Three-day Forum Held on Congregational Development
Episcopal News Service. July 11, 1985 [85151]
Ven. Erwin Soukup, Editor of the Advance, the Diocese of Chicago
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (DPS, July 11) -- With a generous mix of addresses, workshops and worship, the National Forum on Diocesan Training Programs for Ministry and Congregational Development met here June 26-28. The formidable title hid, to a great degree, the well-focussed, informative and sometimes lively character of the meeting.
Sponsored by a committee from the Episcopal Church Center, and convened by the Rev. Arlin J. Rothauge of the Office of Congregational Development, the National Forum was designed for key leaders, lay and clerical, who offer consultation and services for congregational development training at the diocesan level. Following an overview of the program by Rothauge, small workshops raised key issues with respect to design resources, curricula and procedures for establishing parish development training; the ministry of the laity; ministry in small or isolated areas; the vocational diaconate and clergy formation, both pre- and post ordination.
This year's Forum was an outgrowth and continuation of the National Forum for Diocesan Strategy on Redevelopment and New Congregations which was held at this time last year.
Three plenary sessions were devoted to speakers who addressed themselves to major concerns of diocesan developmental training programs. Keynoter was the Very Rev. James C. Fenhagen, dean of The General Theological Seminary, who set the tone of the meeting. "Power is the energy of love," he said. "The way it is understood and used lies at the heart of the Christian witness."
Noting that Jesus' great commandment was to love one another, Fenhagen said, "... Jesus makes it clear that love is more than sentiment. It involves relinquishing power on behalf of others... The power of God put to its right use always involves empowering others to love. It is out of this empowerment of one another in the Spirit that Christian community is born."
"The use of power," concluded Fenhagen, "is a theological concern which underlies every transaction in which we are engaged."
Picking up on the theme, the Rev. Jose Carlo, Hispanic missioner in the Diocese of Los Angeles and rector of St. Simon's Church, San Fernando, Calif., told the next plenary session, in a witty presentation, that congregational development for ethnic groups was a matter of "getting into another's shoes."
Recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate what is needed today, he asked, "What is the very first thing the Samaritan did on coming upon the beaten and robbed wayfarer?" Answering his own question, Carlo responded, "That's right, he got off his...donkey!" We are all riding our own donkeys -- self-concern, selfcentered life-styles, daily busy-ness. We must get off our donkeys and involve ourselves with one another -- "un abrazo" (a hug) as he put it.
In the final plenary address, the Rev. Loren Mead, executive director of the Alban Institute, continued the flow of Fenhagen's theme in three speeches: one which he wrote and distributed and two which he gave on the final day. In the first, he reflected upon the role of the minister and the confusion which surrounds the difference and similarity between ordained and lay ministries. He concluded: "I do not understand ministry. It remains a mystery of grace for me. (But) It is not a choice for you and me -- it is common ground for us..."
During his second and third dissertations, he further expounded on the Fenhagen theme. "Power is tied to how we symbolize the sacred," he said. His difficulty, he explained, was why the symbol of the clerical collar was observed as a greater sign of power than was the cross which had been drawn upon the foreheads of all baptized people. We must change our notions, turn our heads around, and realize there are not merely 11 seminaries and 14,000 ministers in the Church; there are 7,000 seminaries (number of parishes in the Church) and nearly 3 million ministers (number of church members) who should be engaged in ministry for our Lord Jesus Christ. His final presentation was a semihumorous, yet telling, list of cautions about ministry which began with "Nothing works!" ran through "There may not be an answer (for problems)" and concluded "Ministry is the journey and not the end."
The five small workshops were held in two cycles of two- and one-hour duration. They covered topics of clergy formation, led by the Rev. Roy Oswald, director of Training and Field Studies of the Alban Institute; congregational development, led by the Rev. Robert A. Gallgher, director of congregational development of the Diocese of Connecticut; the permanent diaconate, led by the Rev. Dorothy Nakasuji, director of the diaconate training program in the Diocese of Hawaii; ministry in isolated/small communities, led by the Rev. Alice Mann, vicar of St. John the Evangelist Church in Yalesville, Conn., and consultant to the General Convention's Standing Committee on the Church in Small Communities; and the ministry of the laity, led by Jean Haldane, founder of the Lay Academy of the Diocese of California and National chairwoman of the Total Ministry Task Force.
The Forum was attended by more than 140 persons representing over 60 dioceses of the Church. All were present at the invitation of the sponsoring committee which consisted of Rothauge; Gallagher; the Rev. Herbert Arrunategui, Hispanic Ministries staff officer at the Episcopal Church Center; the Rev. John T. Docker from the Office of Ministry Development; the Rev. Preston Kelsey, II, of the Board for Theological Education; and Dr. John Vogelsang; national field officer for education and training.
The Eucharist, Morning Prayer and Compline were said, with the Rt. Rev. James W. Montgomery, bishop of Chicago, as celebrant of the evening Mass. Logistical and liturgical support were provided by the Church of the Incarnation, Bloomingdale, Ill., (itself a developing congregation without a church building as yet), and its vicar, the Rev. Alvin C. Johnson, Jr.