Presiding Bishop Exercises Ministry of Advocacy During Visit to Washington
Episcopal News Service. July 28, 1993 [93146]
In the middle of a busy schedule that included the consecration of a new bishop in Haiti and an Executive Council meeting in Minneapolis, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning took three days for top-level meetings with leaders in Congress and the new Clinton Administration.
"The real purpose of the visit was to help the presiding bishop exercise his ministry around public issues," said the Rev. Brian Grieves, the Episcopal Church's peace and justice officer who supervises the church's Washington Office. "This visit supports and enables others to do their work, especially our staff and those church members who working at the grassroots level in advocacy ministries," he said during the June 22-24 visit.
During a briefing with his staff the first day, Browning looked at the hectic schedule and discussed specific issues that should be raised during each visit. The Rev. Robert Brooks of the Washington Office reminded the presiding bishop that "the church is perceived as an honest broker on some key issues -- such as the Philippines, El Salvador, the Middle East and Bosnia. And that reinforces our role as a bridge builder."
Dr. Betty Coats, also staff officer in Washington, observed that many members of Congress hear regularly from the religious right "and they are eager for a broader representation of voices from the church."
Browning said he was eager to discuss the situation in Liberia, in light of recent correspondence that described a "desperate situation." Grieves said the whole role of the United States in a post-Cold War world was a major concern for the church. "And our concern for human rights is something we can hold up in many of our discussions," he said.
In his first appointment, with Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Browning underscored the Episcopal Church's deep concern for international issues. "As a national church we always try to be in partnership with our government," Browning said in his opening comments.
"In recent years, the churches have become more sophisticated in dealing with Congress, developing some real expertise in many areas," Hamilton said in response. "That is very helpful to us. In fact, some of our best information comes from church sources, people deeply involved at the local level."
Acknowledging that public opinion polls reveal more interest in domestic than international issues among the American people, Hamilton said that "we in Congress are always looking for support for foreign aid -- and the churches have been extremely supportive, even critical, in areas like sustainable development," Hamilton added. "It is important for us to know who our friends are and for them to mobilize support."
Browning shared impressions from his recent visit to Haiti for the consecration and reported on his conversations with church and political leaders and the letters describing the situation in Liberia. Later he would express similar concerns with Rep. Ben Gilman, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
In a visit to the Congressional Black Caucus office, the presiding bishop assured executive director Amelia Parker that "many of the things you are struggling for are also important to our church." He sketched the Episcopal Church's agenda to fight racism, its effort to build funding agencies on the diocesan level, and he offered a "partnership" in dealing with issues. He also reported on his visits to South Central Los Angeles after the riots.
"We need the church to be on the firing line, proactive, not driven by a single issue," Parker responded. "Instead of being divided by our differences, we must develop coalitions wherever we can agree on how to address issues," she said.
After the presiding bishop reported on his visits to South Central Los Angeles after the riots, he invited Parker to call on the church for help. "We need your leadership," Parker said in conclusion.
There were honest points of disagreement in some of the conversations during the visit. During a wide-ranging discussion with staff for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, for example, the presiding bishop uncovered some differences in policy toward Haiti, especially about the effectiveness of sanctions.
A similar discussion with Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut was more optimistic, with Dodd convinced that President Jean Bertrand Aristide's exile may make him an even better leader. And Dodd said he is also hopeful that El Salvador could draw on the obvious strengths of its people and play a moderating role in the politics and economics of Central America.
As he would with other government leaders, the presiding bishop said that his role included concerns for many of these areas because they were part of the Episcopal Church. "It is also important for me to support and hold up members of Congress and their staffs because they carry the values and hopes of our communities back home," he added.
Browning did not have to explain that role to Senator John Danforth of Missouri, an ordained Episcopal priest who recently announced he would not run for another term. Much of the discussion with Danforth centered on health care and Browning expressed his hope that the final legislation would be bi-partisan. In response, Danforth said that he and his colleagues had spent "a tremendous amount of time" on the issue. Following his meeting with the presiding bishop, Danforth would attend a meeting with Hillary Rodham Clinton and members of her task force on health care.
In a subsequent conversation, Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, a Republican and an Episcopalian, agreed with Danforth that the health care issue is a difficult one but said he is "encouraged and pleased" with progress. "We are optimistic that we can pass something, even if not this year," Chafee said. He invited the church to enter the discussions, adding that it was important "to make such tough decisions together."
The presiding bishop commended Chafee for his ongoing challenge of the gun lobby's opposition to handgun control legislation, calling it "one of the most courageous things I have seen." Chafee turned very serious and said that "the situation is way out of control." He is convinced that the availability of guns promotes violence and is especially destructive among the young in black communities.
The presiding bishop and his staff visited State Department officials in charge of four regions of particular interest to the Anglican Communion -- Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, stressing his role a primate who is concerned for Anglican partners around the world.
Joined by Bishop Robert Longid of the Philippines, Browning reviewed the church's efforts to promote a peace process. Browning and Longid later met with Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia, an Episcopalian who chairs the Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs.
Edward Djerejian, who has been nominated ambassador to Israel, took considerable time with the group to discuss the intricacies of the search for peace in the Middle East.
Later, the presiding bishop and his wife met with Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Episcopalian who is spokesperson for the Palestinian participants in the peace negotiations. Peace in the Middle East and justice for the Palestinian people are issues very close to the heart of the presiding bishop who has visited the area several times to meet with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
On his last day in Washington, Browning made a pastoral call on General Colin Powell, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, an Episcopalian and former senior warden at a parish in Virginia.
"We made a pastoral call to express gratitude to Powell for his long, faithful service to this country," said Bishop Charles Keyser, suffragan bishop for the Armed Forces who accompanied Browning to the Pentagon. "We emphasized that the church's ministry has always been concerned with pastoral outreach to people in the military, even at times when our position has been different from that of the Administration, such as the Persian Gulf War," Keyser said.
Keyser reported that he and the presiding bishop did discuss the issue of gays in the military and the church's support of equal rights for all Americans. Powell said he was aware of the church's position and shared with the bishops how he had "agonized" over the situation. "Both the presiding bishop and I came away from the meeting totally convinced that Powell would approach the issue with the same integrity he brings to any task," Keyser said.
When asked how the Washington visit fits into a broader vision of his ministry, the presiding bishop grew thoughtful. "For me all these efforts are linked in my own personal attempt to put my prayer life into action." Browning said that he draws strength from the simple but powerful challenges of the baptismal covenant to strive for justice for all human beings. "It is part of our vocation as Christians to build God's reign on earth and that requires us to speak the truth as we see it to those in authority," he said. "Our spiritual life and our public witness are not separate but woven together in our calling to be stewards of all creation."
![[thumbnail: Browning and Washington S...]](/e-archives/ENS/photographs/thumbnails/93146_1_thb.jpg) |
![[thumbnail: Browning Calls on Leaders...]](/e-archives/ENS/photographs/thumbnails/93146_2_thb.jpg) |