The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls, Bishop of Lexington, presided at his first diocesan convention when it met Feb. 23-24 in Lexington, Ky.

The theme of convention, "Called to mission: seeking and serving Christ in all persons," was the focus of Bishop Sauls' address. He said he had discerned God was calling him to be a missionary, and he had intended to spend some of last year in South Africa, but he received a different call when he was elected in Lexington.

"God did in fact issue a call," he said. "I am here because I believe I heard God's call to be a missionary correctly, but I had misinterpreted the location."

Bishop Sauls issued a number of challenges to the diocese. Among them:

• Adjust pronoun usage. "From now on, there is no 'them.' There is only 'us'."
• Have a budget driven by mission rather than a mission driven by budget.
• Eliminate the distinction between parishes and missions. All will be parishes.
• Start new congregations, including a Spanish-speaking congregation.

The Rev. Colonzo Hubbard, director of the Emmanuel Center in Memphis, Tenn., presented the keynote address on the call to mission.

The diocesan budget was adopted unanimously.