Annual Address to Diocesan Convention
February 10, 2001

The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
III Bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee

Madam President, clergy and laity of East Tennessee, distinguished guests and visitors, I am honored once again to stand before you and offer some reflections on the state of the Church in our beloved Diocese. I continue to thank God for the blessing of serving as your Bishop. Indeed, diocesan conventions hold a special place in my memory, for they mark anniversaries of my ordination and consecration as bishop - this being my second one.

I will file with the Secretary a report of my official acts during the past year. In the course of 2000, I completed my initial round of visits among our churches and began a second cycle. I consider the occasions of my visits to be ones for which I am grateful and honored. I thank you for your welcome of me at those times. Also, I have called on our retired bishops - The Rt. Rev. William Sanders and The Rt. Rev. Robert Tharp - to assist in making visitations. With their help, each church in the Diocese receives an Episcopal visit once a year. I continue to be grateful to our retired bishops for their assistance, as well as for their counsel. Please join me now in expressing our thanks to Bishop Sanders and Bishop Tharp for their continuing efforts on behalf of the Diocese of East Tennessee.

I want to recognize and to thank publicly the members of our fine diocesan staff who serve us all so very well. Part of their job description is to make the Bishop look good, and along with everything else they do, they each work diligently at that difficult responsibility. When I call your name, members of the staff, please stand. May we wait until everyone is introduced to express our appreciation.

Lynn Laslo - Receptionist and staff assistant for program;
Georgia Knazovich - Bookshop manager;
Pam Doty - Editor of "The East Tennessee Episcopalian";
Patricia Tanzier Askew - Youth Ministries Coordinator;
David Smart - Webmaster;
Barbara Reed - Circulation manager and Coordinator of our

program for the prevention of sexual misconduct, "Protecting All God's Children";

Rosemary Davenport - Insurance Administrator and staff

assistant for administration;

Carolyn Dicer - Bishop's Deputy for Program;
Mary Berl - Financial Administrator;
Michael Doty - Archdeacon for Mission;
Alice Clayton - Canon to the Ordinary; and
Tami Dyke - Executive Secretary to the Bishop.

Please join me in expressing our thanks to these folks for the ministries they so ably fulfill on behalf of us all.

In addition, I want to thank the clergy of the Diocese - and, in particular, the parochial clergy who represent me and the Diocese in our individual churches, on a day-to-day basis. I take very seriously that connection among us, and I give thanks for it. I am sincerely appreciative of the efforts of our clergy, both in parochial and in non-parochial settings. I value our relationships of collegiality, as well as personal relationships, and I look forward to the deepening of those interconnections. To the clergy of East Tennessee, therefore, thank you for all that you do in Christ's name and for this Diocese.

Also, I thank the East Tennessee laity - the laos, the people of God in this part of God's kingdom. Our denomination has the tendency to emphasize clergy in many ways. After all, we are called "Episcopalians" - a word whose root means "bishop." Our congregations who are temporarily without clergy often are referred to as "vacant." I must say that is an offensive description - one that we are trying to avoid in East Tennessee. The point, though, is that we Episcopalians tend to be clergy-oriented. However, without the laity, we who are clergy would have little hope of exercising our calling, few responsibilities, and no money. Therefore, to you who are the laos, thank you for what you do and for who you are.

For the remainder of this address - and as a means of considering our life together - I want to focus our attention on three distinct topics. These are related to each other but not in any apparently logical way. However, taken together, there is a comprehensiveness to this view of the Diocese … a comprehensiveness that I want to share with you on this occasion.

First, I will offer you the context in which I do much of my thinking, analyzing, and praying about East Tennessee. Secondly, I will suggest two perspectives, which have become important lenses for me to look at our world, particularly in this Diocese. Thirdly and finally, I will mention three particular callings or areas of emphasis that have claimed my time and energy, as well as that of others of you. In these ways, then, I hope to share with you my views of our life in the Diocese in 2001 and my hopes and dreams about some matters that will be important to us in the future.

Let me begin by setting these considerations in a context - a context that is personal but which, I believe, tells some truth about who we are as a Diocese. Therefore, I hope that sharing this part of my story may be instructive for us as a whole.

Upon my consecration as your Bishop, I reflected on how much of a stranger I was to East Tennessee. Before that election process, I believe that I knew four priests canonically resident here, and while I had met several lay people previously, I had no on-going contacts with anyone. In fact, of the four priests mentioned, two were and are priests in good standing. But another one was in the process of being removed from his position, and the third one had left the Episcopal Church! But, that's not all. After some research, I also discovered that I had not even been nominated for bishop by a live person but, rather, matched up as a possible nominee by the computer in New York. Therefore, in terms of any former relationship, I was unknown to you, and you, equally unknown to me - strangers, brought together somehow and, I hope and pray, for some purpose.

Months after my consecration, I awoke one morning with a new revelation … a sense of an answer about what in the world I was doing here. Believe me, that question had been much on my mind, heart, and prayers for some time. And on that particular morning, some clarity finally came to me. My professional life has been filled with experiences of moving into situations ripe for change and growth. Over and over again, I have followed long incumbencies that had developed into stability. While security certainly has value, the communities involved in each of these cases had become restless and anxious to make changes. My ministry in several different places, therefore, had been that of a catalyst for change. And after moving to East Tennessee and beginning to become used to my new home, new wardrobe, and new responsibilities, I saw that I was called here for a similar purpose.

The danger, of course, in expanding a personal history into a community context is that the community history may not correspond at all. However, after admitting that danger - and after a great deal of observation, conversation, and prayer - I do believe there is validity to that contextual conclusion. The Diocese of East Tennessee at this time in history has particular opportunities to change and to grow, in response to our Lord's callings. I believe that I serve as your Bishop - among other ways - as a catalyst for that change and growth.

Now, secondly, what can we say about particular perspectives on this diocesan context? That is, where can we draw meaning from the situation that I have described? My observation here will not surprise you, I suspect, for I have communicated with the clergy about this topic, and indeed, these perspectives are expressed in the Vision Statement I presented to the Diocese two years ago. The first and third clauses of that Statement are these: "The Diocese of East Tennessee is one Church" and "We anticipate miracles, as God works through us." Therefore, the perspectives I offer you are these two: unity and hope. It seems to me that those topics indicate a great deal about who we are at our best and about who we are called to be. Therefore, I place those two perspectives before you - these two ways of examining our life together - unity and hope.

As a Diocese, we are indeed one Church. The Episcopal Church claims that reality as fundamental to our identity. Our diocesan unity lies at the heart of who we are. What we do best, we accomplish in cooperation and in unity.

In addition, when I was ordained bishop, the charge to uphold the unity of the Church was repeated over and over again. That is a fundamental vow for me as your Bishop. The office of Bishop personifies unity - unity in time, back to the apostolic witness, and unity in place, in a diocese.

Also as a Diocese - and particularly in this Convention - "We anticipate miracles." Hope is a sign of our identity as Christian people. The Prayer Book Catechism proclaims, "The Christian hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God's purpose for the world"(p861). As Christian people, we are signs of hope for the world, like lights in the darkness.

A young friend of mine in the past has had trouble with his fear of the dark. However, recently he told me about a certain hero of his called "Pajama Sam." Apparently, when a child experiences fear of the dark, this particular hero encourages him to get his lunchbox and his flashlight and, then, to go "encounter the darkness." And that, my friends, is a sign of hope - carrying a light into the darkness, recognizing that the dark has lost its power when confronted by the light.

"We anticipate miracles, as God works through us." And, as our convention theme suggests, miracles do happen. Therefore, we anticipate miracles, as signs of bright hope in an often dark world.

Now, I turn to the three callings or areas of interest that claim a significant amount of our diocesan attention and energy - and which promise to continue to do so. They are not listed by any order of priority but, rather, by their history for us.

First, then, is a familiar subject - but no less important because of its familiarity. This is the financial asking of the Diocese from each of our churches.

I remember the story of a savvy person who once observed, "When someone says, 'It's not about the money', it's about the money." I am not going to tell you that this point is not about the money. The mission and ministry of the Diocese of East Tennessee need the money. We can make that case. In fact, we have made the case, and we will continue to do so. Indeed, it is our responsibility to do so.

However, I am going to tell you also that the diocesan pledge is about more than only the money. It is also about unity and about hope. I would go so far as to suggest that the diocesan pledge is a sacramental sign of our unity as a diocese. Those diocesan pledges also offer reason for hope that together we may achieve great things in our Lord's name.

As I have said and written previously, Bishop and Council has changed the formula for making requests twice in the two years that I have been Bishop. Each time has resulted in a reduction of the percentage of income requested from our churches. In each case, the intention and hope have been to encourage all churches to accept their requests - their fair share. In each year, more churches have accepted those requests. However, we have not yet achieved full acceptance by all churches. That remains an elusive, but very important, goal.

The second calling I present to you is the diocesan camp and conference center. You will hear additional testimony soon about this resource that brings all kinds of opportunities for mission, ministry, and new life to our Diocese. However, at this point, I want to present the camp and conference center to this convention as a symbol of our unity and as a sign for our hope.

In fact, a diocesan camp and conference center became a matter for discussion and investigation soon after East Tennessee became a separate diocese - some seventeen years ago. There was a significant amount of correspondence and a considerable number of miles hiked as possible locations were examined. But the idea lay dormant because the time was not yet right.

Some eighteen months ago now, Bishop and Council appointed a Camp and Conference Center Task Force. This group, with the Rev. Bo Lewis as convener, has worked long, hard, and well at their responsibilities. Their plan was to do a feasibility study and to make a report and recommendation to this Convention. However, opportunity - and, I believe, providence - intervened in that process. A particular piece of land came on the market - and this land met our needs remarkably well.

After a unanimous vote of encouragement at Clergy Conference and a unanimous vote of approval by Bishop and Council, we did indeed move ahead to purchase the property. Please pay close attention to the presentation that will be made later about this very important step in the history of our Diocese. Our camp and conference center has everything to do with opportunities to live into our unity as a diocese and to experience our hope for the future as well.

A third and final calling for us as a Diocese involves our emphasis on mission. In the Great Commission, our Lord calls on us "to go and make disciples." The task of mission continues to be fundamental to our identity as followers of Jesus Christ.

This calling summarizes the other two in practical ways. That is, we need to be unified in terms of financial commitment, for missionary growth demands all kinds of resources, including money. In addition, the camp and conference center will provide us with a marvelous means and support for a variety of missionary endeavors. It will truly be a great asset for assisting our work of mission.

During the past year, I called the Rev. Michael Doty to serve as diocesan Archdeacon, with particular responsibilities for mission. This is a new staff position, made possible by financial support from our churches and created to emphasize our intent to concentrate on the missionary call.

Later in this convention you will hear reports on various avenues for the mission emphasis in East Tennessee. I encourage your attention, your prayers, and your direct involvement in what is crucial as we seek to live into a faithful response to our Lord's call.

In summary, I am grateful for our life together in East Tennessee, and I am optimistic about our future. Indeed, I anticipate miracles, along with you.

Each time in history has certain opportunities placed before it - opportunities to grasp for the common good and to claim for the community's future as well … opportunities, that is, to live our unity and to fulfill our hope. In the weeks and months to come, may we all say our prayers and labor together in the vineyard of God, recognizing that strangers now become friends may indeed "anticipate miracles, as God works through us."

Copyright © 2001 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee