Bishop Daniel Richards
Part Two: A New Hope
Continuing with General Convention: when we left off earlier, I promised more than saying goodbye and finding consensus on difficult issues.
For many constituents, the General Convention has felt like a win-or-lose event over the years, often measured by the resolutions that were passed. That is not a helpful way to hold the “great Church family reunion,” nor has it brought us any closer to being anything like the Body of Christ.
This Convention felt like we were beginning to work together as a central Body, even if some limbs still felt stiff or even resistant. It was better than it had been for decades. There was, in the House of Bishops, a feeling that we were unified and working together to discern and seek God’s will, knowing that our perspective might not be God’s entirely.
Michael Curry’s time as Presiding Bishop laid a groundwork for being “Together in Love” that we are learning to build upon, if imperfectly. And now we are ready for new architects for what is next.
The Election of a President of the House of Deputies
Ms. Julia Ayala Harris was re-elected President of the House of Deputies after the two other candidates’ contentious debate about her leadership style. According to the conversations within our deputation, Ms. Harris proved her ability to handle meetings with grace and was easily re-elected. The Rev. Steven Pankey of the Diocese of Kentucky was elected Vice-President as well. Things seemed to settle somewhat in the House of Deputies after their elections. And while there was not unanimity, the meetings were less contentious and moved toward peace.
The Election of the 28th Presiding Bishop
In the House of Bishops, the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe was elected on the first ballot by a clear majority. Bishop Rowe, now Presiding Bishop-Elect Rowe, was ordained as a priest at the earliest age possible and then consecrated as the youngest bishop in American history. He now becomes the youngest elected President of the House of Bishops in our history. But it was not his age that inspired the confidence of the Church. Bishop Rowe is an established leader who can see the issues of the Church and articulate ways forward, working with broad constituencies. He is calling for a more efficient church structure, so more resources are retained on the parish and diocesan level where the fundamental work of Christ is done.
As you may have heard me say, I want to hear Christ in the primary place of any leader’s description of their work. Bishop Rowe has not always made that evident in words in my time in the House of Bishops. However, he certainly did in his public statements last week. I encourage you to go to the diocesan webpage and watch his address to both houses after the election and his sermon at the closing Eucharist. Both addresses are succinct and clear about his vision for The Episcopal Church and how we embody Christ, beginning with how we treat each other and other Christians. Then our faith takes us outward, revealing Christ in our personal lives and out through the systems we create.
More than that, for me, it was finally recognizing that vision of Christ’s work in how he understands and does the work of the Church. For seventeen years he has brought his belief that our faith should be expressed through our actions, our ethics, and our institutions to his work in dioceses and the larger Episcopal Church. His articulation of his faith through that work was clear and gives hope to his stated vision that we can become a leaner church, married less to our excesses and more to Christ, and that we can turn the administrative work of the Church to the support of Christ’s Reign experienced first and foremost in local congregations where worship, service, discipleship, and evangelism are done. Amen!
Let us pray for our new Presiding Bishop-Elect and the Spirit’s work in him and in us as we move from our call to Love, embodied in Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, to making that Love real in the business of The Episcopal Church.
The Election of the Vice-President of the House of Bishops
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows was elected as the Vice President of the House of Bishops. I have known and admired the Bishop of Indianapolis since seminary when she was a few years ahead of my class. Level-headed and a clear systems thinker who manages to care for others through her work, she brings calm and clarity to the House. She will be a great addition to the leadership team for bishops and the whole Church.
Reunions and Reclassifying
In the final hours of business, we ratified the work of several years of the reunion of dioceses in Wisconsin and Michigan; and we raised the Missionary Territory of Navajoland to a Missionary Diocese. This small terminology change means a great deal historically, as the “missionary territory” designation is tied to the normal formation of a diocese in our constitution and canons. The term, like our diocese’s use of “mission,” is both a stage and size designation, but its use meant that Navajoland never elected their own bishop, but rather they were chosen by the House of Bishops. At last, our siblings will choose their own chief pastor.
Final Thoughts
This has been a long summary of an event that can seem a long way from our local pew. But, as I head off to vacation, I wanted you to have a view of the work your deputies and bishop have been doing. The Rev. Canon Stephen Rhoades kept daily summaries and links updated on the web, and the Venerable Janey Wilson and our staff in Columbia kept the work of Diocesan House operating for you. I am grateful for them and you. Ultimately, you are the intersection of our diocese, the work of Christ, and the world we are called to serve by bringing the Gospel to life.
I grew up with revivals. A couple of times a year, our Baptist congregations or local conventions would have special times of teaching, preaching, and music with a view of renewing our relationship with God in Christ through the movement of the Holy Spirit. The revival was a hopeful call for God to be known afresh, and people were invited to a new relationship through repentance and a fresh experience of God’s Reign.
As I sat with our deputies and friends in the Yum Center, it was clear that we are a church that longs for revival. In our personal lives, that can come quickly as we turn to God, open our hearts to the Spirit, and our hands to Christ’s work. One person can repent at any time and change in a moment. It takes longer to experience revival in a congregation or a city. It depends on more people being open to repentance and change. We are just beginning to plant seeds for a denominational revival.
It is an exciting moment to be an Episcopalian.
Pray for the revival of our lives, our congregations and dioceses, and the whole of God’s Church. Our local work mirrors our Presiding Bishop-Elect’s call to The Episcopal Church, as we seek to be a diocesan structure that serves congregations in empowering the people of God to do Christ’s work.
What can you do? Pray, study, and repent of whatever in your life keeps you from experiencing the Holy Spirit. Our work remains to focus our lives and our congregations on the Reign of Christ experienced in worship and discipleship and going outward in evangelism and service to all of God’s children.
While I am away, I am resting, of course, but also spending time with Amy and our family, studying how the themes of the New Testament are embedded in the Old Testament, reclaiming my personal prayer life, and maybe getting a run in. I am planning to run the Waugashance Trail Run in mid-July. Keep us in your prayers, get plenty of Living Water, and I will see you along the Way.