wfn.org | Executive Council focuses on transi

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org]

June 6, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-1751
Executive Council focuses on transition and change during its meeting in
Hawaii

by James Solheim
     (ENS) "Aloha" is a versatile word that can be used as both a
greeting and a farewell in the Hawaiian language. There were plenty of
both as the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met on what one
member described as "emotional turf" in Honolulu April 25-29. In its last
meeting in the current triennium, council members celebrated the
ministry of Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, evaluated their actions
and anticipated this summer's General Convention.
     The council was given a warm Aloha by the new bishop of
Hawaii, the Rt. Rev. Richard Chang, who was executive officer of the
diocese when Browning was its bishop. Chang joined Browning's staff in
New York when he was elected presiding bishop in 1985. He was
consecrated bishop of Hawaii last January. "He has come back to a
diocese that knows his gifts and talents," Browning said in his
introduction. 
     In response Chang said that he had expected to be sitting at the
staff table as usual. Pointing out that Hawaii is "more than a tourist
destination," he noted that the council was the "biggest gathering of
church leaders in the islands since the General Convention in 1955." He
expressed his hope that council members had already discovered for
themselves "the great excitement in this diocese because things are
happening here due to the faithfulness of the people." Council members
explored ministries on the other islands before the Honolulu meeting.

A bittersweet occasion
     "The last council meeting of every triennium is a bittersweet
occasion," said Pamela P. Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies in
her comments at the opening session. "In the past three years we have
spent a lot of time together--and dealt with a lot of unanticipated crises .
. . . The church has asked a great deal of us as leaders in a turbulent
time." 
     During the last three years the council has dealt with
embezzlement by the church's former treasurer, the suicide of a
prominent bishop, serious budget shortfalls and an attempt to try a bishop
for heresy for ordaining a non-celibate homosexual to the diaconate. "Not
often are we privileged to share so closely in the hard decisions, the
revelations and insights, the moments of grace as we seek God's will
through the thicket of difficult problems and pressures from every side,"
Chinnis said. 
     Paying tribute to Browning, Chinnis said that "we have been
blessed as a church by his courage and devotion, and by his deep
spirituality, we have been blessed as a council by his steadfast attention
to things that were not only difficult for the church but personally very
painful to him--and I rejoice that I have been privileged to share in his
prophetic leadership."

No Outcasts
     After viewing a video, "No Outcasts," summarizing the public
justice ministry of Browning over the years, the presiding bishop was
reflective and personal in his address from the chair. "As I reflect on
what has been, this is also a time to think about what might be, what the
future might hold, about transition and change."
     Browning pointed out that the General Convention "will mark a
transition not just for me but for all of us. Not only will the church have
a new presiding bishop, a new council... new budgets and perhaps some
revisions in our structure and how we do business," but he asserted that
he saw "strong evidence that we are moving toward this transition in
healthy ways."
     Acknowledging that it has been a difficult triennium, Browning
said that he and the council had "worked hard to leave our house in good
order and give a faithful accounting of our activities."
     Regardless of who is elected as his successor, Browning said that
"the challenge of this church will be to continue to honor its diversity, to
respect its unity, and to affirm its mission in the world."
     The Justice Summit in Cincinnati (see story 97-1710 from the
March 7, 1997 issue of ENS) was "a high point of the last triennium," an
occasion that "filled me with a hope for the future of this church as
nothing else could have." 

Personal and corporate transitions 
     Underscoring the emphasis on transition, Suzanne Lawson of the
Anglican Church in Canada who has been an observer at the council
hearings for several years led council members in an exercise to evaluate
their personal and corporate experience during the last three years. Small
groups responded to a set of questions on what the council had
accomplished, what worked and what did not work, what issues are
unresolved and what advice they would give to the next Executive
Council.
     As the newsprint was spread across the walls, several themes
quickly emerged. Most council members felt that they had dealt
responsibly with the budget issues and "survived multiple crises and
learned from them." One group said, "We have been able to hold onto
the vision of inclusion despite many interruptions." Several groups
mentioned that their "sense of community" had been significantly
strengthened and that the relationships between the council and the staff
had improved.
     "There is still a lot of confusion about how the presiding bishop,
staff and council are related," said Bishop Sam Hulsey of Northwest
Texas. One group pointed to what they perceived as "a lack of real
partnership" between staff and council, and another wondered, "Whose
staff is it?"
     The council endorsed the creation of a transition team to deal with
the issues it had identified.

True stewardship
     Church treasurer Steve Duggan said that "the books for 1996 are
closed and, on a budgetary basis, the deficit was about $150,000. This is
a very gratifying outcome, given some of the funding issues arising at the
end of the year."
     On the other hand, "a significant drop in the diocesan covenants
from that which originally had been budgeted" forced a revision of the
1997 budget and new cuts of about $1.5 million. "This will be an
extremely tight budget with little or no ability to react to new situations
as they arise," Duggan warned.
     "I wish people understood that, when they withhold funds, it
means we can't do our ministry," said Diana Frade of Honduras. "We
have 15 people waiting to be ordained and we must tell them to wait."
     While the income from dioceses in 1997 is about $365,000 less
than in 1996, Duggan said that the figure "masks the individual results."
For example, "at least 62 dioceses are pledging larger amounts" than last
year. And three dioceses account for a drop in the current year of
"slightly more than $700,000." 
     The diocesan increases "were sacrificial and need to recognized as
such. In like manner, many of those dioceses who are giving at a lower
level are struggling with their own constraints and still giving at a level
which reflects true stewardship," he said.
     The unified budget for the next triennium was set at
$116,054,296, "based on a single Asking of each diocese, applied at a
flat rate of 20% of income to the diocese, reported in the diocesan
financial statements" two years prior. 

Benefits for domestic partners
     In its closing session, the council voted 19 to 11 to "approve and
implement a policy of offering spousal benefits to domestic partners of
employees" of the church at the national level. The explanation of the
resolution cited the church's "long standing commitment to policies of
equality and non-discrimination for all people" and the precedent being
set by major American corporations such as the Bank of America, Disney
and IBM.
     Program chair Judy Conley of Iowa introduced the resolution,
contending that "the issue is human rights, not sexuality." But several
council members disagreed. Ralph Spence, Jr., of Montana said that the
resolution "appears to endorse same-sex unions--and between partners
living together outside of marriage." He reminded council that the 1994
General Convention did not accept a similar resolution.
     Tim Wittlinger of Michigan said, however, that the General
Convention acted in the conviction that it was not in a position to dictate
such a policy to the Church Insurance Company. And he argued that the
action could be taken by the council without asking for General
Convention approval. Ran Chase of Massachusetts pointed out that
several dioceses already have a similar policy in place.
     While agreeing that the church should move towards blessing
same-sex unions, Bishop Chris Epting of Iowa questioned the timing,
urging that "we need to understand the implications of what we do." He
couldn't support the resolution until the church had spoken on the matter.
The Rev. Reynolds Cheny of Louisiana agreed, pointing out that the
resolution "could be perceived as an end run at the end of the
triennium."
     In his closing remarks, Browning asked council members to
"remember the nominees for presiding bishop--and the General
Convention--in your prayers." As he has moved throughout the church
during the triennium, talking about the General Convention, he said that
he found "a real eagerness to have a meeting that talks about the mission
of the church and the ministry of reconciliation."

--James Solheim is director of news and information for the Episcopal
Church.