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James Solheim
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http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

2000-086

Executive Council addresses transition, 
bids farewell to Pam Chinnis

by James Solheim
(ENS) With a relatively light agenda, the Executive 
Council took time to evaluate its work in the last 
triennium and bid farewell to the members who will 
not continue-including Pamela Chinnis, president of 
the House of Deputies.
In his opening remarks to the council, Presiding Bishop 
Frank T. Griswold sketched what he called "an interesting 
season" since the last meeting, one that included a crucial 
meeting of the Anglican Communion's 38 primates in 
Portugal and a retreat meeting of the House of Bishops in 
California.
Griswold said that he was "amazed" by the stories of 
primates who live in "excruciating circumstances… that 
hold no hope and seems only to destroy and to depress. 
And yet, in the midst of crushing circumstances one sensed 
a resiliency, a hopefulness that came obviously not from 
themselves but from the deep faith that has been purified 
through suffering which was so much a part of their lives."
Sequestered at a Roman Catholic facility near Oporto, the 
primates, half of whom were new and were "a community 
that did not really know itself," were able to bond. And that 
proved to be important because of lobbying by what Griswold 
called "special interest groups" in the U.S. trying to convince 
the primates that "the Episcopal Church in the United States is 
in a state of crisis and chaos and rank unorthodoxy largely 
because of the accommodations that have been made in many 
places and congregations and dioceses to homosexuality."
For primates who were coping with "poverty, starvation, civil 
war and increasingly aggressive forms of Islam, sexuality was
not a primary concern," Griswold added. "And there was some 
resentment toward the United States because there was a 
perception that once again the United States had determined 
the agenda and it has taken over and made sexuality the focal 
point, and set to one side these more drastic circumstances in 
which they had to carry out their ministries," he said.
Some "wonderfully rich Bible reflections" by David Ford of 
Cambridge helped to ground the meeting and to "neutralize 
some of the anxiety" over expectations for the meeting. Ford 
pointed out that, in an era with so much electronic 
communication, it is easier to distort and misinterpret perspectives. 
Therefore face-to-face encounters take on a new importance.
As a result, the primates decided to meet every year. Archbishop 
of Canterbury George Carey said more frequent meetings also 
help to dispel the notion that ad hoc meetings centered on a 
particular concern or issue are "perceived as normative in the
life of the Anglican Communion."
A deeper place
During a day set aside to discuss sexuality issues, Griswold said 
that he approached the issue by sketching the evolution of the 
marriage canons in the Episcopal Church, "how over time the 
Spirit of the risen Christ, acting in the life of the community, has 
led us in our formal canonical procedures beyond the very strict 
constraints of Matthew 19…." And he pointed out that the 
marriage canons were "variously interpreted and applied in 
dioceses under the pastoral direction of the bishop."
Just as it took the church years to deal with the marriage canons, 
the church is now "engaged also in a very long and complicated 
process" in determining how to handle sexuality issues. Even the 
1979 General Convention resolution that said it is "not appropriate
for this church to ordain a practicing homosexual or any person 
who is engaged in heterosexual relations outside of marriage" is 
couched in language of recommendation and "presented in a way 
that is somewhat open to interpretation," at the same time that it 
upholds the traditional view of marriage. 
Griswold flew directly from Portugal to a meeting of the House 
of Bishops in California, a meeting that took the bishops to what 
he called "a deeper place….a place of far more costly and 
authentic communion."
The bishops also welcomed Chinnis and passed a resolution to 
"acknowledge and give thanks for Pam's incredible leadership." 
Griswold noted efforts by some to "create a sense of division" 
between the two houses on the eve of General Convention and 
the presence of the president of the House of Deputies was a 
good reminder that "we do not act alone."
The bishops expressed concern for how they could be "a positive 
and helpful presence in the life of General Convention," he added. 
"And so we talked about how we ought to go, how we ought to 
deport ourselves, how we ought to listen to one another and to
the House of Deputies-how we ought to be willing to suspend 
debate in order to ground ourselves more deeply in the mystery 
of our own faith so that what we decide has a character of the 
mind of Christ."
Griswold amplified on his comments to the council during an 
adult forum at St. Patrick's Church in Washington, after 
celebrating and preaching at the lively parish. "You are a 
wonderful gift to me," he said in greeting about a hundred 
parishioners after the service. "It is too easy to get caught up
in corporate anxieties," he said. He described how his concept
of the church had expanded over the years, a "constantly enlarging 
perspective" as he moved from a parish priest to the bishop of 
Chicago to the office of presiding bishop. 
He cited as "signs of health" the growing communicant strength of 
the Episcopal Church, and the even more impressive figures for 
attendance at worship. "And giving has gone up incredibly," he said. 
There is still a "certain arrogance," a tendency to wait for 
"right-minded people" to find the church. He argued for more 
directness in evangelism efforts and less reluctance to reach out 
into the community.
In response to a question, Griswold described a "vast, diverse 
center" of the church and expressed his concern that diverse, 
nuanced voices be heard in the church. "How do we create a 
different kind of rhetoric," he asked, "and claim more gracious 
ways of dealing with each other?"
Chinnis assesses 21 years
After 21 years of council meetings, under the leadership of three 
presiding bishops, it was time for Pam Chinnis to bid farewell. In 
her parting comments she noted the "slow but steady movement 
toward greater inclusivity in our church's leadership…. Moving 
away from hierarchical power structures toward increasing 
participation and collaboration."
Unhappiness and hostility toward the national church administration 
surfaced in the early 1990s, she noted, and the resulting financial 
crisis "made models of partnership and networking popular," often 
providing "a corrective to programming which some considered 
overly centralized."
While the church seemed to be regaining its equilibrium, it was 
rocked by the embezzlement of millions by the former treasurer, 
plunging council into "a crisis such as I had never seen-and hope 
never to see again." Hard work by the new treasurer, Steve 
Duggan, and his staff "restored confidence in our stewardship 
of the church's money," she said. 
Chinnis concluded, "How extraordinarily blessed we are to be 
living through this pivotal time. How daunting the honor of being 
called to leadership in the church as we cross from one century, 
one millennium, to the next, as we pass from the smoky industrial 
age to the beeps and blinking lights of the information age."
An icon of leadership
Council members attended an Evensong at Church of the Epiphany in 
Washington, the home parish of Chinnis, where participants extolled 
her influential leadership on the church over 21 years.
Using the text of the day as a point of departure, Griswold said that 
her leadership had been similar to the pillars of fire and smoke that 
led the people in the wilderness, suggesting that such kind of talk 
would probably not please her "down home Missouri heart." He 
said that her leadership had been exerted in a "wonderfully tireless 
and fearless way-and always gracious way." 
Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon of the Diocese of Washington said that 
her "amazing prophetic stance" on behalf of the ordination of women 
made it possible for a female bishop to greet the congregation. Dixon 
said that Chinnis was the "icon of a female leader" and a "great role
model-a gift to women of the church." Bishop Chris Epting of Iowa 
added, "She will be succeeded but never replaced."
Under the guidance of consultant, council members devoted most 
of a day to an evaluation process, asked to identify "life-giving 
forces" in their lives and outline their "wishes for the future." The 
effort was designed to move toward creation of a new kind of 
Executive Council and to provide some "collective wisdom" for 
the council in the next triennium.
Treasurer Steven Duggan reported that the 1999 budget has closed 
with a $100,000 deficit that is within the margin expected. Levels 
of diocesan commitment to the annual budget remain below 1994 
levels, he said, despite a recent increase in giving.
In other action, council:
· approved a resolution to amend a canon to make Executive  Council 
responsible for financial support for the President of the House of 
Deputies. Currently, there is no stipend for the president and 
expenses are the responsibility of the General Convention office.
· heard a report from Bishop Mark Dyer of Virginia Theological 
Seminary on the Virginia Report;
· called for humane treatment and due process in the case of Wen 
Ho Lee, a weapons scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, 
New Mexico, who is charged with mishandling nuclear secrets;
· approved a communication committee resolution calling for a 
database of public media initiatives resources;
· received a report from the Joint committee on the Philippine 
Covenant that asks the for a special thanksgiving offering from 
the Episcopal Church on the occasion of the Philippine Church 
centenary next year; and
 
· requested a report from the day-long evaluation of its work during 
the past three years and recommended an orientation for new council 
members before council's next meeting in November.

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of 
News and Information. Jerry Hames, editor of Episcopal Life, the 
church's national newspaper, contributed to this account.