Episcopal Press and News
Diocesan gatherings consider mission, ministries for the future
Episcopal News Service. February 18, 2010 [021810-02]
Pat McCaughan and Mary Frances Schjonberg
Snow storms and Haiti continued to get attention as five Episcopal Church dioceses gathered on the Feb. 11-13 weekend to celebrate their ministries and plan for the next year.
In the Diocese of Alabama, videoconferencing brought a snowbound keynote speaker and two Haitian priests in touch with convention participants.
Also in Alabama, Bishop Henry Parsley announced that he will retire at the end of 2011.
Following is a partial summary of actions taken in diocesan conventions:
Diocese of Alabama
The latest snowstorm on the U.S. East Coast did not prevent John Meacham, an Episcopalian and editor of Newsweek magazine, from speaking to the 197th diocesan convention on Feb. 12 via the internet in what Meacham called his "Star Trek connection."
Meachem told the convention, gathered at the Marriott Shoals Hotel in Florence, that the church is at its best when it wrestles with the hard questions of the world, not just questions within the church.
"The distinctive feature of the church, historically, is not its separation from the world but in its engagement," Meacham said.
He also warned against simplistic answers to problems of faith in the world, citing Anglican theologian Richard Hooker's use of scripture, tradition, and reason in wrestling with problems.
"There are those who say, 'That's a recipe for chaos,' to which I say, 'Don't blame me. Blame the Creator. He is the one who gave us free will.'"
Meacham urged the convention not to let strife and division distract it from the church's mission.
Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is a University of the South graduate and member of St. Thomas' Church in New York City. He has served on the vestries of St. Thomas and of Trinity Church Wall Street.
The convention also heard from two Haitian priests who spoke about the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti's companion relationship with Alabama.
The Rev. Fritz Valdema, priest-in-charge of a six-church parish in and around Croix des Bouquets where Alabama's companion relationship is focused, told the convention via an internet videoconference that "the situation is very, very, very terrible now."
Most people continue to live in tents, he said, adding that "it is difficult to find food now."
"(My wife) Carmel was today at the market and she could not find anything," he said.
As the videoconference concluded, Valdema blessed the assembled delegates in Creole, and convention participants responded by singing the doxology in English.
The Rev. Hyvenson Joseph, another Haitian priest, told the convention that despite the loss of many of the diocese's buildings, outdoor services at the diocese's destroyed Cathédrale Sainte Trinité (Holy Trinity Cathedral) have served as a symbol.
"This tells us that the buildings are not the church. We are the church," Joseph said. "We have hope and faith that the diocese will bounce back. The Haitian people have a history of being resilient."
The convention responded with a hearty affirmation of its partnership with Haitian Episcopalians.
The diocese also announced during convention that that a mission team will head to Haiti Feb. 21 at the invitation of Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin and in coordination with Episcopal Relief & Development.
The bishop invited the team, which will include two doctors and two nurses, to work at a camp on the outskirts of Port au Prince in the churchyard of St. Simeon Episcopal Church in Croix des Bouquets, where it will be logistically supported by Valdema and his wife Carmel, a Haitian public health nurse.
Duracin has asked that mission teams come to Haiti only at the invitation of the Haitian diocese so that their work can be coordinated. The Rev. Lauren Stanley, Duracin's assistant for earthquake relief in the U.S, noted in a Diocese of Alabama news release that "this is a special invitation to a specific team for a specific purpose."
The convention also welcomed Calvary Episcopal Church in Oneonta as the newest parish in the diocese. Because of a longstanding "For Rent" sign outside the church's temporary meeting place, church members often called themselves "St. Available."
"I think that's appropriate," said Parsley. "We should all let people know that we are St. Available."
Information about resolutions passed by convention is here.
Diocese of East Tennessee
"Abundance in Scarcity" was the theme of the diocese's 26th annual convention Feb. 12-13 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Knoxville.
Bishop Charles vonRosenberg acknowledged in his address that the convention's theme requires faith and offered examples of abundance in mission, abundance in time, abundance at the diocese's Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center, and diocesan budget abundance.
"In recognition of financial challenges, the asking from churches to support diocesan ministries was significantly reduced this year," he said of the diocesan budget, adding that he and the council "made the conscious decision to live within more limited means, in hopes that local mission would be enhanced and that individual churches would cooperate, in support of our common diocesan ministry."
VonRosenberg noted the diocese's "informal and formal companion dioceses of South Dakota and Haiti. "On every visit to those places, I have been humbled by how little it takes for such people to live, in contrast to the extravagance of my own life," he told the convention. "At the same time, I have witnessed the unlikely combination that St. Paul mentioned -- 'abundant joy and extreme poverty.' From my observations, I would add abundant faith to this mix as well. Surely, among the people of Haiti and the Native Americans of South Dakota, we may see and appreciate abundance in scarcity."
South Dakota Bishop John Tarrant told the convention that "it's not about overcoming scarcity or safeguarding against it. The presumption of abundance gives us an idea of what God has in store for us."
The Rev. John Talbird, a missioner for the Episcopal Commission of Southeast Tennessee, told the convention that he was in Haiti when the magnitude-7earthquake struck on Jan. 12.
Talbird said he was in Port au Prince for meetings with a group of representatives from other organizations about improving medical services. He and others in the Diocese of East Tennessee worked with Erlanger Medical Center to get medical supplies and equipment, tents and water purification units to the earthquake-devastated area, he said.
Talbird told the convention that Duracin had asked him to thank the diocese for its prayers and support.
The diocese has a long-standing history with Haiti. Several parishes in the diocese have participated in missions in Haiti, and all have contributed money for earthquake relief. A parishioner in the diocese started the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti in Léogâne. Two parishes built St. John the Evangelist School in Petit Harpon. Before the earthquake, another parish was supporting a medical clinic located next to the school. The clinic was devastated in the earthquake.
Convention attendees saw video segments highlighting parish examples of shared abundance in local communities at each transition point during the convention.
The convention also adopted resolutions establishing the first Sunday in Lent as Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday in the diocese, calling on the bishop to designate an Episcopal Appalachian Ministries Sunday, supporting peace with justice in Gaza and adopting General Convention resolution D060, titled "Reject Nuclear Options."
A budget of $1.7 million was adopted with qualification for further adjustment by the bishop and diocesan council if necessary.
Next year's convention is planned to include election of a new bishop.
Diocese of San Diego
"We have to stick together; we have to faith in each other," was a common refrain throughout Bishop James Mathes' address to the diocese's 36th annual convention.
The theme of the convention, held Feb. 12-13 at the First United Methodist Church in Mission Valley, San Diego, sent yet another message to 135 lay and 71 clergy delegates as well as visitors: "More Ready Than You Realize: Discovering God's Mission in the World."
The theme was adapted from keynote speaker Brian McLaren's book with the same title. McLaren, a well-known author and lecturer about the emergent church, discussed effective evangelism.
Among other things, McLaren told the gathering that the Episcopal Church is uniquely poised to carry out God's love for others because of: the beautiful liturgy that speaks to people, its Via Media mindset where all opinions are welcome; the diversity of mindset, giving one another space to differ; and a Celtic mindset, with vestiges of non-Roman Christianity.
Mathes outlined a list of diocesan accomplishments, including completion of construction on a new church, St. Thomas of Canterbury in Temecula; a balanced budget; reorganization of diocesan staff; the welcome of new clergy to the diocese and the continued support and assistance Episcopal Community Services is providing to the community, despite tough economic times.
He also said that church property disputes with breakaway groups have all but concluded. Mathes added that it is the shared work of the diocese to help strengthen and support two congregations whose properties are held by breakaway groups: St. Anne's Church in Oceanside and Holy Trinity Church in Ocean Beach.
"As you have likely heard me say before, we must be so inclusive that our inclusivity permits inclusion of those who struggle with the very breadth of that inclusivity," he said.
"It is also important to note that this gentleness and generosity does not extend to tolerating behavior which is harmful to the body," he said, adding that leaving the Episcopal Church is "a very un-Anglican thing to do."
Mathes also instituted a Bishop's Servant Ministry Award, honoring 15 individuals for their accomplishments.
Delegates approved two resolutions that established task forces to review current diocesan practices and procedures, and began a diocesan foundation. Task force work is to be reported back to the 2011 convention.
In other business, delegates adopted a $2,088,800 budget, representing a decrease from the 2009 budget of $2,459,000.
Diocese of Southern Virginia
Meeting Feb. 12-14 in Williamsburg, the theme of the diocese's 118th annual council was "Age of the Spirit: A New Trinitarian Reformation."
"'Opportunity' -- that's the key word for us in this diocese -- God-given opportunity," Bishop Herman Hollerith told the gathering in his address. "During this past year I have become certain of one thing in particular -- and that is the great potential that we have in Southern Virginia to proclaim the gospel in new and exciting ways."
Recognizing the challenges facing the parishes in Southern Virginia, Hollerith pointed to the need to reach young families, young professionals and youth. He urged the members of Council to "come to terms with the fact that some of the methods we've been using in our diocese and parishes simply aren't working anymore." He then outlined a plan that included liturgical conferences for parishes, lay leadership training programs, new member incorporation programs and stewardship training.
He said he will establish committees to address issues in church planting and congregational development. In addition, commissions will be formed "to make sure that we are raising up the very best clergy possible to lead our congregations," he said.
Quoting Bishop Bennett Sims, sixth bishop of Atlanta, Hollerith said "'…the real legacy that any bishop leaves behind will not be the camp or conference center that bears the bishop's name. The real legacy of any bishop will always be the quality of the clergy leadership he or she leaves behind.'"
Keynote speaker Phyllis Tickle told the council how the emergent church capitalizes on a new era of history and faith in which information is shared in phenomenal volume and with amazing speed. She challenged the council to act in faith to embrace the possibilities of a new and emerging church.
Council resolutions included the designation of an Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday and instituting a requirement that congregations be actively engaged with the diocese. The council also passed a $2 million budget.
Diocese of Texas
Christian formation, mission and ministry figured prominently during the 161st annual diocesan council of Feb. 12-13, hosted by St. Christopher's Church at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center in Killeen, Texas, the home of Ft. Hood.
A Feb. 12 tour of Ft. Hood, the country's largest military post and the site of a large percentage of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, was included in council activities. Retiring Bishop Suffragan of Federal Ministries George Packard, who is responsible for Episcopal federal chaplains serving in the military, federal prisons and Veteran's Affairs facilities, served as guest preacher.
Also visiting was Bishop James Tengatenga of the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi, with whom the diocese ratified a companion diocese relationship.
Diocesan Bishop C. Andrew Doyle highlighted the importance of Christian formation and lifelong learning during his annual address to council and said the diocese "must get serious about church planting."
"We will begin to develop a collaborative strategy for church planting that will combine the resources of leadership at the diocesan level with local leadership in the congregation to bring about long-term results," he told the gathering, attended by some 417 delegates and 249 clergy. "We have several new congregations underway. However, we must develop a long-term plan that will strategically allow for a new church start every year!"
Doyle called for a year of prayer for the Anglican Covenant and creation of a task force to develop a model for congregational study and discussion of it. Council also approved creation of a task force to review issues that may arise from General Convention in 2012.
Council also approved a statement of inclusion that "claims unity in the midst of our diversity through the gifts of our shared Baptismal Covenant and our common conviction and proclamation that Jesus is Lord" regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, or sexual orientation. The resolution calls for "all people in our communities and their relationships receive the pastoral care, time, attention and honor they are due as God is revealed in and through them and as God works to change us all into a holy people."
In other council business, delegates adopted a $4.9 million diocesan budget, a decrease from $5.2 million the previous year. The diocese budget also made provision for separate reporting of total insurance expenses ($4,715,300 in 2010, providing for an anticipated 7.8 percent increase in health care costs over 2009's $4,408,00); and a missionary budget reflecting nearly a $2 million requested increase, from $3,060,000 in 2009 to $5,033,497 in 2010, with $2,570,700 committed to date. More budget information is here.
The diocese includes more than 85,000 members 151 congregations in 49 counties in eastern Texas.