Bishop Charles vonRosenberg's address
Mr. President, Bishop Sanders, Bishop Robertson, clergy and lay delegates of the Diocese of East Tennessee, guests and visitors to this Convention, "Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." We offer that greeting, which is so familiar for Christians since the time of St. Paul. And, on this occasion, a somewhat-modified greeting serves as our Convention theme. Thus here, near the beginning of the Twenty-third Annual Convention of the Diocese of East Tennessee, "Grace and peace, to you and to the world." It is my honor and blessing to address you, near the conclusion of my eighth year as your bishop.
Speaking on your behalf, I offer my gratitude to our Convention hosts this year - the Rev. Scherry Fouke, the Rev. Martha Sterne, and their respective congregations, All Saints, Morristown, and St. Andrew, Maryville. We all are indeed grateful to you for your hard work in preparing for us and in hosting us during this Convention. Join me now, please, in thanking our hosts for their work on behalf of us all.
Before I mention each member of my staff and thank them individually, I want to pay tribute to the life and ministry of Jim Muir. Jim died last month, but for many, many years he served as the volunteer diocesan prison chaplain. I give thanks to God for Jim Muir and for his long service to prisoners, in our Lord's name.
Now, as is my custom, I want to thank the diocesan staff publicly - not only for their special efforts in preparation for this gathering, but also for their tireless and effective ministries accomplished all during the year, on behalf of their diocese and this bishop. Therefore, thanks to Lynn Lazlo, Receptionist and Administrative Assistant; Beth Anderson, Manager of Chapter and Verse Bookshop; Alex Haralson, Youth Ministries Coordinator; Rosemary Davenport, Insurance Administrator and Administrative Assistant; Bo Lewis, sometimes Vicar of Grace Point; Sharon Rasmussen, Communications Director; Rick Govan, Ministry Development Facilitator; Mary Berl, Diocesan Administrator; Laura Nichols, Bishop's Executive Assistant; and Stephen Askew, Canon to the Ordinary. Also, thanks to Herb Berl, who retired last year from civil service and who was then put to work in the Lord's service as the volunteer diocesan Stewardship Officer. In addition, I want to recognize and thank Al Minor, who has retired from his volunteer post as Chaplain to Retired Clergy and Surviving Spouses, and to recognize and thank Peter Keese, assisted by Perry Scruggs, who have taken up that responsibility. Please join me in expressing our appreciation for the good work and important ministries of all these fine folks!
Now, for the remainder of this Address, we consider the state of the Church. It is important to note at the outset that such an evaluation could be quite different, depending on who is doing the evaluating and on what part of the Church's life is being considered.
As a way to begin, I want to share one perspective with you, from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. I joined several other bishops there two months ago, and we encountered some of the local people as well as workers and volunteers who continue to struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Bishop Duncan Gray III served as our guide along the Mississippi coast. Many stories were shared, but one seems especially appropriate as we reflect on the state of our Church.
Bishop Gray reported that six Episcopal churches in Mississippi were destroyed by the storm. That is, six buildings of worship either were damaged beyond repair, or else, they were entirely washed away. The congregations themselves - even now - are not in good shape either, for many, many people either are missing or have moved away. In fact, Bishop Gray told us that one of the six churches was involved in a search process for a new rector at the time of the storm. After Katrina, the Senior Warden and the Bishop issued a call to the new priest, because nobody else on the search committee or the vestry could be found. According to Bishop Gray, one of the six churches has sixty percent of its congregation back, but others have far fewer - all the way down to almost no one.
However, these churches have experienced first-hand the benefits and value of being part of a church that is connected to others, the Episcopal Church - connected through our dioceses. Those six communities of faith know the grace and peace that have been shared with them in tangible ways. In their time of crisis, they have known many blessings indeed. And this is the point of Bishop Gray's story. Of those six destroyed churches, three of them have pledged more money to the diocese in 2007 than they did prior to Hurricane Katrina!
That, then, is one perspective on the state of the Church. In spite of past difficulties, those congregations are looking to the future. Even in extreme circumstances, they have not been paralyzed by the past. They have chosen to focus on reasons for gratitude, rather than to practice lament and accusation. As a result, they radiate a profound sense of grace and peace that provide witness to the power of resurrection in our world. Such examples offer one view of the state of the Church.
I need to add a note here that was not in my Address until earlier this week. Those churches in Mississippi appreciate two things that we in East Tennessee need to recognize, for the sake of our soul's health & and, also, for the sake of our diocesan mission. First, the stewardship of resources with which we are blessed needs to be central to the life of every parish and worshipping community. If we are not calling attention to the blessings that we have from God and to our responsibilities as stewards of those gifts, then we are neglecting our job as leaders of the Church. I, therefore, call on every church in East Tennessee to concentrate considerable effort and attention in 2007 on Christian stewardship, as an essential dimension of our lives in Christ Jesus. The practice of stewardship needs to be a primary focus of all our churches in 2007.
Secondly, as you will hear in this convention, we must make adjustments in our proposed diocesan budget, for by canon we must adopt a balanced budget. Our parishes have not accepted the diocesan financial askings to the extent that we had anticipated. Those askings are based on a fair share formula for all our churches, but not all of our churches have accepted their fair share. As a result, our programs and ministries will suffer from lack of funds this year; and those ministries will be impacted - significantly and negatively. In 2007, we do not anticipate that positions on diocesan staff will be in jeopardy. However, unless churches support the diocese to a greater extent in the future, then staff will have to be reduced in significant ways in years to come. I, therefore, call on every church in East Tennessee also to reexamine your commitment to our diocese in 2007 and to begin now to plan to accept your full asking for 2008, as your fair share in support of our common life.
To summarize this addition to my Address, please take to heart the message of those Mississippi churches. We are indeed blessed by our relationships and connections in the Episcopal Church, and those blessings do place responsibilities on us as well. I pray that none of our churches will have to suffer tragedy and extreme loss in order to recognize the two-fold message of Christian stewardship - blessing and responsibility.
Now, I will return to my original text and to the consideration of other perspectives on the state of the Church. For all of us, the General Conventions of 2003 and 2006 marked significant and profound moments on our collective journey of faith as the Episcopal Church. For some of us, the moments were welcomed and celebrated. For others of us, recent General Convention decisions have been more difficult and trying. However, in fact, Episcopalians have held differing perspectives about decisions made at every level of the Church, for as long as there has been an Episcopal Church. By the way, differences of opinion and perspective likewise are common in other denominations as well - although, usually their differences are not so public as ours. As people striving to follow the Way of Jesus Christ, we say our prayers and we make decisions, imploring the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes our decisions further the cause of Jesus in the world, and sometimes history proves us to have been unwise. But, as people of faith, we keep moving forward on our journey.
My point today is this. The period of time between 2003 and 2006 - like any other period of history - has passed. Unfortunately, some people of faith have chosen that period as the defining moment in the history of our church & and they continue to consider that time with lament and with accusation. What precedes that period apparently seems inconsequential to them; what follows it seems irrelevant. For these folks, that time has defined the Episcopal Church. I submit to you, though, that in a strange and ironic kind of way, such a perspective makes a false idol out of those years.
Another analogy for this practice might be helpful within this Body that values scripture. To "proof text" a Bible verse means to lift particular words out of context and, thereby, to distort their meaning, without reference to what comes sooner or later in the text. Some of us here were warned, in no uncertain terms, about that practice in seminary. In a similar way, some folks recently have tried to remove the years 2003 through 2006 from their historical context. In the process, a more complete meaning is lost, and the subsequent danger is that the Church can become stuck at one point in history.
However, I repeat that as people of faith, we must keep moving forward on our journey. We must move on. We must continue to say our prayers; to keep imploring the Spirit for guidance; and to practice the discipline of confession. In doing so, we remember those things left undone that we should have done, as well as those things done that we should not have done. We believe - at the core of our being - that we are a people forgiven by God in Christ and reconciled by our Savior on the cross. And, as people of faith, we keep moving forward, in faith.
As people who follow Jesus, we resist the temptation to focus on matters of the past, for we believe that Christ calls us to a future that lies in his hands. In that spirit, therefore, I want to point out a couple of opportunities that I see on our journey of faith - opportunities for ministries of grace and of peace, both at home and for the world.
The Millennium Development Goals have been identified by nations around the world as objects worthy of our attention and cooperation, in the global community. The goals are consistent with efforts of faith communities - and, specifically, with ministries of Christian people - and, therefore, the Episcopal Church has enthusiastically embraced those goals, called the "MDG's." In fact, while relatively little attention was given to this emphasis in the secular press, actually the MDG's were a primary focus of our most recent General Convention.
Our diocesan budget in 2006 and the proposed budget for 2007 include responses to the MDG's at the suggested level of funding. We are committed to these goals - as a diocese, as the Episcopal Church, as members of the Anglican Communion, and as citizens of the world. In this Convention, we plan to focus our attention on the MDG's in a couple of ways. First, we are delighted that our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, has agreed to be present later in the Convention, to address a primary matter of attention and passion for her, the Millennium Development Goals. We look forward to her address tomorrow morning a great deal indeed. Secondly, we also look forward to the short presentations, called "Millennium Moments" throughout our time together. Those presentations will highlight responses to the MDG's.
Another appropriate focus for our journey of faith in this diocese is Grace Point, our camp and retreat center. Thanks to the efforts of Bo Lewis, Hugh Jones, Norma Mills, and many others, members of our diocese are becoming more and more aware of this wonderful resource for Christian formation and nurture, for retreat and commitment, and for experiences of faith, fellowship, and fun. Thanks to the generosity of our parishioners and our parishes, we have seen the completion of two tree house dormitories in the past year, the ground-breaking for our new St. Paul's Chapel, and the beginning of construction for a porch and renovations to our Commons Building, which will be used much more effectively as a result. We also have in hand significant seed money for the improvement of our adult housing at Grace Point.
At this time, the diocese has closed all commercial loans on Grace Point, and we continue to repay our trust funds. The Board has adopted a "pay-as-we-go" philosophy for new construction and repairs. Good fiscal management is being practiced, even as we enhance this wonderful diocesan resource. We are truly blessed to be the stewards of this grace-filled and peaceful place, Grace Point.
I am delighted that several people will make presentations on behalf of Grace Point during this convention. I hope that their enthusiasm and commitment will be contagious as we hear their stories.
In summary, then, my intention today is to call us into a future and a future of hope, blessing, and faith and a future that is indeed in God's hands. As we encounter that future, continuing our journey of faith, "Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ" and "Grace and peace, to you and to the world." Amen.
The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee
Copyright © 2007 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee