Address by the Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane
189th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine
October 24, 2008
Bangor, Maine
Clergy of the Diocese of Maine, Delegates and Alternates from our Congregations, Guests – Dear Friends:
The Bishop’s Address is meant to be a report on the state of the diocese to the highest authority of the diocese – the Convention. This Convention comes a bit too soon for me to offer any sort of complete report, and so I won’t attempt that this year. Instead, this address offers me the opportunity to reflect with you on some of my impressions, and to say something about my hopes and expectations as we go forward together.
A diocese, in our Anglican tradition, is the geographic expression of the ministry and the jurisdiction of a bishop. The diocese is the basic unit of the Episcopal Church. Each congregation is a local expression of the ministry of the bishop. And the bishop’s office exists to serve the congregations. Our tradition and our canons expect a collaborative relationship between the bishop and the congregations of the diocese for Christ’s sake.
In our uniquely American polity, bishops are elected by the dioceses they serve. And authority is shared among and between the bishop and the other standing bodies of the diocese: the Council, the Standing Committee, the Trustees, and the Commission on Ministry. Far from being free agents, the bishop and these standing bodies exist in a web of checks and balances designed to protect the faithful from the excesses of any one body. (You will understand that our forebears had a profound distrust of centralized authority.)
Since in our polity, all bishops are equal, all dioceses are equal. There is no archbishop and no provincial structure that exercises authority over any diocese. Even the Presiding Bishop is simply the elected President of the House of Bishops with no jurisdiction over any other bishop.
Therefore, the fullest expression of the church, in the Episcopal tradition, is right here. The Bishop and the Convention, which consists of all the clergy entitled to vote and all the representatives of all the congregations, is the fullest expression and highest authority of the diocese. This is the body responsible for the ministry of Jesus Christ, in the Episcopal tradition, in the State of Maine. This is the body that elects the representatives to our General Convention, the highest authority in our church, and the only body other than a diocese that may set policies that bind that diocese.
What I mean to say by all of this is that our Convention is very important. It is here that we consider together the mission of God and our ministries as followers of Jesus Christ. It is here we adopt a budget for our life together. It is here we listen to the bishop’s reflections on our life together. It is here that we worship God together. This is an occasion to be celebrated and savored.
I have heard, however, that there are a number of questions about the Convention of the Diocese of Maine – where it is held, its length, and the way we use our time. It takes a great deal of effort to get us all together, but once here we don’t have a banquet and we don’t offer educational opportunities. Though hearings are offered, many delegates don’t attend them. It’s my impression that we struggle a bit with the work of Convention, particularly seeking nominations and processing resolutions, because we have no standing bodies between Conventions to take those responsibilities. Most nominations are simply received, and the Resolutions Committee works for a few weeks around the time of Convention. It’s also my understanding that many congregations do not pay the expenses of their delegates, so that the cost of the Convention is a burden to some and may in fact limit the pool of those who can serve.
Perhaps the arrival of a new bishop provides an opportunity for us to look at the way we come together in Convention and to reaffirm or change that pattern. It’s been suggested that we might alternate Convention between north and south. It’s been suggested we might go to a one day Convention. It’s been suggested that we look at ways to reduce the cost. Therefore, it’s my intention to ask the Diocesan Council to put together a committee of Council members and persons from the diocese to study the way we do Convention and to present recommendations to the Bishop and Council next spring. Based on those recommendations, we may try a new pattern for Convention as early as next year.
This morning I introduced to you the staff of the diocese. I’d like to take a few minutes now to share with you some thoughts about staffing and my plans for the future.
I want to say first that all the persons I introduced this morning are members of my staff. Some are Loring House staff, some are program staff, but all work for me and all are paid, in one way or another, from diocesan resources. As you are aware, a number of our staff are part time and work only one, two or three days a week. We have a grand total of 11 ftes, which is the same size as the staff of the diocese I’ve come from, a diocese with a similarly sized budget and only 52 parishes. (We are 66 congregations.) At the beginning of October we had our first staff retreat where we spent time getting to know one another and establishing norms for our work together. It is my intention to continue with the current staff for the time being, as I sort out the work of the diocese and the resources we have to support our work. Some of the work we, as a diocese, have chosen to do – such as campus ministry and Hispanic ministry – is underfunded, and we need to decide if we are serious about our support of that work going forward.
I am very proud of the diocesan staff. I have found them to be hard-working, fun-loving, deeply dedicated to serving the people and congregations of this diocese, and committed to providing you with the support you need for your ministries.
Although I am keeping the same personnel, I am beginning to restructure the staff. I have chosen three core staff people: Vicki Wiederkehr, Canon for Deployment and Ministry; Terry Reimer, Canon for Finance and Stewardship; and Heidi Schott, Canon for Communication and Social Justice. The job descriptions we are working out build on their long time strengths and experiences and then add significant responsibilities. Each of the canons will also oversee staff work in relation to diocesan program and administration. I invite you, members of the diocese, to call them directly for consultation and service in their areas of responsibility. The core staff will meet weekly to keep me and one another up to speed.
The rest of the staff will report to one of the canons so that we have an orderly internal system of accountability and every staff person has a go-to person. This is especially important when I am unavailable. Barbara Martin is my Executive Assistant, and she bears primary responsibility for my schedule, for parish visitations, for keeping track of ordinands, for correspondence, and for other duties which may be assigned from time to time. Her job is to make it easy for you to be in touch with me, so don’t hesitate to call. Over time it is my hope to clarify each staff person’s job descriptions and to make it clear to the diocese who does what. The diocesan staff meets monthly on the first Wednesday of the month, as has been the practice for some time. The diocesan office is now open 8 am – 4 pm Monday through Friday, and those hours will continue through the winter. If you need something, we’re available to help.
One of the comments I’ve heard repeatedly since I’ve been in the Diocese is that folks in congregations are unsure about whom to call for any number of programs and services. Should I call Loring House? Is there a Committee or Program group I can turn to? What about the Congregational Consultants? I must confess that I also find the plethora of program groups to be a bit confusing. And I’ve learned that not all are fully functioning. Some groups are robust. Some meet occasionally. Some exist in name only. Some seem fairly tied into the usual structures of the diocese. Some function somewhat independently. Some use a lot of staff help. Some don’t seem to want staff help. And then, of course, there are the strategic questions: what are our diocesan priorities, and how many different things can we expect to do well? It is my intention to ask Council to undertake a review of all the diocesan program groups with an eye to evaluating their health and the diocese’s need. At the same time I’ll be asking our staff to consider their relationships with the program groups, to determine if the right staff person is providing the support. It may be that we have spread ourselves too thin. It may be we need to clarify and renew the purpose of some groups. It may be that some groups have served their purpose and need to take a well deserved rest. It may be that we need some program groups we don’t currently have. I suspect it will take some time, and a good bit of conversation to get the clarity we need in relation to the diocesan program groups, but I hope to have made some significant progress by next fall when we adopt the 2010 budget.
My greatest joy, as your new bishop, has been meeting the people of the Diocese of Maine. Including the last summer’s tour and the Walkabout, I’ve now been in most of the regions of the diocese. Google Maps and my GPS have helped me find most places quite handily – although Gretchen and I did get lost in downtown Biddeford on a Sunday morning. Everywhere I go, I’m impressed by the energy and the commitment of our congregations. Most have a solid worshiping community and are engaged in serious ministry to the larger community.
And yet everywhere I go, I encounter concerns about aging congregations and shrinking budgets. Parish leaders are concerned about burnout and succession planning. I’ve been asked if I intend to close congregations or merge them. People are very concerned about the future of their churches. And so am I. It seems to me that we need an alternative to simply letting the economy have its way with us. While I have no intention of closing any congregation, I also don’t want to sit by and watch as church finances push us into decline or into congregational arrangements we do not want. Currently out of 66 congregations, we have a total of 29 full time clergy positions. 26 of our congregations receive diocesan grants in aid.
It is my thought that it might be very helpful for us to engage as a diocese in an extended conversation considering what God is calling us to do in the Diocese of Maine. It’s a conversation that should engage all diocesan standing bodies and every congregation. It’s a conversation that should ultimately impact the diocesan budget and every congregational budget.
I propose to begin by bringing together an informal group of people to help frame the questions we want to consider as a diocese. I intend to draw members of the group from the deep well of gifts, perspectives, and experiences that I find in every congregation I visit. Together we will ask: what are our perceptions of the issues and challenges in front of us? Based on that work, I want to extend the conversation into each parish and mission and summer chapel. And based on that work, I want to begin a process of strategic planning: if this is our work… then what is the best way for us to accomplish it? What’s the best structure? What are the personnel needs of that structure? How do we pay for it? It’s my expectation that this process will take several years and that it is not possible to predict at this time what the outcome will look like. There are a number of significant experiments in ministry going on around the church, and we may have something unique to add from our experience in Maine.
Before I close I want to say a brief word about the recent national financial crisis and our response as a diocese. I saw on Tuesday night on ABC news that Maine is one of 20+ states in a recession. I don’t know if that’s true, but I know we all feel the financial strain. That, combined with the high cost of heating oil, promises to make the coming winter difficult for many. I want to reassure you that we already have in place the mechanisms we will need to respond to these hard times. If your congregation is experiencing significant financial difficulty, please contact Terry Reimer for consultation and planning. If the diocese begins to experience significant income deficits, the Council is already charged with ongoing review and will, with the advice of the Finance Committee, take the necessary steps to balance our budget. Since a good bit of our resources go back to congregations, we will not make cuts or revise the budget before such revisions are absolutely necessary. And we will do our best to keep the diocese fully informed of the process. We do not anticipate problems – our congregations have an excellent track record and our endowment income is based on a rolling average – but we are fully prepared to address problems if they develop.
In regard to the high cost of heating oil, many of you have already benefitted from the work of our Environmental Stewardship officer and are taking steps to improve energy conservation and reduce costs. I commend you all for that work. I ask you also to remember the poor in your midst. It is they who have the true crisis. All across Maine new partnerships are developing to address the problem, and I hope you will be part of those partnerships in your communities. And as we do this work, may we remember that we also need to find more efficient solutions to our energy problems. Burning more carbon is not the ultimate solution.
Again, if you have questions or concerns, please contact the diocesan office.
I want to close by saying that I am very encouraged by what I’ve experienced since coming to the Diocese of Maine. The world around us is changing rapidly, and we are being forced to change with it. But in the midst of all of that change the people of the Diocese of Maine are remaining steadfast in their commitment to their church and to their neighbors. And in recent years, you have undertaken a number of new ministries; including new campus ministries, a ministry to the Latino community, and an environmental stewardship ministry. (Martha Kirkpatrick is one of no more than two or three such staff persons in the whole Anglican Communion.) And you have raised the money to help sustain these efforts.
More needs to be done – but that’s always the case. With God, there is always more. And I’m confident that we can meet the challenges of our time. It may be that the era of comfortable, stable church-going is over in America. Time will tell. But I’m also certain that time will show the Diocese of Maine faithfully at work, loving God, loving neighbor, and working to bring God’s reconciliation to the world. Thank you and thanks be to God.
