Diocesan staff work is fun and challenging. You get a front row seat to the action, a macro view of the church, a chance to make a difference in the life of the church, and time to reflect. Reflection for me comes during long drives between meetings. In 26 months, I have put 71,000 miles on my car. To reflect on a vision of the diocese, I turn off the Garrison Keillor tape, put the car on cruise control, and let the right and left brains go to work.

We are in the midst of a shift in the historic balance of the question, What is a diocese to be and to do? One way of understanding the diocese is to say it exists to do that which no one congregation can or will do by itself. Examples of this are college chaplaincies, camp and conference centers, and youth programs.

The second view is that the diocese exists to provide services which support the local congregation. For example, we offer training programs for vestry members, stewardship, Christian education, and sexual boundaries issues. A significant amount of my time as a diocesan staff member is spent working directly with local congregations seeking new clergy.

For years, these two approaches were kept in balance. Bishops oversaw the staff and the programs. The situation was either harmonious or static or stagnant. The pressure now is to shift significantly to the second view. Those congregations asking for assistance to strengthen local ministry are asking for more from the diocese for such ministries as Christian education, evangelism, liturgy, and conflict management. An overemphasis on the diocese as provider of support to local ministry leads some to say, "So, why bother to send money to the diocese at all? We can do it better on our own."

Part of this is the spirit of the age. There is a distrust of larger institutions. Nations are becoming smaller, not larger. State governments are looking for ways to grow smaller. Not surprisingly, this spirit of fractionalizing is about in the church, enhanced by the American protestant belief that "The Church" means the local church.

Let us recall these two givens for Episcopalians: We have dioceses and we have bishops. And through the diocese we are connected to a national and world-wide church. We can adjust the roles of diocese and bishop, but bishops are essential to who we are as Christians, Anglicans and Episcopalians.

We had a spirited debate last year in the Diocese of Oregon over the funding of the diocese. Should the congregations send significantly fewer dollars to the diocese? The underlying issue was a philosophical one as we debated the role and focus of the diocese. If the primary role of the diocese is to support local ministry, the best way to do that may be to give less money to the common pool. In the end, we compromised, shifting toward the local congregations and maintaining a strong diocese with strong congregations.

My vision of a diocese has five parts. You can tick them off on the fingers of one hand as you navigate down the interstate.

1. Prayer and celebration. This begins simply with diocesan prayer cycles used Sunday by Sunday or daily in the congregations and in the bishop's chapel. We celebrate the major events of the life of the diocese. Diocesan convention becomes both a time to do business and a time to celebrate and pray. There must be a sense in the diocese that we are all in this boat together.

2. The story. The diocese is in touch with its heritage - its story. This begins with the heritage of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. In particular, each diocese must be in touch with its own story. In the Diocese of Oregon, as we wrestled with our diocesan vision statement during the past year, we identified three themes woven through the hundred plus years of diocesan history: founding and supporting new congregations, Christian education, and being mindful of the gospel imperative to minister to those in need. Change comes much more smoothly if diocesan leadership is mindful of the natural winds and currents of the diocese's story.

3. Balance. The diocese has a sense of balance: balancing large and small churches, urban, suburban and town churches; and balancing the needs of the whole - the diocese, the national church and the international church - with that of the local congregation.

4. Leadership formation. The diocese is mindful of the need to form leaders through youth and adult programs. For the youth, this is done with diocesan conferences and camps to equip them for adulthood as Christians. Adult lay leaders are supported and trained for ministry. We offer workshops to support and train vestry members. This includes the basics of how a vestry operates and the role of canons. In addition, we have programs for Christian educators, treasurers, and leaders in stewardship and social concerns.

The diocese has a key role in the recruiting, selection and formation of priests and deacons. The diocese focuses careful attention at the beginning of the process. The work after acceptance to postulancy is formation, not normally a time for further screening. This requires a clearly thought-out path toward formation, using the canons and resources of the church creatively and positively.

5. The Bishop. The bishop is essential to the vision. The bishop carries out the charge of the Book of Common Prayer to lead, supervise and unite the diocese. The bishop casts the vision for the diocese and tells the story of the diocese. During a visitation to a congregation, the bishop carries the story and the vision of the diocese and the life of the wider church to that place.

In a real sense, the unity of the diocese is summed up in the person of the bishop. The bishop will know the difference between authority and leadership. Authority is the power conferred on the office of bishop. Leadership is the ability to work with people to accomplish adaptive work, for sometimes no one will know exactly where the boat called diocese is headed. To do this, the bishop needs to be centered in personal and corporate prayers with a sense of balance, vision and wisdom.

Five parts to the vision of a diocese. Now, it is time to turn the Garrison Keillor tape back on and get to the next meeting. I'll put another 75 miles on before this day is done. o