Dean David Bird reflects on visit to Diocese of Gloucester

From the Very Rev. David Bird, Ph.D., Trinity Cathedral:

Dean’s Desk, June 2009 issue of The Carillon (reprinted with permission)

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” asked some of Jesus’ critics. “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household," said Jesus.

A strong current of tension runs through the gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry and never more so than when he is at home. For such reasons I have often wondered whether it is indeed a good idea, as so many of us do, to go back home when we begin our ministry or whether we should start afresh somewhere else.

Faithful to tradition, however, I began my ordained ministry in the very diocese in which I had been confirmed as an adolescent. In a little under three years I was working in the United States, initially intending it to be a short term arrangement to learn particular skills before returning home.

Almost thirty-seven years later, this May, I returned to work in England for a week and found myself enthralled by comparing our religious cultures and understandings.

Undoubtedly we have much to learn from one another. There is a sense of permanence to the life of the Church of England that is beguiling and probably false. There is, by contrast, a sense of invention and creativity to the American church—and yet, in so many ways, we live in a much tighter liturgical straightjacket than some of the inventive parishes and ministries we were privileged to visit in the Diocese of Gloucester.

To see some of our English colleagues working in beleaguered housing estates (their equivalent of ‘projects’) was heart-warming. On a Saturday afternoon, we visited one church in which one of the groups meeting there was of the Baha’i faith and deeply concerned to see inter-faith cooperation in this troubling and financially troubled neighborhood. Their goal: to establish better community relations and encourage people to live by the Golden Rule (treat others as you would have them treat you). Here was potential for inter-faith witness and even worship.

On the surface, of course, we seem so much more progressive than the Church of England. The ordination of women to all orders of ministry is something we now take for granted. Here was a national Church still struggling towards the ordination of women as bishops. And yet the joy with which they welcomed our bishop was wonderful.

From us they could learn something about the fullness of ministry when it is truly representative of God’s people. In them we saw the church acting as a community of churches called to shared ministry with their bishop rather than a set of individual parish congregations—they were living out a vision we have committed to in this diocese.

Whenever we step out of our safe and customary environment, we are able to see possibilities in our own situation and even develop ideas we already accept but are still working towards.

We also saw reasons for the parallel but sometimes different paths of our respective journeys as members of the Anglican Communion. Our individualism as parish communities has some grounding in the particularly American experience of episcopacy. For the one hundred and sixty-nine years of the American colonies before 1776, we had to do without a resident bishop. The colonies were three thousand miles away for the Bishop of London (then our only bishop), most of which meant traveling by boat for a visitation. Doesn’t it make sense that in the American Church the bishop shares responsibility with a standing committee? The development of the standing committee was essential to the management of the church in our distinctive missionary situation and led to an expression of shared ministry which we model for much of Anglicanism.

Our distinctiveness comes home when we think of some of the great Episcopalian figures in US history— Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton— and realize that together with so many of their contemporaries they had not been confirmed (then a requirement before taking communion) but were communicants of the church only through a special rule or canon which said that if you desired to be confirmed but could not be because of local circumstance you were permitted take communion. Is it any wonder that the USA adapted to the principle, enshrined in our 1979 prayer book, that baptism constitutes full membership of our church?

If I left Britain with one idea in mind it was that the companion relationship which we have with the Diocese of Gloucester, England and the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania will locate in a fellowship of diverse church experiences which can lead to the Holy Spirit’s powerful witness among us. For that we surely thank God.

-David

World Mission Day Summaries

From Rev. Michael W. Ridgway, St. Stephens-in-the-Field:

On May 16, a gathering of over 57 people met with Bishop Mary at St. Paul's in Salinas to hear the Bishop's report from her recent trips to our companion dioceses, Western Tanganyika and Gloucester. After her presentation, which included a slide show, commentary and a Q&A session, the participants broke out into groups to discuss and gather ideas around several initiatives supporting World Mission in the Diocese of El Camino Real.

The discussion groups were self-selected into the following subject areas each with their own discussion leader/facilitator: Solar Cooking, School Tuition, Pilgrimage, Micro-Credit Loans for Sewing Machines and Seminary Tuition & Hospitality.

There was lots of positive energy and enthusiasm in each of these groups. Summaries of their discussions and contact information for leaders/participants are available here.

England Visit Report with Photos

From the Rev. Canon Brian Nordwick:

View Bishop Mary’s visit to England with photos, please click on the following link: http://www.edecr.org/companion/Companion-TriadUpdate-20090513.pdf

From Joanna Shreve of St. Timothy's:

Dear Friends,

We are having a "World Mission" meeting on May 16th at St. Paul's, Salinas, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Our World Mission Network, along with the Conference Educational Resource Team (CERT), is going to be helping with the hospitality for this event. AS MEMBERS OF THE WORLD MISSION NETWORK We NEED YOUR HELP!!

1. We will be starting with a coffee hour at 9:30. It would be great to have several volunteers to help come to St. Paul's by around 8:30 a.m. to set up coffee, tea, etc. and make preliminary preparations for lunch.


2. It would be great to have some donated breads and fruit for this coffee hour also.


3. The lunch will have sandwiches catered and delivered by Quizno's. We’ll be placing this order and purchasing paper goods, drinks, chips, cookies, fruit, etc. as soon as we have an idea of what the registration numbers are.

REGISTER NOW AND INVITE OTHERS.

Registration is through Susan@edecr.org. People are being asked for a $5 donation to help defray the cost of lunch. Judging from the excitement around the diocese on World Mission outreach, we think this meeting will be well attended.

The agenda is still being developed, but from the most recent information we have, Bishop Mary will be talking about the Triad Companion Diocese Covenant and how it is shaping up from the diocesan delegations which she has lead to Western Tanganyika and Gloucester. A discussion will be had concerning this pivotal moment that our diocese is experiencing, how the other World Mission Partnerships will relate to the Companion Diocesan Partnerships, and how these other established partnerships might be of assistance to the CDPs. The youth who have done mission trips through the Sierra Service Project are also going to be invited to come and talk about their experiences. The challenges are “how to do together what we cannot do alone.”

There will be time for people to work together in small groups on specific outreach ideas. This would include a group that wants to address some of the issues about other parish relationships that are currently in place (Hope With Sudan, Haiti, Mexico, etc.)

If you would like to help with set up, clean up and hospitality or provide a treat for the morning coffee hour, please let me know as soon as possible. jrshreve@aol.com (Please put WMN in the subject line.)

Pictures of Tanzania from Gloucester Delegation

From Lucy Taylor, Diocese of Gloucester:

Here are links to our photos! You can view them at www.flickr.com/photos/36996861@N07/

You can view our links page on http://www.gloucester.anglican.org/mission/link/

Triad Companion Relationship - Tanzania Slide Show

Our world travelers Bishop Mary and Brian Nordwick are back from an amazing journey to our companion diocese of Western Tanganyika! And they've taken lots of pictures to share with everyone.

Rev. Canon Brian Nordwick sifted through over 800 pictures to present these 52 photos and 3 videos here in this slide show:



You can also check out the slide show in a new window and super sized here. Or if you like, you may view the subset of pictures used to create the slide show here. The entirety of the photos are located here.

Enjoy!

Triad Companion Companion Relationship: Western Tanganyika

From Rev. Canon Brian Nordwick:

We made it here safe and have had a great couple of days. A celebration with over 2000 in church at the cathedral today where the documents of the partnership were signed. All is well. We have a very busy and tight schedule. They are very welcoming and very appreciative of our visit.

Click to view movie/slideshow below:

or click the image below to view all pictures individually:

Triad Companion Companion Relationship: Western Tanganyika

World Mission Network Convocation Summary

From Joanna Shreve & Jerry Drino:

We had some great conversation at the World Mission Network Convocation this past Saturday at Church of the Good Shepherd in Salinas. Canon Jesus Reyes shared about his experiences as a missionary in Mexico and Brazil and how those experiences have helped form his approach to missionary work and to evangelism and congregational development. To sum up his message (which does not begin to do it justice!), he encouraged us to be open to imagining -- to remove preconceived ideas and stereotypes and, instead, be receptive to new and different understandings and experiences.

The Rev. Amy Denny-Zuniga and her husband, Vincent, shared about their three year experience as missionaries in El Salvador. It was hearing their stories that we found ourselves talking about "pilgrimages" rather than mission trips. Americans often find that visiting and living in third world countries can be such a shock because of the extreme poverty and hunger usually so prevalent. As we try to integrate ourselves into these communities, what is it that we bring and what is it that we can learn about ourselves and what is it that we can bring back to our home communities? Pilgrimages are transformational experiences and we need to pay attention to "re-entry" into our home communities for those who go on mission trips.

The Rev. Jerry Drino presented some thoughts and questions about the shift in our understanding of the meaning of mission for today. There has been a distortion in the past with the belief that mission was taking something to some people who did not have what we have. This is the "Imperial Attitude of Mission." From the teachings of Jesus it is clear that mission is God's Mission. Our vocation, if we chose it, is to arrive at the place where God's Mission is most likely to be experienced. Jesus gave a clear indication of where this might be when he said, "I was hungry and you feed me, naked and you clothed me, thirsty and young gave me to drink, in prison and you visited me..." Jerry talked about the Hawaiian concept of enlightenment called A'o aku a'o mai" which comes as a reciprocal experience of interaction between people, something that is discovered together and between each other. What is in the midst of such relationships is the Kingdom of God, Jesus' term for God's Mission.

The Rev. Jerry Drino closed out the day with a conversation around what some of our next steps might be as a network of people dedicated to promoting mission outreach. We hope to be on the schedule of the visiting bishops from our companion dioceses in September and we want to invite those who go on our summer mission trips to share their experiences with us, and hopefully support them in their "re-entry" back into our communities.

This March 2009 Convocation was prayerful, joyful and inspiring. We look forward to inviting you all to future convocations.

Summaries Introducing the Diocese of Gloucester

From Bishop Michael Perham:

Please take a look at these four documents written by Bishop Michael, to help The Diocese of El Camino Real learn more about Bishop Michael and the Diocese of Gloucester:

• The Roots of the Diocese of Gloucester
  
• Introducing Bishop Michael of Gloucester
  
• The Challenges of the Diocese of Gloucester
  
• International Partnerships of the Diocese of Gloucester
  

(Very good reading and highly informative. Please post your comments; especially if you learned something unexpected, enlightening or surprising about our triad partner overseas -- ed.)

Greetings to our Companions

From Bishop Mary:



Thanks to Rev. Ed McNeill for his production work on this video.

Companionship Prayer

The following prayer, in both English and Swahili, is a prayer for this new triad companion relationship between our diocese, the diocese of Gloucester, and the diocese of Western Tanganyika. Bishop Michael wrote it, based on the companionship agreement, and with the input of Bishops Gerard and Mary. The Bishops have agreed to hold one another in prayer.

Please join Bishops Mary, Michael, and Gerard in praying for our new relationship together:

Holy God,
source of healing and of peace,
bless with your grace the companion dioceses
of El Camino Real, Gloucester and Western Tanganyika.
Through our partnership one with another
may we grow in mutual affection and communion,
seek a more profound experience of truth,
build up the Church in unity
and give glory to Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Ewe Mungu uliye mtakatifu
Asili ya uponyaji na amani, Tunakuomba kwa neema yako
uzibariki dayosisi zinazoshirikiana za El Camino Real, Gloucester
na Western Tanganyika, ili kwa njia ya uhusiano huu kati yetu,
tuweze kukua katika kuungamana pamoja na kuelewana,
tukichuchumilia kuijua kweli yako hata kulijenga kanisa katika umoja
na kumtukuza Yesu Kristo Mwokozi wetu, Amina.

A Message from Bishop Gerard

The following is an email message from Bishop Gerard of Western Tanganyika, one of our new companion dioceses. He describes the beautiful ceremony they have planned for the signing of the companionship agreement, which will take place this Sunday, November 30.

Dear Mary and Michael;

We are getting more excited as we draw near to the real day....Sunday Nov. 30.

Let me briefly share with you what we have planned to do. The Launching ceremony will be done at St Peters Church, at Mwanga Musanga Parish. As I said this is my home town and home church. I had already planned to visit them on this Sunday and so we decided we might as well have the launching event there.

We shall begin the Eucharist service until after the Nicene Creed. After the Creed we will sing a song as my chair gets brought forward in front of the Alter. After I am sitted into my Episcopal Chair, the Diocesan Secretary Canon Mathayo Kasagara (who by the way is our communication person) will read a statement to set the stage as to what we are about to do. After he finishes the reading, there will be a procession of bringing the Partinership agreement to the bishop. There will be three women carrying three barrel like african traditional baskets. The middle basket will be a little bigger and will contain the official document to be signed. The other two baskets will contain the swahili versions. So as the process begins from the main door at the back of the church, they will be escorted by young men and women dancing and celebrating the joy of the beginning of our companion relationship. After they arrive in front of the bishop, the bishop will receive the middle basket containing the gift of our relationship ie the official document. This is how chiefs received special gifts from their people. Then another lady will then read the agreement document. After the reading, and before signing it, a swahili translation will be read to allow people to hear the contents of our agreement. After the Swahili version is read, I will stand up and sign the agreement on the alter in the midst of shouts of joy and celebration. After the signing is done, I will say the partinership prayer in swahili and then a choir will sing the set song for the occasion. Then my sermon will follow.

That is what we have planned to do. After the document is signed, it will be put back into the same basket which will be kept in my office. When people come to my office they will always remark about the beauty of that basket and I will always remark that, the beauty of that basket is the symbol of the beauty of our tripartite relationship. By the way after my signature, one of our senior lay canon and also a Trustee member of the diocese will also sign as a witness.

I have another suggestion to make. Since you two are coming here in March, how about signing our partnership together during your visit, rather than mailing copies to each other? Here we really don't trust our mail system. We might lose some copies. So if you really like what we want to do on Nov 30th, we could repeat the same celebration here at the Cathedral when we are all three together. What do you think about this idea?

+ Gerard

Bishop Mary's Address to Convention 2008

Photo: Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson, used with permission







Click here to read the full text of Bishop Mary's Address: Bishop's Convention Address

Bishop Mary, in her address to Convention, encouraged us all to stretch our boundaries, locally and globally

• She challenged us to get to know someone or a context in our community that is outside our comfort zone, remembering that multi-cultural parishes grow far faster:

"Be mindful in your prayers about where you may need to stretch: children? Culture? Color? Gender? Sexuality? We all have an edge that meets the open expanse of change as we encounter the reality of another. Make it a point this year to take in and absorb, rather than judge, the fullness of another, who is other, than you."

• She talked about the thought behind establishing a companion relationship:

"In other words there had to be enough room in this relationship that we could be ourselves: those who could be financially generous and those who can only give a little, gay, straight, world travelers, homebodies, lay and clergy. This would not be a relationship just for the bishops, but a large communal space that could potentially hold us all."

• She talked about how the Triad Relationship was visioned:
  

"[Bishop] Michael [Perham of Gloucester] suggested that in companioning, we really needed to have an American, an English and an African diocese companion together, keeping all the matters that challenge our communion before us; owning, accepting and working with the myriad of our theological and cultural diversity, speaking, listening, challenging and helping one another in the ways that we each need.

I believe we are being gifted with this opportunity of a triad relationship with Gloucester and Western Tanganyika for both mission and for a deeper relationship with fellow Anglicans around the communion."

• She spoke about the place of this Companionship in our ongoing mission efforts:
  

"I am well aware that individuals, groups and entire congregations in our diocese have significant and important relationships with other churches, schools and outreach organizations around the communion. It is not the intention of a diocesan companion relationship to displace those, but rather to add to the repertoire of mission and communion opportunities of our diocese, so that whomever would like to participate will have a chance to do so."

• She played this video from YouTube- to show the context for our ministry, and responded to it (below):
  

"Sort of scary isn’t it? Stop trying to keep up – we will make ourselves crazy trying to do that. In fact, the key is to go to the deeper stillness of God’s abiding Presence, not to try to keep pace with all these shifts. 'Be Still and Know that I am God' has never been a more necessary spiritual practice than in these days. Jesus Christ is still our foundation, and spiritual principles are timeless... When we are grounded in Christ, we are okay, no matter what. He is our foundation. I imagine that people caught off guard and overwhelmed by the rapid shifts in our lives, might appreciate a firm foundation and some timeless spiritual principles... Across all our diversity, grounding in an eternal and spiritual reality is something we all seek. That basic human need is one of our most unifying realities"

• The Triad Companion Diocese relationship was enthusiastically approved by the delegates!
  
• See More info on the Companionship in posts below: Click Here
  

Triad Companion Relationship Accepted

At the Diocese of El Camino Real Convention yesterday, the delegation unanimously passed a resolution which makes official our new companion relationship with the Diocese of Gloucester in England and the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania.

See Bishop Mary’s powerpoint presentation on Lambeth and this new relationship below: Click Here

See the network’s discussion article on this relationship below: Click Here

Bishop Mary said in her address to Convention that she had already been stretched and transformed this companion relationship, and she knows that wonder is in store for us.

The Bishop also said that this relationship is not a replacement for other mission activities. Rather, it will add to the repertoire of mission companionship opportunities in our Diocese.

Bishop Mary's Presentation on Lambeth

The powerpoint presentation that Bishop Mary gave at Lambeth, is now available here on our blog! In it, you will see pictures and information about the Bishop's time at Lambeth, and also background for the proposed Triad Companion Diocese Relationship between ECR, Gloucester, and Western Tanganyika.



Please post your thoughts about this triad relationship by commenting on this article, or the article below which details the relationship.

Discussion Topic - 3 Way Diocesan Companion Relationship

What do you think about the possibility of a 3-way Diocesan Relationship, as proposed by the Bishop? How do you think this relationship will impact our diocese?


Background:
At a meeting of the World Mission Network, Bishop Mary proposed a Triad Companion Diocese Relationship with a diocese from the Church of England (Gloucester) and a diocese from the Anglican Church of Tanzania (Western Tanganyika). Bishop Mary met Bishop Michael (Gloucester) and Bishop Gerard (Western Tanganyika) at Lambeth. All three of them are interested in perusing a relationship together, engaging in conversation about the issues facing our churches and the communion (i.e. women's ordination to the episcopate, human sexuality, poverty, etc.) and in working side by side on mission projects.

We are gathering comments from people around the diocese. Please post your thoughts here!

What would this look like?
-The bishops would visit each other for conventions and other participatory events.
-The bishops would continue in conversation and come up with a "rule of life" that they can share.
-Groups from each diocese would be engaged together in conversation, visits, and mission projects.

See the discussion points from our meeting's minutes:
Minutes 9-6-08 Meeting

Also, see the Presentation given by Bishop Mary on Lambeth and this relationship: Presentation

Companion Relationship

Our diocese has begun the process of seeking a Companion Diocese Relationship. A Companion Diocese Relationship is an official relationship entered into by two dioceses in different parts of the Anglican Communion.

Companion Relationships exist to strengthen each participant in ministry and mission. Ideally, such relationships will involve the partners in increased awareness of the single mission to which each is called. That mission includes: Mutual encouragement and prayer for one another, Intensified knowledge of and concern for one another, and the exchange of resources both spiritual and material. (Guidelines for Companion Relationships, http://www.episcopalchurch.org/agr/companion/)

Bishop Mary asked us to begin the diocesan World Mission Network to celebrate, vision, and empower each other in our mission together. Part of that work has been the beginning of the discernment process for where we may be called to form a Companion Relationship. We gathered at a discernment day (see earlier blog entry) in April. From that day, we came up with some guidelines for Bishop Mary to use as she meets with bishops from around the world at Lambeth this summer. On September 6, the World Mission Network will be having a meeting at St. George’s Salinas (9:30am-12:30pm), everyone who is interested in companionship, mission, or the world, should join us! Bishop Mary will be reporting to us about her time at Lambeth, and the process of moving forward with a Companion Relationship.

Please look at the “Next Steps” section under the blog entry for April 19, and add your comments. What would you add? What points do you think are most important?