Browning Hosts Press Breakfast
Episcopal News Service. February 13, 1986 [86024]
SAN ANTONIO (DPS, Feb. 13) -- Mid-way through the Executive Council meeting, held here Feb. 4-6, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning hosted an informal breakfast for press, both secular and religious.
Chatting with reporters over plates of eggs, bacon and grits, Browning fielded questions on a variety of issues, both general and relating to the Council's meeting. On the latter, he declared the divestment issue probably the biggest facing Council at this meeting, and reiterated the statement made in his address from the chair, that the Church is not going to allow its investments to profit on the sufferings of other people.
In response to a question on the ecumenical movement, Browning answered that there is a lot of movement at the moment at many different levels, and that work going on at community levels is encouraging for the national picture. Stressing the importance of interchurch dialogues, he added, "The climate is as good as I've ever seen it. I want to support that in any way I possibly can. I'm excited about it."
Asked about his leadership style, Browning said, "I've moved around a lot, so my style is not to come in thinking I've got all the answers... I've seen my ministry as one of enablement. I don't necessarily have any great ideas of my own, but I hope to hold up the brilliant ideas of others." As often in the past, he stressed his desire to listen.
Another area important to Browning is the Episcopal Church's membership in the Anglican Communion. He spoke of his appointment of the Rev. Charles A. Cesaretti as Deputy for Anglican Relations, a position which Browning created in the hope that having someone on his personal staff working as contact with the wider Anglican Communion would aid in strengthening those links. He said, "We, in the U.S. church, have lots to learn from other areas of the world. We still tend to have the attitude that we are the giver and everybody else is the receiver. We have to work on changing that and be intentional about it." In that context, he mentioned his attendance at the Anglican Primates meeting in Toronto in March, and added that other attendees, especially those from third world countries, have been invited to stop in New York for further conversations with him on "how we might really interface, so that we might experience what real partnership might be like."
Having noted the rapid growth of the Church in Africa, he said we need to listen to what the African church has to say: "We can't translate everything, but we can translate the spirit," and spoke of a trip he had made to Namibia as part of a group brought together by the Archbishop of Canterbury, during which, he said, "I had a conversion experience... People living under the worst conditions had the greatest sense of faith, and the faith was relevant to those conditions."
When questioned about being labeled a "liberal," Browning said he's not comfortable with tags. His stated views on such issues as the arms race and the situation in Central America, he noted, are in line with what the Church has been saying for a long time. Pointing to the sermon he gave at his installation in January in Washington, D.C., he said that these concerns arise out of a deeper theological basis, and "the Gospel calls us to be concerned about these issues."
He added that he is less concerned about what he's called than about "maintaining my own sense of integrity, which lies somewhere between being both a pastor and a prophet to this Church," and that his chief worry in being labelled is that it might turn some people off to his leadership, thereby cutting off dialogue. One way he hopes to combat that is by going out and meeting people to "build a sense of trust, so some of the prophetic things can be listened to."
Another continuing concern of Browning's is the changing nature of the Church. Citing growth in Episcopal Church membership among Asian and Hispanic populations, he said "We are becoming more and more a multi-cultural church...The key for me is how you take what is happening and enable people in these parishes to see leadership. Leadership training is important. We are predominantly white in leadership, and we've got to find ways to change that."