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29 September, Ramstein, AFB, Germany
This
will have to be brief since this visit is full of wonderful activities
and the official day is about to begin.
Originally
this trip was to be a "one location" event at which all our chaplains
in Europe would convene here in Germany for a spiritual respite,
and perhaps, a planning session for the Spring Family Conference.
Logistically that couldn't occur this year so instead I have put
together this shuttle tour of Germany-Italy. At least I'll visit
with all seven chaplains by the end of this junket.
I'm
writing to you mid-way in this scenario and enjoying being on the
ground with our larger family of Faith. I carry your prayers to
the continuing Episcopal presence here at Ramstein in St. Alban's
Congregation. Currently they are without a priest, but they are
not without heart in the Lord. Bill Humphreys, the senior lay leader
here, has put together an impressive Rota and is determined to see
it through to the Spring when a reassignment should assist things.
My visit with the USAFE Chaplain, John Blair, confirmed the reliability
of that hope. This may be news to our own Air Force chaplains, but
we'll see.
The
real message here is not the placement of an Episcopal priest, vital
as that is, but rather the indomitable spirit that is of our people.
I can think of a number of locations throughout the globe where
this is so. We can count ourselves in a long line of survivorship,
Anglican outposts which have remained faithful.
Tomorrow
it's on to Naples with a Confirmation the next day. I ask for your
prayers on this journey, always know that you have mine.
+gep
Diary
22 September
A
quick trip to Washington, DC, yielded a rich harvest of experience.
This was the occasion for the Annual Convocation of first line supervisors
in Veteran's Administration Hospitals. This year 140 persons attended
the four-day conference at an "inside the beltway" hotel. Episcopalians
distinguished themselves with two recognitions. First, CH Babs Meirs,
in absentia, for her innovative spinal chord injury program and
particularly CH Bill Mahedy and his career-long advocacy for creative
responses to "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Bill, as many of
you know is the author of the acclaimed, "Out of the Night, The
Spiritual Journey of Vietnam Veterans." It was an honor to be in
attendance with CH Mike Carr and CH Tom Rardin as Bill received
the applause of his peers.
Later
that evening I had dinner with a candidate for the Executive for
the Military job. You have all been very patient as I sift through
the credentials of all these worthy applicants. I say "patient"
because, despite the summer, I believe we have slowed our response
time to some military correspondence-save for "A-1 priority"-as
we fill the vacancy created by Bill Noble's leaving for his new
program job here at 815. We will have a replacement by the end of
the month. Not only is this person important to me but he/she must
be well regarded by those of you in the field. Besides the senior
chaplains of all Branches, I have sought the counsel of Bob DuBrul,
our team consultant and Dr. Ken Ruge, already known to many of you
for his psychological insight and good sense of who we are.
The
next day, still in Washington, I spent the morning with The Rev.
Lloyd W. Lyngdal, my Lutheran counterpart in the ELCA. Besides clarifying
what our next, practical steps might be as we live into the "Called
to Common Mission" agreement, we set out on a course of regular
exchanges between our offices intending to learn more from each
other. Just as I inferred in last week's "Notebook" article, the
actual exchanges between our two churches will develop in gradual,
but assured, incremental steps. We Episcopalians must be aware of
the ever sensitive relationship ELCA Chaplains might be experiencing
with their Missouri Synod counterparts. That being the case, I believe
any cooperation between our two Communions will be coming from the
Episcopal Chaplain as an invitation to our services. I'll need to
know how that proceeds, so let me know.
Finally,
I caught the Shuttle back to New York and though I was tired upon
arriving home, Clara convinced me "to play soccer for a little while."
The object lesson here of course is that no matter how prominent
the day, we all have to go home and do the important things.
+gep
Diary
15 September
Despite
all the rousing news over the summer about relations with the Lutheran
Church I’m receiving news from the field about hesitancy and confusion
on how to proceed. This stems in part from guidance to the Chiefs
of Chaplains that as far as they are concerned "swapping" an Episcopal
chaplain for a Lutheran and vice versa is not advisable.
To
their credit the Chiefs are advised well that this historic document
of Inter-Church Communion is not comparable to a machine shop of
interchangeable parts. Yet, I’m not worried about at this stage
and you shouldn’t be either. First of all the "Called to Common
Mission" agreement doesn’t go into effect until 1 January 2001,
and second, I am already hearing of some field situations where
bringing Lutherans together in a practical way is solving knotty
logistical problems. The bottom line here is that we have time to
work things out, and, in some instances already have.
We
look forward to rejoicing in the bonds of love we share in the same
Lord.
I
wish I had the same optimism with the Roman Catholic Church. At
an audience on 9 June 2000 with His Holiness Pope John Paul II,
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as a formulary for
doctrine and policy statements for the Vatican, received approval
of the "Note on the Expression "Sister Churches.’" The 29 page document
is not light reading but in effect it seeks to refine the Vatican
II declaration that, "outside the structure (of the Church), many
elements can found of sanctification and truth." There is no retraction
of that stance except that the Note goes on to say that "efficacy
(comes) from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the
Catholic Church."
The
puzzling part of this piece comes with this phrase on the 15th page,
"…ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate
and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery,
are not Churches in the proper sense." That is a distressing thing
to read, not that we have ever expected Rome to validate our Orders,
but neither do we expect such abruptness in an atmosphere of warmth
and ecclesial conversation. With this information you may be better
informed than many Roman Catholic chaplains, which says a lot about
the way things are.
Yesterday
was Holy Cross Day, or, as it used to be called, "The Exaltation
of the Holy Cross." It’s not that we "exalt" the means Our Lord’s
death, but we marvel that even a cross was converted to the means
of salvation and freedom. God’s very nature is this abiding goodness
intending to redeem that which appears resistant. Doesn’t it follow
that the prayerful relationship of two chaplains (whatever denominational
obstacles they face) based on pastoral need, determines the sensitive
and faithful sacramental course of action to
any challenge? I sure hope so. +gep
Bishop's
Diary, 7 September
Persons over the centuries have returned from Russia with a sense
of wonder and puzzlement.
Certainly that was true for me, and, there are a variety of other
adjectives to describe my recent trip with CH Roger Kappel. From
the start a Visa predicament made me worry if enough staff support
was available. (You may know we are simultaneously interviewing
for the new Executive Assistant for the Military-Bill Noble's old
job.) Undaunted, and thanks to Roger's
optimism, we embarked on the trip anyway. Although initial news
of the sinking of the submarine Kursk occurred upon our arrival
and subsequently curtailed some ceremonies, the whole bunch of days
could be summed up as a hearty exchange between friends.
I have always wanted the "Russia connection" to have relevance
for our chaplains at home and overseas. My goal was to find some
means of exchange that would not only be substantive but economical.
These trips are pricey and time consuming. I had been to Russia
before with Bishop Keyser but this was before Bishop Saava, the
new bishop with responsibility for "federal" ministries,
had been consecrated.
Whenever you leave the cocoon of your own culture the gift of new
perspective arrives. Our greeting at the airport and consistently
throughout the trip celebrated that an American delegation was attending
this worldwide Orthodox event thus affirming the Council of Bishops
recent edict that the Church has a special relationship with the
military. Now I had a colleague in Bishop Saava, across the table
who worried-like I do-about the responsiveness of the bureaucracy
surrounding our priests. Naively I shared my sense of things but
quickly realized he remained preoccupied with a Communist presence
in the ranks.
The itinerary was impressive: first day, recognition banquet; second
day, consecration of the Cathedral of Our Savior; third day, canonization
of saints persecuted during the Soviet era; fourth day, briefing
at the Ministry of Defense; last days, visiting troops in the field.
Perhaps Americans are always a surprised by continental hospitality.
When I say that one event occupied a whole day it sounds spare,
except when you're in Russia. Each occasion had its own liturgy
or travel-usually three hours-followed by meetings and always a
banquet and toasts. My first few attempts at a toast were fumbling
affairs, but soon you catch on to the grandeur of the gesture. It
is partly descriptive of the current moment, some humor if you can
manage it, but most of all it is the statement of a longing hope
residing in God. Many poets (Pushkin and Achmanova, particularly)
have given voice to this yearning. I think Russians are not so romantic
as practical in this regard because they make deposits in the future,
a time which makes more sense than anything happening now. That
was certainly true of the erratic updates we were receiving about
the Kursk.
Our final days included field visits, which I especially enjoyed
as it allowed me to express your prayers for the sailors and families
of the downed submarine. I also marveled together with Bishop Saava
that these military men and women look so young, just as they do
in American uniforms. Rotating groups of our chaplains, through
future exchanges, to exclaim that point with Russian counterparts
might be ultimately why God has thrown us together.
+gep
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