wfn.org | [ENS] Anti-racism,

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Friday, June 17, 2005

Anti-racism, evangelism focus of Executive Council meeting in Louisville

ENS 061705-2

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church's ongoing response to
racism-and its impact on evangelism and mission in the church-took up a
large part of the agenda of the Executive Council at its Louisville,
Kentucky meeting, held June 13-16.

"This is a dialogue, rather than a 'training' or a debate," explained
the
Rev. Ed Rodman of Massachusetts, who facilitated the sessions with
fellow
council member R.P.M. Bowden of Atlanta. "Our goal is not guilt, but
reflection, repentance, reconciliation and transformation."

The extended session began Monday evening with a lively game as table
groups
competed on the answers to five questions about the Episcopal Church's
anti-racism efforts over the last several General Conventions, followed
by
an optional screening of two videos about white privilege and racism.

The first, an Oscar-winning short film by director Adam Davidson called
"The
Lunch Date," followed a white suburban matron through a series of events
in
which she comes face to face with her own prejudices and stereotypes
about
black males and homeless people as she navigates through a big-city
railroad
station.

The second video was entitled "Free Indeed: Of White Privilege and How
We
Play the Game," a 30-minute black and white video produced by the
Mennonite
Central Committee in 1995 which features four white middle-class young
adults playing a card game as a prerequisite for doing a service project
for
a black Baptist church.

The Tuesday morning session opened with a "Personal Inventory Exercise,"
asking council members and staff to discuss a series of questions about
racial and ethnic heritage, their first realizations about racism, its
relationship to other forms of bigotry or discrimination, and the
different
forms of resistance to overcoming racism or other social problems.

In the afternoon the group discussed a chart that placed responses to
injustice on a continuum from charity to service to advocacy to doing
justice, and reviewed some principles of "restorative justice" and the
marks
of multicultural competence.

Systemic, not traumatic

During a special plenary session on Thursday, the council received an
interim report from the Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and
Evangelism (SCDME) about the church's 20/20 movement from evangelism
commission member Lallie Lloyd of Massachusetts, and an update on
membership
and attendance patterns from the Rev. Charles Fulton, director of
congregational development, and the Very Rev. Jim Lemler, director of
mission.

According to Fulton, the 2004 data-based on reporting from 73 percent of
the
church's congregations-shows that membership losses might reach 1.48
percent, with an estimated loss in average Sunday attendance of 3.17
percent.

"Don't overreact to these numbers," cautioned Fulton, pointing out that
other denominations-and not just mainline Protestants, either- are also
reporting losses. Recent national surveys report that only 18 percent of
the
U.S. population attends church on Sundays, contrasted with almost 30
percent
just a decade ago and 23 percent five years ago.

The losses in membership and attendance spanned all of the church's
domestic
provinces, and began more than a year before the controversies of the
2003
General Convention, Fulton said. In fact, blaming losses on "culture
wars"
in the church over sexuality is a symptom of a larger problem, said
Fulton-and a variation on the old 'post hoc, ergo propter hoc' logical
fallacy, not a road to a solution.

"I really wish it had been a single event" like the ordination of Bishop
Gene Robinson, Fulton said, because the effects of a single traumatic
event
"could be dealt with. In fact, one of the indicators of a systemic
decline
is the tendency to deny there is such a decline and put the blame on a
single event or cause.

"Time will not be our friend," and this is no time to engage in denial
or
blame, he urged the council.

But a renewed churchwide focus on mission, particularly multicultural
ministry, can turn the situation around.

"It often happens that when the topic of 20/20 or mission arises, people
seem to be waiting for the 'National Church' to produce a '20/20
Program,'"
said the SCDME report. "But we are the 'National Church.'...20/20 is not
a
program: it is a movement, a vision, a call to live as disciples of
Christ,
to be New Testament communities in our new times."

Lloyd asked that the council accelerate the church's financial
commitment to
mission, reach across boundaries and choose a new Presiding Bishop who
will
continue to "live boldly into God's mission for the 21st century."

Written responses to the reports were referred to the Council's
Congregations in Ministry (CIM) committee.

"Over and over we say demographics tell us we should be doing more to
open
our congregations to Latinos. This is NOT difficult to do-offer a missa
en
Espanol and they will come! But we must promote Hispanic leadership
development models all over the church," wrote one council member.

"We are a church weighted heavily toward service. This is a good thing,
but
we use it as the principal means of evangelism. We must make more effort
to
evangelize directly and bring some balance to our mission work. We must
proclaim the good news," declared another.

One year to General Convention

In his opening reflections, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold recounted
his
travels in recent months, including a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah for
the
annual Episcopal Communicators convention at which he said the highlight
was
a panel discussion of six people under age 30 reflecting on what drew
them
to the Episcopal Church. He also attended a convocation on hunger and
participated in the "One" campaign, focused on ending poverty. Griswold
announced he will leave soon for Armenia for the enthronement of a new
Primate.

Griswold also told the council that the six-person response team is
ready
for the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Nottingham. The text of
their presentation will not be made public beforehand, he said, but
noted
that it contains an appendix by Dr. Pamela Darling that shows almost 40
years of reflection in the Episcopal Church on homosexuality.

Dean George Werner, in his remarks as vice-chair of the council and
president of the House of Deputies, reminded the council that "one year
from
today" they will be at General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Werner's
Council of Advice met following Executive Council to select the chairs
and
co-chairs of legislative committees at the convention.

On Wednesday the council and staff had lunch at the Presbyterian Center,
home to four of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s national offices
since
1988: the General Assembly Council, the Office of the General Assembly,
the
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Investment and Loan Program. The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk
of
the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly, and John J. Detterick,
Executive
Director of the General Assembly Council, joined other members of the
center's staff in offering frank reflections about the challenges facing
both churches and answering questions about the denomination's
operations.

That evening the Council heard from Bishop Ted Gulick and clergy and lay
members of the Diocese of Kentucky, including a young refugee from the
Sudan
brought to the United States by Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Executive Council next meets October 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

-- The Rev. Jan Nunley is Deputy for Communication for the Episcopal
Church.

Resolutions passed by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church
Meeting
in Louisville, KY, June 13-16, 2005 Administration and Finance

AF 062(s): Commits the Executive Council to review contracts with
overseas
missionaries employed by DFMS and to consider adjusting their stipends
when
currency fluctuations severely impact their standard of living, and that
a
standardized policy of compensation for overseas missionaries be
developed.

AF 074-1: Releases $244,696.68 accumulated balance of The Astor Fund
income
to the Diocese of Long Island for ongoing projects.

AF 075: Establishes a 5% investment income payout rate over a rolling
5-year
period for investment revenue income projected in the 2007-2009 draft
Budget
for the Episcopal Church.

AF 076: Draws $450,000 from two trust funds to meet the needs of
Cuttington
University College in Liberia, including funds to enable the College to
complete payment for a re-roofing project, build new dormitories to
increase
enrollment capacity, and for general operating expenses. This request
for
assistance comes from Bishop Edward Neufville of Liberia, president of
the
Cuttington University College Board of Trustees and the Executive
Committee
of the CUC trustees.

AF 077: Draws $100,000 from a trust fund to support the observation of
the
centenary of the cathedral in the Diocese of Northern Malawi and to
support
the operating expenses of the diocese. The trust was originally
established
by the Diocese of Texas, which has given its approval to make this
distribution.

AF 078: Requests the Church Center staff to prepare a draft budget for
the
2007-2009 Triennium based on the following mission priorities listed in
rank
order of importance: young adults and youth; reconciliation and
evangelism;
congregational transformation: justice and peace; and partnerships.

AF 079: Consents to the appointment of Margareth Crosnier de Bellaistre
as
an officer of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society with the title
of
Director of Investment Management and Banking.

AF 080: Designates employees authorized to effect banking transactions,
including check issuance, and to assist the Treasurer in the routine
approval to secure hotel accommodations and related travel and
entertainment
services.

AF 081: Asks the Presiding Officers of the Executive Council to appoint
an
Episcopal Church Archives Strategy Committee to plan for a new Archives
site
and building

AF 082: Makes minor revisions to the Charter of the Mission Funding
Initiative.

Congregations in Ministry

CIM 023: Affirms allocations for new initiatives in youth, young adult,
and
higher education ministries of $508,000 in 2005 and $400,000 in 2006,
including funds for Campus Ministry Start-Up Grants, Campus Peer
Ministry,
Young Adult Network, Short-Term Internships Program, Youth Peer
Ministry,
Faith in 3D (ecumenical youth gathering), Sabbath Summit (Youth Min. &
Spirituality Project), Youth Mission Exchange, EYE Media Support, and
Youth
Ministry and Spirituality Project Implementation.

CIM 024: Authorizes the Office of Communication to implement an online
contribution system for the support of church-wide advertising efforts
of
the Episcopal Church.

CIM 025: Amends priority 3 of the Mission Priorities to emphasize that
leadership development for laity and clergy is a significant part of the
prosecution of all five mission priorities.

CIM 038: Affirms the work of the Office of Native American Ministries in
the
preparation and implementation of a comprehensive plan to fulfill the
Covenant for the Observance of the Decade of Remembrance, Recognition,
and
Reconciliation, 1997-2007, marking the Jamestown Settlement's 400th
Anniversary and apologizing for the insensitivity of the Anglican Church
in
its relationship to the Indigenous peoples of this land by calling them
"savages." The plan focuses on education and training; liturgy and
liturgical events; youth and young adult leadership; congregational
development, and office program development.

CIM 026-034, 037: Provides money from the Constable Fund for the
following
projects: Anglican Women Faith in Action Chaplaincy Formation Program
Episcopal Asian-American Clergy Collegiums Filling the Gap: Vocational
Development and Lifelong Learning for Deacons General Convention 2006
Activities with Children Prison Ministries Educational Resources
Province IX
Education Resources & Network Development Province IX Participation in
EYE
Renewal of Catechumenal Resources for the Church

International Concerns

INC-039: Expresses appreciation for the appointments of the Rev. John
Habecker (Los Angeles) as Parish Priest in the Diocese of El Salvador
and
Lyra Harris (Northern California) as a micro enterprise developer in the
Diocese of Honduras.

INC 041: Calls upon the United States and the international community to
intensify its response to the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the Darfur
region of western Sudan; calls upon the United Nations Security Council
to
pass a resolution authorizing a significant expansion in the size of the
African Union security force in Darfur and broadening the force's
mandate to
include enhanced civilian protection; and urges the world community to
authorize if necessary an international intervention in Darfur. Endorses
the
prosecution of the perpetrators of Darfur's tragedies at the
International
Criminal Court in The Hague, and urges all nations - including the
United
States - to actively support those proceedings. Expresses thanksgiving
for
the work of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and restates the commitment of
The
Episcopal Church, USA at all levels to support its brothers and sisters
in
the ECS; and calls upon the entire Church, dioceses, parishes, and
individuals to provide miss!
ion support and fellowship to the ECS through continued contributions of
human and financial resources through DFMS or ERD, travel to ECS
dioceses,
and continuing prayer.

INC 042: Recommends that one evening early in the 75th General
Convention be
devoted to "study and prayerful consideration" of the issues surrounding
the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Referred to the Standing Committee on
Planning
and Arrangements.

INC 043: Authorizes the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society to begin
the
process of applying for official United Nations Economic and Social
Council
(ECOSOC) status for ECUSA at the United Nations, which would allow
participation at a deeper level as well enhance the ability to
participate
in dialogue and make statements at the United Nations on issues that
concern
the Church, in particular the Millennium Development Goals and
environmental
sustainability, among others.

INC 044: Expresses commitment to deepening the Episcopal Church's
relationships with Anglican companions around the world, commits itself
to
responding promptly to particular recommendations for listening and
conversation that may come from the June, 2005 meeting of the Anglican
Consultative Council in Nottingham, England, and encourages all members
and
leaders of the Church to pursue multiple avenues for conversation and
relationship-building.

INC 045: Expresses thanks to Bishop Edward Neufville and the people of
the
Diocese of Liberia for hosting the meeting of the Liberia Covenant
Committee
in October, 2004; commits itself to study and review the recommendations
in
the committee's report, and notes the long and devoted service of Paul
Frank
to the Committee.

INC 046: Urges immediate attention to the provision of Temporary
Protected
Status to Haitians residing in the U.S. who are in danger of deportation
to
Haiti; asks the US to facilitate and support a negotiated peace among
factions and a multinational peacekeeping force; invites Dr. Guy
Alexandre
and Bishop Jean Zache Duracin to the next meeting of the council in Las
Vegas, October 7-10, 2005; and supports the Bishop of the Dominican
Republic
in requesting funds to assist Haitians stranded as refugees in the
Dominican
Republic.

INC 047: Asks the General Convention office to prepare the national flag
of
every country in which congregations of the Episcopal Church are
situated
for the display on the platform in the House of Deputies at the 2006
General
Convention.

National Concerns

NAC026: Reviews 18 Jubilee Programs.

NAC 027/CIM 035: Commends to the Church the Catechism of Creation
produced
by the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith for study in parish
education and faith formation classes, Episcopal schools, diocesan and
parish workshops, vacation Bible programs, summer camps, retreats, and
other
programs.

NAC 028/CIM 036: Affirms and expands the mandate of the Executive
Council
Committee on Science, Technology and Faith (ST&F) to include conducting
surveys to gather information about activities and programs related to
matters of science, technology and faith that are being carried out in
the
various provinces, dioceses, and other units of the Church. It will
collate
and provide this information in electronic form to the Director of
Communication for posting on the Church web site, so that it may be made
accessible to all.

NAC 029: Deplores the desecration of any religious sacred text or space
and
calls upon all people of faith to respect religious diversity and never
to
defame or abuse that which is considered holy by others.

NAC 030: Reaffirm the Church's commitment to children and support for
public
education through its Children's Charter for the Church; urges a shift
from
applying sanctions for failing to raise test scores to holding states
and
localities accountable for making the systemic changes that improve
student
achievement work; and asks the Office of Government Relations to lobby
the
Department of Education, the White House, and Congress to ensure that
the No
Child Left Behind Act is adequately funded.

NAC 031: Elects the following to serve as delegates to the World Council
of
Churches' General Assembly, February 14-23, 2006 in Porto Alegre,
Brazil:
Carmen Brooks; Bishop Christopher Epting; Sarah Harte; the Rev. Kwasi
Thornell.

NAC 032: Supports legislation which would permit legal workers to enter
the
US to respond to labor force needs; ensure that close family members be
allowed to enter or be reunited with individuals legally entering the US
to
accept employment; permit undocumented migrants residing in the US to
pursue
legal residence and eventual citizenship if they are employed; and
ensure
that migrants working legally be granted the rights and benefits
accorded US
workers, including the right to change employment.

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