Dear people of the Virginia Synod,
I write to announce my resignation as Assistant to the Bishop of the Virginia Synod for Ministries of Leadership Formation, Belonging, and Justice, effective July 25, 2025.
One of the greatest joys of my call as Assistant to the Bishop has been to accompany God’s people in holy wondering – listening to the Spirit’s call in their lives. As I have invited so many others to do, I have also been engaging in a time of intentional discernment – faithfully and humbly listening to the Spirit’s call for my life and my ministry. I trust in the hope of God’s words spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43.19a) I will admit that I do not yet know what that new thing will be for me, but I absolutely trust in Jesus’ promise to be present with me always and to love me and love us all abundantly and without end.
I give thanks for the honor and privilege of serving on the Virginia Synod staff for the past 7+ years. I am thankful for the leadership and partnership of Bishops Humphrey and Milton. I give thanks to God every time I think of the phenomenally gifted people who serve on the Virginia Synod staff and the deeply faithful people of the congregations and ministries of this synod. I hold you all in my prayers; I invite your prayers for me as well.
In this season of Easter, I give thanks for the love of God made known to us all in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God’s love for me, for you, for all humanity, and for all creation. God’s love transforming us as we walk alongside one another, as we listen to each other, as we speak truth and join the prophets in demanding justice, and as we value each and every person as God’s beloved, made in God’s holy image.
Each of you and all of you are in my prayers as we continue to follow Jesus’ command to love God and to love our neighbor.
Peace+
Pastor Kelly
As Bishop, I give thanks for the 7+ years of faithfulness and ministry that Pastor Kelly Bayer Derrick has shared with the Virginia Synod. During her time as a member of the Office of the Bishop Staff, Pastor Bayer Derrick opened the doors to new conversations about justice and belonging and expanded the Synod’s ministry in the area of leadership formation. She oversaw the creation of the Lay Ministry Academy, partnered with the leadership team of Power in the Spirit, and walked with candidates through their discernment and formation as they became leaders in the church. Pastor Bayer Derrick led two delegations from the Virginia Synod to Papua New Guinea to visit our partners in the Islands District and was the first ordained woman to preach in the Islands District.
As Pastor Bayer Derrick’s ministry with the Virginia Synod Office of the Bishop draws to a close over the next few months, please join with me in a prayer of thanksgiving for the ministry of The Rev. Kelly Bayer Derrick:
Gracious God, we thank you for your gifts that Pastor Kelly has shared with the Virginia Synod. We pray for your Holy Spirit’s guidance in her discernment of your leadership in new directions of ministry. Grant her peace and the comfort of your abiding presence, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Blessings,
Bishop Phyllis Milton
