On February 4, 2020, the Board of Trustees of Seminary of the Southwest hosted the annual Payne Lecture at the Knapp Auditorium on the Southwest campus. This year’s event featured The Rt. Rev. David E. Bailey, Bishop of Navajoland.
The evening began with remarks from the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas, who introduced Bishop Bailey of Navajoland.
The Navajoland Area Mission, or the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, is an Area Mission of the Episcopal Church. Its diocesan offices are located in Farmington, New Mexico, but it comprises portions of the Navajo Reservation, parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It functions like a diocese, but with more oversight from the Office of the Presiding Bishop and the House of Bishops. It was created by General Convention in 1978, and the Rt. Rev. David E. Bailey has been Bishop since 2010.
Bishop Bailey began with prayer and then acknowledged the Trustees for inviting him to speak and Seminary of the Southwest professors for guiding him in his education. He spoke of Navajoland and of his experience leading the unique congregation there.
“Bishop David Bailey’s patience, kindness, humility, persistence and courage radiated from his presentation on ministry with indigineous people in Navajoland. He and his message were inspiring and motivating,” said the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, dean and president of Seminary of the Southwest.
The Payne Lecture is hosted annually in February by the Board of Trustees of the seminary and is focused on mission, congregational leadership, evangelism, or congregational development in honor of Bishop Claude Payne, who led the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to 1995 to 2003. Past speakers have included Jimmy Bartz, Bréne Brown, and Reggie McNeal.
