Bishops Tackle Education, International Agenda
Episcopal News Service. October 8, 1987 [87203]
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (DPS, Oct. 8) -- Members of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, meeting here, discussed Christian initiation and administration of Holy Communion to infants and children, basing their discussion on papers by the Rt. Rev. C. Fitzsimons Allison, a former professor and now bishop of South Carolina, and by Louis Weil of Nashotah House.
Following a presentation by Allison, several members of the Committee on Theology, which is chaired by the Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer, bishop of Bethlehem, responded. They were Bishops Roger Harris, William Frey, Richard Grein and William Burrill.
Grein summed up his feelings by saying, "The main point is the manner in which we nurture the baptismal faith. I want to add formation. It's an important part of catechesis, and it won't be solved by either giving or withholding the sacrament from infants. If we had somehow nurtured the faith of those confirmed, our Church would be much larger."
When the discussion was opened up to the floor, the Rt. Rev. William Wantland, who is also a lawyer, pointed out that, while he has no theological objection, "You cannot legally communicate infants. You have to change the rules."
The Rt. Rev. William Cox, assistant bishop in Oklahoma, warned against pushing away the hands of infants who reach for the sacrament, for "The child will remember that rejection of the Church."
As the session closed, Dyer expressed hope that the Standing Liturgical Commission would write a resolution on the subject for General Convention.
At this meeting, for the first time, heads of the eleven accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church met with the House of Bishops. During the two-hour session, concerns about screening, education and evaluation of prospective clergy in a three-year residential program were addressed by the deans. Bishops responded with their own questions and concerns about diocesan procedures used in the selection of candidates.
The Very Rev. James Fenhagen, dean of General Theological Seminary, gave his analysis of the concern shared by bishops and deans over the evaluation of students during their seminary years. In subsequent discussion, he suggested more satisfactory results could be obtained from better communication between bishops and deans.
The Very Rev. Durstan McDonald, dean of the Seminary of the Southwest, shared a series of concerns about the General Ordination Examinations (GOE's). He said a great deal of time during the first term of the senior year is spent preparing for and completing the required tests, which often have debilitating psychological effects on students. He suggested an alternative method of examination, one which would place the timing of the GOE's in the diaconal year before ordination to the priesthood. He also said that clarifying specific areas of understanding about the purpose of GOE's would be helpful before any shift in their now uniform testing period. Another change MckDonald proposed was the continuation of national testing, but with evaluation of the GOE's by local dioceses.
The Dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, the Very Rev. James E. Annand, adressed concerns from the Council of Seminary Deans on the screening of applicants for ministry. He said the current process, entailing "a string of interviews," encourages passive-aggressive behavior in which students may adopt critical attitudes about authority. "The screening is seen as primarily a matter of jumping through hoops, an education process counter-productive to what we want." He suggested such elongated stages of examination often lead to clerical burnout and despair. He proposed a mode of intentional recruitment in which "the Church seeks the enlistment of the few for ordination" and welcomes greater numbers into lay expression of mission and ministry.
The Rt. Rev. Frank Cerveny of the Diocese of Florida then introduced members of the Board of Theological Education and a discussion of "The Future of Theological Education in the Episcopal Church," a document which will be analyzed at that group's meeting in October. Recommendations for a systems evaluation of the Church, with special attention to its process of de-centralized leadership, the serious study of clergy supply and the sources of recruitment, and a financial report from each accredited seminary were three areas which board members saw as important in the definition of seminary education and training for ministry.
In another education-related report, the Rev. David W. Perry, executive for Education for Mission and Ministry at the Episcopal Church Center, informed the House of the work of the Task Force on Christian Education.
The focus of the report centered on four areas: local congregations and a strategy to plan and carry out their educational ministry and recommendiatons on leadership development, resources and a theological vision for Christian education. The group has been charged by the Presiding Bishop to look at the life of the Church and "consider new ways of doing things." The 1988 General Convention in Detroit will receive the report of the Task Force.
In legislative sessions, the Committee on National and International Affairs presented a number of resolutions which were passed by the House. The first of these, on "The Arms Race, Disarmament, and Nuclear Deterrence," commends the President of the U.S. and the chairman of the U.S.S.R. for recent steps toward a treaty reducing numbers of intermediate nuclear weapons, urges President Reagan to continue these negotiations and work toward reducing strategic nuclear weapons, as well, and goes on to express hope "that such reductions in intermediate weapons is only the first step toward the ultimate and early abandonment of a strategy based on nuclear deterrence or mutually assured destruction." It also calls on all people "to join us in holding before the world's leaders a vision of peace which does not depend on weapons of mass destruction or violence of any kind, but rather on the Salom of God" and requests that copies of the resolution be forwarded to the President, Secretary of State and all Episcopal representatives in both houses of Congress.
A resolution on the Palestine/Israel Situation, originally tabled by the bishops, was re-introduced and, after amendments to make it more specific, was passed unanimously. The resolution affirms the importance for the Church of its prophetic role in standing with the oppressed and in the promotion of justice, peace and reconciliation for all people; affirms the existence of the State of Israel as defined by UN Resolutions 242 and 338 and its right to security; calls attention to injustice done to Palestinians and affirms their right to self-determination; supports the convening of an international conference in relation to this conflict, under United Nations' auspices, to which all parties would be invited; and commits the bishops "to continued prayer for Israelis and Palestinians, for Muslims, Jews, and Christians, for the achievement of justice, peace, and reconciliation for all."
In other resolutions from the Committee on National and International Affairs, the House:
- Upheld the churches in the "Frontline States" of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe in Southern Africa and urged businesses and corporations to explore opportunities for investment through the Southern Africa Development Coordinating Council.
- Recognized the sensitive conditions in Namibia caused by the presence of the South African Defense Force and its military and political occupation and called for support of the Anglican Primates and bishops of Africa in their proposal that the Lambeth Conference appoint an international mediation group on Namibia.
- Affirmed Executive Council action taken on the Lusaka Statement and the South Africa and Namibia declarations issued by the Pre-Lambeth Conference of Anglican Primates and bishops in Africa.
- Expressed support for the Bishop and Diocese of Haiti and called for continued prayer and support as the Church in Haiti witnesses against oppression and repression.
- Commended the Anglican Church in Fiji for speaking out in support of a pluralistic, multi-ethnic democracy.
- Expressed solidarity with the Philippine Episcopal Church and the Philippine Independent Church in their efforts to achieve a more humane people-oriented society.
- Showed unanimous support for the courageous witness of Terry Waite, emissary of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who disappeared in Beirut eight months ago.