Bishop's Address to the 43rd Annual Diocesan Convention, Melbourne, Florida
Posted January 21st, 2012
The Bishop’s Address
Forty-Third Annual Convention
of
The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida
Held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy
Melbourne, Florida
January 21, 2012
The Right Rev. John W. Howe
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:2)
Welcome to the Forty-third Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida, and sincere thanks to all who have helped prepare and set up for our time together. And very special thanks to Mrs. Cathy Ford, Headmaster of Holy Trinity Academy, and all those who have joined her in welcoming us and in extending to us the gift of hospitality today.
Canon Ernie Bennett and I were here seven years ago for the dedication of this Chapel, and we took one look and said simultaneously, “Convention 2006!” Happily, the Administration agreed, and – in my opinion – it was one of our very best Conventions. It is good to be back!
Thanks, too, to Andrew Walker, Chair of our Liturgy and Music Commission, for your work in putting together our Convention liturgy; and to all the students who participated in our opening Eucharist.
It was a special privilege for me to welcome retired Bishop Gerard M’Pango, from the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania, as our preacher at the opening Eucharist. If I may reminisce just a bit…
+Gerard was ordained in the mid-1970s, and his Archbishop, a man with the delicious name, Musa (which means “Moses”) Kahuranga, sent him to the Virginia Theological Seminary for further training. +Gerard began attending Truro Church, Fairfax, Virginia, where I was Rector, and we quickly became great friends.
Halfway through his time at VTS he got a letter from the Archbishop saying he had been elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika.
But there was one caveat: “You need to find a wife and get married before coming home.” (Bishops in Africa exercise a bit more authority than Bishops do in America!)
For the next year and a half I had the outrageous cheek of listing +Gerard on our service leaflet as, “The Rev. Gerard M’Pango, Assistant Bishop-elect, Diocese of Western Tanganyika, seminarian-in-training.”
Well, +Gerard found Margaret, a Tanzanian young lady, living with her brother in D.C. He proposed, she said yes, and Archbishop Musa came to America to do the wedding with me.
One problem was finding a dress for Margaret on a very limited budget. They looked in a wide variety of places, and came up with nothing. Our receptionist said, “You know, there is a wedding dress that has been hanging in the closet since before I came on staff here. I have no idea who left it there. Why don’t you try it?” It fit as if it had been tailor-made for her.
Our parish decided to give them a shower for their wedding, and +Gerard and Margaret arrived, looking very uncomfortable. It was a lovely afternoon, with lots of presents for the bride and groom, and after a couple of hours people began to leave. +Gerard said, “Is that all there is?” “Yes, that’s all; I think that was pretty generous, don’t you?” “Aren’t you going to wash us?”
A “shower.” (Strange American custom!)
+Gerard invited me to preach his Consecration sermon, which meant Karen and I flew into Nairobi, just east of the Tanzanian border, to meet up with the newlyweds, and after spending the night the four of us, with all their presents, and all our luggage, were scheduled to fly across country in a small single-engine plane flown by Missionary Aviation Fellowship.
Finally it arrived, and the pilot taxied up to us and our small mountain of supplies, and he said, “Oh, they didn’t tell you.” (Don’t you love conversations that begin that way?) “There is no gas in Mwanza, and we can only fly half way across country before having to refuel. I have to take extra gas with me, and one of you is going to have to stay behind.”
+Gerard immediately took charge: “I’ll stay.” “How did you decide that?” I asked. “I’m not leaving my wife here, and I’m not leaving either of you here. I’ll stay.”
“Gerard, you’re the only one of us who has to be there! There is only one fact here: we’re not splitting up!” And then, to the pilot, “Why don’t we try going somewhere else?” “Well, there might be gas in Tabora.” “Why don’t we try that?” And, of course, there was.
“But,” said the pilot, “I can’t possibly take all your gear; I’ll never get off the ground.” I said, “Do you remember what Moses said to Pharoah?” “No.” “He said, ‘We will go, and our children will go with us. Our flocks and our herds will go; our cattle must go with us. Not one hoof shall be left behind.” (Exodus 10:24-26)
“How much do you weigh?” he asked. “Ummm, about 175,” I replied. “Yeah, right.”
So, we all piled into the plane, with all of our luggage on our laps, looking for all the world like the Beverly Hillbillies going to an air show!
Well, that plane shook and shuddered, and shuddered, and shuddered…and barely cleared the trees…but we made it.
And so began a friendship that is now more than three decades old. +Gerard wanted to be here for my Consecration, but we couldn’t arrange it. He wanted me to be with him for his last Convention, but we couldn’t arrange that. How glad I am that you could be here for my last Convention.
By the way, it was with his help that we began the Mosquito Net Project back in 2008. To date we have contributed $106,825 to it.
Thank you, +Gerard for coming, and for sharing the gospel with such power and clarity.
Transition
In one sense it has already been a year of very focused transition. And I want to say Thank You, once again, to so very many people who have enabled us to move through it so expeditiously. Let me begin with the members of our Standing Committee, and please stand as I mention your names (Convention, hold your applause until I’m done): The Rev. Al Jenkins, President, The Rev. Phyllis Bartle, Secretary, Mrs. Anneke Bertsch, The Rev. Tim Nunez, Mrs. Patty Tew, Mrs.Maggie Thompson, and The Rev. Eric Turner. What yeoman’s work you all have done!
And now, may I ask all those who have served, or are serving, on any committee or sub-committee connected with the transition; will you please stand, as well?
I said in the Central Florida Episcopalian that our process has created a new model for the Twenty-first Century that enables the clergy and people of a diocese to choose a Bishop much more knowledgeably, and much less expensively than I think has probably happened since that dove lighted on Fabian’s head back in 236 A.D.!
In another sense, of course, the real transition begins on March 24, and I have asked Bishop-elect Brewer to be here, and to address us as we come to the close of our business today. This is not primarily a time for looking backward; it is a time for looking forward, and I am very much aware that “he must increase, and I must decrease.
So, again, Congratulations, Greg; welcome, and may God continue to bless and equip you as you continue to prepare for your new responsibilities.
A Few Highlights
When I was ordained to the priesthood my Bishop made the comment, “This is the best part of being a Bishop: raising up people for ordained ministry.” I would broaden that, and say the best part is raising up, training and deploying people for all the ministries of Christ’s Church, lay and ordained. But I would certainly have to agree with him that the privilege of ordaining men and women to the priesthood and the diaconate is one of the best parts, for sure.
In the last not-quite-23 years I have ordained 109 vocational deacons, and – coincidently - another 109 transitional deacons. I have ordained 105 men and women to the priesthood, and I have received 2 others from the Roman Catholic priesthood. And, while many of them have accepted calls elsewhere, let me say it again: we have some of the very finest clergy in the world!
Believe it or not, I have also had the privilege of confirming 10,307 people, and receiving another 2,937!
We have “planted” eleven congregations that have survived (which is far better than the national average of about a 50% survival rate). They are:
- Advent, Dunnellon
- Blessed Redeemer, Palm Bay
- Corpus Christi, Okahumpka
- Coventry, Ocala
- Holy Presence, DeLand
- Incarnation, Oviedo
- Jesus de Nazaret, Orlando
- St. Joseph’s, Orlando (though it is about to merge with St. Mary of the Angels)
- St. Mary’s, Belleview
- San Christobal, Orlando (in a way a new incarnation of St. Christopher’s, but really a new plant in an existing facility), and
- Shepherd of the Hills, Lecanto
We weathered two terrible seasons of “disaffiliation” in which a total of eight of our congregations split. But all eight have called new Rectors, and all eight are well into recovery.
And I would rate our Institute for Christian Studies, our Diocesan Youth Ministry, our Communications Department, our Disaster Relief Ministry, Central Florida Cursillo, our Contemporary Worship School, our “user-friendly” tools for Short Term Mission Trips, and our Parish Discipleship Weekend program as having set the standard of excellence for the whole of The Episcopal Church.
(By the way, at this point, only one of our congregations has actually used the Parish Renewal Weekend materials, even though the original Resolution passed in 2009 called upon “every congregation of the Diocese to participate in this Parish Renewal Weekend within two years.” Rectors and Vicars, this is great stuff; I urge you to use it.)
We celebrate 39 years of companionship with the fastest growing diocese in the Anglican Communion. What a privilege to be part of what God is doing in Honduras, and to have Honduras be a part of what God is doing here!
We have adopted, as a sort of motto, the phrase, “Taking Central Florida for Christ.” That is a job that will never be finished, at least until the Lord Jesus returns in glory. But I believe we have proven steady and faithful in pursuing that vision.
And I have given thanks, year after year, for what I believe is the finest diocesan staff in the country. Will you join me in giving thanks for them, one more time?
Two Men to be Honored and Thanked
In addition to all those I have already mentioned, there are two men who have served me, and the Diocesan Board, and the Diocese as a whole, in truly extraordinary ways. In all honesty, I could not have done this job without them. I hope very much they will both be available to our new Bishop for at least a season. So, this is not a time to say good-bye; but it is a time to say thank you.
The first is our Vice Chancellor, the Honorable William A. Grimm. Bill, will you come to the podium, please? On behalf of the Diocese of Central Florida I present you with this plaque:
“With God are wisdom and strength;
he has counsel and understanding”
Job 12:13
To our Well-Beloved in Christ, The Honorable William A. Grimm,
You have served the Diocese of Central Florida
as Assistant Chancellor and
Chair of the Committee on Constitution and Canons
You have made yourself available for consultation and guidance whenever needed,
(and that was often!)
And we give thanks to you and to the Lord
for your long and faithful service
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you;
And give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
The Forty-third Annual Convention
Of the Diocese of Central Florida
January 21, 2012
And the other is our Chancellor, the Honorable Council Wooten. Butch, will you also come to the podium, please? (And this one I want to make slightly more personal.)
“With God are wisdom and strength;
he has counsel and understanding”
Job 12:13
To our Well-Beloved in Christ, The Honorable Council (“Butch”) Wooten:
One of the very best decisions I have ever made was
asking you to become my – and our – Diocesan Chancellor.
You have guided us through a maze of decisions for nearly a quarter century.
You have taught us and helped us to understand the law and its application.
You have given of yourself unstintingly, and we are deeply grateful.
Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you.
A good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap;
for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Luke 6:38
Thank you, Butch, for service extraordinaire.
John W. Howe, Bishop
The Diocese of Central Florida
January 21, 2012
A Personal Word
Many of you know that just before Christmas Karen’s and my life took an unexpected turn, as our son John’s two teenage children, Johnny (age 14) and Madeline (“Madi,” age 13), came to live with the three of us.
So, just on the eve of retirement we find ourselves back in the parenting business! God does have his surprises! We are enjoying this unexpected new adventure, and in the light of it we anticipate staying right where we are for at least the next five years, to see both of these grandchildren through high school.
And, during that time, I have told Greg that I am available to him in whatever way(s) he might find helpful. So, I hope to see many of you in days to come.
A Final Word
The last twenty-three years have been an adventure of trusting God, and seeing him prove himself faithful, time after time after time. I thank you for the privilege and the honor of being your Bishop. I thank you for your love, your support, your forgiveness.
My prayer is that each of you individually, and all of you collectively, will “keep on keeping on;” that you will “continue to make the main thing the main thing,” that you will be bold in your witness and warm in your welcome, that Jesus will be lifted high in Central Florida, that he might draw all people to himself.
You know, I have toyed with the phrase we use every time we read John’s Gospel: “The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.” My monthly column has been under the heading, “…according to John.”
(I don’t think it is going to have quite the same ring if it is replaced with, “…according to Greg.” Maybe he will have to come up with something different – like “Greg’s Brewings”!)
In any event, one legend has it that the Apostle John lived to be very elderly, and increasingly frail, to the point that he finally found speaking very difficult. In spite of that he was invited to come and address the congregation in Ephesus. There was great excitement in the community about the visit of the revered saint. Like many events, the hype was so great that there was an almost inevitable let-down predicted by some. But for most folks that didn’t dampen their anticipation.
Finally the day arrived, and the frail old man stood to address the assembly. His words were simple and few: “Little children, love one another.”
Some of the younger men complained. After all, they had come, many at great inconvenience, to hear the old apostle, and they expected more. But the wiser among them said, “No; he has told us a most profound truth. Anything more would simply be commentary.”
So, whether we are together or apart, whether we see each other next here in Central Florida or at that great Banquet to which we are all invited, let me conclude with the exhortation from my namesake:
Whatever else happens in The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, or the kingdoms of this world, Dear Friends, Love one another.
