Live from Columbus - June 17, 2006
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Volume 2, No. 7
The Rt. Rev. John MacNaughton, named as a 2006
Apostle in Stewardship by TENS, reflects on stewardship as a
spiritual matter. (See the full story "Tens recognizes
MacNaughton" below.)
 Election
scheduled for Sunday
The
26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church will be elected on
Sunday, June 18.
Seven names were placed in nomination at a 2:30
p.m. joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies on
Saturday, including a slate of four recommended by the Joint
Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop.
The nominating committee's slate is:
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the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, Bishop of
Atlanta;
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the Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick Jr., Bishop of
Kentucky;
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the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori,
Bishop of Nevada; and
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the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr., Bishop
of Alabama.
Three other bishops were nominated from the
floor:
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the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, Bishop of
Lexington;
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the Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Jenkins III,
Bishop of Louisiana; and
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the Rt. Rev. Francisco Duque-Gomez, Bishop
of Colombia.
Sunday morning after Eucharist, the bishops
will convene at 10:30 in executive session at Trinity Church in
downtown Columbus and will remain sequestered until one of them is
elected. A total of 311 bishops are eligible to vote,
although not all may be present. Bishops will vote as many times as
necessary until a majority is achieved. Unlike past elections, vote
tallies will be made public, but not at the time of election.
Once the House of Bishops has chosen the
Presiding Bishop-elect, it remains in session until the House of
Deputies concurs with its choice. After the deputies concur, the bishops certify
the election.
For biographical information on all of the
nominees, visit the website at:
www.episcopalchurch.org/ens and click on the "Election of
the 26th Presiding Bishop" button.
The 26th Presiding Bishop will succeed the Most
Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold III, whose nine-year term ends on November
1.
Results of the election will be given in
Live from Columbus, published on Sunday evening.
TENS recognizes MacNaughton
 The
Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) honored the Rt. Rev. John
MacNaughton on June 17 for his work in stewardship throughout his
ordained ministry. MacNaughton, seventh Bishop of West Texas
(retired), was one of two bishops to be named a 2006 Apostle in
Stewardship at a TENS luncheon on Saturday. The second was the Rt.
Rev. William Burrill, retired bishop of Rochester.
MacNaughton told those gathered that his own
stewardship journey was fashioned out of necessity. "As a young
deacon, I was assigned to a mission in International Falls,
Minnesota," he said, "and the bishop told me my job was to make it a
parish." He knew that meant he would have to increase giving at the
church, "but I knew nothing about stewardship," he said.
Relying on a book someone had given him, he
learned about doing an Every Member Canvass, "and we had great
success," he said. "We used that system for ten years with wonderful
success."
Then, said MacNaughton, he began to notice that
people who became good stewards began to have their lives changed.
Their relationship with God was deepened. "The message I took away
from that was what happens in your heart and soul when you become a
steward," he said. Money, he realized, is a spiritual matter.
In 1974, MacNaughton published a book on the
topic called Money is Not a Four-Letter Word. "But when you
write something down it does not change," said MacNaughton, "and I
later realized it needed to be revised." So in 1984, he published
More Blessed to Give which, he says, reflects what it really
means to be a steward.
MacNaughton added, "I don't know of anything I
have done in the Church that has been more satisfying than the work
in stewardship."
Danforth challenges Church to a "higher
calling" of reconciliation
The Rev. John Danforth, former U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations, challenged the Episcopal Church to
a "higher calling" of reconciliation during Presiding Bishop Frank
Griswold's forum, "Toward a Reconciled World," on Thursday evening.
An Episcopal priest and former U.S. senator
from Missouri, Danforth said that the center of American politics
has eroded and "the common ground has been cut out because the most
active and articulate people representing the political parties are
on the fringes."
A first-timer to General Convention,
Danforth offered an "outsider's perspective," observing that
virtually all the public attention directed at General Convention
had been on the issue of sexual orientation.
"I don't want to downplay the issues ... but
I want to raise the basic question of whether that issue is the
centerpiece of the Episcopal Church," he said. "I believe that we
have a higher calling, a more central message ... ours is a special
calling to the ministry of reconciliation."
Danforth said that the Episcopal Church has
always represented the middle way, "where all sorts of people can
come together around the altar ... and have all sorts of different
views.
"If God calls us to a ministry of
reconciliation, how you conduct yourselves at this General
Convention is very important because it would be very hard for our
church to offer ourselves as the broken answer to the world.
"A broken church is a sad church. If we
can't exchange the peace with one another it's hard to explain to
people how we purport to be agents of peace.
"I plead with you to figure out a way to
hold this together and put whatever you can into context of a higher
calling."
Bishop Griswold honored Danforth with the Presiding
Bishop's Award for Faith and Public Service.
-- Matthew Davies for the Episcopal News Service.
Daily worship reflects broadness of
Church
 One
of the highlights of the Annual Council of the Diocese of West Texas
is the Council Eucharist. It is a highlight because the whole
family is gathered in one worship space offering our prayers and our
praise to God.
Now imagine that service times 10.
That is essentially what occurs every morning
at General Convention. Each day close to 2,000 bishops, deputies,
alternates, ECW Triennial participants, youth, visitors and others
gather for the morning's Eucharistic offering.
Each day provides a different style of worship
in an effort to reflect the broadness and diversity of our church.
Drawing from the many different liturgy and music resources in the
Episcopal Church, each service helps worshippers to experience a
much different worship style than they may be accustomed to at their
home congregations.
Every day also gives worshippers the
opportunity to hear a different voice celebrating the liturgy and
preaching the Word. A different team of music leaders is present to
offer a variety of musical settings of congregational music for
worship.
Also included in each day's worship time is a
Visual Prelude. Accompanied by music, the Visual Prelude scrolls
through a number of art pieces selected to correspond to different
themes. Some of the themes have been "Spiritual Sight," "Gracious
Spirit," and "For She is the Breadth of the Power of God."
As reported in aprevious edition of this
newsletter, two members of the Diocese of West Texas have had art
pieces selected to be included in this Visual Prelude. Caren
Richardson of St. Boniface Church in Comfort had a piece entitled
"The Source" during Wednesday's prelude. Also, on Wednesday Brenda Kingery had a piece entitled "First Light."
One of the elements during this worship time is
the inclusion of "table conversation" after the sermon. Close to
150 tables with an intentional mixture of deputies, alternates, ECW
Triennium participants and bishops from all over the Episcopal
Church spend ten minutes in conversation. During this time,
conversation leaders help direct discussion centered on some
suggested questions, the lessons provided for the day, and the
sermon. The questions have included, "What gifts has God given us
that strengthen us for service and help us become more effective in
our daily ministries?" and "How do we share the gift of our faith
through worship and in our daily lives and work?"
The goal of this time is to bridge the
relational gaps between participants at General Convention that
exist due to geography, theological or political differences, or any
number of other divisive factors. The time is meant to help
participants find a commonality in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The primary focus during most of these worship times has been to
invoke the Holy Spirit to enter into our conversations and our
decision-making process.
--The Rev. Ram Lopez, Alternate
Carrying on Phoebe's work
 Phoebe
Griswold, wife of the 25th Presiding Bishop, will retire
soon. On Friday she was honored by all the bishops' spouses and, as
the opening speaker remarked, "Phoebe has given us direction without
being directive and has empowered us without being overpowering."
For Catherine Lillibridge, having been in the bishops' spouses group
for about two-and-a-half years and for Patti Reed, having been in
the bishops' spouses group for about two-and-a-half days, Phoebe
represents a savvy yet soft spoken woman who loves the Lord Jesus
Christ. Phoebe says, "We are a Christ-centered community that is
mutually supportive in ways that are practical and useful and that
strengthen us for our work and our daily lives as we live out our
Baptismal Covenant."
We are a group that exists because our spouses
have been elected to be bishops all over the USA and even in other
countries. With our diverse opinions, we could easily be a group in
name only, but Phoebe has guided our community:
-
"To gather in a spirit of uncommon
gentleness and gracious hospitality;
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To notice the hurts - and joys - of the
people and world around us and to respond;
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To entertain large dreams and to achieve
them."
On Sunday we will elect a new PB and with that
election will come our new bishops' spouses leader. Phoebe is deeply
loved and respected by the spouses, and has built a high trust level
among us that will be passed on to our new leader.
In gratitude, the Phoebe Griswold Education
Fund has been established to honor the person she is and the work
she does. Income from the fund will support the work of the
Episcopal Church in furthering the empowerment of women throughout
the Anglican Communion.
-- Catherine Lillibridge and Patti Reed
The Work+Shop held up as model
The work of the Revs. John Lewis and Jane
Patterson was recognized at a lunchtime presentation on Friday, June
16, by the Ministry Development office of the Episcopal Church. The
program, "Reclaiming the Workplace as a Mission Field," examined two
ministries that are bringing faith into the workplace -- The
Work+shop in San Antonio and a second workplace ministry in
England. Lewis and Patterson are co-directors of The Work+shop,
which is supported by St. Mark's, San Antonio. The Rev. Lynne Grifo,
associate in the office of Ministry Development, who presented the
program, had spent her sabbatical time in San Antonio gathering
information about The Workshop.
Many of the participants at the luncheon
inquired about The Work+shop ministry and expressed hope that it will
become available throughout the Church.
I have heard many words here.
Friendship. Inclusion. Acceptance. Diversity.
Experience. Justice. Mission. Peace.
Please do not get me wrong. I like these words.
They are -- in and of themselves -- good words, powerful words that
Christians ought to take seriously.
But, sometimes I wonder if we do take them
seriously. I guess what I am saying is that I wonder if we can take
these words as truly seriously as they need to be taken without
meditating and praying on one other word: Transformation.
St. Paul writes this to the Church in Rome: "Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12.2, ESV).
I guess I have come to the place of discerning
that without transformation all the best words in the world will not
mean a heck of a lot to the proclamation of the Gospel. Without a
sure sense of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, words like
inclusion, diversity, and acceptance just become a way to make us
feel enlightened and good about our lack of intolerance. Without a
sure sense of the reality of the demands placed upon us by the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, words like justice, peace and mission become
code words meant to protect me from others who do not share my
agenda. Without a sense of the life-changing power of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, words like experience and friendship become hollow
words that merely reflect and perpetuate the shallowness of our
ever-degrading culture.
You see, I think we have it backwards. We are
trusting in resolutions and political maneuvering to end injustice
and sin and create a new world. In truth, only the life-changing
Gospel of Jesus Christ can end injustice. Only the life-changing
Gospel of Jesus Christ can save us from sin. Only the life-changing
Gospel of Jesus Christ can create a new world.
Transformation. That is what our Church needs now. Without it, the
list of words above really does not mean anything and carries no
weight or authority. But, in the life-changing power of Jesus
Christ, those same words can become guideposts shining along the
path advancing us towards the Kingdom of God.
Pray with me that the Light of Jesus Christ
will shine on this Convention and lead us in the holy path of God's
gracious will. Pray that the transformation of the Church will begin
- and the sooner, the better. Pray that the life-changing Gospel of
Jesus Christ will change us all - beginning with you and with me.
Amen.
-- The
Rev. Ram Lopez, alternate
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