Episcopalian Father Brian K. Burgess, rector of Christ Church, Woodbury, and Dean of the Woodbury Convocation of parishes and missions, has been elected to serve as the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, Illinois.
“I was asked to allow others to put my name in, and that is what I did,” he says. “And I let go and I let God.”
Father Brian Burgess, back row center, rector of Christ Church, Woodbury, has been elected to serve as the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. He is pictured here Dec. 17 with Father Joseph Wallace, front row, far left, the Camden Diocese’s director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, and other pastors, priests, deacons, lay leaders and musicians of the Greater Woodbury Convocation at the annual “A Ceremony of Lessons and Carols.” (courtesy photo)
Father Burgess, who has served in the Diocese of New Jersey since 2005, has grown to be close friends with Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, as well as other Diocese of Camden clergy and staff.
“I count my relationship with Bishop Sullivan to be cherished and to be celebrated,” says Father Burgess, who recalls how he was received when he first met the Bishop. “I was received so professionally, with great courtesy.”
He adds, “with Bishop Sullivan living just down the street from us, we have shared meals, we have shared time and prayer.”
Father Joseph D. Wallace, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco, has known Father Burgess and his wife, Denise Lee, for years. “They are just a wonderful couple,” he says. “They are very gracious and welcoming and kind.”
Father Wallace, who is also diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, has participated in many ecumenical gatherings with Father Burgess and the Greater Woodbury Convocation, the most recent of which was in December when he presented a lesson as part of “A Ceremony of Lessons and Carols.”
“He is a very dedicated Episcopal priest, and I know that he will serve well as Bishop of Springfield. They are very lucky to have him,” Father Wallace says.
In speaking about his election, Father Burgess recounted the story of the shepherds in the Nativity Gospel who heard tidings of joy, but also were confronted with fear.
“I get that now,” he says, reflecting on the excitement and the challenges ahead. “It is an extreme honor, while being extremely frightening at the same time.”
He was chosen by clergy and lay leaders from the congregations of the Diocese of Springfield, during an Electing Synod held on Dec. 11. Father Burgess was elected with the support of 60 percent of the clergy votes, and 64 percent of the lay votes. Now, the majority of diocesan bishops and a majority of diocesan standing committees will have to consent to his election. Following a successful consent process, Father Burgess would be ordained and consecrated as the diocese’s next bishop on May 21.
Father Burgess would succeed Bishop Daniel Hayden Martins, who was elected in 2011 and retired in June. The Diocese of Springfield is composed of nearly 4,000 members in 33 congregations across central and southern Illinois.
Prior to his current assignment, Father Burgess served in Florida and Louisiana. He earned his bachelor of science degree in music from Ball State University, Indiana, and his master of divinity from Sewanee – The University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. He and his wife have two children, Catherine and Robert.
Father Burgess also has Catholic roots in his family – with his mother being raised Roman Catholic, and a nephew who is a Catholic priest and the pastor of a parish in Orlando.
In discussing the brotherhood he experienced with clergy in the Diocese of Camden, Father Burgess says, “I have never experienced such a congeniality among clergy in other places that I have served. I believe Bishop Sullivan is a catalyst for that. There is an expectation here that the priorities and mission of the Church come first.”
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