Address from the Chair to the Executive Council, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 26, 1997

Episcopal News Service. May 9, 1997 [97-1763]

Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop and Primate

Well, dear friends, after looking at that video, maybe I ought to just sit down while I'm still ahead. I first saw the video at the Justice Summit in Cincinnati in February. Brian Grieves was a driving force behind the video, and the Summit as well, for that matter. He is also responsible for the book, No Outcasts. I want to recognize Brian for these incredible offerings to me, and to the church.

Brian is another gift of Hawaii. Patti and I remember well when we first arrived here. I had just been elected Bishop of Hawaii and Brian was a priest of the diocese. Brian came by and there we were with our children and in a state of complete confusion and no household things. Brian came with a warm welcome, and also pots and pans, knives and forks, the basic essentials so we could begin to cook. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

I talked to Brian before the Summit and he said, very casually, that there was going to be some sort of a video, but I had no idea what it was. I have to say that it just about blew me away.

The President of the House of Deputies set a magnificent tone for us. I thank her for her gracious words this morning, and I thank God for her. I cherish the partnership Pam and I have shared these last six years. Working side by side with her has made an incredible difference in my ministry. Pam is a deeply sensitive, intelligent and insightful leader of this church who has blessed me, this Council, and the whole church with her wisdom and love. During some very difficult days in this triennium, Pam was a rock of stability. Words cannot express my personal appreciation and love for her.

It gives me immense hope to know Pam has offered to continue her leadership for the next triennium. The continuity and experience she can bring are a great asset to the new Presiding Bishop and the next Council. Thank you, Pam, for your ministry, and your friendship, and support to me.

There is an expression used on these islands -- which is "talk story." Today I want to talk story with you. I might do some similar reflection in my address to the General Convention, but this is the more informal version, as befits our close association over these last years.

I spent ten years in this wonderful place, and, there are a lot of stories, joyful, funny, and some sad. At my first Diocesan Convention, which would have been in 1976, there was a bill before the State legislature on the death penalty and this provoked a real debate in our Convention. I remember leaning over to my chancellor, Jack Lockwood, and saying "I really want to speak to this." He whispered, "sorry, you can't do that. You're in the chair." And as the debate went on, I appealed to him again, but he remained firm and said, "no, no, you can't do that." We finally took the vote. It was a tie! And Jack turned to me and said -- "Well, now it's your turn!" It will not surprise any of you to know that the chair broke the tie and voted against capital punishment.

I remember the days of summer camp when I served my annual tour as chaplain to the young people of our community. Some of them no doubt have children of their own now. This was great practice for the national Episcopal Youth Event that Patti and I have been going to over the past years.

I remember the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in 1983 and how he lifted the spirits of this diocese and community. I especially remember his visit to Grace Church on Molokai which is doing incredible ministry in an impoverished community. They are making an incredible witness of love and compassion. I know that the meeting with the people of that island was very meaningful for the Archbishop as well.

I remember my public witness in those days, my strong opposition to the arms race and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Given that Honolulu is home to a large population of military personnel, this was not an uncomplicated thing. One Easter Day we had a visit at St. Andrew's Cathedral by Ronald Reagan. As elaborate arrangements were being made for him to attend the service I remember his advance representative suggesting to me that the Dean should preach. I said without blinking, and with some chagrin, that the bishop would be in the pulpit. I used to have red hair you know.

I never intended to use the pulpit to challenge the president, and I preached a message of the resurrected Christ. I was surprised when one line in my sermon, which referred to the compassionate face of government turning its back on the poor while pouring billions of dollars into the arms race, turned up on the front pages of newspapers all over the country. It was just one line! But I guess it stung and I wasn't sorry. Even so, I also remember that the president was very gracious to me afterwards. Well, as he walked out the door with me he said that the music was wonderful.

My favorite news report of that day was a photo in The Boston Globe of the President and me coming out of the Cathedral after the service. I was still wearing cope and miter and the caption on the story read "Tip O'Neil in a Cope?" I think I had more mail from that one line than I ever have had from anything I have said as Presiding Bishop. So, you never know.

My last convention in the Diocese of Hawaii took place in this very hotel in 1985 after my election as Presiding Bishop. And I remember that we debated a resolution to divest our stock from South Africa. The General Convention had just passed such a resolution. The debate was a little hot, and the resolution did pass, but it was a squeaker.

I remember how South Africa was then, and see how it is today. Nelson Mandela, once a political prisoner, is now the president of a post-apartheid free country. It makes me realize so much has happened in these last twelve years, both in South Africa and in the life of this church. These have been full years, and very rich.

As I reflect on what has been, this is also a time to think about what might be, what the future might hold, about transition, and change.

The General Convention in Philadelphia will mark a transition not just for me, but for all of us. We will have a new Presiding Bishop, a new Council -- even though half of our members will be in their seats come the November meeting -- new budgets, and perhaps some revisions in our structure and how we do business. We don't yet know what the new day will look like; though we can look back at the past but we can't quite peer ahead into the future. All we can do is to be prepared, and I believe we are doing that. I see strong evidence that we are moving toward this transition in healthy ways on several fronts.

First, as to the work of the Council, in all three areas of our Council's life, as represented by the subcommittees, we have worked hard to leave our house in good order and a faithful accounting of our activities. I believe we can celebrate our accomplishments and give thanks to God for the grace we have been given to move ahead, often in incredibly difficult, and even tragic, circumstances.

Second, the Blue Book reflects a great deal of careful work by our Interim Bodies. It reflects, most important, our mission focus. It reflects our striving toward the values of the Kingdom. It reflects as well the priority we place on reasoned discourse in the effort to discern God's will. It reflects our work to appropriate the treasures of our Anglican theological heritage.

Third, our staff is extremely committed, highly competent and blessedly collegial. The systems now in place for performance appraisal and compensation review are, I believe, a gift to the next administration.

Fourth, I believe our process for the nomination and election of the 25th Presiding Bishop has been a healthy and creative one, and we owe a great deal to Bishop Cal Schofield, one of our number here, and Kathy Tyler Scott who lead an excellent committee.

I can say from personal experience that the time between the nominations and the election is a kind of holding time for the nominees, their families, and their dioceses. I was nominated on March 11, my birthday. The election took place one day short of six months later on September 10, our wedding anniversary. Let me tell you it was a very long six months. This time, only three months will elapse between the nominations by the committee and the election. I'm sure that is going to feel like a long three months for those most closely involved. It is an awesome thing to let your name go forward for this election. It is terribly important for all of us to pray for the nominees, their spouses and families, and their dioceses, and the House of Bishops as they prepare to elect.

On July 21, the House of Bishops will elect and the House of Deputies will pass judgment on that decision. We will have a 25th Presiding Bishop. As number 24, I want to say this. My dear friends, Presiding Bishops come and go. The gospel is always the same. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the challenge of this church will be to continue to honor its diversity, to respect its unity, and to affirm its mission in the world. The issues we have faced these past twelve years will be with the church for a long time yet. Anyone who thinks that by electing some "right" person we will move into a kind of nirvana, is in for a surprise.

I remember someone saying to me about some of our struggles around sexuality: "Ed, you didn't invent these issues and they won't be settled in your time." That was certainly true, and the same could be said for many other areas of struggle as well.

This Office, this vocation, this ministry is larger than the particular occupant. I have held up the values that Jesus lived. But that hasn't been about me. It's about Jesus. It's about the Spirit of God that has been given to the community. It's about how we have been given a new commandment to love one another. It's about how we have been called to forgive 70 times seven. It is about the struggle and yearning of Christians to respond to the imperatives of the gospel with love and courage and compassion. It's about the need to be a community of reconciliation, even in the midst of sharp disagreement about how God is calling us. Even when we disagree about important things, such as the role of gay men and lesbians in our church, or the role of women in the ordained ministry, or the role of government in the promoting of the common good.

These issues are before us and they are going to be before us until we come together, together, to some kind of resolution and broader understanding that blesses us all. Difficult issues these are, but they are our issues in our generation, in our time. The church does not exist in a vacuum. Every generation must re-define mission in the context of its own reality. And that means the addressing of issues by the community of the faithful who follow Jesus Christ.

When Patti and I walk out that door at 815 Second Avenue on December 31, I pray that I will be able to say that I have responded as faithfully as I could to the ever flowing stream of issues that have come across my desk during these years.

The Justice Summit two months ago was a high point of the last triennium. You know, to be in a room with over 550 Episcopalians on fire with their commitment to peace and justice filled me with a hope for the future of this church as nothing else could have. They witness to the vitality in our church of the ministries that make peace, and do justice, and care for God's creation. No matter what structural changes may come, these ministries will be alive in those people and in thousands of others who share their vision. And I hope this Council can affirm that in these next days.

My dear friends: our work as a Council has been undergirded by a talented staff of people of whom I am very proud. It's not easy to be productive when staff is reduced by one-third, when program money is slashed or reduced every year, when people question, sometimes in mean-spirited ways, the need for any program beyond the local. I have felt terrible pain at the loss of resources for mission and how that has affected the ability of the staff to meet the demands placed on them by those we serve all around the church. In the midst of difficult circumstances, they remained steadfast in their commitment to carry out the program directives they have been given.

I hope this is recognized and the General Convention will not take precipitous action on our national structure without first being informed of what we do at the Episcopal Church Center and in our Washington and Philadelphia, and Oklahoma offices, and elsewhere. You who have served this Council know a good part of the story, but even you, even I, do not know it all. I will say this many times in the next few months, but I say it now that you may hear it. I thank my staff for the fidelity and support given me in the best and worst of times, and even when things were hard between us.

And then there is Patti, my love, my companion of 43 years, and I hope 43 more, who has shared my life with me as I have shared hers. I am so proud of her ministry in her own right. I can tell you this. If people have thought I was something of an "activist," they obviously they haven't met Patti! She has been an example to me of a Christian who lives out her baptismal covenant, whether with her passion for justice in Palestine and Israel or her love for her children and grandchildren. Patti is without guile and has the best common sense, the best sense of humor, and the most wonderful laugh of anyone I've known. But most of all, she has been a loving and faithful partner and I feel so blessed to have her by my side.

Patti and I are elated to have some of the family here today. During these last nearly twelve years our family has grown a bit. We've added some wonderful daughters-in-law and one wonderful son-in-law. Twelve grandchildren have been added to our family in the last 12 years. Welcoming them into the world has been a delightful distraction from the duties of Presiding Bishop. Patti and I are much blessed by the love, closeness, and support of our children, and now their children.

Dear friends, you too mean so much to me. We have had wonderful moments, and some dark days. Sometimes I think these have been the worst three years of my life. Other times, I think they have been the best.

I will never forget any face around this table and your ministry alongside me. I want publicly to acknowledge your remarkable service to your Presiding Bishop, your church, and your Lord.