Special Meeting of Bishops Expresses Determination to Make Radical Changes
Episcopal News Service. March 20, 1992 [92067]
After three days of intense discussion at a retreat center in the North Carolina mountains, the bishops of the Episcopal Church announced that they are prepared to make some radical changes in the way they relate to each other -- and how they make decisions.
"What has emerged is a commitment to a new community of relationships among the bishops without which it is not possible to make decisions that manifest the Gospel," the bishops said in a statement they are releasing to the church. (See full text in Newsfeatures section.) "We recognized that we must focus upon our communal life as a House of Bishops because it is the source of our identity. We learned that if we cannot be bishops together, we cannot be bishops alone."
"We have been so busy as bishops trying to do legislation that we lost our sense of community," said Bishop John MacNaughton of West Texas during interviews following the meeting.
Bishop Mark Dyer of Bethlehem (PA) that said it was hard to describe the "radical changes we are prepared to make as a House of Bishops so that we can stay together even while disagreeing with each other on some of the issues." In fact, MacNaughton added, the bishops do have a sense of unity about what the issues are -- even though we may disagree."
A sharp exchange between MacNaughton and Bishop John Spong of Newark at last summer's General Convention led to an unprecedented series of closed sessions of the House of Bishops in an attempt to repair the collegiality
In an effort to rebuild trust and find a less confrontative way for the bishops to provide leadership for the church, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning called the special gathering in North Carolina for March 9-13. From interviews following the meeting, it is clear that the 165 bishops who gathered at the Kanuga Conference Center were determined to adopt a whole new style of leadership built on community and consensus.
Bishop Robert Johnson of Western North Carolina, host of the meeting, said that Kanuga is a Cherokee word meaning "gathering together sticks of wood," and an apt description of the small groups of bishops that "helped us reclaim our community with each other." Johnson said that the small groups, bolstered by daily worship and Bible study, were crucial in creating a whole new spirit for members of the house. "We are beginning to trust," he said.
The presiding bishop also noted that the small groups contributed an "immense power in building trust and relationship." Although major differences remain, "We made quantum leaps in terms of relationships," MacNaughton added.
The new spirit fostered at Kanuga also has some direct practical implications. In their statement the bishops expressed a determination to "build a new way of meeting as a House of Bishops. Whatever the immediate agenda that brings us together, we resolve to define ourselves primarily as a community of prayer, worship, and biblical and theological reflection in which to give and receive one another's gifts, and to seek God's will for our lives and our work as the servants of the church."
That will mean moving away from a legislative model of meetings, often marked by debate and divisiveness, to one that seeks consensus. It may also mean another yearly meeting to build on this new sense of community through common study and worship. "That was one of the clear priorities emerging from Kanuga," observed Bishop Heath Light of Southwestern Virginia.
The bishops also agreed that their agenda must be simplified, that it would be better to deal thoroughly with a few issues than tackle a whole laundry list. "This is our gift to the church -- given with the hope that it may lead to a more constructive way of making decisions at the General Convention," said Bishop Allen Bartlett, Jr., of Pennsylvania.
Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin, one of the bishops associated with the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA), an organization of traditionalists who oppose what they perceive as liberal trends in the Episcopal Church, pointed to a "sense of tremendous good will" at the Kanuga meeting and a willingness among the participants to submit themselves to "a higher calling."
"Please trust that God is doing a new thing with us," added Bishop Alden Hathaway of Pittsburgh during the interviews. "We were bonded by a common spirit in a deeper way than any of us expected."
That bond may be tested in the coming months, even before the regular meeting of the bishops in September in Baltimore. "If we are going to take this new sense of community seriously, it implies that anyone contemplating a prophetic act should feel bound to check in with others in that community," said Dyer. While that may conflict with the prophetic style of some bishops, Dyer argued that mutual consultation in community "could actually enhance prophetic activity." He said that as the bishops begin to understand each other better they will also understand why some bishops feel constrained to act the way they do. That understanding does not imply agreement, of course, but it could avoid some of the unnecessary conflict, Dyer said.
Bishop Frank Vest, Jr., of Southern Virginia said that the bishops "covenanted to be in community in a way they were not before." He added that he did not think that the conscience of individual bishops would be stifled as the House of Bishops sought a better way to express its consensus.
Hathaway said that the four hypotheses based on a survey and interviews with the bishops by the Center for Parish Development in Chicago laid some crucial groundwork for the meeting. He said that they were not only "very accurate, [but that] they also surfaced our problems in a devastating way." Light added that they were "absolutely on target. There we were, warts and all."
The hypotheses concluded that
- The bishops have no clearly stated or agreed-on understanding of the episcopacy, and that leads to "individual interpretations, different expectations, idiosyncratic behavior, a loss of unity, and lack of discipline."
- The House of Bishops has "no clear consensus or stated understanding regarding its strategy and therefore is unclear about the direction it should be going, how it should be leading the church, how it should function in its common life and shared ministry."
- The House of Bishops "operates predominantly within a competitive climate" that leads to a win/lose atmosphere that "promotes distrust and isolation" and a polarization that produces "competing coalitions."
- The House of Bishops is not structured in a way that encourages "identification, analysis, and productive discussion of fundamental theological, ethical, and organizational issues facing the church." This situation "leads to the neglect of the continual and essential interpretation and appropriation of the core of the Christian faith in relation to contemporary issues."
Hathaway said that his small group took a close look at the history and organization of the General Convention and concluded that times have changed and that the Episcopal Church is "in a different climate and that we need different ways of being a House of Bishops -- maybe even different ways of being the church." He expressed a hope that the move toward a different style by the bishops "will be an encouragement to the whole church."
There was a powerful air of optimism following the meeting, as bishop after bishop said that the meeting would have a profound effect on the way they would work together in the future. "We are approaching the issues from a totally different perspective," MacNaughton said. "We are willing to give up our private agendas, our constituencies, in an effort to serve the future of the church."
A few bishops expressed fears that the euphoria of Kanuga would dissipate somewhat in the harsh realities of diocesan duties. "This is a good first step," said Bishop Christopher Epting of Iowa. "But it took a long time to get into this mess -- and it will also take some time to get out of it."
Other bishops expressed an eagerness to heal some of the dysfunctions of the house so that the bishops could provide some theological leadership for the church as it faces immense issues. "The healing process has begun," added Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts. "Now we can get down to the real work."