The House of Bishops held its autumn meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, from September 16-22, 2010. Record daily temperatures of over 100 degrees melted even the most stalwart, encouraging us to stay in the air-conditioned Ritz-Carlton: not a hardship!
Our primary focal points were immigration, same-sex unions, and evangelism.
The Bishop of Arizona, The Rt. Rev. Kirk Smith, raised our awareness of issues of immigration in the state of Arizona with particular emphasis on the plight of those crossing the Mexican-U.S. border in search of family, work, and increased opportunities. Several speakers enhanced the conversation, including a woman who spoke of her journey in the Arizona desert. We spent about four sessions on this topic and many parts of our worship reflected these concerns. While I found the presentations very informative, and at times heart-wrenching, we did not hear any presentations from those who hold alternative viewpoints, nor about the social and economic implications of more generous and/or porous borders.
Representatives of the Standing Liturgical Commission gave an excellent review of the process they are using to develop rites for same-sex blessings in response to Resolution C056 of General Convention, 2009. The theological focus will be on Christian “relationships” as a whole, and then lead to same-sex blessings. After a morning session that included small group discussions, they met with self-selected bishops as part of a listening process. While the resolution calls for theological and liturgical materials, I suggested that they may receive broader support if they had a strong pastoral focus to counter-balance what some may receive as an incompatible or weak theological rationale.
Presentations and conversations in evangelism centered around the various contexts in which we minister, recognizing that what is effective in one part of the country may not work in another. We felt that this was true within individual dioceses as well. Not surprising to any of us was the fact that most people visit a church because someone has invited them. This is where the ministry of the laity is critical. A growing method of evangelism is through web-sites, and it was reported that up to 25% of visitors come from this source. People are attracted to churches that exude a sense of happiness and who offer helpful hospitality. Nurseries for children, Sunday school, programs targeted to people’s needs, cleanliness, attractiveness, and accessibility are all very important. No news here. In addition, people sought preaching that connected scripture with daily life, liturgy that was on the conservative side but not fussy, and music that was accessible but not guitars or from the 60’s and 70’s. I’ll say more about evangelism in my convention address this October.
The House passed resolutions to continue our commitment to the Millenium Development Goals (which we support in our diocese), and to raise 10 million dollars for the restoration of the Diocese of Haiti. After a sensitive discussion, we passed a resolution asking The Rt. Rev. Charles Bennison, Pennsylvania, to resign immediately for Title IV violations committed in an earlier phase of his ministry. I supported all three resolutions. The one regarding Haiti is very ambitious and exciting, and I have every confidence that our Diocese will rise to the challenge.
Each bishop is assigned to a small table group for a period of three years, in which occurs discussions on subjects addressed by the whole House and things that pertain to us personally and to our dioceses. Bishops from N. California, Long Island, W. Virginia, Central Gulf Coast, Eau Claire, and Texas (retired) make up my table. In the context of our gathering we discussed diocesan mission and ministry; church attendance; budget and financial implications; church mergers, yoking, and closings; and the inability of many clergy to change positions because of the employment of their spouse, and the decreased value of their homes. While we talked about stewardship and apportionment, our contexts were very different. Their average pledge far exceeds ours (about double), which makes it possible for them to have a lower apportionment percentage.
We discussed the increased empowerment of the laity through a deeper understanding of our baptismal theology. However, this empowerment appears to be in the service of “performing tasks”, without preparing the laity with a solid Christian foundation for what they are called to do. A paucity of adult formation was commonplace. In past decades, families and cultures would provide spiritual background, but many people, particularly those under 45, have no “informal” religious background, no less “formal” education.
Spouses and partners join the bishops for one meeting each year. While they have a separate program, on occasion they join us for morning prayer and Eucharist, which occur daily. Among other things, they visited a local food bank and packed 12,000 food boxes to be distributed later in the week. Tom very much enjoyed being with the spouses, but the “craft” days were a little outside his ken.
Meetings of the House of Bishops now begin at 9AM (7:30 under the former PB), and end by 9 or 9:30PM, with appropriate breaks in-between. Like most meetings of this sort, some aspects are very stimulating and others are less so, but the collegiality between bishops is invaluable. Personally, I enjoy the opportunities that these gatherings offer.
As you well know, it is a very challenging time for the Church throughout the West as we seek to find a new voice with which to proclaim the enduring and essential message revealed to us through God’s incarnate and living Word. The life and witness of Jesus; Suffering Servant and Risen Lord are as compelling today as in the time of our ancestors. On the proclamation of this message we set our ministry.
I’m looking forward to seeing all of you at the Diocesan Convention, beginning with the Eucharist on Friday evening, October 22, at 6:00pm at the Cathedral of St. John. Our preacher is The Rev. Canon Andrew White, “Vicar of Baghdad” (Iraq), and subject of a section on 60 minutes, several years ago. See you then.
Yours faithfully,
