are doing to each other. God cries and cries. And then you might see the smile that was breaking over God’s face like sunshine through the rain, almost like a rainbow. You would see God smiling because God was looking on you and noting how deeply concerned you are. And the smile might break out into a laugh as God said, “You have vindicated Me. I had been asking Myself, “Whatever got into Me to create that lot?” And when I see you, yes, you,” God says, “you are beginning to wipe the tears from My eyes because you care. Because you care and you have come to learn that you are not your brother’s or sister’s keeper. You are your brother’s brother and your sister’s sister.” And God says, “I have no one except you. Thank you for vindicating Me.”

"All over this magnificent world God calls us to extend God’s Realm of shalom – peace and wholeness – of justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, of joy, of reconciliation. God is transfiguring the world right this very moment through us because God believes in us and because God loves us. What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And as we share God’s love with our brothers and sisters, God’s other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled. (pp.127-128)"

May ++Desmond's words and +Jim's reach us and comfort us in this time of profound loss. May our prayers surround Mary and the kids. May Jim's soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Kathy

Katherine Merrell Glenn+
Diocese of Olympia, Retired
"The one who loves another has fulfilled the law." -Romans 13:8

I first met Jim on a chilly April Visitors Weekend in 1999 - his warm smile and firm handshake signaling an authenticity that was transparent from the very beginning.

Our conversation was very quickly intimate - that's Jim, I came to see - and he took me back to his office to show me a picture of his family. We were chatting about the upcoming consecration, and he told a very funny story about wanting to have nearly 30 bishops participate in the service. "815 told me I could only have five bishops", he said. "I asked them why the limit and they replied 'well, there's only room for five signatures on the certificate'!" And then he said the words I'll never forget: "Doesn't matter about the certificate anyway, it'll just go in a drawer somewhere. The only certificate I have on my wall is my baptismal certificate."

In that moment I grasped what Jim - and, I believe, the Church - was (and should be) all about. I had never put any certificates on my office wall, least of all ordination certificates. But the first thing I did on returning home was to dig out my baptismal certificate and have it framed with the most expensive frame I could find.

Somewhere on the back I wrote this note: "Thanks, Jim."

Sadness and joy are bound together for me now - he is gone. And yet he will continue to live in our memories. I will always remember him with that same easy grin and quick chuckle as on that April day now eight years ago.

And I have this vision of him reminding St. Peter not to get too carried away by the way some of the Church has come to view Peter, which is so much less important - Jim says to him - than the ministry that Peter's baptism authored!

Rest in peace and rise in glory you dear, dear man.

Nigel J. Taber-Hamilton
St. Augustine's-in-the-woods Episcopal Church, Freeland WA

www.staugustinesepiscopalchurch.org