Bishops Establish Means to Restructure Church
Diocesan Press Service. November 7, 1966 [48-1]
When the House of Bishops met in Wheeling, W. Va., Oct. 23 - 28, its censure of Bishop Pike made front pages across the nation, but more important for the future growth of the Church was its decision to create a means to restructure the Church itself.
On Oct. 27, the Bishops voted to accept a recommendation to establish "a committee to develop a council of this Church which shall include a cross section of the Church's lay and clerical membership and shall draw on the best wisdom available to help rethink, restructure and renew the Church for life in the world today, this committee to report at the next meeting of the House." This decision was reached in light of the need for a major reexamination and with knowledge that the Roman Catholic Church has been able to rethink publicly and with freedom.
The House of Bishops, in dealing with the world as it is today, provided for the complete autonomy of the Missionary District of Cuba. Previously an overseas jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church, the Church in Cuba will now be the Anglican Diocese in Cuba and under the trusteeship of a Metropolitan Council composed of the Most Rev. Howard Hewlett Clark, Archbishop of Rupertsland and Primate of All Canada; the Rt. Rev. Alan Knight, Bishop of Guyana and Archbishop of the Province of the West Indies; and the Rt. Rev. Melchor Saucedo, Suffragan Bishop of Mexico who will serve as a deputy for the President of the Ninth Province of the Episcopal Church. When the resolution was made public, the Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., Director of Executive Council's Overseas Department stated that, "Our intention in doing this was to set (Cuba) free from any relationship with the American Church which could be potentially harassing and even dangerous for them. Our support of them and other Churches in Cuba through the World Council of Churches will continue undiminished." The only parallel to this new Diocese is the Diocese of Hong Kong, separated from its parent Church in China and under the trusteeship of the Council of the Church of Southeast Asia.
The House also heard and voted to refer to the appropriate committees and com- missions proposals for canonical and constitutional changes which would establish "Associated Dioceses" and "Associated Provinces." The intent of the proposed amendments is to establish intermediate stages between the status of missionary district, which is the infancy of a young church overseas, and the fully independent church at the other end of the growing process.
In another area of foreign affairs the House of Bishops called for continued support of all humanitarian efforts in Vietnam, especially those of Church World Service, and asked all to join in continual prayer "for our country, for the people of Vietnam, for all engaged in military action, for the peace of the world, and for the reconciliation of all God's people. " The statement also recognized the anguish caused by the war in Vietnam and commended American leaders "for efforts to bring an end to this conflict through negotiations. " The Bishops also pleaded, however, for continued striving "to develop broader latitude in the give-and-take of the process of genuine reconciliation. " Also dealt with in a Position Paper presented to the House were the problems of population, poverty and peace. The paper cited the rapid growth of world population and its consequences. Food production, alone, will have to double in the next two decades merely to preserve the present subsistence level. The paper also cited the many predictions of widespread famine by 1980 and the disastrous consequences which could follow. The paper affirmed programs of population control and encouraged substantially increased gifts to the Presiding Bishop's fund for World Relief in the immediate future in order to make possible programs attacking the root causes of hunger. The report finally called attention to the fact that as our Gross National Product has increased, the percentage devoted to international development has declined.
As a broader answer to such problems, the House of Bishops also adopted a position paper on Christian stewardship. This paper described stewardship as "the offering a human being makes of himself - his time, his abilities and opportunities, his resources - in free and thankful obedience to God." The paper went on to point to at least three marks of faithful discipleship. First, stewardship is never merely an individual alone, dealing with God, but an individual within community. Second, stewardship implies the totality of God's gift, not merely a part of it. Third, the faithfulness demanded by stewardship runs all through the management of a Christian's affairs.
In well reported action the House of Bishops, in a special order of business, considered the appropriateness of a move to initiate a formal trial of the Rt. Rev. James A. Pike. The statement, drawn up by a special committee chaired by the Rt. Rev. Angus Dun, retired Bishop of Washington, pointed to the detrimental effects of such a trial. It then continued to "reject the tone and manner of much that Bishop Pike has said as being offensive and highly disturbing within the communion and fellowship of the Church. And we would disassociate ourselves from many of his utterances as being irresponsible on the part of one holding the office and trust that he shares with us." The statement also pointed to the dangers of formulating theological principles hurriedly.
After this statement of censure Bishop Pike, using a canonical privilege, asked for an investigation of all charges against him so they may be dealt with authoritatively, and so that he might have an opportunity confront his accusers and offer a defense.
In other action, the House elected the Rt. Rev. Lyman C. Ogilby, who has resigned as of May 1, 1967 as Missionary Bishop of the Philippines, as Bishop Coadjutor of the Missionary District of South Dakota; and elected the Rt. Rev. Benito Cabanban, present Suffragan Bishop of the Philippines, as Bishop Coadjutor of that Missionary District.
The Bishops were also addressed by two guests, The Rt. Rev. C. Edward Crowther, Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman, South Africa; and the Very Rev. H. C. N. Williams, Provost of Coventry Cathedral in England. Provost Williams challenged authoritarian presentations of Christian truth in three addresses with which the House of Bishops was opened. "The church is still trying to hold onto an authoritarian presentation of its beliefs, at a time when authority and determinism are being challenged in every other area of life -- intellectual, scientific, and social." he told the Bishops. Bishop Crowther, who has just completed an extensive speaking tour of the United States, talked of the contribution South African Christians could make -- their experience of pain caused by persecution and by poverty. He also pointed to the priorities established by many parish and diocesan budgets in this country, of their emphasis on administration and buildings instead of people.
He stated that he believed "the Church itself is in danger of perpetuating a colossal heresy in the monstrous edifice of false priorities and a misplaced concept of Christian stewardship in substituting things for people."