Episcopal Communicators Explore Challenges of Change and Crisis
Episcopal News Service. June 12, 1992 [92132]
Budget cuts. Headlines alleging clergy sexual misconduct. Property disputes. The resignation and elections of bishops. In the whirlwind of issues that confront Episcopal dioceses, what is the special role of professional communicators to interpret news to Episcopalians and the wider world?
That question was central to a gathering of more than 100 Episcopal Communicators for their annual convention at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in Berkeley, California, June 3-6.
The theme of the conference, "The Challenge of the Word in Change and Crisis," was underscored as participants spoke of turbulence in their dioceses -- or of ominous clouds on the horizon. Several communicators reported that reduced financial support has eliminated staff or frequency of publication. Some members have had to juggle journalistic standards with public relations concerns. In some dioceses, bishops have taken on the role of censor.
"You must be fearless about seeking the truth, providing a climate for the truth to emerge," said the Rev. Fran Toy of CDSP, who served as chaplain of the conference. In a homily on communicating in crisis situations, Toy said that the Chinese term for crisis is composed of two characters connoting danger and opportunity. "Risk taking and hope are present that solutions to crisis may be found," she said.
"We have been listening to victims -- to people who feel powerless, diminished, insecure, lacking in trust, and who need to begin to find ways to claim their power," said the Rev. Chilton Knudsen, pastoral care administrator in the Diocese of Chicago, after listening to the stories of communicators. Knudsen and the Rev. Margo Maris, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Minnesota, led workshops that focused on sexual misconduct by clergy, and how to handle such sensitive issues on the front lines.
"I used to think that crisis was equated with chaos," Maris said, "but now I think that crisis is the place where chaos stops."
Maris and Knudsen asserted that a primary component in sexual misconduct by clergy is the inequity of power in the relationship with parishioners. "To be a victim is to be put in an unempowered situation," Knudsen said. However, for clergy and others in authority, she said the primary question was, "What is this power I have, and how do I use it to empower others?"
Knudsen offered what she called a "basic guideline" for communicators as they try to interpret difficult stories: "Use as much honesty as is possible."
"I want a church where it is safe to be as vulnerable as it is possible to be," Maris added. "What makes the church safe is openness and trust -- and that is what communication is all about."
In her closing homily, Toy invited communicators to dream of a future Episcopal Communicators meeting when members would give thanks for "the courage to risk... [to be] set free to be journalists, set free to be truth tellers, when being set free doesn't mean being liberated from a job."
Like the foggy San Francisco weather that usually lifts by noon, there were bright spots during the meeting. Communicators showered President Mary Lee Simpson from Southwest Virginia with accolades and gifts as her three-year term as president expired. James Thrall of Connecticut was elected president by acclamation to succeed Simpson.
During a banquet at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, the board presented the Janette Pierce award to William Ferguson and his late wife, Helen, editors of the New Hampshire Episcopal News. The award, in honor of the late Janette Pierce, managing editor of the Episcopalian and past president of Episcopal Communicators, recognizes persons who have made exceptional contributions to the ministry of communication.
"The Diocese of New Hampshire has been informed, entertained, and spiritually uplifted by the New Hampshire Episcopal News, which together you have edited," Simpson said as she presented the award to William Ferguson. "Within the Episcopal Communicators, you are both remembered for making newcomers welcome, for seeking out those who might not feel included, and drawing them in. For those of us who have come after, you have been an important link to the past and a beacon for the future."
For the second consecutive year, the electronic media staff of the Episcopal Church Center offered a format incorporating slide and video presentations of winning entries for the annual Polly Bond awards. The awards honor former Episcopal communicator Polly Bond of the Diocese of Ohio, and acknowledge excellence and achievement in church communication.
This year, more than 400 entries in 27 categories on three levels were considered by the Polly Bond judges.
Winners of the coveted General Excellence awards for overall quality of publications were
- Magazine Division: The Witness, Jeanie Wylie-Kellermann, editor;
- Newspaper for Corporate Parish/Cathedral/Agency/Institutions: Episcopal Life, Jerry Hames, editor;
- Newspaper, under 12,000 circulation: The Advocate, Diocese of Kentucky, Kay Collier-Slone, editor;
- Newspaper, over 12,000 circulation: Interchange, Diocese of Southern Ohio, Michael Barwell, editor.
For electronic media, top awards were
- Radio Broadcast -- agency level: "Pray for Peace," Parish of Trinity Church, Robert Owens Scott, Michael Malone, and Linda Hanick;
- Radio Broadcast -- parish level: "Martin Luther King, Jr., Special," the Diocese of Connecticut;
- Video Broadcast/Cable: "World Council of Churches Seventh Assembly: Episcopal Perspectives," Episcopal Church Center, Kris Lee, producer;
- Video Non-Broadcast/Educational -- agency level: "Anglican Encounter," Episcopal Church Center, Gary Filsinger, producer;
- Video Non-Broadcast/Educational -- diocese/parish level: "A Bishop for God's People," Diocese of Los Angeles, Dan Crossland, producer;
- Specialized Media: "Companion Diocese: N.E. Caribbean and Aruba," The Diocese of Southern Virginia, Marceile Riddick, producer.
The communicators elected two board members for three-year terms: Michael Barwell, Diocese of Southern Ohio, and Ann Scott, Diocese of California. Dan Crossland, Diocese of Los Angeles, was elected for a one-year term.
In other action, the members adopted amendments to the bylaws that will allow the election of additional board members to augment the diversity of membership and another to recognize the executive for communication of the Episcopal Church Center, or someone designated by the executive, to serve as an ex-officio member of the board.
By unanimous vote the members endorsed the idea of sending an Episcopal communicator to the Russian Orthodox Church as a link between the churches and an adviser on communication to the Russian church.
![[thumbnail: Communicators Elect Offic...]](/e-archives/ENS/photographs/thumbnails/92132_thb.jpg) |