Message from the Chair-- John E. Hines
Diocesan Press Service. May 16, 1972 [72052]
The Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop
One of the more heartening things that has occurred since we met last as Executive Council has been the careful, candid but generally warm response of most of the diocesan bishops of the Church to the "On to Louisville" format offered for their suggestions both critical and otherwise. Five such group meetings have taken place. And the sixth, and final one, is almost on us. The Council will hear more about this -- since we are scheduled to role-play a day with the "Diocese of Greenwich." The mention of it here is to express my great sense of appreciation to Bishop Blanchard, Oscar Carr -- and to members of the staff, especially Robert Martin, for the skillful and open manner in which the matter got before the bishops. Each meeting had its own particular nuance, and its specific contributions. A clear understanding was sought by most of the bishops as to why Executive Council is projecting the process. And more than one of the groups urged Executive Council to underline the point that this is not a procedure that aims at framing a General Church Program and proper financing purely by consensus. It does invite the whole Church -- as far as possible, through diocesan- controlled procedures -- to join in the process of the making of decisions by articulating the priority areas of mission, both locally and nationally -- as those areas appear demanding to them. The penultimate decisions will be made by Executive Council -- taking into account the reasoned concerns of the whole Church -- with the ultimate decisions being made by General Convention. One of the most fruitful aspects of this process has been the participation of practically all of our overseas bishops, who met for four days here in Seabury House in the interest of "Mission in the Church and the World in 1974-75." Without their contribution all of us would be the poorer.
It is too early to try to determine whether or not the actions of this Council, aided by its Committee on Social Responsibility, will reap a measure of success beyond the proxy resolution actions of 1971. By its own nature, the proxy resolution on "disclosure" is less demanding than the "withdrawal" resolution to General Motors last year. However, one thing does seem to be apparent. More institutional investors are hearing what is being said -- and more may be acting. This Council is not interested in being a part of a "win-lose syndrome." We are concerned that we be able to respond to the requirements of Christian stewardship, as we understand it.
Recently, in the New York Times, financial analyst Marilyn Bender quoted Roger Kennedy, Financial Vice President of the Ford Foundation, (which voted for management in several key contests) as saying, "How we voted is much less important than why we voted, and what we communicated to management. And Alan Pifer, President of the Carnegie Corporation,(which voted all of its proxies for management) writing to the chairmen of Eli Lilly, Merck, Ford, and General Motors, asserted the "substantial importance" of socially responsible behavior for business. Though corporate management has been winning on ballots, Marilyn Bender indicates that most institutional financial officers tend to agree with Roger Kennedy of the Ford Foundation that "there will be increasing professional inquiry from the management of institutions and a movement toward the inclusion of the social and political context in their conventional security analysis."
At this meeting this Council elects, on nomination of the President, members of the Committee on Social Responsibility. I must ask the Council to settle an ambiguity concerning which the committee's charter is not precise. Do you wish the chairman to be a member of this Council, or -- as it has been thus far -- can any committee member be chairman? You decide, or decide that the President of this Council decides. In any event, I could not proceed without expressing to Mr. Robert Potter (and to the committee) the continuing gratitude I feel for the work that the committee has done. Mr. Potter's services as chairman have been exceptional. He has given invaluable time and leadership in this area of Church responsibility. I for one am proud that this Church commands the loyalty and persistent witness of such a highly talented layman.
You may recall reading that the Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Dean ffrench-Beytagh, the courageous Cathedral Dean in Praetoria, South Africa. The action of the Court of Appeals is a piercing light in the darkness spread by the trial court and its scandalous verdict. The Dean, now in poor health, but in good spirits, has returned to England, where he deserves deliverance from the harassment of a despotic South African government. I hope you will feel, as a Council, that we can greet him in his vindication, with deep joy and gratitude.
Some of you have inquired about the Episcopal Church's response to "Key 73" -- an ecumenical undertaking in mass evangelism in which more than a hundred church groups, denominations and otherwise, will join next year. I referred the matter to the National Advisory Committee on Evangelism, headed by the Bishop of Bethlehem, Lloyd Gressle. Their counsel to the Presiding Bishop appears in your portfolio. I concur in their recommendation, and request this Council to consider -- and if it sees fit -- adopt it for recommendation to this Church. In substance the recommendation is that this Church not participate nationally (and for ample reasons) but that where feasible, locally, dioceses and parishes adopt their own stance.
Total receipts from the offering on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society amounted as of April 30th to $217,980.26. Of that sum, $19,247.31 had to be deducted from the undesignated amount to cover expenses involved in promoting the offering. $15,456.62 was designated by the donors. Hence there was a total to be designated of $183,276.33.
You will recall that the goal of the offering was to assist dioceses in reaching financial independence. The amount available would accomplish that purpose in only one of the six dioceses proposed as potential recipients of the offering. Therefore, the Allocations Committee unanimously agreed to grant the $183,276.33 plus any additional undesignated funds of the anniversary offering to the Church in Costa Rica, which has assured the Deputy for Jurisdictions that, with this grant, after 1973 no basic budget support will be required from the Church in the U.S.A.
On April 26th, after several attempts to see the President of the United States for a face-to-face explanation of the way we felt about the war in Southeast Asia, the executive heads of three denominations, plus the Methodist Bishop of the Dakotas, plus Mrs. Claire Harvey, President of Church Women United, plus Dr. Cynthia Wedel, President of the National Council of Churches, and Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, made one more request for a meeting with President Nixon. On May 8th, through a staff representative at the White House, the request was denied by the President. These persons gathered in Washington on May 11th and issued a statement concerning the war, prompted by the President's refusal to see us, and his new military moves underscored by the mining of the harbor of Haiphong, and several others. That statement is in your portfolio.
For Dr. Paul Tate this will be the final Executive Council meeting before he steps down in retirement as Deputy for Jurisdictions. Few people have served the cause of Christ as it is reflected in the missionary and educational programs of this Church as effectively and as persistently as has Paul Tate. He was a brilliant student at the University of the South in his undergraduate days. He went to Cuba as an appointee of this Church, where he served in the educational field for thirty-two years. I suspect he would still be there had not Mr. Castro and his revolution decreed otherwise. Bishop Bentley, Presiding Bishop Sherrill's man for overseas, called Paul Tate to help at "281." And, since that time, he has served as Bishop Bayne's Administrative Assistant, and lately as Deputy for Jurisdictions. He has always been a person of strong convictions, arrived at through years of experience. He has never been in anybody's pocket, has never been a "yes-man" unless "yes" was his considered judgment. For Paul Tate, John Hines, even as Presiding Bishop, could still be a "green freshman" waiting for years of maturity. But this is not Paul's way. He has been an "establishment man" in the best sense of that label -- selflessly concerned for the whole Church, precise in the discharge of his responsibilities, and intensely loyal to the ultimate decisions made by those whose duty it is to make them. His keen pastoral sense won him the affection and admiration students reserve for a durable and wise teacher. When I requested that he serve a year beyond the normal retirement period, despite not being in perfect health, he hesitated not one moment. If the Church wanted his services, who was he to withhold them!
There are several weeks in which to tell Dr. Tate "farewell" -- but only this one in which to say, "Thank you!"