Bishops Wrap Up Business Matters
Episcopal News Service. October 15, 1987 [87209]
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (DPS, Oct. 15) -- The coming retirement of the suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, the prospect of unity among members of nine different denominations including the Episcopal Church, and the evidence of a spiraling AIDS epidemic occupied the House of Bishops during one session of its meeting here. The previous afternoon and evening schedule had been free of formal agenda, and many members of the House, with their wives, attended the Mass of Thanksgiving at St. James' Cathedral, Chicago, where diocesan bishop James W. Montgomery celebrated the conclusion of 25 years in the episcopate.
Faced with the need to recommend a successor to the Rt. Rev. Charles L. Burgreen when he retires in January 1989, the Commission on the Armed Forces disclosed its search for responses from the military community on the impact of Burgreen's ministry to military chaplains, personnel and installations across the globe. The House lauded Burgreen's record of service and ecclesiastical oversight.
Their intent, one of defining the criteria for the selection of his replacement, is being developed by a group including an Army chaplain, a Navy wife whose husband is a chief petty officer, a woman who serves as Navy chaplain in Washington, D.C, a retired Air Force general and a Veterans' Administration chaplain. Bishop Calvin O. Schofield of the diocese of Southeast Florida said the information would be gathered with the assistance of the professional consulting group.
Declaring that groups which talk long enough will eventually come to decision-point, the Rt. Rev. Donald J. Parsons, bishop of Quincy, advised the House to take seriously the continuing Consultation on Church Union (COCU) discussions. He said the day is drawing near when "member churches of the consultation will be asked if theological consensus reached by discussion is sufficient to go on to the substantial step of unity."
Parsons said the 69th General Convention in Detroit will be asked if there is sufficient basis "for the covenanting acts and the uniting process proposed at this time by the consultation."
Underlining a fact uncontested by anyone, the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Bishop of California, who has been in the vanguard for AIDS ministry in the Episcopal Church, said the epidemic is worsening. Speaking as chairman of the Task Force on AIDS, Swing said, "our job is to keep pushing. What we've seen up to now is nothing compared to what's coming."
He related that there are increasing instances of hospitals turning AIDS patients away because there is no funding to provide for their care. Community health programs are also beginning to see funding evaporate. "We're at he point of something incredible," he said.
A national AIDS Sunday for prayers in support of persons living with AIDS has been designated for Nov. 8 by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning.
In legislative sessions, the House of Bishops heard a number of reports and acted on several issues. These included:
- Election of the Rt. Rev. John T. Walker, bishop of Washington, as vice president of the House. The Rt. Rev. James Montgomery, bishop of Chicago, who retired Oct. 1, is also retiring from the House post.
- A report from the Rt. Rev. Manuel C. Lumpias, Prime Bishop of the Philippine Episcopal Church, on steps being taken as the P.E.C. moves toward autonomy. According to Lumpias, this move has been going on "since the time Bishop Brent set foot on Philippine soil in 1902." At General Convention next July, the four Philippine dioceses will ask to become a national autonomous province within the Anglican Communion. "This is one of the major decisions we'll be facing in Detroit," commented Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning.
- A plea from the Rt. Rev. Gerald McAllister, Bishop of Oklahoma, for support for the Church Historical Society and its magazine, now named Anglican and Episcopal History. "With just 500 more subscriptions, it could be self-supporting," he said. He also asked each bishop to contribute to the Society from discretionary funds.
- Another plea, this one from the Rt. Rev. Heath Light, chair of the Committee on World Mission, for additional contributions to the fund established last year to provide sabbaticals for priests working in South Africa and other areas of extreme hardship.
- A change in two rules of order, one which would give bishops from extra-provincial dioceses seat and voice, and another making it possible for the Presiding Bishop to appoint an acting chair in the absence of vice chairman.
- A brief report, granted at the request of the Rt. Rev. Craig Anderson, a member of the Committee for the Full Participation of Women in the Church, from Pam Chinnis, chair of that committee as well as vice president of the House of Deputies. The committee has been charged with investigating the participation of women on the local, diocesan, provincial and national levels. Chinnis announced that, thanks to a Lilly grant, surveys have been carried out in 12 dioceses as well as among national leaders. The results are now being analyzed and will appear in the Blue Book.
In its final legislative session, the 1987 Interim House of Bishops meeting took care of routine business, heard reports from various committees and comments from individuals and engaged in some fairly heated debate over a Statement of Concern circulated among the bishops stating that those who signed would not, as a witness to solidarity with women priests, preside at the Eucharist while in England next summer except at celebrations which are part of the Lambeth Conference itself. A motion by the Bishop of West Tennessee that the statement be withdrawn was tabled.
After memorials were read for deceased members, the bishops approved the resignations/retirements of the following: William J. Cox, Assistant, Oklahoma; Stanley Hauser, Suffragan, West Texas; Donald J. Parsons, Quincy; Richard M. Trelease; Rio Grande; Robert P. Varley, Assistant, Minnesota; and J. Stuart Wetmore, Suffragan, New York.
Next, honorary and collegial memberships were approved: the Rt. Rev. Onell Soto, the Rt. Rev. Cornelius Wilson and the Rt. Rev. Francisco Reus-Froylan as honorary members; and the Rt. Rev. Rigal Elisee, the Rt. Rev. Michael Marshall, and the Rt. Rev. Antonio Ramos in the collegial category.
Greetings were sent to retired Presiding Bishop John Hines and his wife on their upcoming 77th birthday and then the House passed a number of courtesy resolutions.
The Bishop of Central Florida recommended that the Church's Chancellor call three diocesan chancellors to meet with the Committee on Consecration of Bishops to make recommendations on the procedure of obtaining consents.
On Church Pension Fund matters regarding coverage for permanent deacons and medical coverage for retired clergy (to be charged to their dioceses), no action was recommended.
The Bishop of Massachusetts announced that six resolutions will be presented to General Convention regarding the Episcopalian newspaper, and late in the session, the House declined to consider a new resolution, introduced by the Bishop of Rio Grande, that a profile and theological reflection paper on women in the episcopate be "received and carried" to the Lambeth Conference.
As the session closed, Browning announced that he will appoint a new -- or basically new - committee to carry on the dialogue between the Committee to Study Women in the Episcopate and the group opposing such action who signed a "Statement of Witness" in May 1986. He also mentioned that two presentations had been received against Bishop John S. Spong of New Jersey. Spong responded by saying that he was "honored" in the circumstances.