Bishops Describe Breakthrough at Their Retreat in North Carolina
Episcopal News Service. January 15, 1998 [98-2113]
(ENS) The bishops of the Episcopal Church emerged from a closed retreat in the mountains of North Carolina brimming with optimism that they had experienced a "breakthrough" in their pursuit of collegiality.
The March 5-10 meeting at the Kanuga Conference Center is the seventh meeting since a rancorous House of Bishops meeting at the 1991 General Convention led former Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning to move the bishops into an unprecedented series of executive sessions and later propose the Kanuga retreats.
Last year's session was marked by some anxiety as the bishops faced a General Convention in Philadelphia and a host of potentially divisive issues -- and the election of a new presiding bishop.
As he waited for his van to the airport, Bishop Ted Gullick of Kentucky seemed to express the feelings of many of his colleagues. "We just experienced five days of transformation," he said, "where we climbed out of our liberal vs. conservative trenches and met each other in a deeper spiritual place, a place of gifted honesty."
Introducing a group of about 20 bishops who had agreed to meet with the press at the end of the meeting, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said that the meeting had been marked by "a deeper level of community" where participants spent more time discussing "blessings than impediments." He pointed out that 155 bishops attended, "the largest number ever."
As the microphone moved around the circle, the bishops recited a litany of hope for the future. Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island said that the meeting proved to her that "collegiality is possible, community is possible, hope is here." Catherine Roskam of New York attributed the "fulfilling time together" to a difference in tone and pace, making possible conversations in "some surprising configurations."
Frank Gray of Northern Indiana said that it was the "best time I've had in a House of Bishops meeting in 12 years." He said that it was "a time of unity when our spiritual roots were plumbed."
Gray and others gave most of the credit to a series of presentations by Griswold. Charles Bennison of Pennsylvania said that he was "overwhelmed" by the presiding bishop's "gifts of intellect and his ability to teach." And he strongly endorsed Griswold's observation that "our ability to live with the tension of ambiguity is our gift to American society."
Mary Adelia McLeod of Vermont said that she had been "nurtured by this meeting in a way I have not felt before." As a result, she expressed a "tremendous hope for our life together." Charles Keyser, bishop for the Armed Forces, said that he was convinced that regular worship, three times a day, "undergirded everything we did" and helped create a positive climate for conversation.
William Smalley of Kansas said that the "present moment in history" was made possible by a seven-year process that brought the bishops to a point where they were ready for a breakthrough. Previous meetings "paved the way," added David Bowman of Western New York in a quick airport interview. "It finally all came together." It helped, he said, not to be "inundated with an outside agenda so we could focus on Griswold's vision."
The optimism was tempered with realism. Bowman and others warned that "the road won't be all smooth, we will face challenges in the future." The bishops committed themselves, for example, to continue their struggle the sin of against racism in what Chester Talton of Los Angeles called "a more sensitive theological and spiritual way."
Wallace Ohl, the new bishop for Northwest Texas, said that he had heard the "horror stories" about previous meetings but expressed his gratitude for the "gift of grace" and the opportunity to make friends with colleagues who had a different perspective. Yet he argued that the church "must be willing to face the issues," while trying to avoid being "issue-driven."
Several bishops pointed to what they hoped would be a "ripple effect" throughout the church. Chris Epting of Iowa expressed relief that the bishops had moved from the highly politicized climate at Phoenix to a "replenishing" of their spirituality. And watching Griswold teach from his own spiritual gifts may encourage other bishops to "reclaim that part of their role," he said.
"The church at large should rejoice," said Roskam, "because this meeting will help disperse cynicism" and offer the church evidence that the bishops were determined to "exercise spiritual leadership."
The presence of newly consecrated bishops, most of whom don't even remember the issues at Phoenix, helped change the tone of the conversations, some bishops observed. "We came here with great expectations," said Bishop Robert Ihloff of Maryland. The meeting comes in the "fullness of time," he added, "when most of us are yearning to move on with the church's mission, to move beyond divisive issues."
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