Bishop Howe's Address to the 40th Diocesan Convention

 

 

 

January 24, 2009

 

The Rt. Rev. John W. Howe

  

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Fortieth Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida! And thanks to Upper School Principal Dennis Herron and the staff of Trinity Preparatory School for welcoming us and accommodating us so very hospitably. We last held a Convention here at Trinity six years ago, in 2003 - which turned out to be a fairly momentous year for The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion!

 

We have come a long way since then! And we need to do a little looking back, and a lot of looking ahead.

 

But let me begin with thanks, as well, to all who have helped set up for our time together and to Canon Ben Lane and the musicians and choir members who are supporting us in our worship today - weren’t they terrific! Very special thanks, too, to Bishop Ed Salmon for being with us, and for that wonderful homily at our Eucharist; and to Bishop Lloyd Allen for joining us and bringing his greetings and encouragement from Honduras, our Companion Diocese for 36 years!.

 

 

            We meet at a moment in American and world history of extraordinary danger…and extraordinary opportunity. Conflicts in the Middle East and between India and Pakistan - involving nations that now have or might soon have nuclear weapons - conflicts between the United States and Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts between Russia and her neighbors, all remind us that the possibility of conflagration did not end with the coming of a new millennium. The world-wide economic collapse, well characterized as “a train wreck in slow motion,” and the unfolding pervasive dynamics of climate change, are just a few of the realities that confront all of us.

 

            Just four days ago Barak Obama became the forty-fourth American President. Whatever your political point of view, there is no question this is a momentous event in the life of our nation, and our new President faces tremendous challenges. I remind all of us of our responsibility to pray diligently for him and his new administration, for the members of Congress and the judiciary. This is specifically commanded in Scripture. St. Paul wrote to Timothy, “As a matter of first importance, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” (1Timothy 2:1, 2)

 

            There are a number of collects in the Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 820, for those in every level of governmental responsibility, and I bid all of us to use them in our daily devotions and frequently in corporate worship.

 

            I ask you to join me in the Collect For Sound Government right now:

 

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, especially our new President and his Administration, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.

 

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.

 

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.

 

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.

 

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.

 

 

            You know, a Fortieth Anniversary is a “Big Deal” Biblically.  Forty years constitutes a generation, and it is the sacred responsibility of each generation to receive from the past, and transmit to the future all that God has entrusted to us. 

 

            In his Second letter to Timothy Paul wrote, “What you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2:2) I like to think of that as five “generations”: Jesus to Paul to Timothy to faithful people to others…and to others and to others…and to you and me; and we have the responsibility and privilege of passing it along to those who will come after us.

 

The Psalmist wrote:

 

[God] established a decree in Jacob,

            and appointed a law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

            to teach to their children;

that the next generation might know them,

            the children yet unborn,

and rise up and tell them to their children,

            so that they should set their hope in God…. (Psalm 78:5-7)

 

And again, “One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4) Generation to Generation to Generation. Aren’t you grateful for the people God used in your life to bring you to faith in Christ? And he wants to use you to bring others to himself, and “declare his mighty acts.”

 

 

This past year and a half have easily been the most difficult time in my life, personally, and I daresay equally so in the life of this Diocese. But out of it have come some “mighty acts” of God that we need to declare.

            Just a year ago we were in the midst of the fallout from several of our congregations splitting, and clergy and parishioners “disaffiliating” from The Episcopal Church - and therefore from the Diocese of Central Florida. You will remember that two of our smallest congregations left entirely, and a third went independent, and is renting its facilities back from the Diocese.       

 

            I asked the clergy in charge of the five congregations that split just about down the middle if they would each give me a brief update - what Paul Harvey might call, “The Rest of the Story.” Here is what they had to say:

 

            Fr. Robbie Robison, Interim Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Maitland, wrote, “As I reflect on Good Shepherd’s progress during the past year…I am amazed at how relatively ‘normal’ it is. Following the divisions early in the year, we have, with tremendous encouragement from too many people to name, completed 2008 with increased attendance, a small budget surplus, and the confidence that the 125 year history of Good Shepherd is continuing. 

 

            “Our vestry and wardens, along with a congregation totally committed to the Lord and each other, have risen to the challenges of the year by pitching in wherever the need was presented, caring for each other and those outside our walls, in ways that have fostered growth and stability. Our Food Bank ministry has risen to the current economic challenges and is supplying food to over 100 families each week, while Good Shepherd enters 2009 with a balanced budget that includes our return to giving a diocesan pledge [thank you very much!] We have initiated our search for a permanent Rector while thanking the Lord for the leadership he has already brought forth from among us. To sum it up, ‘God is good!’”

 

            Fr. Jonathan French was the Assistant Rector at Grace, Ocala, and he stayed on as Interim Rector, and then was elected Rector on May first. He wrote this: “With the difficult divorce of the last year, Grace Church saw its average Sunday drop from about 450 to 114, and its budget shrink from one million dollars to just under three hundred thousand. As serious as those numbers are, they are actually much healthier than we expected as more people stayed than was anticipated and are now giving at a level well above the national average. 

 

            “However, the most difficult part of the divorce has been the broken relationships that were once strong and vibrant but now have become impaired and strained. And yet, in the midst of that pain, God continues to bless Grace Church as several new families have joined and new leaders are stepping forward to spearhead new ministries and outreach opportunities. We are a long way from stability, but we have seen God honor the word he gave us just after the initial split: Jeremiah 29:11 - ‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

 

            You will remember last year meeting Fr. John Wright, a retired priest from Maryland, who had been worshipping at Holy Cross, Winter Haven, and who heard the call of God to become Interim Rector there for the next several months. With the tireless assistance of Deacon Betty Harrison, and the vestry leadership of Senior Warden Don Kennon - who will become the President of the Southwest Deanery at the end of this Convention (congratulations, Don!) - Holy Cross has rebounded from the loss of 60% of its members and 40% of its revenues to become healthy enough to call a new Rector, Fr. Richard Bordin, former Assistant at Church of the Messiah in Winter Garden, as of October nineteenth last year.

 

            Richard wrote, “This congregation’s spirit remained remarkably intact and strong. Our vestry was outstanding in their wise leadership and steady display of faith in God. We continue to rebuild and grow. We came through 2008 stronger than we could have imagined. We are still hiking uphill, but we have faith we will get there.”

 

            Fr. Bob Maurais had been retired for more than a decade when we asked him to return to his former parish, St. Edward’s, Mount Dora. He wrote, “I am happy to report that St. Edward’s is making steady progress since its second split in thirty years. From a sad and discouraged remnant following the departure of half of the congregation in December 2007, we have grown in attendance and income through a welcoming spirit to visitors and newcomers each week. We still have a long way to go, but we are gradually returning to normal. It is refreshing to see young families returning and to have the Sunday nursery so full. It is wonderful to be able to baptize them as well. Many thanks to the entire Diocesan family for your prayers and encouragement.”

 

            Finally, Dean Rick Lobs, retired from the Cathedral, is serving as Interim Rector at Trinity, Vero. He writes that Trinity was “reborn on July 1, 2008. At that beginning Trinity consisted of a handful of worshippers and a choir of one imported singer. Over the last five months Trinity has blossomed into a visible witness to the grace of God. The worshipping congregation now numbers on average 250, and the choir is well stocked with folks singing their hearts out to the glory of God. We have a children’s ministry and significant outreach. The greatest challenge remains the financial requirements and concern for a campus that is far too large for us…. [But] the bottom line? Trinity is alive, growing, and that with contented parishioners who labor under extraordinary financial pressures.”

 

            Brothers and Sisters, we have been through a ghastly time! And we have heroes in our midst: clergy and lay people who love the Lord and who are so faithful to his Church that my heart almost bursts with thanksgiving and pride in them. I want to ask the five Rectors and Interims that I have just mentioned, along with the members of their delegations, to stand and allow us to acknowledge and thank you for extraordinary service under very demanding circumstances.

 

            Having said all of that, it is a bit risky to single out one person for particular thanks, when so many have done so much so faithfully. And I pray to God that no one will feel slighted when I do exactly that, because there is one person on whose shoulders there fell a burden of leadership that was beyond calculation. Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach simply would not have survived were it not for the literally thousands of hours of extraordinarily hard work, prayer, and perseverance of their retiring Senior Warden, Warren Winchester.

 

            Warren, if you will come forward, please…I want to present you with this plaque, which reads as follows:      

 

 

 

 

John W. Howe, Bishop of Central Florida        

 

            Here is the “bottom line” concerning this terrible season of splits and disaffiliations: we have weathered this “perfect storm” with no inhibitions, no depositions, no lawsuits, and no loss of property. We remain on good terms with those who have left. One of the priests whose congregation left the Diocese attended the Midnight service at the Cathedral on Christmas Eve along with his wife. One of the congregations that left continues to supply the food bank of their former parish. Virtually everywhere we pray for each other. And we are rebuilding where we have suffered losses. 

 

            “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!” (Psalm 48:1)

 

 

            This is a season of new building, as well! The Church of the Ascension, Orlando broke ground for a new main church building in March, and obtained occupancy just in time for Christmas Eve. The building is just under 10,000 square feet, and it doubles their seating from 150 to 300, and includes new office space for all of the staff. They are turning the original building into a parish hall with a refurbished kitchen. Here are pictures of the front from two angles, and one of the congregation unloading the 300 chairs on December 21^st, and then the altar as it was decorated for Christmas.

 

            The cost was $1.83 million, and this new facility gives Ascension a presence on Apopka-Vineland that they have never enjoyed previously. And - pay attention: since the beginning of construction they have had 51 new family units join the church!

 

            (It isn’t quite as simple as this, but somewhere I heard that, “If you build it they will come.”) We will be dedicating the new Church of the Ascension tomorrow morning.

 

            This story has an exact parallel at St. Mary’s, Belleview. They have erected a new 7,000 square foot main church building that can seat up to 300. Here is a picture of the new building on the left, and the original building that was constructed in 1989 on the right. You can see the wall that connects them, and behind it a little courtyard between the buildings. Here is a shot of the front doors opening into a spacious narthex, which they never had in the first building. Here is a shot of the nave and sanctuary. Another shot on the first day they were able to worship in the new church. And finally, a somewhat dramatic shot of the steeple and cross. And we will be dedicating that new building next month.

 

            St. Mary’s also has seen an increase in attendance since opening the new church in September. The project took 18 months to complete, at a cost of $1.33 Million.

 

            The campaign for building a new four story multi-purpose building at All Saints, Lakeland was kicked off in October - on the very day of the disastrous stock market collapse! That collapse did not dampen the enthusiasm of the congregation to move forward in the next phase of strategic parish planning that began back in 1994. The new building will house a youth floor, an administrative floor, a floor devoted to music and worship, and a top floor - with a complete kitchen - designed for the fellowship of 350 people. 

 

            The project will take 12 - 15 months, at a projected cost of $6 million, about half of which has been raised so far. Ground-breaking is scheduled for next summer. Fr. Al Jenkins says, “The pledge program takes place over 60 months and includes the new families that join each year.” This project will complete the entire renovation of a physical plant that was really falling apart when Fr. Al went there 20 years ago.

 

            Blessed Redeemer, Palm Bay has broken ground for its new facilities, and a three phase Building Plan is in the works. Holy Trinity, Melbourne is in the midst of a half-million dollar set of additions and renovations. Reedemer, Avon Park has completed the first phase of its relocation, with a spectacular first building in use this past year, and a total of eight construction projects in various stages of planning. Many of our congregations are “dreaming dreams and seeing visions” of future construction and growth.

 

            Congratulations to all of you; this is so exciting!

           

 

            Let me move on to a number of specific “bits and pieces.” In 2008 six Rectors and three Assistants were called into the Diocese. We had five persons ordained to the transitional diaconate, five to the vocational diaconate, four to the priesthood, and two received into the priesthood from the Roman Catholic Church.

 

            Eight more persons are pursuing ordination to the vocational diaconate, and seventeen to the priesthood. We currently have seven seminarians attending Asbury, Trinity, Sewanee, Nashota House, Virginia, and Yale.

 

            The Institute for Christian Studies remains strong and active, offering nearly 60 courses and workshops each year. Enrollment in the 15 Scripture classes averages 13 - 16 students each Saturday, 12 - 15 students in the 15 religion classes, and about 35 students in each of the Pastoral Care Workshops.

 

            God continues to raise up leaders for ministry, both clergy and lay.

 

 

            All of our student ministry initiatives continue to be well-attended and life-changing. The vision for student ministry throughout this Diocese is: “A generation of students pursuing Jesus Christ, serving him passionately in the fellowship of the Church.”  Let me mention some specifics:

 

 

I urge you to visit the website www.episcopalyouth.com for all the details.

 

            Since we began the “Safeguarding God’s Children” program for the protection of children and youth from abuse, back in 2004, approximately 6,000 people have completed the training either in a classroom setting or through the Armatus on-line training.

 

            The Church Pension Fund has now developed “Safeguarding God’s People,” a new parallel program for adults in the prevention of exploitation and harassment. Planning is underway for this Diocese to begin using the new curriculum this spring.

 

            Ours was the first Diocese to complete the original training, and we remain committed to providing as safe, healthy, and wholesome an environment as can possibly be provided in all of our congregations, ministries, and activities.

 

 

            Fortunately, 2008 was very calm in terms of natural disasters. The Diocese of Central Florida was not involved in major hurricane or tornado strikes; however, there were flooding challenges which the Diocese addressed with monetary contributions.

 

            As an update, in early 2008, we received the full $25,000.00 Grant we had requested from Episcopal Relief and Development in 2007. This money was promptly used to help resolve the unmet needs resulting from the Ground Hog Day tornadoes in 2007.

 

            Even though it has been over three years since the New Orleans disaster, we continue to assist in the coordination of parishes desiring to aid those in New Orleans.

 

            I want to remind everyone that it would be prudent to periodically review the Parish Disaster Plan which we have prepared to assist the parishes in preparing for several kinds of disasters. This Plan can be found on the Diocesan web site.

 

 

            All of the Dioceses of The Episcopal Church have been asked to take on one or more of the Millennium Development Goals and address a specific project to implement it or them. Our MDG Committee, chaired by Canon Nelson Pinder, determined that we should focus on eliminating malaria in East Africa, specifically in the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania, where a number of us have a variety of long-term associations.

 

            Accordingly, we called for a special Christmas Offering this past year to supplement the monies we were already laying aside for MDGs, and at least one of our congregations, St. Barnabas, Deland, has made an all-out effort to implement this same project at the local level. Their contributions, combined with those of the Diocese as a whole, currently total $30,000! This means we will be sending some 2,500 mosquito nets overseas. These nets not only protect the people using them, but over time they will tend toward the elimination of the disease itself, as they prevent the insect carriers from getting to the blood supply. So, we look for this to be an ongoing commitment, not just a one-time deal.

 

 

            I want to comment on two more things. I ended last year’s Address with a call for us to “Take Central Florida for Christ!” and we have been striving all year to determine what that means. Certainly it includes evangelism, discipleship, and outreach. The Christian Formation Commission has accepted the charge to develop a catalogue of “Best Practices.” They are working to determine what is effective, what “works” - well - here, and elsewhere, and how can it be replicated?

 

            We are doing an Evangelism Workshop next month at Canterbury, called “How to Give Away Your Faith,” that I think will stand on its own - I hope many of you can come - but it will also be reproduced on DVDs so that it can be used in our congregations, and indeed, exported: to equip all of us to be able to share the life-changing Good News of Jesus with others, more confidently, more naturally, without fear of offending or embarrassment on anyone’s part.

 

            Christian Education, Stewardship, How to Develop an Outreach Program - all of these things come under the category of “Best Practices.” We want to determine who is doing what, well; and what is God blessing? And how can we reproduce such practices?

 

            We believe that one of the greatest needs in the Church today is to develop a brand new, lectionary-based, Biblically orthodox, Christian discipleship curriculum that can be used in Anglican and other churches around the world. It simply doesn’t exist. We are going to work with other Dioceses, the Anglican Communion Institute, and whoever will join us to produce it. This will be a huge project, but we are committed to getting it done: “Generation to Generation.”

 

            Finally, the Cursillo Movement has been one of the instruments most used by God to bless, refresh, revitalize, renew, empower, equip, and enable individuals, families, and the congregations of this Diocese throughout the first Forty Years, this first Generation, of our life together. And I believe it is time to call all of us to a recommitment to it.

 

            The Cursillo Commission and I have met together, and we plan to make some minor adjustments to the program to try to make it even more of a blessing, and a higher priority. I am asking all of our clergy: if you have not yet made your Cursillo personally, will you please do so this year?

 

            I will confess to you that for thirteen years, while I was a Rector in Virginia, I resisted invitations to do that, myself. I was put off by those who seemed to be fanatical about Cursillo; I wanted them to be fanatical about Jesus!

 

            But then, when I was elected your Bishop, and I came to understand how important Cursillo was in the life of this Diocese, I determined to “make my Cursillo.” And Karen and I did so, just before coming south. And we were blessed - beyond our imagining - as nearly everyone who has been through the weekend will attest. 

 

            Co-ed Cursillo #108 will be at Canterbury March 12 - 15, Thursday evening through Sunday evening. Men’s Cursillo #109 will be there September 17 - 20, and Women’s #109 October 1 - 4. Hispanic Cursillo #3 will be there June 19 - 21.

 

            If you need help with the cost, we’ll help. But, let’s do it. De colores!

 

            We have a very full agenda today. I am excited by the prospect of implementing so many worthwhile endeavors together. I ask everyone to help move things along as expeditiously as possible. Let’s try to handle the business with graciousness and dispatch - so we can get on with the mission.

 

            I want to close with a prayer that the Congregational Development Commission has been using over the last few months. It comes out of the Church in Zimbabwe.

 

 

Lord, I have stepped over the line. The decision has been

made. I am your disciple. I won’t look back, let up, bow down, back away, or be still. I am finished with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of despair, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stored up, prayed up and preached up for the cause of Christ. Amen.