Episcopal Press and News

Statement by Presiding Bishop to Executive Council

Diocesan Press Service. December 8, 1970 [91-19]

At the meeting of this Council immediately prior to General Convention -- in the name of the Council -- I said "Goodbye and thank you" to the members who had come to the end of their term, or who for other reasons could not continue with us. Today I say "Welcome" to the new members who take their places by virtue of General Convention action in October. Some things will be new to you; others quite familiar. This Council -- while always fascinating, and frequently unpredictable, is not so complex but that new members can feel "at home" by virtue of other relationships they already hold in the Church.

Occasionally, in the House of Bishops, I take it upon myself to suggest to brand new bishops that the adage "new bishops should be seen but not heard" has been long outdated -- and should be more honored in the breach than in the observance. It is probably gratuitous of me to say it anyway ! But, in fact, newly consecrated bishops can -- and do -- bring to that House a freshness of spirit and a realistic relationship with the proverbial "man in the pew" -- which, too frequently, administration-hardened bishops have lost. And, it is not impossible but that some such characteristics mark a few of us in this Council. You can help us here -- and you can help the Church -- if you permit your particular gifts to be exercised from the outset. Despite some reporting in one or two Church periodicals, the Executive Council does know that it is not God -- and only rarely, if at all, behaves as if it is! I think you who are newly come will find most of us, who already are here, pretty much like the people you know and work with back home -- for weal or woe!

I must make a comment which is purely my own. General Convention saw fit to reduce the number of ex-officio members of the body to the President of the House of Deputies and the Presiding Bishop. I bow to superior wisdom in this matter. But in this capacity we will miss our hard-working and knowledgeable Treasurer, Dr. Franklin, and we will miss Bishop Bayne's successor, Bishop Blanchard. Other General Convention action would likely have altered the status of our diligent Secretary, Canon Guilbert, anyway. And I record this because -- again contrary to some reports -- the P. B. is a sentimentalist -- who -- while deploring sentimentality -- unabashedly hangs on to sentiment. Us ex-officios will be a bit lonely in the new incarnation!

You will have before you a suggested different format for Executive Council meetings though much of it germinated at "815" -- and I don't even say it in subdued voice -- it is not without the counsel of some experience. It rightly observes that how this Council wishes to conduct its business is the Council's business. And there is no move to suggest otherwise. It may offer some practical benefits. It does offer a point of departure for discussion and action by Council.

A crucial General Convention is behind us, and an unpredictable three years are before us. I was heartened by some aspects of General Convention. Unsettled by some others. It was a reasonably open Convention -- in my view -- and this openness reduced to a minimum the possibility of fragmentation, if it slowed efficiency in some areas. It was a General Convention ready to affirm some progress in mission. It was not ready to attempt breakthroughs in still newer, less traditional patterns. There was genuine willingness to try to steer the ship past the Scyllas and Charybdises that might have split her asunder. But the daring to head her into the open sea and less-well-defined ports of call was lacking. In some ways "to have survived" is not to be despised as a reasonable achievement. For the past three years have been both withering and renewing. The next three will likely decide which of the two is in the ascendancy.

General Convention placed many and heavy responsibilities at the door-step of the Executive Council. Others this Council will have to pick up by virtue of default during the final hectic hours of the Convention's laborious legislative process. In order to carry out Convention's mandates, as well as aid in cognate program areas, Executive Council and Executive Council staff must develop more effective ways of working together. With that in mind, the Staff Program Group is suggesting -- for Council's exploration -- a proposed organization of Council committees. This plan builds on past experience and takes note of connectional failure in previous plans. Once again -- the most effective arrangement here may save us time and effort we cannot now estimate.

And the prospects of continuing reduced income for the General Church's Program have caused some serious questions to be raised and reviewed linking purpose, priorities and structures. As your staff we have tried to assess the meaning of the Church's budgetary expectations -- incomplete and unofficial at this point -- in the light of a reading of General Convention actions. And the conclusion, thus far, on the part of the Presiding Bishop and the Staff Program Group is that a further and somewhat drastic revision in structure and stance is indicated. Some of this is not entirely new -- but most of it is painful to contemplate -- as the hard decisions with which this Council must grapple reveal themselves. Even the temporary resolution of problems posed will require our utmost patience and wisdom, always holding before us the human elements to which the Church must direct her primary concern.

You are aware of the magnificent gift of $750,000 to the Church, through this Council, by the Diocese of Rochester -- representing a tithe of a legacy recently received by that diocese. Bishop Spears and a delegation from the Diocese of Rochester will be with us tomorrow to make the presentation. I am sure this Council will want to respond to such graceful stewardship in appropriate fashion. As gorgeous as the total dollar amount in the gift appears to be, the spirit of a diocese which is able to make such a gift is even more impressive. For there is great maturity in the realization that the handling of such a legacy by any diocese or church can wreck as well as re-new a people. And we can be immensely grateful that Bishop Spears and the people of the Diocese of Rochester are not only acting out their commitment to Christian stewardship but that the National Church is included in their act of faithfulness.

And this is a good moment to suggest that -- among other things -- General Convention authorized this Executive Council to provide for a Development Office. Convention did not spell out the requirements of such an office. No doubt this Council can and will do so. It is too strategic an activity to take lightly -- or treat superficially. I quote an observation by one who has some acquaintance with development in the field of higher education:

" First -- the Development Officer must be a corporate resource planner capable of analyzing the long-term needs of the Council. Such an analysis would have to include a thorough study of the financial resources which are possible in the membership of the Episcopal Church. Without this kind of an analysis and planning, the tendency would be to march off in the pursuit of immediate monies raised through a short-range, I would insist on a short-sighted, fund-raising campaign.

"The second task of a development officer would be the organization of a comprehensive development effort. This would include a program for interpretation, for organizational capital fund-raising, and an especially long-range program for endowment funding. The organization of such an effort as this does not require an extensive staff. The important thing is clarity regarding the development task. "

So, this Council has a big task cut out for it both by General Convention -- and by the events of history. Welcome to a journey in faith and works which, by God's grace, can be both enjoyable and rewarding.