Massachusetts Invites Fresh Look at Episcopacy
Episcopal News Service. February 2, 1989 [89020]
Julie A. Wortman, Editor Office of Communication, The Episcopal Church Center
NEW YORK (DPS, Feb. 2) -- Thousands of Episcopalians are expected to attend the ordination of the Rev. Barbara C. Harris to the episcopate in Boston on February 11. They will be there to celebrate and witness a momentous event in the history of the Church. As Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts, Harris will be the first woman presbyter to be consecrated bishop in the Episcopal Church since the General Convention of 1976 made women eligible for this ministry.
Although some members of the Episcopal Church in the United States fear that a woman bishop will split the Church, and the larger Anglican Communion with it, others greet a woman's entry into the House of Bishops with elation, as further sign that the Church is entering into wholeness. But whatever their position on the matter of women and the episcopacy, Episcopalians have been compelled by Harris herself to examine their assumptions about what qualifications (besides the canonical requirements as to age and Order) a candidate for bishop should have.
As Bishop Suffragan, Harris is to support and enhance Bishop David E. Johnson's ministry. Johnson became Bishop of Massachusetts in 1986. Elected by diocesan convention to lead, supervise, and unify the Episcopal Church in Massachusetts, Johnson reflects "who the Church is" in his diocese.
The diocese's suffragan bishop is also elected by diocesan convention, but to act as the diocesan bishop's assistant in all respects, under the diocesan's authority. Unlike Massachusett's new assistant bishop, David Birney (formerly Bishop of Idaho), the suffragan is not an already-consecrated bishop invited directly by Bishop Johnson to provide further episcopal assistance. Instead, the suffragan is elected to play an integral role in diocesan life from consecration until retirement orresignation.
By both experience and background, Harris is undeniably well-equipped for the position she is to fill in Massachusetts. While Johnson's socioeconomic background is similar to that of the membership of Massachusett's many white suburban and small-town congregations, his new suffragan is, like a significant segment of Episcopalians in the diocese, a black urbanite, with parish experience that is grounded in the life of minority urban congregations. She also has the experience of a long career working with industrial corporations to discern and address issues of public policy and social responsibility arising from their relationship to the black community. Harris's episcopal leadership will thus carry special weight as the diocese works to discern its mission to its cities and minorities.
The suffragan bishop in Massachusetts is also to work with the diocese's parishes and clergy in a variety of important ways -- by ensuring their access to the resources they will need as they develop their missions and ministries, and by working with them in their search processes or as they encounter and live through conflict. In addition to her professional background, Harris's experience in the Church suits this role.
Ordained in 1980, Harris has served as priest in a variety of capacities -- as interim rector, as priest-in-charge, as both assistant and associate rector, and as prison chaplain. In addition, she brings with her a distinguished record of Church involvement and service as a lay person. Her special understanding of the concerns and perspectives of the laity should make her especially even-handed as she deals with parochial concerns.
Harris may be qualified for the work of suffragan, but she challenges the stereotype that many Americans have about who a bishop should be, and not only because she is a woman. But she will not be the only bishop or candidate for bishop to do so.
As a person of color, Harris will, in fact, be among the majority of bishops in the Anglican Communion; as the group photographs taken of the bishops attending Lambeth last August testified, white bishops are now the racial minority in the global Church.
Also, Harris is not unlike many members of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops in bringing to her episcopal ministry the special experiences, skills, and talents acquired through professional work as a community-and public-relations consultant prior to seeking Holy Orders. Her new colleagues include people who have professional backgrounds in law, teaching, and business. If "late" vocations continue to be common among priests and deacons, this varied profile of vocational background will likely continue to inform the episcopacy in important ways.
As for what parish experience a bishop should have, it is interesting to note that, including Harris, four out of the six candidates for suffragan in Massachusetts had never served as the rector of a parish. Her educational background (she holds an honorary doctorate of sacred theology) also exposes the prejudice that equates being educated for the ordained ministry with holding a seminary degree. Like any eager and able student whose circumstances do not make seminary viable, Harris prepared herself for ordination exams through courses taken at places like Villanova University, at the Urban Theology Unit in Sheffield, England, and through private study. Once again, as both candidate for bishop and bishop, she is not alone in this distinction.
Finally, although some people find her too outspoken, Harris will have colleagues in the House of Bishops who share her special capacity for articulating a vision of mission and ministry that speaks powerfully to people throughout the Episcopal Church. As a respected civil rights activist and bold defender of marginalized people, she will be no less an advocate for a particular vision of the Church than many of her brother bishops.
Harris's consecration as Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts shatters many illusions about what it takes to qualify for bishop. This being so, her election has invited the membership of the Church into greater appreciation of the diversity of gifts and backgrounds that already marks the episcopacy, and that will likely distinguish it in the future.