wfn.org | Griswold invested as 25th presiding bishop of Episcopal Church

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

January 15, 1998
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

98-2062
Griswold invested as 25th presiding bishop of Episcopal Church January
10 in Washington

by James Solheim
        (ENS) In a sweeping liturgy that combined soaring choral music,
the heady rhythms of Native American drums and African American
spirituals, with the spectacle and color of stately processions, Frank
Tracy Griswold of Chicago was invested as the 25th presiding bishop of
the Episcopal Church at Washington National Cathedral January 10.
        After an extensive musical prelude, drawing on a wide variety of
church traditions, almost 200 bishops of the church were joined by
ecumenical guests and, for the first time, representatives of Islam and
Judaism, in processions that flowed into the cathedral from all directions.
Banners and colored streamers captured the festive air of the occasion, as
the nearly 4,000 participants filled the cathedral to inaugurate a new
season of leadership in the church.     
        Participants in the cathedral were joined by an estimated 7,000
church members at more than 200 downlink sites across the country who
watched a live satellite television broadcast and participated locally in the
service. A simultaneous audio feed over the worldwide Internet extended
the audience internationally.

Welcoming the presiding bishop
        When all had taken their places, a delegation moved to the west
entrance to welcome the new presiding bishop. The moment of expectant
silence was pierced by a loud knock at the portal. Bishop Ron Haines of
Washington opened the doors and members of the Standing Committee of
the Diocese of Chicago introduced the new presiding bishop to the
church "with pride, affection and gratitude for his ministry with us."
        Former Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning and House of
Deputies President Pamela Chinnis asked the presiding bishop to affirm
his commitment to his new ministry. When Browning asked the
congregation if they would "do all in your power to support and uphold
Frank in this ministry," they thundered in response, "We will." Haines
extended the hospitality of the diocese and Dean Nathan Baxter invited
Griswold "as our chief pastor to preside in this Eucharistic Assembly."

Symbols of ministry
     After presentations of the Jewish Torah and the Islamic Koran,
the Episcopal Church's ecumenical partners stepped forward with gifts
and symbols. Greek Orthodox Archbishop Spyridon presented an icon,
Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson a copy of Confessions, the Rev.
Joan Campbell of the National Council of Churches offered a copy of the
Bible, Dr. Vivian Robinson of the Consultation on Christian Union
brought a liturgy. Bishop Jack Snyder of St. Augustine, co-chair with
Griswold of the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue in this country,
brought a Book of Blessings from the Roman Ritual. And the Sunday
school at Chicago's St. James Cathedral brought a construction that
symbolized "our worldwide household of faith," and representatives of
the Anglican Communion offered symbols of "the diversity of our
worldwide communion and the challenges of our future together."
        In one of the most poignant moments of the liturgy, Browning
presented the primatial staff to Griswold, a symbol of the role of
presiding bishop, asking that he "lead us in witness to the world that
genuine authority and true joy come only through walking the way of
the cross with Christ, our Savior and Lord."
        When Browning presented his successor to the congregation, the
cathedral erupted in sustained applause. After stepping into the
congregation for a quick hug from his family, Griswold then moved to
his chair behind the altar and led the congregation in prayer. 

Homily emphasizes community
        In his homily, Griswold related an experience he had at Assisi, at
the foot of a crucifix that "spoke to St. Francis," in the church where
Francis prayed at the beginning of his conversion.
        As he sat in the dark chapel, Griswold said that he was "drawn to
the cross as though it were a magnet" and soon moved "from observer to
participant," reciting a prayer written by Francis at the foot of the cross.
"In the silence of the chapel, the prayer spoke to me," Griswold said. He
discovered that God's call to Francis was a clear one--"go
rebuild my church," a call that soon took hold of Griswold as well. With
it came the realization that the task was not his alone, that God was
saying that "it belongs to everyone who has been baptized into my death
and resurrection. You are all called to rebuild my church."
        The communion of spiritual fellowship "makes us permeable to
truth: truth which is discovered in a living way through the sharing of the
truth which is embodied in each of us, in what might be called the
scripture of our own lives," Griswold said. "Each one of us is a bundle
of agony and idiocy, of grace and truth caught up into Christ." That
allows
"your truth and my truth to address one another and give room to one
another. In the process something happens between us which enlarges the
truth each of us previously held. Such is the nature of that sacred
enterprise we innocently call conversation which carries within it the
possibility of conversion, of being turned in a new direction by the word,
the truth, of the other." 
        It is "a capacity for ambiguity and paradox that is part of the glory
and frustration of the Anglican way," giving it "the ability to discern and
welcome truth in its various forms," Griswold said. Through what he
called the "subtle yet exacting rhythms of our common prayer, the
diverse and the disparate, the contradictory and the paradoxical, are
woven together in the risen Christ." As a result, "different dimensions of
truth, different experiences of grace, can meet together, embrace one
another, and share the Bread of life."
        In closing, Griswold said that he was "immensely hopeful" about
the future of the church, "because of the good will and generosity of
spirit which meets me almost everywhere I go...because of the vitality
and faithfulness of congregations large and small...because of the deep
desire on all sides to move beyond threat and accusation to a place of
conversation, conversion, communion and truth...."

 
Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant
        In what he called "the ground of today's liturgy," Griswold and a
group of assisting bishops moved to a large baptismal font in the middle
of the nave and led members of the congregation in a renewal of their
Baptismal Covenant. After filling bowls of water from the font, the party
moved throughout the cathedral sprinkling the entire congregation with
the water.
        Led by the new presiding bishop, the liturgy moved into the
Eucharist, with communion stations scattered at key points throughout the
cathedral. At the end of the communion, the dean and the bishop of
Washington escorted the presiding bishop to the stall in the Great Choir
reserved for his use.
        After blessing the congregation at the conclusion of the service,
Griswold moved slowly down the aisle, pausing at the baptismal font,
where he was joined by his wife Phoebe and his family. Drawing on a
common theme of his ministry--accessibility and availability--he greeted
the hundreds who pressed forward with words of welcome and
encouragement.
     
A reality check
     Expressing his "need for a different view of Washington," on the day
after his investiture the Griswolds journeyed to the other end of the
District of Columbia for what he called "a reality check." 
     Far from the Gothic glories of the cathedral, Griswold and his party
were greeted by the Rev. William Lewis, rector of the Chapel of St.
Philip the Evangelist in Anacostia, for a walk through one of the poorest
areas in the city prior to the Sunday morning service.
     At Imani (faith in Swahili), the only sit-down restaurant in the area,
they had coffee with the owner, Lamont Mitchell, who described his
attempts to create a human space, a beacon of hope for those who needed
a lift. "Nothing is more basic than gathering at the table,"
Griswold said in response.
     The walls of the restaurant are covered with paintings and photos of
prominent black leaders from politics, entertainment, and sports--and a
Grandmothers Wall of photographs. Next to a stark drawing of a slave is
an actual slave collar. 
     Mitchell's contagious enthusiasm infused the group even more than
the hot coffee, as he expressed his hopes for rebuilding the
neighborhood. During the conversation, he reminded his guests that
"these are the very streets that Frederick Douglass walked when he lived
nearby." Douglass was a powerful voice for emancipation of blacks
during the mid-19th century and served as U.S.marshal for the District of
Columbia.

Visit provides new energy
     During announcements at the service, Lewis offered a warm
welcome to Griswold, expressing deep appreciation that he had chosen
the parish for his first visit after investiture. "Your visit confirms your
determination to be the bishop of all the people," he said. Griswold
admitted that he woke that morning "feeling a little tired," but thanked
the members for giving him "new energy." He said that his walk through
the neighborhood had "taught him something of your rich life of
service."
     After the service, at which Griswold celebrated and preached, parish
members and their special guests gathered for a reception during which
they listened to an African dance and drum group based in the parish and
exchanged gifts--and affection.

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