wfn.org | Bishops open celebration of 'Year o

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July 16, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

ENSGC-01-06/Small churches

Bishops open celebration of 'Year of the Small Church'

By David Skidmore
	
PHILADELPHIA (July 16, 1997) - The bishops of the Episcopal Church today formally opened "The Year of the Small Church."
	
Small churches are "the leading edge in creating the updraft on which the rest of us will rise or crash in the decades ahead," said Bishop Martin Townsend of the Diocese of Easton (Maryland).
	
In his introduction to a video titled "The Leading Edge," Townsend stressed the vibrancy and innovative approach to ministry underway in small churches.
	
Townsend is a member of the Standing Committee on the Church in Small Communities, which oversees work with small congregations and rural communities for the Executive Council, which is sponsoring the celebration.
	
By necessity, small churches have learned to do more with less, Townsend said, developing innovative and effective approaches to evangelism, formation, and outreach with a minimum of resources and by tapping into the talents of church members. 
	
The rest of the church needs to hear the story of this dynamic turnaround, he said, as "that is the reality coming to all of us."
	
While the challenges can be daunting, the story of the small church is not one of despair, Townsend said. Through sharing their gifts, lay members realize they have an equal and vital role to play in their congregations. "The intimacy in small congregations strengthens our baptismal ministry and our self-awareness as the body of Christ," he said.
	
His message was underscored in the stories of a dozen congregations told in a 22-minute video shown to the bishops. Among the voices affirming the ministry of the laity was the Rev. Canon Ben Helmer of the Diocese of Western Missouri. Members of small churches in his diocese, Helmer said, "know they are baptized ministers and are not afraid to say so."

Broadening their view
	
The vicar of a Baton Rouge church described how his members have broadened their view of the church. "We have learned that we need to work with all types of people, all cultures, all classes." 
	
At another Louisiana congregation, the members have learned that a church structure is not a prerequisite to effective ministry. This mission church, which occupies a downtown storefront, has transferred its building funds into an endowment for outreach ministry. The main concern, said one parishioner, is attempting to meet "a diversity of needs without many resources."
	
Townsend, who served as narrator in the video, told the bishops the celebration of the small church should not end in 1997 "but continue into the next millennium."
	
Bishop Wesley Frensdorff, Nevada's pioneer in "total ministry" who died in 1988, "is looking down upon us and telling us to go for it," added Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning in a postscript to Townsend's presentation.

Other actions
In other action, the bishops voted nearly unanimously to adopt a constitutional amendment to permit a diocese to elect up to two suffragan bishops (A003). Constitutional amendments require approval by two successive conventions to become church law. The House of Deputies now must concur with the bishop's vote to enact the 1994 legislation. 
	
The bishops also adopted a second reading of a resolution (D028) amending the wording of the constitution's Article XII regarding amendments or alterations of the constitution; and four resolutions amending the House of Bishops Rules of Order to bring them into compliance with the House of Deputies:
	
* requiring the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance be informed of budgetary implications of any legislation before it is brought up for final consideration (B020);

* directing that items on the consent calendar be addressed on the next legislative day following their appearance on the calendar (B021);
	
* permitting a bishop who resigns his or her office for any reason other than one related to their moral character to be granted seat and voice in meetings of the house (B022); and

* clarifying the authority and responsibility of the Church Pension Fund trustees (B023).

- David Skidmore is communications director for the Diocese of Chicago.