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recently retired from that post. Those who attended the 1997 General Convention will remember Rosemari Sullivan
as the Chaplain of the House of Deputies and source of a series of moving meditations at the time of Noonday Prayers.
In her informal comments after her introduction to the Council, Rosemari said, "I have a lot of energy and
excitement about this, and I am also a little scared. I am glad to be here and very grateful for the opportunity
to serve the Church."
The Budget
The national budget of the Church was a major topic for Council consideration. After months of study, the Council's
Standing Committee on Administration and Finance, working together with the Treasurer of the Church, Steve Duggan,
and with the Program, Budget and Finance Committee, proposed a new way to construct the national budget of the
Church. This process will include collecting information and judgments on Church expenditures, especially those
for program, from parishes and dioceses. The completed budget, to be presented next at the General Convention in
the year 2000, will reflect the mission desires of a wide variety of voices in the Church. It was agreed that the
budget for the Episcopal Church is a theological statement of what we believe and value. The new process will also
allow funding for new and creative ideas which are generated and presented at the General Convention. Previously,
the budgeting process assigned all of the anticipated income for the coming triennium before the Convention. Little
or no funding was available for programs and activities which the Convention itself approved and recommended for
support. Many of the budgeting process details remain to be worked out, but this is a move for the Church to be
more connected with local needs and ideas, a step that has been desired for a very long time.
Hurricane Mitch
At the same time we were in Oklahoma City, the winds of hurricane Mitch were devastating vast areas of Central
America. Despite the widespread destruction, the magic of e-mail brought us words daily from the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade,
Bishop of Honduras. Bishop Frade's wife, Diana Dillenberger-Frade, is a member of Executive Council. She remained
in Honduras to assist in caring for victims of the terrible destruction that struck that country. At the time of
Bishop Frade's daily reports, which have continued as a journal of the role of the Church in that country's disastrous
experience, the count of those dead and missing was nearly 20,000 persons. The needs of the people were and still
remain incredible. Of the approximately 50 church buildings in the Diocese of Honduras, 35 have been destroyed
and leveled. Each e-mail brought horrific stories of pain and suffering. One message told of whole families which
lashed themselves to high places in trees to avoid the rising and rushing water. One mother told the Bishop of
seeing her children, one after the other during the long night, slip from their perches in the trees into the roiling,
muddy waters below, lost forever as she watched helpless. At the same time, words of faith and hope from Honduras
reached us. In another message, report came of the miraculous action of the rushing water that moved boulders into
place against the walls of one of the Diocese's parish churches in a way that prevented water from destroying the
building. Even the stonemason who had constructed the building said that the saving stones could not have been
more skillfully placed than they were with the force of the water. A miracle indeed! However, the need in Honduras
and other Central American countries continues. Keep these countries and their suffering people in your prayers.
Oklahoma City
We could not be in Oklahoma City and not hear, learn and feel more about the April 19, 1995 bombing of the
Murrah Federal Building than we ever had before. On that day 168 persons were killed and hundreds more were injured.
Moreover, dozens of buildings within blocks of the bomb site were damaged, some of them beyond use or repair. The
grounds around the Murrah building were dedicated a week before our meeting as a national memorial of that event.
The words of dedication were these: "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and
those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength,
peace, hope and serenity."
The Diocesan Cathedral, St. Paul's, was among those buildings severely damaged. As members of the Executive Council
traveled by bus to the Cathedral for a special service, we passed blocks of damaged buildings and cleared space
where buildings had been. Tall, chain-link fences surround the area not only to keep people away from the bomb
damage but to serve as a display surface for memorial tokens left by family and friends of those lost in the violence
of that day. T-shirts with names of athletic teams, teddy bears, dolls, license plates, photos, drawings, a favorite
hat, fresh flowers, and dozens of other touching remembrances of relationships abruptly interrupted that day were
attached to the fence.
The service we were attending as a group was to mark the restoration of the Cathedral and its organ which, three
years after the bombing, was finally complete. On that occasion Bishop Robert Moody of the Diocese of Oklahoma
celebrated and Bishop Griswold preached. He took as his sermon theme the life of the Reverend David Pendleton Oakerhater,
a Cheyenne. To reduce the possibility of uprisings, the Cheyenne--as well as other Native Americans-- were separated
from each other and sent to various distant parts of the country. Consequently, David came into his Christian life
and his commitment to the Church at St. Paul's Church, Paris Hill, New York, just outside of Utica, in the Diocese
of Central New York. There he was baptized and confirmed. He was ordained to the diaconate in the Church in 1881
at St. Paul's Syracuse, by Bishop Frederick D. Huntington, the first Bishop of Central New York. After his ordination,
David returned to Oklahoma. Oakerhater's life was very difficult as a teacher and a religious leader. His people
were forced to move away from their traditional grounds and to give up land for white settlers. Nonetheless, David
Oakerhater (his name means "making medicine") brought many Native Americans into the Church, and did
so even after the national church abandoned its outreach to Indians toward the close of the 19th century. After
36 years as a Deacon in the church, David Pendleton Oakerhater retired on a small pension and continued his preaching
and teaching outreach to the Cheyenne until his death in 1931. The faith and tenacity of Oakerhater, Bishop Griswold
remarked, served him in overcoming obstacles much as the members of the Cathedral had overcome their difficulties
following the damage to their sacred space as a result of the 1995 bombing. To help them and the citizens of Oklahoma
in that difficult period, the Diocese received gifts from individuals, parishes, dioceses, schools and other Church
related organizations in the amount of more than $600,000. These generous gifts, Bishop Moody assured us, made
the people of Oklahoma feel themselves connected with the rest of the Church in significant ways.
Hospitality
Following that special service, members of the Executive Council divided into smaller groups and each group
went to a local parish for supper. People from that congregation as well as persons from other parishes throughout
the area joined in the supper. During the evening, Bishop Griswold visited each of the hosting parishes and spoke
briefly. He also answered questions--some of them difficult--that people of Oklahoma asked. Many of the questioners
wanted to know how the Church Center could assist local parishes to address family values, local social and racial
conflicts, economic distress in their areas, and strengthen parish growth. These are questions not unheard in other
parts of the country. Our hosts in the various parishes were unfailingly cordial and generous in their dinner offerings
and conversation. We felt we really had encountered many people of the Diocese and understood them better than
we had before we came to Oklahoma.
Clemency
The Executive Council called for clemency for 15 Puerto Ricans, in various U. S. prisons because of violent
actions on their parts, motivated by their political desire to separate Puerto Rico from the United States. Prison
sentences for the 15, given in the social and political climate of the cold war, averaged 68 years each. The Rt.
Rev. David A. Alvarez, Bishop of Puerto Rico, came to the Executive Council and spoke on behalf of the clemency
resolution and for the families who have tried without success to seek a reconsideration of the prisoners' status.
Many religious organizations and leaders, including Bishop Tutu and Pope John Paul II, have urged President Clinton
to grant clemency to the prisoners. Speaking for the Episcopal Church, the Executive Council added its voice to
the request for clemency.
Jubilee Centers
Province II was recognized in the list of newly named Jubilee Centers in two places. One is All Saints Episcopal
Parish Day School and Community Development Corporation, Hoboken, New Jersey, in the Diocese of Newark. The other
is the New York State Episcopal Public Policy Network, Albany, in the Diocese of Albany. Congratulations to these
institutions and organizations!
Concordat
The Executive Council heard of the further progress of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in its revision
of the Concordat of Agreement between that Church and the Episcopal Church. At this point it is understood that
changes in the Lutheran statement are such that it will not require a re-vote on the Concordat by the Episcopal
Church. The Concordat will, however, have to be voted upon again by the Lutherans in 1999.
Other Topics
The Executive Council also heard reports and took action on prison ministries, Chaplains in the armed services,
financial trusts given to the Church, stockholder activities, grants for support of theological education in Central
and South America totaling more than $225,000, and recognized the appointments of missionaries and volunteers for
mission in all parts of the world.
The next meeting of the Executive Council will be February 12-16, 1999 in Denver, Colorado, the site of the 73rd
General Convention in the year 2000.
Contact:Alfred D. Price
Warren C. Ramshaw
25 Payne Street
Hamilton, NY 13346
Virginia M. Sheay
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Provincial Leadership Council Meets:
Hears of "New Day" at Episcopal Church Center
John Rollins
The leaders of the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church, meeting mid-January in New York, heard members of the
program staff and administrators speak of the "new day" at the Episcopal Church Center. Pat Mordecai
- Senior Management Team Coordinator - addressing the group on Structure and Communications Changes, summed it
up by saying that in managing the day to day operations, the church center feels like a different place.
President Steve Lane was storm-bound in Rochester, so representing Province II were the Bishop Walter Dennis (Vice
President) and John Rollins (Provincial Network Coordinator). The Provincial Leadership Council is the outgrowth
of the Provincial Presidents and Vice-Presidents meetings which began in the early ‘90s as a way to further communication
within the provincial structure.
Program staff members repeatedly echoed Pat's assessment that within the first year of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold's
tenure there is a new spirit, a new openness and sense of trust that permeates the building. The Senior Management
Team, said Pat, is working on means of interconnectedness, including intra-building communication, e- mail, and
personal visits. Modest building improvements, informal gatherings over lunch, periodic meetings with the Presiding
Bishop and the staff have contributed as well. "Trust is growing day by day", said one staffer.
The Provincial Leadership Council was meeting for the first time since the 1998 meeting in Burlington, VT, where
the groundwork had been laid for a series of General Convention resolutions which would give stronger voice to
the provinces and funding for part-time provincial coordinators. The deliberations in January brought a firmer
resolve to refine the proposals for this action and bring the issue to the attention of convention deputies. Also
forged were clear agreements between the Episcopal Center program staff and the provincial leaders regarding the
appointment of provincial network leaders in such areas as Christian Education, Youth, Evangelism, Stewardship,
and Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC).
The new understanding worked out gives responsibility of appointment to the Provincial president, who may receive
recommendations for appointment from the Episcopal Church Center staff or from the networks themselves. If the
Provincial president fails to act, the Episcopal Church center staff will notify the provincial leadership council
of that fact, with leave to make the appointment by default. By either means, the network appointment can be made
so that program coordination can continue.
Members of the PLC heard also from ECUSA Treasurer Steve Duggan, who reported a turn-around in diocesan support
following the Philadelphia General Convention. Increasing numbers of dioceses have accepted the higher target for
giving to the triennial budget. Steve also unveiled a developing "budget discernment" process, endorsed
by the Executive Council and the Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) committee.
Under the new plan, the treasurer and others would accept invitations two years before General Convention to attend
Provincial Synods and diocesan conventions in order to hear from church leaders of those bodies about concerns
for mission imperatives. This early start on the budget process could avoid the major frustrations Steve has encountered
when, at Synod meetings in the year before General Convention, he's had to explain to deputies a budget that has
already been set.
Provincial Leaders Council members were addressed briefly also by Presiding Bishop Griswold, House of Deputies
President Dr. Pamela Chinnis, and the newly-appointed Executive Officer of General Convention, the Reverend Rosemari
Sullivan.
Contact: The Rev. John A. Rollins
Province II Network Liaison
Christ Church
400 Ramapo Avenue
Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
e-mail: rollins@intac.com
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Province II Studies Provincial Executive Position
At its fall meeting, the Provincial Council established a study committee to look in depth at the possibility
of creating an executive director position for the province. Working with Barry Menuez, former Senior Staff Executive
at the Church Center, the study committee is looking into all aspects of the position including job description,
resources, cost, budget implications, and issues of where an office might be housed.
The Committee is doing much of its work by phone and mail, although an early spring meeting is contemplated. Initial
input was sought and received from Provinces I and VIII. A job description has been written and is currently being
revised.
The Committee is drawn from around the province. Members are:
Barry Menuez, Consultant
The Rev. Stephen Lane (ex officio)
The Rev. John Rollins (ex officio)
The Rev. Richard Hamlin (CNY)
Mrs. Joyce Hogg (LI)
The Rt. Rev. David Joslin (CNY)
The Rt. Rev. Rodney Michel (LI)
The Rev. David Robinson (R)
The Committee will report to the next meeting of the Synod, May 6-8, 1999, meeting in Albany, NY.
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Asiamerica Ministries in Province II
The Reverend Canon L. Roper Shamhart
This is a time of transition in Asiamerica Ministries in Province II. The Venerable L. Roper Shamhart, Archdeacon
for Multicultural Ministries in the Diocese of Long Island and the first Asiamerica Ministries contact person for
Province II has fully retired after eight years of non-stipendiary service to the Diocese after he retired from
parish ministry in 1991. The new contact person will be the Reverend Peter Lam, Church of the Holy Spirit, 81-17
Bay Parkway, Brooklyn, New York 11214, telephone (718) 837-0412. Fr. Lam has been and continues to serve as Chair
of Asiamerica Ministries for Province II. Under his strong leadership the Provincial group has had clergy retreats,
family retreats and a good working relationship among the congregations.
Another transition comes with the resignation of Fr. Franco Kwan as Vicar of the Chinese congregation at St. George's
Church, Flushing. After building a good congregation there, he is moving on to Little Sunshine Church in San Fransisco.
In addition to losing Fr. Kwan, we will also lose the strong leadership and good work of his daughter and two sons
who have been kee workers and leaders, not only in Province II, but also on a national level in Asiamerica Ministries
and Youth Work. We will miss them all. They have served the church well and we trust they will continue to do so.
With this last note, I wish you well. I thank the Province for its support of these ministries and I pray that
that support will continue. God bless you all.
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THE GRAPEVINE