Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Last Day
As you may know, I have been in Arizona for nine days. I was at a border experience and then came to Phoenix for the House of Bishop’s meeting. It has been informative and transformative meeting. At one point it was very difficult and even tragic.
The bishops worked hard to put out a Pastoral Letter to the Church on immigration. I know this is a hot button issue. It would be easier to let this go and focus on spiritual or liturgical or canonical matters.
However, this is the issue of our time and the Church needs her voice to be a central part of the mix. And it’s not as if immigration is foreign to Christianity. How we treat the stranger is a key theme in all of Scripture. That’s not strong enough. How we treat the stranger is part of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I urge you to read the Old Testament and the New Testament and look for border crossings and look for Jesus’ admonitions about hospitality.
In the Pastoral Letter and Theological Resource, the bishops have sought to be comprehensive and based our assertions on scripture and tradition. I urge you to read both documents, even though the Resource paper is rather long and not an easy read. Immigration is not a bumper sticker issue. It cannot be reduced to one principle. It’s about laws and economies and families and multinational corporations and NAFTA. We have to admit it’s also about America’s insatiable thirst for drugs as well as preventing those who would seek to harm us from finding a way into our country. It’s a tangled web.
However, we must engage it as the Church. We cannot allow politicians of any party to have the final word. God’s Word, the Living Word, is the lens we must use to look at any part of our lives.
We also called on The Episcopal Church to raise $10 million for Haiti. The Diocese of Haiti is the largest and poorest diocese in The Episcopal Church. The news cycle has moved on from the destruction there, but devastation remains. Our Church has been instrumental in rebuilding the country but there is much to be done and it is part of our task to do it. More later.
The tragic dimension of this meeting is the bishops’ call for Bishop Charles Bennison to resign as the Bishop of Pennsylvania. Over 30 years ago Bishop Bennison’s brother, a priest, was guilty of sexual misconduct. Bishop Bennison was found guilty by the Trial Court of not responding to these incidents (“conduct unbecoming of a clergy person”). However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Statute of Limitations had run out. He was, therefore, reinstated.
The Church must be safe. Clergy must be held to a standard of behavior. There is forgiveness and new life, but not without the hard work of repentance. There is no canonical way to remedy this situation. Therefore, we called for this bishop to resign for the good of the diocese and the Church.
Therefore, this meeting was like all of our life: some was easy; some was fun; some pushed us to new places; some opened us up; and some required us into a land of pain and sorrow and tragedy where we did what we believed Christ called us to do and prayed for resurrection for everyone.
I mean as Christians we walk with Jesus into all of life; we go to every border with him and he brings us across to new land. It’s exciting and scary and everything else. However, at the end of the day, to be with Him is the only place to be. As bishops, that’s what we have tried to do this week and that’s the journey you and I are on as well.
I leave for WNC early this morning. I can’t wait to get back to a “wet” heat and home.
+Porter
The bishops worked hard to put out a Pastoral Letter to the Church on immigration. I know this is a hot button issue. It would be easier to let this go and focus on spiritual or liturgical or canonical matters.
However, this is the issue of our time and the Church needs her voice to be a central part of the mix. And it’s not as if immigration is foreign to Christianity. How we treat the stranger is a key theme in all of Scripture. That’s not strong enough. How we treat the stranger is part of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I urge you to read the Old Testament and the New Testament and look for border crossings and look for Jesus’ admonitions about hospitality.
In the Pastoral Letter and Theological Resource, the bishops have sought to be comprehensive and based our assertions on scripture and tradition. I urge you to read both documents, even though the Resource paper is rather long and not an easy read. Immigration is not a bumper sticker issue. It cannot be reduced to one principle. It’s about laws and economies and families and multinational corporations and NAFTA. We have to admit it’s also about America’s insatiable thirst for drugs as well as preventing those who would seek to harm us from finding a way into our country. It’s a tangled web.
However, we must engage it as the Church. We cannot allow politicians of any party to have the final word. God’s Word, the Living Word, is the lens we must use to look at any part of our lives.
We also called on The Episcopal Church to raise $10 million for Haiti. The Diocese of Haiti is the largest and poorest diocese in The Episcopal Church. The news cycle has moved on from the destruction there, but devastation remains. Our Church has been instrumental in rebuilding the country but there is much to be done and it is part of our task to do it. More later.
The tragic dimension of this meeting is the bishops’ call for Bishop Charles Bennison to resign as the Bishop of Pennsylvania. Over 30 years ago Bishop Bennison’s brother, a priest, was guilty of sexual misconduct. Bishop Bennison was found guilty by the Trial Court of not responding to these incidents (“conduct unbecoming of a clergy person”). However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Statute of Limitations had run out. He was, therefore, reinstated.
The Church must be safe. Clergy must be held to a standard of behavior. There is forgiveness and new life, but not without the hard work of repentance. There is no canonical way to remedy this situation. Therefore, we called for this bishop to resign for the good of the diocese and the Church.
Therefore, this meeting was like all of our life: some was easy; some was fun; some pushed us to new places; some opened us up; and some required us into a land of pain and sorrow and tragedy where we did what we believed Christ called us to do and prayed for resurrection for everyone.
I mean as Christians we walk with Jesus into all of life; we go to every border with him and he brings us across to new land. It’s exciting and scary and everything else. However, at the end of the day, to be with Him is the only place to be. As bishops, that’s what we have tried to do this week and that’s the journey you and I are on as well.
I leave for WNC early this morning. I can’t wait to get back to a “wet” heat and home.
+Porter
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Day Eight---HOB
We spent most of yesterday on Evangelism. A series of speakers came and gave a wide variety of perspectives. These included Bob Honeychurch, in charge of Church Vitality for The Episcopal Church (TEC), Donald Romanik, president of the Episcopal Church Foundation, Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, professor at the Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California, The Rev. Jim Lemler, an author and rector of Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut (who will be with us at our Convention), and Barbara Wheeler, a leading expert in theological education from Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City.
They were engaging, provocative, and challenging. I was struck by Jim Lemler's phrase, that we confront a world of VUCA= volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Yet our task is to cut through that and proclaim the eternal Good News. Our task is to give a world Truth and Hope, and the key is that in a world without foundations, people are starving for the Good News.
Barbara Wheeler reminded us that people will look at churches like stores in a mall and may choose to not to buy any thing. As a result, she asserts we need different leaders---more learned, better communicators, more grounded, and more skilled at building institutions that are durable.
I have heard so many discussions of Evangelism (the decade of evangelism, 20/20, ...) that I bring a certain jadedness to the table, but I am very encouraged because what is required is not a technique but more an orientation and a recognition of the necessity of be evangelists. Clearly if our Church is to be more than a museum in 30 years, we must reach out. Even more clearly, if we do reach out, our Church will change.
Tomorrow we return to the pastoral letter and have our business meeting in the afternoon. I am beginning to feel like Dorothy--I keep clicking my shoes and hoping I wake up in WNC and not Kansas (or Arizona). This has been a very productive and collegial meeting, but there is life outside meetings.
Pray for us and I pray for you.
+Porter
They were engaging, provocative, and challenging. I was struck by Jim Lemler's phrase, that we confront a world of VUCA= volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Yet our task is to cut through that and proclaim the eternal Good News. Our task is to give a world Truth and Hope, and the key is that in a world without foundations, people are starving for the Good News.
Barbara Wheeler reminded us that people will look at churches like stores in a mall and may choose to not to buy any thing. As a result, she asserts we need different leaders---more learned, better communicators, more grounded, and more skilled at building institutions that are durable.
I have heard so many discussions of Evangelism (the decade of evangelism, 20/20, ...) that I bring a certain jadedness to the table, but I am very encouraged because what is required is not a technique but more an orientation and a recognition of the necessity of be evangelists. Clearly if our Church is to be more than a museum in 30 years, we must reach out. Even more clearly, if we do reach out, our Church will change.
Tomorrow we return to the pastoral letter and have our business meeting in the afternoon. I am beginning to feel like Dorothy--I keep clicking my shoes and hoping I wake up in WNC and not Kansas (or Arizona). This has been a very productive and collegial meeting, but there is life outside meetings.
Pray for us and I pray for you.
+Porter
Monday, September 20, 2010
Day 7--HOB
Yesterday the bishops scattered over the Diocese of Arizona and went to various Episcopal Churches. Bishop Jay Magness, Bishop of Federal Ministries (and a Western North Carolinian), and I went to St. Peter's Church in Casa Grande, an hour south of Phoenix. We had a great time meeting people and learning about what it means to be an Episcopalian in a small town (45,000) in Arizona.
What struck me is how similar our situations are. As you know, WNC is a diocese of small churches. Like Arizona, our fastest growing populations are retired and Spanish Speaking folks. Like Arizona, our economy is struggling outside the major metropolitan centers.
I was very heartened by the enthusiasm the people of St. Peter's have for their Church and for their confidence in their future. They are determined to be about their calling despite the demographics. Even with small numbers, they have Sunday School and Christian Formation as well as run a Food Bank. This simply reminds me of how much work for Jesus Christ goes on in the daily life of churches like St. Peter's and everywhere else, including WNC. They won't make the news services, but they already make a difference.
In the evening, the bishops discussed the Pastoral Letter on Immigration which will be issued at the meeting's end. The letter itself will be short but there is a lengthy teaching document that is attached. Clearly this is not the final word but a step. The issue is so complex that it demands ongoing engagement. One of the missing pieces is a full exploration of the economics involved but that is work that will take time to do.
Today we focus on Evangelism and then tonight on the environment.
Keep us in your prayers as I keep you in mine.
+Porter
What struck me is how similar our situations are. As you know, WNC is a diocese of small churches. Like Arizona, our fastest growing populations are retired and Spanish Speaking folks. Like Arizona, our economy is struggling outside the major metropolitan centers.
I was very heartened by the enthusiasm the people of St. Peter's have for their Church and for their confidence in their future. They are determined to be about their calling despite the demographics. Even with small numbers, they have Sunday School and Christian Formation as well as run a Food Bank. This simply reminds me of how much work for Jesus Christ goes on in the daily life of churches like St. Peter's and everywhere else, including WNC. They won't make the news services, but they already make a difference.
In the evening, the bishops discussed the Pastoral Letter on Immigration which will be issued at the meeting's end. The letter itself will be short but there is a lengthy teaching document that is attached. Clearly this is not the final word but a step. The issue is so complex that it demands ongoing engagement. One of the missing pieces is a full exploration of the economics involved but that is work that will take time to do.
Today we focus on Evangelism and then tonight on the environment.
Keep us in your prayers as I keep you in mine.
 |
St. Peter's Casa Grande, AZ |
 |
| St. Peter's, Casa Grande, AZ |
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 6--HOB
In these meetings there always comes a day when your physical body begins to rebel against sitting in a windowless room for so many days. Yesterday was the day. I have had such difficulty getting my body on the time difference (3 hours) that I just have adopted a monastic sleep cycle. I go to be early and get up early. Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the fitness center at 5:00 am only to discover 5 other people in there--all from the East Coast. Even a very nice hotel gets old. It's a good thing we are going into the Diocese of Arizona today to see the world outside the hotel.
To give you a sense of how we work, this is the meeting room with the tables for our small groups and my table:
To give you a sense of how we work, this is the meeting room with the tables for our small groups and my table:
 |
Yesterday we heard a report from the Standing Commission on Liturgy an Music about collecting rites for same sex blessings to present to General Convention in 2012. The process from that point is not clear. However, their intention is to solicit input from every diocese and every Province of The Episcopal Church as well as the wider Anglican Communion. We heard from two bishops: one who lives in a state that recognizes the legal status of same sex unions and one from a conservative state that is a long way from such a position. I appreciated our acknowledgement of the wide diversity in the Church and our struggle to find a way that allows us to live together. The Standing Commission has been thorough in their process although there is much work left to do. Like all our work, the process is open and we are eager to hear all voices because The Episcopal Church has always been a big tent because God's Table is large enough for everyone.
We had a "Town Hall Meeting" with a series of topics. We talked about raising money for Haiti--the goal mentioned was $10 million. It is clear that the Episcopal Church is doing amazing work in that devastated country and it is especially important for us to remember that they are part of the Episcopal Church. Their bishop comes to The House of Bishops because he is a bishop in our Church. We also discussed the General Ordination Exam, and I would expect some reforms to come to General Convention.
We dealt with some internal matters which I will write about at the appropriate time.
It is clear that we will issue two pastoral letters: one on the environment and one on immigration. Sometimes people ask me why the House of Bishops stirs things up. My response is, "Talk to God---God's stirring things up and we are just trying to keep up." Our Church believes in One God who created One World and is in all of it. There is not a divide between the secular and the sacred--as we sang as children, "He's got the whole world in His hands." That means, the Church's business is not private piety or matters of worship, but how we might work with God as God's instruments to enable God to bring God's kingdom near. We cannot ignore the major issues of our day and be faithful. What we have not done well is explain the theological basis for every position, nor taught everyone how we do theology in our daily lives.
In the evening we visited the Heard Museum which has a large collection of Native American Art.
Today we go off to different locations for church. I am going to St. Peter's Casa Grande which is about a hour south of Phoenix. I wanted to see what life is like the the average parish in Arizona.
Keep us in your prayers as I keep you in mine.
 |
| From the Heard Museum |
 |
| From the Heard Museum |
+Porter
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day 5--HOB
I am taking a new tack in these daily entries because I discovered that Neva Rae Fox, from Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs, gives a daily account of what happens here. You can find that from the TEC's website: www.episcopalchurch.org. Look for Episcopal News Service.
Instead I want to give some general impressions. Our day began as always with Bible Study led by one of our chaplains. The text was from Acts 17. She asked us how we can become blind and poor and oppressed for the sake of Christ so that we might be raised by Christ and be used by God for God's kingdom. That is, it's not so much how we can help THOSE people, but how we can enter the brokenness of the world ourselves and ask God to make us new with all of God's creation. I found this extremely helpful. Immigration is about people on the borders and people in WNC who have no documents. It is also about people like me who have all the certificates in the world to certify that I belong, but are in sore need of conversion to rely completely on God's mercy. It's about tears and letting go of our strangle hold on life to join in the resurrected life. We do need programs but we need to begin with our own orientation. We need to be the poor in spirit so that we can experience God's blessing along with all of God's children on every side of every border.
My other impression is that we cannot ignore the reality of the changing demographics. Bishop Kirk Smith said that the estimate is that 12 million people are in the US without papers and that by 2020 one third of the US population will be Spanish Speaking. Today the USA is the 2nd largest Spanish speaking country in the world only surpassed by Mexico. If we think this is a simple problem, the CATO Institute estimates that deporting 12 million people would costs $204 billion dollars.
While the immigration is a huge dilemma, there is an enormous evangelism opportunity for The Episcopal Church. However, we must recognize that the new person is not going to join to be like the existing members but call the whole body to change.
Of the 7,000 congregations in The Episcopal Church, presently 80 are Spanish speaking. We need to multiply that exponentially and recognize that this will be expensive.
I have copied The Rev. Mark Adams comments from Neva Rae because they are worth your reading at least once: The Rev. Mark Adams spoke of being asked, "Do you support illegal immigration?" Calling it "a divine moment when the spirit speaks something beyond what you are saying," he replied, "I don't want to support illegal immigration, but I support illegal immigration every day: anytime I buy oranges, or eat in a restaurant, or when I travel and stay a hotel, if I play golf, or go into a building that has been built in the last 10 years, I am supporting illegal immigration," naming this situation "the complexities of our lives and how they are intertwined."
I regret I misplaced my camera (which I now have again) because I have no pictures to share.
I can tell you that tonight we will be the first draft of a pastoral letter which some bishops have been working on for months and it will be issued to the wider Church at the end of our meeting.
The gift of this meeting has been to hear from a variety of voices from Arizona. It's always the stories that move me.
Finally, I have the deep privilege of witnessing the wideness of the Church. It's so moving to remember that our diocesan pledge to The Episcopal Church makes it possible for the Native Americans to have a bishop, funds our military chaplains, supports our ministries to Latinos and Hispanics, sends missionaries to places like Durgapur, India, supports relief efforts in Haiti and enables them to have a Bishop, gives millions of dollars to relief in the Africa, supports our historically black colleges. We may not always think of the changes our contributions make but they are vitally important. Some people ask me, "why do we give 18% of our budget to the national church," and I say, "Because it changes lives in the name of Jesus Christ in ways our diocese cannot." So be proud of your Church. I am and I am proud, honored, and humbled to serve you.
Pray for us and I pray for you.
+Porter
Instead I want to give some general impressions. Our day began as always with Bible Study led by one of our chaplains. The text was from Acts 17. She asked us how we can become blind and poor and oppressed for the sake of Christ so that we might be raised by Christ and be used by God for God's kingdom. That is, it's not so much how we can help THOSE people, but how we can enter the brokenness of the world ourselves and ask God to make us new with all of God's creation. I found this extremely helpful. Immigration is about people on the borders and people in WNC who have no documents. It is also about people like me who have all the certificates in the world to certify that I belong, but are in sore need of conversion to rely completely on God's mercy. It's about tears and letting go of our strangle hold on life to join in the resurrected life. We do need programs but we need to begin with our own orientation. We need to be the poor in spirit so that we can experience God's blessing along with all of God's children on every side of every border.
My other impression is that we cannot ignore the reality of the changing demographics. Bishop Kirk Smith said that the estimate is that 12 million people are in the US without papers and that by 2020 one third of the US population will be Spanish Speaking. Today the USA is the 2nd largest Spanish speaking country in the world only surpassed by Mexico. If we think this is a simple problem, the CATO Institute estimates that deporting 12 million people would costs $204 billion dollars.
While the immigration is a huge dilemma, there is an enormous evangelism opportunity for The Episcopal Church. However, we must recognize that the new person is not going to join to be like the existing members but call the whole body to change.
Of the 7,000 congregations in The Episcopal Church, presently 80 are Spanish speaking. We need to multiply that exponentially and recognize that this will be expensive.
I have copied The Rev. Mark Adams comments from Neva Rae because they are worth your reading at least once: The Rev. Mark Adams spoke of being asked, "Do you support illegal immigration?" Calling it "a divine moment when the spirit speaks something beyond what you are saying," he replied, "I don't want to support illegal immigration, but I support illegal immigration every day: anytime I buy oranges, or eat in a restaurant, or when I travel and stay a hotel, if I play golf, or go into a building that has been built in the last 10 years, I am supporting illegal immigration," naming this situation "the complexities of our lives and how they are intertwined."
I regret I misplaced my camera (which I now have again) because I have no pictures to share.
I can tell you that tonight we will be the first draft of a pastoral letter which some bishops have been working on for months and it will be issued to the wider Church at the end of our meeting.
The gift of this meeting has been to hear from a variety of voices from Arizona. It's always the stories that move me.
Finally, I have the deep privilege of witnessing the wideness of the Church. It's so moving to remember that our diocesan pledge to The Episcopal Church makes it possible for the Native Americans to have a bishop, funds our military chaplains, supports our ministries to Latinos and Hispanics, sends missionaries to places like Durgapur, India, supports relief efforts in Haiti and enables them to have a Bishop, gives millions of dollars to relief in the Africa, supports our historically black colleges. We may not always think of the changes our contributions make but they are vitally important. Some people ask me, "why do we give 18% of our budget to the national church," and I say, "Because it changes lives in the name of Jesus Christ in ways our diocese cannot." So be proud of your Church. I am and I am proud, honored, and humbled to serve you.
Pray for us and I pray for you.
+Porter
Friday, September 17, 2010
HOB Day Four
Today we started the meeting as we always do by checking in with one another. The House of Bishops is more than an institution or governing body; it is also a community. We are organized into table groups of @8 and we stay with the same table for the Triennium (from General Convention to General Convention). Therefore, you get to know these people (and others) quite well.
We heard from Anne Rudig, the Communications Officer for TEC. She spoke of the evangelism opportunities for our Church. In particular she said that her research shows the three most receptive groups for new members are: Moms with young children, Latinas, and Young Adults. She also went through some extensive data her office has been collecting about what attracts people to The Episcopal Church. Her office intends to connect this data with a strategy for evangelism.
We also heard from Bob Honeychurch from the Office of Congregational Vitality. His assertion is that the Church needs to do three things:
1. Invite people to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ.
2. Lead them into personal and corporate transformation.
3. Equip them for gospel mission.
Finally we had the honor and pleasure of hearing Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Mark Hanson, speak. He reminded us repeatedly of our call to be evangelists (he is a Lutheran). The ELCA has embarked on a new Listening endeavor. They will
1. Listen to what God is calling them to do.
2. Listen to what the people of the congregation are called to do.
3. Listen to what the community around them is calling to be done.
Ministry happens in that three way conversation. He reminded us that evangelism happens when we listen to the gospel story and connect it to our changing times.
Our discussion of evangelism will continue.
We had our Eucharist and then went to a wonderful dinner with the Coalition of Episcopal Latinos. This are the people that do Spanish Speaking Ministry across the Episcopal Church, like our own Austin Rios. It was a great festival.
A very good day.
+Porter
We heard from Anne Rudig, the Communications Officer for TEC. She spoke of the evangelism opportunities for our Church. In particular she said that her research shows the three most receptive groups for new members are: Moms with young children, Latinas, and Young Adults. She also went through some extensive data her office has been collecting about what attracts people to The Episcopal Church. Her office intends to connect this data with a strategy for evangelism.
We also heard from Bob Honeychurch from the Office of Congregational Vitality. His assertion is that the Church needs to do three things:
1. Invite people to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ.
2. Lead them into personal and corporate transformation.
3. Equip them for gospel mission.
Finally we had the honor and pleasure of hearing Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Mark Hanson, speak. He reminded us repeatedly of our call to be evangelists (he is a Lutheran). The ELCA has embarked on a new Listening endeavor. They will
1. Listen to what God is calling them to do.
2. Listen to what the people of the congregation are called to do.
3. Listen to what the community around them is calling to be done.
Ministry happens in that three way conversation. He reminded us that evangelism happens when we listen to the gospel story and connect it to our changing times.
Our discussion of evangelism will continue.
We had our Eucharist and then went to a wonderful dinner with the Coalition of Episcopal Latinos. This are the people that do Spanish Speaking Ministry across the Episcopal Church, like our own Austin Rios. It was a great festival.
A very good day.
+Porter
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