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Bishop's
Notebook
19 January
This
"Declaration of Intention" was produced after three intense days
of comraderie and planning and I present it to you. I believe that
there are still some refinements to be added, e.g., we may broaden
the reference to the "Church of England." Nevertheless, I hope you
can appreciate the thought and prayer of our senior leaders as they
composed a statement with me which can be used in communicating
to the command structure as well as ourselves. I write this introduction
from the field where I am delighted to report of hearty times with
Active/Reserves/Guard colleagues and Nell and Bishop Hobgood. More
later. Blessings to you all. +gep
DECLARATION
OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH'S UNDERSTANDING
OF MINISTRY TO THE ARMED SERVICES
Clergy of the Episcopal Church are ordained to fill the roles of
pastor, teacher and priest. The Episcopal Church expects its chaplains
to fulfill those roles in as broad and inclusive a manner as possible
while remaining faithful to the Church's historical, theological
and liturgical roots in both Roman Catholicism and the English Reformation.
As pastors, Episcopal military chaplains love and serve all of the
people among whom we work. We preach and teach the faith of the
Church in Protestant and other services as opportunity permits,
remaining flexible in form yet consistent in upholding the traditions
of the Episcopal Church. Caring for all and committed to the free
exercise of religion by all we cooperate with chaplains of all faith
groups to ensure access for the free exercise of religion and religious
accommodation within the constraints of military service. In this
way, we try to feed those of God's people whose spirituality, theology
or liturgical practice diverges from ours.
For
Episcopalians, the Eucharist is the central act of worship. All
baptized persons are welcome to join us in this sacred mystery.We
gather in community to be nourished in Word and Sacrament. The Bible,
reason and tradition inform and shape the Eucharist through which
we have communion with our Lord and by which we are invigorated
for mission.
Present
divisions in the body of Christ cause us much pain. We look for
the day when all are one in Christ. Until then, we live with those
divisions and the unavoidable, resulting constraints. Sacramentally,
Episcopal chaplains can only function in accordance with the Book
of Common Prayer, the Canons of the Episcopal Church and the guidance
of the Episcopal Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Services. Only clergy
from Churches in communion with the Church of England can conduct
Episcopal services.
We, the
undersigned Priests and Bishop of the Episcopal Church who minister
to the Armed Services, are thankful for the ministry entrusted to
us and ever mindful of our need for God's grace and mercy for ourselves
and those to whom we minister in this challenging, pluralistic environment.
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Washington
National Cathedral
Feast of the Confession of St. Peter the Apostle
In the Year of our Lord, 2001
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Bishop's
Notebook
12 January, Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx
The
following article is a reflection by The Rev. Dr. David Henritzy,
Director of Healthcare Ministries of our Office. Recently David
was elected to the Board of The COMISS Network (Congress on Ministry
in Specialized Settings). Courtesy of a resolution of General Convention,
the outreach of Healthcare will receive a boost with a larger defined
area. The intention after that will be to integrate all parts to
be of service to the patient. +gep
We
are just back from a trip to the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint
Paul, otherwise known as the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.
The occasion was the ceremonial observance of the beginning of our
recognition of full Communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America and the Episcopal Church. And what a celebration it was!
The music was glorious: The Choir of St. Olaf College sang like
angels at the beginning. An original piece 'My Soul Is Athirst for
God" by Dr. C. Douglas Major, the Cathedral's organist, gave an
almost mystical quality to our reaffirmation of Baptismal vows,
during which every person in that great cathedral was ritually sprinkled
with holy water to remind us of our common heritage.
The
Eucharistic liturgy maintained the elevated standard of the music.
In roles that might surprise you a bit, our own Presiding Bishop,
Frank T. Griswold III, offered the sermon and the ELCA Presiding
Bishop, H. George Anderson was the celebrant. The day of course
was Epiphany. Bishop Griswold spoke about how the coming of the
Magi remind us of the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles, which
reminds us of our common mission.
The
themes of our commonality as Christians from diverse backgrounds
were constantly interwoven throughout the Service. Why do I mention
this to you? Because it has consistently struck me since beginning
work in this Office, that this awareness of the ecumenical expression
of our faith is one of our uniquenesses as chaplains in specialized
ministry.
Our
military chaplains, our healthcare chaplains, our prison chaplains,
all minister in an environment where ecumenism is a fact of daily
life. It might even be called a standard. You already work collaboratively
with Lutherans in your hospitals; and Methodists, and Baptists,
and Jews and Buddhists. In that sense, you and I, we, are well ahead
of the rest of the Church. I rejoice and celebrate that with you
and give thanks that I am privileged to be part of this portion
of Christ's flock.
Bishop's
Notebook
5 January, Eve of the Epiphany
I'm
writing this while on the delayed Metroliner to Washington, DC.
(A minor thing, they only changed the engine!) This trip includes
a visit to Quantico Marine Base and with CH Gary Parker and then
the next day attending the service at the National Cathedral called,
"Celebration of Full Communion." This will be a joint liturgy with
members of the Lutheran Church in America. In a turnabout, the Episcopalian,
Presiding Bishop Griswold, will preach and the Lutheran, Convening
Bishop Anderson, will do the liturgy.
As
you have read many times in this column, The Concordat, "Called
to Common Mission", which officially took effect on 1 January 2001,
is having uneven applicability in the military. This is because
of the understanding the ELCA has with the Missouri Synod Lutheran
Church. This is not a fractious or tense situation at the denominational
level. My colleague, Rodger Venzke, the endorser for the Missouri
Synod Lutherans, has a warm relationship with Lloyd Lingdal of the
ELCA and me as we serve together on the Steering Committee of the
National Advisory Conference for the Armed Forces. We have assured
each other of the importance of passing on the same goodwill to
all our contacts in the field.
This
will not always translate into shared altars, but it might produce
the kind of creative outcomes that I heard of at Fort Drum. There,
CH Dave Scheider and CH Sean Wead led a well-attended series of
Advent services for Episcopalians and all Lutherans.
The
big push this week has been to develop a narrative, program budget.
We will publish it on this website. Before your eyes glaze over
with that news, think of how measurable objectives, tied to a fiscal
amount, will keep us on a clear path of stewardship. Admittedly
some of what do cannot be quantified; ask any VA chaplain about
how hard it is to make such a translation. But that doesn't mean
we can't try and benefit from acts planned, done, and then evaluated.
For example, we often talk about the recruitment of young priests
into the chaplaincy, but unless we set a number as a goal and a
timeframe in which to engage the work, we are not being honest about
the challenge before us.
Most
of what will be written will be tentative since each of the planning
groups for the three constituencies meet within the next two months:
the Active Military* on 17-19 January, Healthcare at the AEHC meeting
on 26-27 January, and the Prison Advisory Council on 23-24 February.
I fully expect these groups will eventually critique the designation
of funds that we as the staff are writing now. I will bet that before
that there will be no small surprise that there is an invitation
into the budget process, and, a period of uncertainty as to how
to proceed. As Bishop I am not relinquishing my directive role,
but my background as the budget chair of large diocese, taught me
the value of inclusion. When people are included in monetary decisions,
they get motivated.
And
all this talk is on the forward edge of Epiphany, the mission season.
May these planning days give substance to our proclamation that
the Word has been made flesh. +gep
*A
Guard/Reserves group will be forming soon.
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