CONVENTION ADDRESS 2007
The Right Reverend Orris G. Walker, Jr.
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Isalnd
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is the 19th consecutive year that it has been my privilege and high honor to stand before you as a bishop in the church of God and most especially as your bishop. These years together have often been stormy but with the grace and help and love of God, I am able to come before you as a living manifestation of the convention’s theme because “a wind from God has swept over me just as it has swept over the waters” and like the formless earth, I am continuing to be shaped by God.
As the spirit moves over the water, order is brought out of chaos and it is God indeed infusing God’s life into me, God infusing God’s life into you and God infusing God’s life into this enterprise we share together known as the Diocese of Long Island. All of us, all of God’s creation, are blessed by God’s Spirit –the force which energizes and inspires.
All of this talk about water and the Spirit lead me to reflect on my baptism when I was incorporated in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. In the water of baptism, we are buried with Christ so that again we can experience new life through the resurrection of Jesus. This is a profound mystery which we are called to live into and it is so profound that we may not fully comprehend its meaning. Just as human love, imperfect as it may be, escapes our full appreciation and understanding, the divine love which reveals itself in Jesus is truly beyond our human comprehension.
In our baptism, we are empowered for the work God would have us accomplish here on earth - the calling of all creation back to the original purpose of the Creator so that the creation may be recognized as whole and good.
As each day in the creation story unfolds, the Creator who makes the land, sea and animals proclaims “It was good.” The Creator’s goodness is not always evident for when we look at the challenges before us, from time to time, we just become overwhelmed.
However when we look back at our lives, we remember God’s gracious hand at work in and about us and we recall the many successes and victories that are ours to enjoy by the grace of God.
And so we say “God is good. All the time.”
Looking back over 19 years of messages to you, I realize that one of the great challenges of this office is reporting to you as both your chief pastoral officer and chief executive officer and finding that appropriate blend. For many years as I prepared this address, I faced the dread of knowing that Bishop Michel would be regaling you with jokes, puns and all the clever stories that I have now come to learn can be found on the internet and as you know that is just not my style and I have warned Bishop Ottley!
Let me begin by saying what a joy it is for me to welcome back to this community Jim and Lillian Ottley. They are no strangers to us here and I couldn’t be more delighted to have them back in the Diocese. I invited him to come as Assisting Bishop at the beginning of this year. There may be some among you who will remember that he served us briefly as Assistant Bishop in 2000. Now with the consent of the Standing Committee and your positive affirmation, Bishop Ottley will again serve as Assistant Bishop. As such, he would be able to share in the responsibilities of the several Diocesan Corporations of
Since an assistant bishop must resign when the diocesan retires, this works well for us. This summer, he celebrated his70th birthday and he has permission from the Church Pension Fund to continue his Episcopal ministry here on Long Island.
Bishop Ottley’s prior work as the Ordinary in Panama, Anglican Observer to the United Nations, Bishop-in Residence at Central Islip and assistant bishop in the Diocese of Southeast Florida all give him a depth of experience that will serve us well here in Long Island. In addition to oversight work in the Suffolk Archdeaconry, because he is both bi-lingual and bi-cultural, he is an excellent choice to “restart” the Hispanic Commission. He and the Commission will be identifying new opportunities that need to be developed for the expansion of Hispanic ministry in this diocese.
I also want to thank Bishop Richard Shimpfky, the resigned bishop of El Camino Real in California, for assisting with the many confirmation services held in the diocese. I am thankful that he has served with distinction as Bishop-in-Residence in St. George’s Church, Flushing. Your help, sir, has been greatly appreciated.
Let me close this portion of my remarks by giving thanks for the life and ministry of one who truly knew the power of the Spirit – Annelle Martin, the wife of Bishop Richard Beamon Martin, for whose guidance, friendship and counsel I give continual thanks to God. What a witness to our present age. The Martins were married 63 years.
It was my personal joy, along with many others, to experience this faithful and holy union. Norma and I were truly blessed by this wonderful relationship. And so we pray, rest eternal unto her and may light perpetual shine upon her and may she rise in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our call to Mission and Ministry on Long Island takes many forms and we should always be involved in the Church’s mission to the world. Through our Baptism, we are ALL called to some form of ministry - the ministry of ALL the baptized.
One of the ministries that we have been blessed with has been conducted by our Chancellor. Canon Robert Fardella has been guiding us through some very complex and difficult legal matters. His ministry would not be possible without the support, patience and willingness to share him with us of Jane Fardella. I am most grateful to the both of you.
This diocese would not be able to function without the loyal support of my deputies and staff. We have probably the smallest staff of any diocese our size in the national church and to all of you, I am more grateful than you probably know.
Let me officially welcome and introduce Canon Clement Lee better known to all of us as Kris. As Canon for Communication he has taken on the responsibility of assisting with both print and electronic communication. I am deeply grateful to you Sir for sharing a portion of your retirement with us. Canon Lee - please be recognized by the Convention.
What would we do without the insightful and humorous response to the Bishop’s address – which as most of you know is really a high point of this convention. Following in a noble tradition, the rapiered tongue of Canon Bill Viola has helped us focus on the appropriate response to this address. Canon Viola, as your bishop, I want to thank you for providing a wonderful, joyful, fun-filled ministry at St. Anselm’s Shoreham, for your service as President of the Standing Committee and priest-raconteur par excellence.
We are also most fortunate to have talented archdeacons who offer their wisdom and experience to the ministerial enterprise of this great diocese. I am grateful to the regional deans and archdeacons for their pastoral ministry and their support of my Episcopal ministry.
Of course, along with them, the faithful parish clergy and lay leaders and volunteers must also be praised and recognized for their service and dedication. Our most recent Diocesan Council meeting was held on the night that tornado warnings were posted and over three inches of rain fell, talk about a wind from God sweeping over the waters, and we had a quorum. That my brothers and sisters is true dedication and service to the Diocese.
One of our flagships here on Long Island is Episcopal Health Services – which is one of the larger health care systems in New York State. Under the leadership of the Board of Managers, the administration, medical and supporting staff, we are in a very different situation from that which I encountered when I first assumed the responsibility of Board chairperson in 1991.
My thanks to all who make it possible for me to say that we are not mired in debt, and thanks to be God that we are part of the 20% of the hospitals in New York State that operate in the black – no pun intended!
Let me also include my thanks to the Board, administration and staff of Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn where we also have a special responsibility for its operations. It was a proud day for me last January when the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, cut the ribbon opening the new East Building at the Hospital.
Episcopal Community Services, also known as Family Consultation Service, is developing a more comprehensive social service program following the pattern established by other Episcopal dioceses in the nation and it is seeking to serve the entire length and breadth of the Diocese. I ask your prayers and support for the new course they are plotting.
The Diocese has been richly blessed by the generosity of those who have gone before. Chief among the great gifts we enjoy is the George Mercer Memorial School of Theology. The exciting new educational offerings for both clergy and laity are a sign of great hope and to the Director, Canon Denis Brunelle, I am most grateful.
We continue to bear the fruit of the seeds sown by Bishop McLean when he established Episcopal Charities of Long Island. Their written report is before you and I am pleased to introduce to the Convention the new Director of Episcopal Charities and my Deputy for Stewardship, Mother Clare Nesmith. Mother Clare. And thank you Episcopal Charities for providing the coffee this morning.
Three bits of follow up:
At our last Convention, I called upon the Diocese to “Go Green”. Just remember I did that before NBC sent their reporters to the ends of the earth. Many of you have taken this challenge to heart and the Department of Program and Services has provided some good leadership on ways to be “greener”. In Garden City, we have changed most of our lighting, stopped using toxic cleaning supplies and lessened our reliance on paper goods at meals and receptions. These are baby steps but we are moving forward.
On Tuesday, in Her Majesty, the Queen’s address to Parliament, she endorsed the Millennium Development Goals. I thought – well - here again, we are in the vanguard because two years ago we affirmed and accepted the challenge of supporting the MDG’s both morally, spiritually and financially. I am so pleased that Dr. Robert Radtke, the President of Episcopal Relief and Development will be addressing us this afternoon and I urge each of you to join the ONE Episcopalian campaign.
And finally: At our last convention, I called for a “study of the role, ministry and feasibility” of Camp DeWolfe. We must be ever-mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of that which has been entrusted to us. I now call upon Dean David Lowry, a member of the study committee, to give a status report on the work of the Committee. Dean Lowry.
In this Diocese, we have been blessed by many parishes where ministries are conducted in the “language of the heart.” That is, the language we learned as a child, this is the “language of the heart.” We pray with some ease when we use this language. In this diverse community where there are many “languages of the heart”, we must recognize and affirm them for they make it possible for us to express the deepest longing of our hearts.
As time moves on, sociologists tell us that the next generation of new arrivals tends to pick up the language of the school and the larger community. Since Long Island is a port of entry, there will always be a need to acknowledge the various cultures that make up our communities and the languages spoken therein. To say the least, this is a challenge to our church, especially if we are to live through neighborhood transition in the various communities on Long Island.
This past summer, I was confronted with an unsettling suggestion. For some reason, my wife picked out a book for me to read. My first reaction was not to consider reading it because she gave it to me, however, as husbands slowly learn, I found myself following her suggestion. Moreover, her suggestion was a good one as it was building upon my reflections on languages of the heart. Her choice, Mainstreaming: Asian Americans in the Episcopal Church was written by the Rev. Dr. Winifred Vergara, the director of Ethnic Congregational Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City and a priest licensed to serve in this diocese. Dr. Vergara, an Asian theologian, is a church planter, visionary leader, and the author of two books. In his work, he raises some disturbing questions about how our church might incorporate new members and transform essential congregational life. The question before us is how can we move the language of the heart out of its constricted zone and how can this spirit move throughout the diocese.
Much of what he has to say has been tested or experienced here in the Diocese, but I still found many of his observations disturbing. He poses a question that we must seriously consider, “Could we as a Mission Minded Diocese move in new directions?
I, more than most, appreciate this conundrum that we are living into. The difficult balance we face is getting some Euro-Americans to accept the fact that a multiracial, multicultural America is now a visible and irreversible reality. If we are to take advantage of this new vitality and energy, then we have to level the playing field and deregulate and un-guard the gates. Old structures and systems must be transformed – if not we will all fade into oblivion.
What is the significance of this for The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Long Island which is made up of communities in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk? Will we address these new opportunities in our midst with resistance or will we graciously embrace them with a sensitivity that will ensure that they are a part of our mission strategy? I, for one, believe that if we do not embrace this new paradigm, we will be heading toward our own annihilation. However, if we embrace these opportunities, I believe that God will enable us to make the necessary transformations. The challenge lies before each one of us – What can I do as one individual to assist in this necessary change in direction and how can I work toward the development of a new church community? How can I feel the empowering and life giving wind from God sweeping over me.
As we look at the struggle of the early church, we realize that they too had to address a similar challenge. The question for them was what should be done with the Gentile Christians that Paul and his followers were converting to the faith in great numbers? This was debated at the first church council known as the Council of Jerusalem. Fortunately, the meeting concluded with the decision that the Gentile converts did not have to convert to Judaism before becoming Christians. In other words, this council “mainstreamed” the Gentile Christians.
That did not mean that problems ended there. The early church still had to constantly work on the incorporation of people of different races, social strata and nationalities into one holy fellowship.
Let me just add, my brothers and sisters, incorporation goes two ways. In some of our communities especially in Brooklyn and Queens, Euros are moving into previously all ethnic neighborhoods and they need to be welcomed into our churches. This isn’t just a one-way street!
With this in mind then, let us plan for the future and respond to the call to being mission minded. We cannot turn back the clock to return to the supposed “Good old days.” No matter how much we fantasize about them, they weren’t that good and we can’t find enough of “our kind of people”. The only door open to us is the door of opportunity that the future brings. So I ask you my brothers and sisters, as we prepare to meet Jesus at his second coming, who will be in our pilgrim band from the Long Island Diocese?
We must be intentional about this mission of the inclusion of persons who have come to these shores for a better life. In planning our missionary program, we must be prepared to establish new missions or start up and start over and make support a priority item in our budgeting process.
This diocese has a unique opportunity like probably no other diocese in the church to help our beloved Episcopal Church change to become the kind of community of faith God desires for these times in this place.
As we continue to struggle to be a Mission Minded Diocese, I submit that there is a certain perspective that we must have. I would dare to call this the “Jesus perspective” firmly rooted in the tradition of the Gospels. We must ask, "How did Jesus see these things and what were his hopes and dreams for his new followers?"
The Gospels are filled with stories of Jesus upsetting the status quo of the Jewish religious community therefore, we, too, must see through His eyes, feel through His heart, think in the mind of Christ and most assuredly we must strive to live as He lived. During His earthly ministry, He engages those individuals who were compelled to live on the margins of life – the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the Samaritans, the Syro-Phoenician woman at the well, lepers, children and those with all manner of demons. These individuals were not highly thought of in Jesus’ day and respectable individuals and those in authority would not find many of these folk as suitable dinner guests.
These individuals however, played an important part in His ministry. He conversed with them, taught them, healed many and ate with them. If Jesus, the “author and pioneer” of our faith did these things, I ask you “should we not be willing to imitate him?” “Should we not follow Him especially into those ‘gray areas’ of life, where there are difficult encounters that make us most uncomfortable?”
So who are the outcasts of our present day society? We know most of them but we often choose not to see them or deal with them in our day to day living. In every generation, the church must ask the hard questions about those who are being left-out.
Weeks ago on Proper 18, we were confronted with a passage from St. Luke’s Gospel in which Jesus tells his disciples that “If any one come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
WELL! That is truly one of those difficult sayings of Jesus because at His time, the individual owed strict allegiance to his or her “household”, the extended family. It was this relationship that gave meaning and status to one’s life. Leaving this relationship meant losing one’s identity. Jesus’ call to His first followers and to us is to be part of a new household, a new extended family and Jesus would have all His children included in the new cosmic extended family of those who do the will of His Father.
Today the church continues this sacred fellowship, this intentional family of new “mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and significant others.” An extended family committed to change and to make God’s creation what it was meant to be for all people.
I firmly believe that we cannot enter the fullness of Jesus’ promise unless we engage these individuals. As we seek to make sense of this teaching of Jesus, there is much we can learn from the so-called “outcasts” of our society. Part of the present debate in the church is who should be included and to some who should be excluded. If these new folk don’t think, or act, or dress as we do, are they welcome? And…if their sexual orientation differs from ours, what place do they have at the Lord’s Table?
It seems that the record of the Gospels indicates that we must be with Jesus as he moves through the uncertain areas of life. We cannot let convention or social convenience dictate how we must act as contemporary Disciples of Christ. The Church is called to be with the Lord as he shows us a new way. “Behold I make all things new.” This can be a frightening announcement but it can also be a way of offering new hope and new direction.
What we shall be has not fully been revealed as Scripture teaches us, but when Jesus appears, hopefully we will be more like Him. This is the most important challenge that the church of our day must address and the challenge we must accept as we work toward becoming that new welcoming community that Dr. Vergara challenges us to become, that welcoming community that our marginalized brothers and sisters ask us to become, that welcoming community that the social misfits and outcasts ask us to become. Do you, do I—do we have the will to accept that challenge? If we are to become contemporary disciples then we have only one answer – a resounding yes.
As I move toward the conclusion of this my 19th address to convention, let me reflect with you a bit on this present time of my Episcopal ministry. A time for transition is upon us and your adoption of Resolution #2, Concerning Election of a Bishop Coadjutor, began the process. And so, in what may be an anti-climatic statement, I now make the formal request to begin the process that will lead to the election of a Bishop Coadjutor.
In preparation for making this statement, the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, members of the staff, the Chancellors, Bishop Ottley and I met with Bishop Clayton Matthews of the Office of Pastoral Development from the Presiding Bishop’s Office to begin to plan for the election and the requisite succession planning.
Tomorrow morning, Convention will receive a report from the Joint Interim Oversight Committee that will lay before you a report and what I believe will be a series of action steps and resolutions. Also tomorrow, when the 2008 budget is adopted, it contains an allocation for Episcopal succession. And so my brothers and sisters, a process to facilitate an orderly transfer of the responsibilities of the Episcopal office has begun. At the electing convention, as required by the Canon, I will state the areas of jurisdiction but as a preview to that event, it is my intent to assign those areas that have to do with reshaping and developing new
ministry development, working with the deployment officer, the supervision of seminarians and oversight of two archdeaconries.
To those who ask why a coadjutor --because it allows for an orderly transition not only of the office of the bishop but also for the myriad corporations and institutions of which the bishop serves as president. I have asked myself this question many times and each time, the decision is affirmed as the best course for the future of the Diocese of Long Island.
On Monday past, I attained 65 years. I have thirty-eight years of ordained ministry including 19 years of Episcopal ministry and the Spirit is telling me it is now time to transition on to new ministry opportunities. It has been a great joy to serve as an under-shepherd in this portion of the vineyard. The ministry that we have shared together have been wonderful years and they are not quite over yet as we have much to do to prepare for our successor.
I am truly appreciative of what God has done for me as I attempt to remain faithful to God’s call to me. The task before each one of us is one we have inherited from our foreparents. We are called to do our part as we prepare others to take up the quest until the kingdom is revealed in its fullness.
Yes the Spirit of God is sweeping over the waters that embrace the Dominion in the Sea. And “Thanks be to God!”
My brothers and sisters, my prayer for this convention and each of you as we gather to make the decisions that will define and shape our future is A Prayer for Being Ourselves
Let us be still and know that we are not God!
Let us be aware of God’s continuing and compassionate presence.
Let us be sensitive to our particular strengths and weaknesses.
Let us be open to new faces, new ideas, new ways.
Let us be quiet long enough to hear God’s voice and our neighbor’s cry.
Let us be fair, be friendly, be faithful.
Let us be adults in the world and yet still Children of God. Amen.
AMEN and Thank you.
