wfn.org | Episcopalians: Presiding bishop reflects on changing role of clergy

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

September 19, 2002

2002-217

Episcopalians: Presiding bishop reflects on changing role of 
clergy

by Neva Rae Fox

(ENS) The Episcopal Church's chief pastor, Presiding Bishop 
Frank Griswold, used the occasion of the September 12 Hobart 
Lecture at the Diocese of New York's Synod House to explore the 
challenges facing clergy--especially in light of the terrorist 
attacks of September 11 last year.

"Looking back a year ago, I think we were all overwhelmed by 
the numbers of people who just poured in the moment the doors 
were opened, they just needed to be there," he recalled in the 
meeting. "Part of what was happening was, corporately, we were 
being stripped--taken to that place of profound vulnerability 
and nakedness." He said that he didn't think "people really 
expected to find answers in the churches and places of worship. 
But what was being revealed to people was their capacity for 
God, possibly in an unnamed way, but nonetheless there it was."

Griswold said that he wanted "to explore, not so much your 
delivering of pastoral care, but rather some of the elements 
that go into creating pastors, so that they can then respond 
gracefully to the demands that are made upon them in regard to 
pastoral ministry." 

He cautioned the clergy against taking the easy road, or 
becoming complacent in ministry. "It is all too easy for us to 
become technicians of the sacred," he warned. "When we become 
technicians of the sacred we lose a living relationship to the 
sacraments."

Open to expectation

The presiding bishop invited the clergy always to "enter into 
liturgy on the tip-toe of expectation" because "you never know 
how God is going to take these stereotypical elements or even 
some of the ceremonial complexities and turn them around in ways 
that indeed manifest Christic presence, but not in ways you're 
accustomed to."

Griswold emphasized the role of prayer in the lives of 
clergy. "The quality of our own prayer is so integral to our 
pastoring. It is something that we can so easily set aside in 
favor of the various external needs that present themselves. We 
can be very sort of Ignatian and apostolic and talk about 
finding God in all things--which is, of course, true. But, I 
really do think we have to, as Thomas Merton once said, 'waste 
time conscientiously with God.' That's a wonderful way of 
describing prayer because so often people think of prayer as 
another thing to achieve or to do--and particularly in our 
society."

Quoting a Benedictine monk who once observed, "Prayer is an 
opening to love on every level of our being," Griswold said that 
"our prayer is not an achievement, it is a stance of 
availability before the mystery of God. Prayer transforms our 
consciousness," working in us over time.

He concluded, "There are times when we are profoundly free, 
and there are other times when we are profoundly bound. Playing 
with this double dynamic in terms of our own lives can help us 
to be discerning as we move through active ministry."

Griswold seated on international cathedra

In an Eucharist which preceded the lecture, Griswold was 
seated on the International Cathedra of the Cathedral Church of 
St. John the Divine by Bishop Mark Sisk, a tradition started in 
1989 to honor primates and religious leaders.

After the ceremony, Griswold said that "while the presiding 
bishop properly belongs to the whole church, the fact that our 
corporate offices are in New York and that I live here makes it 
a particular joy that I have been seated on the international 
cathedra... It gives me a deep sense of being part of this 
vibrant and diverse community of faith."

The lecture series is named for Bishop John Henry Hobart, the 
third bishop of New York (1816 to 1830), remembered for his 
dedication, especially in pastoral ministry. During his 
episcopacy, Hobart increased the number of clergy in the diocese 
and established missions and churches into the far reaches of 
New York State. His commitment to education is evident as he was 
one of the founders of General Theological Seminary and was the 
reviver of Geneva College, now Hobart College.

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--Neva Rae Fox is director of communications for the Diocese of 
New York.