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Executive Council Report
The Diocese of Fond du Lac
The Rev. Dr. Virginia M. Sheay
The Executive Council of the National Church held its meeting from June 14 to 19, 1999 in Appleton, Wisconsin,
a bustling city located on the bank of the Fox River. Little known facts about Appleton are that it is the home
of the famed escape artist Houdini, and the celebrated author Edna Ferber. Appleton is located in the Diocese of
Fond du Lac, whose Bishop is The Rt. Rev. Russell E. Jacobus. During the week, we were privileged to worship at
the local Episcopal Church, All Saints'. On one occasion, we were bused about 35 miles to the city of Fond du Lac,
where the bishop resides. There we attended a most spectacular liturgy at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the
Apostle as the Diocesan family celebrated their Fortieth Diocesan Annual Eucharistic Festival. The liturgy included
a grand procession of the members of the Diocese, choir, clergy, members of the council, as well as kites, and
dove banner. A stormy gray sky and spotty rain worried Bishop Jacobus before the service began. However, all went
well. The rain stopped. At the conclusion of the liturgy there was the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and
Benediction, an event not a few of the council members ever experienced. As we walked in the street around the
church in song, one could hear doves cooing from the roof tops, and a cacophony of birds singing in the trees near
the outdoor altar on the lawn behind the Cathedral. The sun broke through and just beyond the altar, one could
see in the distance the name of a store named, Theos, the Greek word for God.
The Diocese of Fond du Lac, is made up of the northeastern part of the state with thirty- seven congregations,
two summer chapels, and one year-round chapel. The Diocese has about 8,000 baptized members with a budget of $487,934.
Dr. Pamela P. Chinnis
In her opening address, the Vice Chair to the Executive Council, Dr. Pamela P. Chinnis, reminded the council that
we are now well past the half-way mark of this triennium. Consequently, Standing Commissions, the Executive Council,
and other groups, must be completing their reports soon for the spring publication of the General Convention Blue
Book.
In her powerful address, she said that the "Members of the General Convention, The Executive Council, and
the staff of the Episcopal Church Center have been called by the church to special responsibilities for the institution
itself. But if we don't keep the primary mission foremost in mind, we risk turning our structures into idols and
undermining the very work we are meant to support." She expressed strong concern for upholding the voices
of minorities of all kinds. "We are sent to bring the Good News to everyone...In the 1950's and 60s racial
divisions were the focus of this struggle. In the 1970s and 80s, women's 'proper place' took center stage. Increasingly
in the 1990s, and I'm sure well into the next millennium, sexuality is and will remain the defining issue."
She went on to say that "Convention Journals and Executive Council Minutes, document a half-century of effort
- theological, spiritual, institutional, political - to discern God's will for the church more clearly in each
of these areas. By no means is this work complete, but at least we continue to struggle with it. From that struggle,
perhaps, can come lessons of value to the wider society."
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold
As is his practice, Bishop Griswold reported on his activities since his last meeting with the council. Taking
advantage of the day's Lesser Feast, Basil the Great (June 14), Griswold drew upon Basil's treatise, On the Holy
Spirit, saying that the treatise (which he read) touches upon a subject he has been speaking about in recent months,
that we are members of one another and all have need of each other.
He reported that at the House of Bishops meeting, the Bishops examined the ways in which they could be a community
of wisdom for the whole church, recognizing that legislative resolutions are not always the best way to deal with
issues.
Church Center Staff members, the Presiding Bishop told us, were energized at a recent gathering through a process
called, "Appreciative Inquiry", a paradigm of thought and understanding that holds organizations to be
affirmative. Questions such as "What are your hopes?" creates a positive context. Through this exercise
many saw their work as vocation, grounded in scripture, and saw their lives as service for the Church.
Bishop Griswold stated that the Zacchaeus Project Report, a work underwritten by the Episcopal Church Foundation,
will be distributed to all congregations. The project samples Episcopal Church members to learn how they feel about
the Church. While there is an incredible spirit in local congregations, the Report tells us national bodies are
looked upon with suspicion. The report reveals that the Eucharist is central to Episcopalians as is the Book of
Common Prayer, which defines who we are. Trinity Institute, New York City, will link its National Teleconference
on September 27-29 to the themes of the Zacchaeus Project.
He was pleased to announce that in celebrating its 60th Anniversary, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief
launched a capital fund drive.
Actions of the Council
The Council endorsed the Site Committee's recommendation of Minneapolis
for the 2003 General Convention. The 2000 General Convention is expected to ratify this selection when it meets
next July.
Among the eleven Jubilee Ministries approved by the council were three from Province II. They are:
- Grace Church, Utica: This church has a food pantry and feeding program
for a large number of persons on a daily basis. Unique about the program is that the parish has apartment facilities
for transition purposes, for persons who are homeless, who have AIDS, who are without family or support, and others
in need of shelter on a short term basis.
- Christ Church, Binghampton: This church also has a feeding program.
They are in the process of hiring a part time social worker to help assist in finding work or housing for those
who come to the feeding program.
- Emmaus House, Utica: This is a program operated by women of the Order
of St. Margaret. Its outreach is especially to young women who are homeless our without resources. Also, Emmaus
House serves women with young children who are escaping an abusive situation or otherwise in sudden need of the
protection and shelter the House can offer them. They have been especially helpful in encouraging young women to
return to school and in finding suitable housing for them when they do so.
The Executive Council continues to explore new and creative ways of preparing
a responsive budget process for effective ministries. Through conversation in small groups, the council members
discussed the programs of the church, viewing current trends, raising questions like, "What new activities
and what expanded activities does the Episcopal Church need to be about"? Working with the Planning and Evaluation
Committee of the Council, some of the thoughts suggested by the small groups were these: stress the importance
of diversity, provide anti-violence programs for youth, broaden the capacity in communication and media, continue
emphasis and support for global mission, provide training for leadership, make a stronger connection between the
national church and the local church, designate North America as a new mission field.
The Planning and Evaluation Committee of the Council examined these and several dozen more specific ideas and summed
them up into three categories or budget priorities for the Church in the budget development process for the years
2001-2003: (1) To make Disciples and Apostles; (2) To promote diversity; and, (3) To enhance communications for
the 21st Century.
Fall Meeting in Honduras Planned
Looking ahead, the Executive Council will have its next meeting in Honduras. It isn't too often that the council
has the opportunity to be in Province IX. The meeting will be held from October 28-November 1. Some council members
will be arriving early to help build houses for those people who lost their homes last year due to Hurricane Mitch.
This hurricane was the most destructive in the history of the Western Hemisphere. The Presiding Bishop's Fund,
in cooperation with The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of the Diocese of Honduras, has already begun to construct houses.
Faith, Hope and Joy: A Project for Living, will become a community of 95 homes near San Pedro Sula. These houses
are constructed of cinder blocks with a tin roof, two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living room/dining area.
All houses have running water and electricity.
We can be proud of the work of our church. There has been an Anglican presence in Honduras for 138 years. There
are about 25,000 baptized members. The church is committed to the poor, abandoned boys and girls, campesinos (rural
farm workers), women and blacks. Bishop Frade has been bishop of Honduras for fifteen years. His wife, Diana Dillenberger-Frade,
is a member of the Executive Council. The council deems it a privilege to show its witness and support to the Diocese
of Honduras.
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Officers, Networks, and Communication in Province II
Jan Paxton, Editor, The Grapevine
Photographs by Fr. Clarke Powers
 To assist with communication, this issue
of The Grapevine contains alist of all of the officers and network liasons for the province, along with their addresses
and e-mail addresses, whenever I have them. In case you lose this, the information is also available at the Province
II web site, whose URL is
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/province-
two/.
 At the Council meeting following the Synod
meeting last spring, it was decided to arrange to link the Ecunet meeting, Second Province, with an internet e-mail
list. It turned out that it was not possible to make that link, but the Rev. Kris Lee of the Telecommunications
Office of the Episcopal Church Center arranged for the Rev. Don Davidson to set up an e-mail list for the province
through that office. As a result, it is now possible for anyone in the province to join the e-mail listserv province2@epicom.org.
To join the listserv, send a note to province2-request@epicom.org containing the single word
subscribe
Make sure to delete any signatures or other things your e-mail client adds automatically to messages you send.
This will give us a forum to discuss things that are of interest in the province and a place to post information
about coming events, births, deaths, transfers, changes of address, and so on. This should be especially helpful
as we try to develop ways to share our resources and talents so that we can do ministry together. I hope to see
your name added to the list very soon. If you have any problems, contact Jan Paxton, paxton@intac.com, since I became
the "list owner", as well as Grapevine Editor, when I arranged to have the list set up.
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