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Executive Council Focuses on Transition and Change During Its Meeting in Hawaii

Episcopal News Service. May 9, 1997 [97-1751]

(ENS) "Aloha" is a versatile word that can be used as both a greeting and a farewell in the Hawaiian language. There were plenty of both as the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met on what one member described as "emotional turf' in Honolulu April 25-29. In its last meeting in the current triennium, council members celebrated the ministry of Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, evaluated their actions and anticipated this summer's General Convention.

The council was given a warm Aloha by the new bishop of Hawaii, the Rt. Rev. Richard Chang, who was executive officer of the diocese when Browning was its bishop. Chang joined Browning's staff in New York when he was elected presiding bishop in 1985. He was consecrated bishop of Hawaii last January. "He has come back to a diocese that knows his gifts and talents," Browning said in his introduction.

In response Chang said that he had expected to be sitting at the staff table as usual. Pointing out that Hawaii is "more than a tourist destination," he noted that the council was the "biggest gathering of church leaders in the islands since the General Convention in 1955." He expressed his hope that council members had already discovered for themselves "the great excitement in this diocese because things are happening here due to the faithfulness of the people." Council members explored ministries on the other islands before the Honolulu meeting.

A bittersweet occasion

"The last council meeting of every triennium is a bittersweet occasion," said Pamela P. Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies in her comments at the opening session. "In the past three years we have spent a lot of time together -- and dealt with a lot of unanticipated crises.... The church has asked a great deal of us as leaders in a turbulent time."

During the last three years the council has dealt with embezzlement by the church's former treasurer, the suicide of a prominent bishop, serious budget shortfalls and an attempt to try a bishop for heresy for ordaining a non-celibate homosexual to the diaconate. "Not often are we privileged to share so closely in the hard decisions, the revelations and insights, the moments of grace as we seek God's will through the thicket of difficult problems and pressures from every side," Chinnis said.

Paying tribute to Browning, Chinnis said that "we have been blessed as a church by his courage and devotion, and by his deep spirituality, we have been blessed as a council by his steadfast attention to things that were not only difficult for the church but personally very painful to him -- and I rejoice that I have been privileged to share in his prophetic leadership."

No Outcasts

After viewing a video, "No Outcasts," summarizing the public justice ministry of Browning over the years, the presiding bishop was reflective and personal in his address from the chair. "As I reflect on what has been, this is also a time to think about what might be, what the future might hold, about transition and change."

Browning pointed out that the General Convention "will mark a transition not just for me but for all of us. Not only will the church have a new presiding bishop, a new council... new budgets and perhaps some revisions in our structure and how we do business," but he asserted that he saw "strong evidence that we are moving toward this transition in healthy ways."

Acknowledging that it has been a difficult triennium, Browning said that he and the council had "worked hard to leave our house in good order and give a faithful accounting of our activities."

Regardless of who is elected as his successor, Browning said that "the challenge of this church will be to continue to honor its diversity, to respect its unity, and to affirm its mission in the world."

The Justice Summit in Cincinnati (see story 97-1710 from the March 7, 1997 issue of ENS) was "a high point of the last triennium," an occasion that "filled me with a hope for the future of this church as nothing else could have."

Personal and corporate transitions

Underscoring the emphasis on transition, Suzanne Lawson of the Anglican Church in Canada who has been an observer at the council hearings for several years led council members in an exercise to evaluate their personal and corporate experience during the last three years. Small groups responded to a set of questions on what the council had accomplished, what worked and what did not work, what issues are unresolved and what advice they would give to the next Executive Council.

As the newsprint was spread across the walls, several themes quickly emerged. Most council members felt that they had dealt responsibly with the budget issues and "survived multiple crises and learned from them." One group said, "We have been able to hold onto the vision of inclusion despite many interruptions." Several groups mentioned that their "sense of community" had been significantly strengthened and that the relationships between the council and the staff had improved.

"There is still a lot of confusion about how the presiding bishop, staff and council are related," said Bishop Sam Hulsey of Northwest Texas. One group pointed to what they perceived as "a lack of real partnership" between staff and council, and another wondered, "Whose staff is it?"

The council endorsed the creation of a transition team to deal with the issues it had identified.

True stewardship

Church treasurer Steve Duggan said that "the books for 1996 are closed and, on a budgetary basis, the deficit was about $150,000. This is a very gratifying outcome, given some of the funding issues arising at the end of the year."

On the other hand, "a significant drop in the diocesan covenants from that which originally had been budgeted" forced a revision of the 1997 budget and new cuts of about $1.5 million. "This will be an extremely tight budget with little or no ability to react to new situations as they arise," Duggan warned.

"I wish people understood that, when they withhold funds, it means we can't do our ministry," said Diana Frade of Honduras. "We have 15 people waiting to be ordained and we must tell them to wait."

While the income from dioceses in 1997 is about $365,000 less than in 1996, Duggan said that the figure "masks the individual results." For example, "at least 62 dioceses are pledging larger amounts" than last year. And three dioceses account for a drop in the current year of "slightly more than $700,000."

The diocesan increases "were sacrificial and need to recognized as such. In like manner, many of those dioceses who are giving at a lower level are struggling with their own constraints and still giving at a level which reflects true stewardship," he said.

The unified budget for the next triennium was set at $116,054,296, "based on a single Asking of each diocese, applied at a flat rate of 20% of income to the diocese, reported in the diocesan financial statements" two years prior.

Benefits for domestic partners

In its closing session, the council voted 19 to 11 to "approve and implement a policy of offering spousal benefits to domestic partners of employees" of the church at the national level. The explanation of the resolution cited the church's "long standing commitment to policies of equality and non-discrimination for all people" and the precedent being set by major American corporations such as the Bank of America, Disney and IBM.

Program chair Judy Conley of Iowa introduced the resolution, contending that "the issue is human rights, not sexuality." But several council members disagreed. Ralph Spence, Jr., of Montana said that the resolution "appears to endorse same-sex unions -- and between partners living together outside of marriage." He reminded council that the 1994 General Convention did not accept a similar resolution.

Tim Wittlinger of Michigan said, however, that the General Convention acted in the conviction that it was not in a position to dictate such a policy to the Church Insurance Company. And he argued that the action could be taken by the council without asking for General Convention approval. Ran Chase of Massachusetts pointed out that several dioceses already have a similar policy in place.

While agreeing that the church should move towards blessing same-sex unions, Bishop Chris Epting of Iowa questioned the timing, urging that "we need to understand the implications of what we do." He couldn't support the resolution until the church had spoken on the matter. The Rev. Reynolds Cheny of Louisiana agreed, pointing out that the resolution "could be perceived as an end run at the end of the triennium."

In his closing remarks, Browning asked council members to "remember the nominees for presiding bishop -- and the General Convention -- in your prayers." As he has moved throughout the church during the triennium, talking about the General Convention, he said that he found "a real eagerness to have a meeting that talks about the mission of the church and the ministry of reconciliation."