Members of the national Executive Council and staff members at the Episcopal Church Center recently completed a second round of visits to dioceses. After visiting all but one of the church's 115 dioceses in 1993, teams of two persons have spent considerable time this year going back to listen in 94 dioceses. The results were revealed at the joint meeting of the council and its Canadian counterpart Nov. 9 in Toronto.

"This triennium has been rocked by scandal after scandal," noted Bishop C. Christopher Epting of Iowa. "Our people are embarrassed by these things and they are calling on us to renew the public face of the church."

With that in mind, the visitors went to the 94 dioceses, observing ministries in each place and participating in roundtable discussions with leaders of the diocese.

Bishop Epting spoke positively about what the visitors heard.

"There are exciting things going on out there," he said. "We heard about hundreds, even thousands, of them. People want to know where there are good things happening and how to be in touch with them."

And what were the findings of the consultations? Here are a few:s

’Ä¢ Stewardship should be a priority of the national church.

’Ä¢ The national church is of little help to the dioceses with evangelism ministry.

’Ä¢ Youth ministry is a top priority in most dioceses.

’Ä¢ Small churches often feel not fully understood or appreciated.

’Ä¢ The concept of Anglican Communion is not well understood in many dioceses.

’Ä¢ In some dioceses, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and the United Thank Offering are the only contact with the national church.

’Ä¢ General Convention is too large, too frequent, too long and too expensive.

The report of the visits, issued by the Standing Committee on Planning and Evaluation, also includes 12 recommendations to the Executive Council. While many of the recommendations were fairly predictable, there were some surprises. For instance, "Request that the presidents of the two houses, for the 1997 General Convention, implement steps to review and evaluate the entire experience of the 1997 General Convention and make recommendations for its improvement at the General Convention in 2000." And how about this one?: "Request that the Communications Office develop the means to enhance the public image of the church and to address deep concerns about the issues confronting the church."

The visits to the dioceses emphasized that ministry is carried on at the local level and that the national church should provide support for that ministry. It seems to me that's been said on these pages many times in recent years. It's gratifying to see persons with "official" status sharing that view.

David Kalvelage, editor