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Diocese of Olympia Forging Multi-cultural Ministry in Area of Rapid Growth

Episcopal News Service. June 21, 1995 [95-1160]

(ENS) In its continuing effort to forge a whole new relationship between the national staff and the local dioceses, a team of the church's top leaders spent several days in the Diocese of Olympia, talking with diocesan leaders about their vision and ministry.

The visit to Olympia followed similar visits to the dioceses of Nevada, Mississippi and Connecticut, representing a geographic and cultural diversity of dioceses in the church.

"These visits were meant to test, in real and concrete ways, how the reorganization of our national staff and budget is perceived and accepted on the local level," observed Diane Porter, senior executive for program and a member of the team. "It is also an opportunity to put a human face on our program -- and it's very important that they know we are still in business" despite the recent turbulence, she added.

"The real question is whether we are organized in a way to serve, to deliver ministry, to use our resources for greater service and partnership," Porter said at a meeting with diocesan staff.

"We need to see what you are doing because we are convinced that what we learn will be useful at the national level," House of Deputies president Pamela P. Chinnis said during an open diocesan meeting in Everett. "Common issues have already emerged, such as a strong concern for children at risk, racism, and spiritual formation."

Servant leadership is the key

What the team found in Olympia was a sprawling diocese with incredible diversity in a setting that prizes individualism and can, as a result, be insular. "But this is a diocese that has been imbued with servant values," said the Rev. Patrick Mauney, director of the church's Global and Anglican Affairs, who serves as "linkage" with the diocese. He said that the diocese has become "a powerhouse of imaginative ministry" because "the vision is quite clear and it is articulated by a bishop and staff who share that vision."

"Olympia was chosen because Seattle is the hub of the Northwest and a gateway city to Asia," said Barry Menuez. former program executive who helped coordinate the visits.

Despite a warm welcome from Bishop Vincent Warner and the staff, this was not, however, a social visit. The diocese laid out an intense schedule that exposed the visitors to several examples of its unique, multi-cultural ministry.

"Our focus is on how we are part of one another -- and part of a larger community," Warner said. "Everything we do must be tested by our concept of servant leadership." In a diocese of over a hundred parishes, strewn across the western half of the state, where worship is conducted in 40 languages on any Sunday, that presents many challenges.

"Our challenge is growth," Provost Jerry Porter said during an introduction to diocesan ministries. "The real challenge is how to cope with the tremendous influx of people to the Pacific Northwest. It is a very fertile time for the Gospel," he said, pointing out that many churches are inadequately prepared to respond. "Many of our churches were built more as way stations," he said, and the high cost of land and buildings has prompted a drive to raise $5.5 million to build new congregations. "In many ways we are a missionary diocese -- and that calls for a creative response," added Canon Betsy Greenman.

Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning and Chinnis met with a group of ecumenical leaders and Browning joined Warner in a private meeting with a group to discuss the church's attitudes on sexuality issues including the blessing of same-sex unions. The group included two men whose blessing ceremony at the cathedral was blocked by Warner.

Browning said the meeting, which he described as "one of the most pastoral meetings I have ever attended," was a good example of partnership around issues where there is still disagreement.

Among the ministries the leadership team visited were:
  • Ministry of Sts. Mary and Martha, a drop-in center in Seattle's busy waterfront Pike Place Market where those who have been bruised by life can find an open and caring environment;
  • Refugee Resettlement Ministry, one of the church's most active programs that last year helped settle 560 refugees from Vietnam, the Ukraine, as well as Somalia, Haiti and Cuba;
  • Earth Ministry, an attempt to "engage, educate and inspire individuals and congregations within the Pacific Northwest to deepen our relationship with creation and with the God of creation";
  • Faith Homes, offering counseling and group care to unwed, pregnant girls in a family setting;
  • and a waterfront ministry directed by Bishop William Choi of Korea and a campus ministry program.

Members of the team scattered to preach and to talk with members of local parishes, gathering in the evening with diocesan leaders to discuss specific ways to covenant.

"This is a way for us to identify three or four issues with the potential for sharing our program resources with the diocese," said Porter. Early next year representatives from all four dioceses that have received visits will meet to continue the conversation and discuss ways to intensify the partnership.

Great gifts to the family of churches

In her sermon at St. Mark's Cathedral, Chinnis called attention to what the church's Province VIII, incorporating dioceses like Hawaii and Taiwan, as well as dioceses along the West Coast, could teach the rest of the church. Since these dioceses look "more naturally to Asia than to Europe, you are a living witness of what the Anglican Communion is becoming," she said. "For a long time now we have been apologizing for the diversity that exists in the Anglican Communion....It is true that our public differences sometimes make us strange to others," she added, "but it is also true that our daily attempts to live a life together of reconciliation and commitment, of mutual responsibility and interdependence, are great gifts which we bring to the worldwide family of churches."

The Diocese of Olympia faces enormous challenges and yet, with strong leadership and a clear vision, is embracing diversity and, as Chinnis suggested, could serve as a beacon in a vast ocean of possibilities for the future of the Episcopal Church.

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