wfn.org | [ENS] Black clergy charged to live the vision of God

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

Monday, October 31, 2005

Black clergy charged to live the vision of God

ENS 103105-1

[ENS, Atlanta] Reclaiming the Black Church's prophetic voice, celebrating
its diversity, responding to HIV/AIDS and community violence, and
strengthening and mentoring congregations and clergy into living the
vision of God were themes discussed Oct. 23-26 at the 7th Triennial
Black Clergy Conference at the Emory Conference Center.

More than 130 clergy from around the world participated in "On Thy People
Pour Thy Power: Continuing the Journey," hosted by the national church's
Office of Black Ministries. The conference also emphasized cultivating
a healthy balance between the professional demands of ministry and
financial and personal self-care-a theme repeated Oct. 27-28 in the
Convocation for the Newly Ordained.

The Rev. Angela Ifill, who has served as missioner for the national
church's Office of Black Ministries for nearly two years, outlined a
series of initiatives designed to strengthen congregations and clergy,
including a mentoring program for the newly ordained and a 'One in the
Spirit' task force to facilitate interaction between Black clergy and
diverse congregations.

"We need to be very concerned about Black congregations thriving,
many are struggling and the reality is that we must work together as
a cohesive group where ever we can, whether we are from this country,
the Caribbean, Central and South America, or Africa," Ifill told the
enthusiastic gathering.  "This is an effort to say to the wider church
that they are missing out on the opportunity when they don't call Black
clergy to white congregations," Ifill said.

The convocation welcomed 29 clergy ordained since the last triennial in
2002, who also participated in the Convocation for the Newly Ordained.

Other initiatives include creation of a journal to highlight past and
present contributions of the Black church and clergy to the larger church,
and a February 2006 commemoration of historical Black Episcopal colleges
and chaplaincies.

Black Church Issues Mirror Larger Church

The Rt. Rev. Arthur Williams, retired Bishop of Ohio who serves as
the national church's Acting Director of Ethnic Ministries, praised
Ifill's tenure. At the same time, he voiced concerns about a growing
marginalization of the Black Church.

"In Ohio in the last sixty days I had to go to two congregations to talk
about their future or lack of future," Williams told the gathering during
a session with the bishops. "We need to concentrate, to be knowledgeable
about what's happening to many Black churches."

Ifill said that, while many churches are growing, others are declining,
mirroring a national trend among churches of all ethnicities. She said
there are an estimated 234 predominantly Black congregations in the
nation, and an estimated 550 Black clergy who actively serve congregations
of all ethnicities.

Long Island, New York, is one area where the church is growing,
largely due to an influx of Afro-Caribbean émigrés, said the
Rt. Rev. Orris Walker..  "One-third of the state lives in Long Island,"
Walker said. "Some Sundays if you don't get to church on time, you don't
get a seat," he said.

Other bishops participating in the conference included the Bishops Barbara
Harris, retired Suffragan of Massachusetts; Chet Talton, Suffragan
of Los Angeles; Julio Murray, Bishop of Panama. The Rt. Rev. Gayle
Harris, Suffragan of Massachusetts, agreed that efforts to strengthen
congregations and clergy and to reach out to youth are vital.

"I went to the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) this year and attended a
hip hop mass," she said. "I came out humming Jesus is my homeboy and he
has my back.  We have to get over ourselves as being Episcopalian and
Anglophiles, to change the words so the culture knows Jesus Christ is
available to them."

Call to Action: Responding to HIV/AIDS, Violence and Sexuality

Presenters discussed HIV/AIDS, human sexuality, and youth violence within
the context of the dualistic nature of the historical Black Church-a
church which has remained faithful in spite of living the contradictions
of slavery, oppression, racism and other "isms".

The Rev. Dr. Cecily Broderick y Guerra, interim rector at St. Philip's
Church in Harlem, told the gathering that the history of the black church
is critical "as a survival strategy to get through the conversation
around homosexuality." Especially, she added, because of its role as a
"radical hope in the midst of oppressions currently experienced."

The Rev. Kelly Brown-Douglas, a Howard Divinity School Professor of
Systematic Theology and associate rector at Church of the Holy Comforter
in Washington, D.C. and author of numerous works on human sexuality,
said racism has often inhibited the church's reluctance to discuss
issues of sexuality. She called upon the church to challenge ourselves
"to move the debate forward and engage the discourse about sexuality."

The Rev. Billy Alford, vice chair of the national Episcopal AIDS
Coalition, charged the gathering to build coalitions to combat HIV/AIDS.

While an estimated one million people are living with AIDS in the United
States today, and longevity and survival rates have improved, there is
an alarming increase in new infections among young African Americans
and Latinos, and those over 50, he said.

"African Americans represent 55 percent of all HIV/AIDS-related deaths
in 2002," he added. "We are at risk as a church."

Frances McGee-Cromartie, assistant prosecuting attorney for Montgomery,
Ohio, called upon participants to address the needs of a disproportionate
number of youthful offenders within the Black community. Noting that
youth in trouble are experiencing grief, poor impulse control, lack of
parental supervision and other issues, she added that: "They could be
helped by bereavement support, mentoring and addiction-related programs."

Connections, 'Balancing Ministry and Self-Care'

The Rev. Dr. William A. Guthrie, rector of Christ Church, East Orange,
New Jersey, and formerly of Guyana, charged the group to reconnect with
Black Anglicans and Episcopalians throughout the world and especially
to serve as missionaries in other countries.

"There is a need for African Americans to go to Africa. There needs
to be a strategy for Black Anglicans to know one another, to know the
context of our ministries," agreed the Rev. Benjamin Musoke-Lubega,
program associate for grant making activities in the Global South and
telecommunications in the Trinity Grants Program.

That's exactly why the Rev. Tunde Roberts, vicar of St. Olave's Church in
London, and chair of England's Association of Black Clergy in England,
an ecumenical coalition of Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists
and the United Reformed Church said he attended the Triennial.

"Black churches face similar issues in England, the United States
and everywhere," he said. "We are being marginalized. Very few of us
are in positions of leadership within the structure of the church. We
need resources that often aren't available to us; we want to help our
congregations understand how to deal with racism within the context of
our structure," said Roberts, whose congregation is 95 percent African.

Reaching out to youth is another concern, he added. "Our young people
are drawn to Pentecostal denominations because they are good at giving
responsibility to our Black youth and involving them in worship."

Representatives of the Church Pension Fund, the Episcopal Public Policy
Network and other church agencies discussed personal and financial
self-care. John Harris Jr., developer and advance markets consultant of
the MetLife Clergy Compensation Planning Program, said often clergy don't
really understand enough about how the pension fund works to maximize
its benefits.

"I find a lot of the time that our clergy are so busy taking care of
other people's stuff they don't pay enough attention to their own, and
fall through the cracks," said Harris, who also serves as a consultant for
the CREDO institute, a self-care initiative of the national church. "They
often don't realize that, if they work part-time, they only receive
part-time credit through the pension fund. But, their bishops could give
them a full credit."

Clergy also aren't aware of the availability of spiritual care
alternatives, said Veronica Aryeequaye, of the Order of St. Helen,
who attended to "help clergy learn to take care of themselves."

"I don't see a lot of clergy using the religious in parishes or as
resources," said Aryeequaye. "They frequently don't know how to inculcate
us into their ministries so we can serve together. We can hold retreats,
we can preach to give them a day off. Besides, it's good for parishioners
to hear other voices."

'Vision and Vocation of Hope'; Moving Forward

At a festive celebratory closing Eucharist, the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris,
Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts, challenged the gathering
to remember their vocation to vision and to hope.

"God's plan, God's vision, God's dream for us for this world comes
into the very ground of our lives, the texture, in the seasons of our
lives, all times, all settings," Harris said. "The times we live in are a
context for the Vision of God. We will be built up in love. Love is not a
feeling, it's not a sentiment, it is a state of being. It is empowering,
liberating, a love that is just, a generosity we can't fathom."

Recalling the prophet Isaiah's hesitancy to live God's vision, Harris
said: "This is not about you, it's about God's vision, to be made manifest
in you.  The vision of God is calling us to focus on rebuilding the world,
in the fullness of truth, honoring all of God's creation, to live in the
purity called love itself, to offer to God what is excellent and brings
meaning to life, to focus on God's people, to love God's people."

She recalled "the three C's: confrontation, celebration and companionship,
that we are all confronted by God's vision and call to celebrate beyond
what we are experiencing today." She added that Jesus invites us to
be companions, partners with him and with one another that we might
transform this world into a healed and just world.

"Hope is the vocation of our lives and the context of our faith. We
need to build a coalition to make God's vision real, to make ourselves
transformed, to move the church forward to mission outposts, making
members and making disciples," Harris said.

"We talked all week about what's wrong with the church. Now, it's time
to move on. We need to make ambassadors for Christ and of Christ and in
Christ.  To demand excellence for ourselves and to stop looking at the
slice of pie we've been given. It's time for us to buy the bakery. It's
time to become the vision, God's vision, the vision that empowers people."

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