A Message to the Clergy and People of the Diocese
19 September 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Kate and I send our greetings to all of you as the summer ends and a new programme year begins for our congregations, schools, and special ministries. There are so many good things that are happening across the diocese to promote the Church’s mission and witness to the Gospel, and I am always encouraged and excited by the news that many of you have sent me about your plans for the coming year.
Because I remain deeply committed to the sustainability of our communities and ministries, I plan to give the better part of my own time and energy to this work in the coming months, so that together we may find creative ways to enable the Church’s presence and ministry to remain and thrive in our communities. This is vital work and prompts me to remind you of our Mission, Vision, and Core Values. These are attached in English, Spanish and French, and I hope that by now you are using these statements in your work, publications, and publicity in appropriate ways.
Looking back on the past year, I am reminded of the significant challenges we faced: a hurricane and the recovery from its impact; the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and seventeen tragic deaths, including one of our own young people; the continuing social and political difficulties here at home and abroad, among them issues around immigration. Yet, despite these challenges, across our diocese there are remarkable stories of faithful ministry in the face of them.
Tools to help develop and strengthen our communities will be the focus of the Clergy Conference, October 9-11. I am convinced that every one of our communities, whatever its size, whatever its challenges, can flourish, and the task of clergy and lay leadership is to discover how this can happen and then help in this flourishing. Russell Crabtree, one of the best observers and analysts of church life, will be giving the clergy essential data for effective mission planning. I hope that they will bring back to our congregations, schools, and special ministries the learning that Crabtree gives us. Let me encourage all of you to read Crabtree’s most recent books:
The State of the Episcopal Church
,
Penguins in the Pews: Climate, Change, and Church Growth
, and
Front Door, Back Door: Why People Join and Leave Churches.
Looking ahead to Diocesan Convention, October 26-27, the emphasis will also be on mission and formation. Workshops on evangelism, catechesis, stewardship, developing and sustaining leaders, and
Becoming the Beloved Community
will be repeated both days, and the workshops on evangelism and catechesis will also be offered in Spanish.
So, these next two months will be busier than usual, not least because of changes to the calendar that we agreed upon last year. The earlier date of Diocesan Convention means that our Fall Convocations are also earlier. Over the next two weeks Convocations will be reviewing the proposed 2019 operating budget and some will be holding elections for various roles in the deaneries and diocese. Members of our deputation to General Convention will also briefly report on matters of importance to us that were either discussed or decided at Convention.
Over the last year, many people have been working hard reviewing various aspects of our common life, and my hope is to bring as much of their work as possible to completion in this coming year. Governance, the ordination process, a renewed diocesan school of Christian formation, and the relationship of our special ministries to the Bishop and the Executive Board, have all been subject to review. In addition, in 2019 two other important aspects of our common life will be addressed: a Safe Church training programme with Presidium, which will be mandatory for all clergy, lay leaders and others involved in the Church’s ministry; and the hard work of
Becoming the Beloved Community
, a new venture in diversity training. Both trainings are mandated by the Canon Law of The Episcopal Church, and more details will be published later in the Fall.
In the next few months the Bishop’s Office will be filling some vacant positions and looking to assess our effectiveness in supporting you. In the meantime, I am delighted to announce that Ms. Monique Veras is no longer an ‘interim’ and was recently appointed as the Executive Assistant to the Bishop.
In February of next year, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan, will resume my predecessor’s practice of organizing diocesan pilgrimages. Pilgrimage is a wonderful way of both deepening our faith and creating and sustaining community across our diverse diocese. I hope that they will take place about every 12-18 months.
So, we are looking forward to an exciting year of worthwhile work that will directly support our Christian life and our ministries and enable us to live more fully into our vision, mission, and core values. I am so grateful to all who give so much at every level of our common life,
I wish to acknowledge particularly
those who do so much that is unseen and that is rarely recognised publicly. There are many such servants among us, and the Church would be unable to fulfil her mission without you.
Kate joins me in sending love and prayers to all of you.
With every blessing,
+
Peter
