THE GRAPEVINE

The Newsletter of Province II of the Episcopal Church

Volume 5 No. 1, Winter 1998
Jan Paxton, Editor

Contents:

ANNUAL SYNOD MEETING

by The Rev. Stephen T. Lane
President, Province II

The Annual Synod of the Second Province will convene at the Four Points Hotel in Cherry Point, New Jersey, May 14 -16. As usual the meeting will include both formal business and an opportunity for networking and education.

BUSINESS

The major item of business will be the election of a court of review for a term of three years. Nominations are currently being sought for the court and should be submitted Secretary John Goldsack.

A second item of business will be the proposed establishment of a committee to study the feasibility of a part time administrator for Province II. In that regard, the Rev. Gene Robinson, Executive of Province I, will speak to us about his work and his perspectives on the issue.

EDUCATION

A number of workshops are being considered. Among them are a workshop on electronic communication, a workshop by the JPIC Network, and a workshop on the Lambeth Conference. We also plan to a have a Ministry Fair. We're asking each of the networks to create a display highlighting its work and ministry.

Once again the Synod of the Second Province looks interesting and exciting. Plan now to be part of this important occasion. Mailings with details will be sent to dioceses and representatives. Check The Grapevine On Line (www.dfms.org/province-two/) for further information as it becomes available.

Contact: Stephen T. Lane
120 East Main St.
Palmyra, NY 14522
Phone: (315)597-9236
e-mail: zion@computer-connection.net

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NEW BISHOPS IN THE PROVINCE

by Jan Paxton

At the Province II dinner in Philadelphia last July, those attending had the opportunity to meet the then most recently ordained bishop in this province, The Rt. Rev. Theodore A. Daniels. Bishop Daniels was ordained as the fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on June 30, 1997, succeeding The Rt. Rev. E. Don Taylor, who left in 1994 to become assistant bishop of New York. This is the first time a bishop has ever been elected in the Virgin Islands. Previous bishops had been appointed. Church leaders had tried twice to elect a bishop, but each time no candidate received a clear majority. A native of Panama, Bishop Daniels comes to the Virgin Islands from Calvary Episcopal Church, just outside of Washington D.C.

Bishop Daniel's ordination was attended by at least sixteen bishops from the United States and the Caribbean, including Bishop Orris G. Walker of the Diocese of Long Island and Assistant Bishop E. Don Taylor of the Diocese of New York. The Chief Consecrator was the Rt. Rev. Walter D. Dennis, Vice President of Province II and Bishop Suffragan of New York.

The outgoing Interim Bishop Isaac has said that Bishop Daniels' greatest challenge will be to mend the rifts in the diocese. The new bishop, however says that he will take a more basic approach, spreading the church's word. "The biggest challenge first of all is to remind all of us we have one savior - Jesus Christ, our Lord."

November 29, 1997 saw the consecration of the Diocese of Albany's Bishop Coadjutor, The Rt. Rev. Daniel William Herzog, at the Convention Center in Albany's Empire State Plaza. Bishop Herzog was elected on the very first ballot at a special diocesan election convention last May. He was most recently rector of Christ Church, Schenectady, an Anglo-Catholic parish in an inner-city neighborhood. As Bishop Coadjutor, he will serve as the Deployment Officer of the diocese and oversee the work of the Commission on Ministry, the assisted churches of the diocese, Barry Retreat House in Brant Lake, and the Beaver Cross Camp and Conference Center in Springfield Center. Bishop Herzog will work beside Bishop Ball until Bishop Ball reaches the mandatory retirement age of 72 in June of 1998, at which time Bishop Herzog will take over as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Albany.

In the Diocese of Long Island, The Rt. Rev. Rodney R. Michel, Bishop Suffragan, gave his first address as bishop to the 131st Diocesan Convention in December. He challenged those present to become bearers of reconciliation and he thanked Bishop Walker for his confidence, guidance and willingness to share his ministry.

The future will bring more changes. Louie Crew reports from the Diocese of Newark's search committee that on December 18th the Committee reduced to 8 the number of candidates being considered. During January and February the committee will be visiting those eight. By April 1st they will announce five nominees. At the Nominating Committee's May 16-18 meetings, all candidates will be presented, provided no more than two are nominated by petition. Otherwise, all nominated by petition will be presented by the Standing Committee on a separate night. The Convention for the election of the Bishop Coadjutor of Newark will be on June 6th, with the consecration of the Bishop Coadjutor of Newark scheduled for November 21st. . Louie adds, "All of our candidates are extremely gifted. Pray for them and pray for our committee, that all might have discernment. Pray for our diocese and for the whole state of Christ's Church. "

In the Diocese of Western New York, Bishop Bowman caught some clergy and delegates to the Diocese's 160th annual convention off guard with his retirement announcement. The Bishop Nominating Committee is in the process of developing a profile of the diocese under the leadership of Mr. James Isaac of St. Mark's LeRoy. The Chairman of the Nominating Committee is The Rev. J. Frederick Barber and the Standing Committee has also hired the Rev. Canon Nancy Roosevelt to serve as the consultant to the committee. The date for the election of the next bishop is December 5, 1998. The Rev. Earle King has been designated as the Public Relations person for the committee. He can be contacted at padreking@aol.com.

The 66th annual convention of the Diocese of Rochester also received the announcement of the impending retirement of a bishop as The Rt. Rev. William G. Burrill announced his plan to retire as Bishop of Rochester on December 31, 1999. The search committee will be formed during the month of February 15 - March 15, 1998. The electing convention is scheduled for May 22, 1999 with the ordination of a bishop coadjutor to take place on November 13, 1999.

This article was put together with information gleaned from news articles from The Chronicle, Diocese of Rochester, The Dominion, Diocese of Long Island, The Albany Episcopalian, Church Facts, Diocese of Western New York, Epdionwk, a meeting of Quest International on Ecunet, and The Daily News, the Virgin Islands.

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PROVINCIAL LEADERS PONDER FUTURE

by The Rev. Stephen Lane
President, Province II

The annual meeting of the Presidents and Vice-presidents of the Provinces met at the Church Center, December 9 and 10. The meeting was jointly chaired by the Rt. Rev. James Krotz of Province VI and the Rev. Stephen Lane of Province II. The others members of the planning team were Dr. Kathy Russell (VI) and the Rev. John Rollins (II). All the Provinces were represented.

The meeting began with brief reports from each province regarding recent work and activity. Although the reports varied greatly in the details, all of the provinces reported significant work and ongoing life. Province II's report, which was made with the assistance of a computer presentation program, highlighted the work of our Synod, the work of our networks, and our ongoing efforts to improve communication within the province.

MEETING WITH STAFF

The Provinces then had the opportunity for a lengthy and frank conversation with the Church Center Staff. There were numerous complaints about how staff decisions made internally at 815 impacted the functioning of the networks, particularly the youth network. Concern was also expressed about the lack of clarity regarding who has actual responsibility for the care and feeding of networks. The JPIC Network is a case in point. It seems from all the rhetoric that the provinces are responsible for JPIC, yet funding is still determined at the national level, and there is a national committee that reports to the Executive Council. Feeling was expressed that the Provinces are being asked to do the program work of the church, but without funding or clear authority. Staff members expressed concern about being perceived as adversaries rather than as allies and supporters of the provinces, and complained that the present discussion had been repeated annually for several years. Both provincial leaders and staff expressed the desire for an ongoing coordinating group to smooth and clarify relationships between the Church Center and the provinces.

LOOKING TO LAMBETH

The Rev. Canon Jon Petersen, General Secretary to the Anglican Consultative Council, was scheduled to speak in the evening, but the site, a local restaurant, proved unsuitable. So Jon joined us early the next morning for an extensive report on the Lambeth Conference.

The Lambeth Conference will be held at the University of Kent from July 18 to August 9, 1998. Bishops and their spouses from throughout the Anglican Communion will live and work in the close quarters of the University.

Bishops will do most of their work in one of five working groups. Plenary sessions will be limited, as will the number of resolutions to be considered by those plenary sessions. Bishops will also spend time in small Bible study groups spending time getting know one another better. It is expected that African and Asian bishops will be a clear majority.

The daily schedule will include morning Bible study and worship, time in the working groups or subgroups, some free time, and more time in working groups. Major side trips will be a boat trip on the Thames and a trip to Buckingham Palace. Because of the large number of bishops expected, moving the bishops and spouses from place to place is expected to be a major and time consuming operation.

For the purposes of the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Communion was divided into nine region. Each region was polled regarding concerns. In all nine regions, international debt topped the list. A second major concern was relations with Islam. Other major issues include evangelism in a plural world, human sexuality, the role of women, and racism.

Materials have been prepared for all the bishops to study prior to Lambeth. The material was edited by the Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer. Some of that material is available in a volume entitled Being Anglican published by Morehouse.

The Provinces all plan to include the Lambeth Conference as part of their work in 1998.

MEETING THE NEW PB

Presiding Bishop-elect Frank Griswold met with the Provinces to talk about his vision of the role of the provinces. Bishop Griswold frankly admitted to having given little thought to the issue. But he showed a real understanding of the provinces' difficult position as an intermediary between the national church and the dioceses and expressed a willingness to work with a small group to further define and clarify the role of the provinces.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The meeting concluded with the appointment of a small group to work with the Presiding Bishop and the staff of 815. Chaired by the Rev. Gene Robinson, Executive of Province I, the group will meet once to get organized and then will engage with the staff and PB. Given that this work may impact all the provinces, the Presidents and Vice-presidents set aside time in June for an interim meeting.

Contact: Stephen T. Lane
e-mail: zion@computer-connection.net

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