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Via Media Rio Grande Newsletter
March 2004

Our mission:
To pray and work towards a healthy, balanced, and reconciling Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande.


PROCESS FOR ELECTING A BISHOP OUTLINED

Recently a letter was distributed by the Standing Committee of our diocese which outlined the process for the discernment about electing a new bishop for our diocese:
1 . A survey will be mailed to all members of the diocese, due to be returned by March 15.
2 . Days of discernment for the laity will be held in Albuquerque on March 27 at Trinity Church, Albuquerque, and April 3 at St. Francis on the Hill, El Paso.
3 . Clergy conference will take place March 31-April 3.
4 . A diocesan profile will be developed and finalized April 27, using information taken from the survey and the meetings with laity and clergy.
5 . Nominations will be sought, screened, and selected from May through September.
6 . Final candidates will visit the diocese October 7-11, and the election will be held on October 16.

The makeup of the Episcopal Discernment Committee is as follows:

Southwest Deanery: Bo Mapes, Pro Cathedral of St. Clement’s, El Paso
Yeadon Smith, Pro Cathedral of St. Clement’s, El Paso
David Etzold, Pro Cathedral of St. Clement’s, El Paso
David Jeans, St. Francis on the Hill, El Paso
Deacon Mary Trainor, St. Francis on the Hill, El Paso
Fr. Brian Hobden, St. James, Mesilla Park

Southeast Deanery: Cathy Jones, Episcopal Church in Lincoln County, Ruidoso
Deacon Fred Griffin, Church of the Ascension, Cloudcroft
Jack Probst, Big Bend Mission, Alpine

Northwest Deanery: Carol Ashby, St. Mark’s on the Mesa, Albuquerque
Fr. David Luckenbach, St. Mark’s on the Mesa, Albuquerque

Northeast Deanery: Christine Johnson, St. Bede’s, Santa Fe
Deacon Joan Garcia, Holy Faith, Santa Fe

OUR HOPES FOR A DISCERNMENT PROCESS

At the two public meetings Via Media Rio Grande held in January, nearly 300 of us discussed our hopes and concerns about our diocese. Three themes emerged when we identified what a fair, balanced and open discernment and search process would look like to us:

1 . We value the richness that comes from living with the creative tension of our geographical and theological diversity. We want the makeup of the search committee to reflect this richness, and we want the discernment and diocesan profile process to draw out our diversity and value it.
2 . We want the search committee, candidates for bishop, and the new bishop to take seriously the divided nature of our diocese, the need for reconciliation, and our concerns about how unresolved authority and structural issues in the Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglicanism will play out in our diocesan future. We hope that these issues will be addressed in our discernment process meetings, survey, profile, and discussions with the candidates for bishop.
3 . We appreciated the kind of communication we experienced in our gatherings, and feel the ongoing need for this kind of safe, respectful, honest, and ongoing dialogue about issues in our diocesan life that concern us. To this end, we wanted the search process to include town-hall meetings around the diocese featuring small groups and skilled facilitation.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

As you consider the process as outlined and the hopes we articulated together in January, what do you think about the following?

The survey: Is the diocesan list of members current enough so that all will receive a survey? Will congregations take the initiative to make extra copies available for new members? Is the two-week window that is scheduled enough time to get the surveys through the mail, filled out, and back through the mail to the discernment committee? Will the survey ask questions that will get at the issues we raised in our January gatherings?

The discernment meetings: Will the lay and clergy meetings provide a safe, open environment where the discernment committee will listen carefully to all the participants’ concerns and hopes for our diocese, and then included in the diocesan profile? Will the settings be large enough to handle all the laity who might wish to attend and give input? Will the great distances between areas of our diocese prevent many of our members from traveling to either Albuquerque or El Paso to attend the meetings?

The makeup of the discernment committee: Why is there such a discrepancy of numbers between the four deaneries? Why are certain parishes represented so heavily? Why is our cathedral not represented, considering that the cathedral is the bishop’s church?Is the theological diversity in our diocese proportionately represented by the theological orientations of the committee members?

The profile: Is a general survey and one large meeting for clergy and one large meeting per geographical area for laity the best means by which an accurate, thoughtful, balanced, and thorough profile can be written? Will the authors of the profile include a description of diocesan conflicts and need for reconciliation which we identified in our meetings, so that candidates will be able to assess whether they are called to serve us in the future?

The questions raised above are just some of those that arise when we look at the process as outlined, alongside the issues we identified in our public meetings in January. What do you think? If you would like to make your thoughts known, see the section below on How you can make a difference.

OTHER DIOCESAN NEWS

We are now a part of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes
At a meeting on January 27 2004, the Standing Committee took the action of joining our diocese to the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes. The Network is currently exploring ways of realigning Episcopal and Anglican structures of authority, in response to the actions of General Convention last summer. At issue in particular is their goal for having alternative bishop visitors for conservative congregations in liberal dioceses, without the requirement for permission from the local diocesan bishop. They are also working to strengthen ties with bishops in certain parts of the Anglican Communion that are in tune with their mission. You can see their own theological and organizational statements on their website, www.anglicancommuniondioceses.org.

What can a congregation do about this?
In other dioceses that have also joined the Network, certain congregational Vestries have chosen to make a statement of disassociation from the Network. These statements cite the parish’s canonical membership in and allegiance to the Episcopal Church and their own diocese; they indicate that they therefore have no need of official affiliation with other church entities; and they disassociate the parish from any actions or statements that might be made by the Network. Might some congregations in the Diocese of the Rio Grande take this step? If so, we suggest that they send a copy of their resolution to our bishop and Standing Committee, the Presiding Bishop’s office, Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, and Via Media Rio Grande.

A RESPONSE TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE’S STATEMENTS ABOUT US

What has been said
In recent correspondence from our Standing Committee mailed to all members of our diocese, they made several statements about Via Media Rio Grande, our supposed intentions, and our communication with the wider church.

First, they included a letter which Via Media sent to all bishops and standing committees of the Episcopal Church, which asked them to withhold consent for the election of a new bishop in our diocese, and which cited as reasons for this request: the uncertainty about authority in our church and open conversations about the possibilities of a break in our church; the current climate of polarization in our diocese and the Standing Committee’s refusal to meet with Via Media to hear our concerns; and our need for an interim bishop who could lead us along paths of reconciliation.

The Standing Committee also included the letter of response which they sent to all bishops and standing committees. In this letter they emphasize that they are duly following canonical process, have no intention of splitting from the Episcopal Church, and defend their decision to not meet with us as something that would have contributed to a politicization of the process of discernment.

Then, in a letter dated Feb. 6 from the Standing Committee to all the people of our diocese, they repeated that they are following due canonical process and the guidelines of the Presiding Bishop’s Office of Pastoral Development. In regards to Via Media, they claim that “misunderstanding about this process” has lead us to “attempt to block the election.” Further, they called our attempts to “subvert the due process of the election” “reprehensible, destructive of the life of the diocese, and [which] do not promote healing for the church.”

Our response

First, as members of the church, we all have a responsibility to take an active and vocal role in the work of the church, including raising questions about how we discern and elect a bishop. At ordination, priests make a vow to “to take [their] share in the councils of the Church.” All baptized members are called upon to work together for the health of Christ’s body. Therefore it is our duty to be vocal about what we believe would contribute to our health, and to seek meetings with other members and with the leadership of our diocese towards that end. It is incumbent upon us to make recommendations to Episcopal bishops and standing committees, who are required by canon to make an informed decision about whether we should go forward with an election at this time. These actions are not, as is claimed, subversive to due canonical process, but rather a way of participating in it.

Secondly, our diocese has been openly alienated from the Episcopal Church; our concern is that alienation could easily turn to schism, given the right circumstances. Our bishop publicly suggested that congregations remove the word “Episcopal” from their letterhead and other publicity, a proposal which some congregations have followed. He also said that he would work in support of those who might choose to leave the church. We have cut off funding to the Episcopal Church. Our bishop has not received communion in the House of Bishops or General Convention in many years.

Thirdly, canonical process has not been followed. The first thing according to canons (III.25.1.c) is that the bishop, during his call for the election of a coadjutor at our fall convocation, should have informed the diocese of the duties expected of this coadjutor. The Standing Committee explained in their letter that the bishop has announced his eventual retirement, and so “for all practical purposes” it is understood that the duties of the coadjutor will eventually consist of the normal duties of diocesan bishop. While this may seem like a small legalistic detail, our real concern is that it could reflect a wider disregard for careful and respectful attention to the requirements of church canons and property law that govern our life together.

Finally, and most importantly, the reality of diocesan polarization and the need for reconciliation have not been addressed. In the letters to members of our diocese and to Episcopal bishops and standing committees, there was no acknowledgment of the divisions, alienation and pain among a significant minority of our diocese that Via Media has identified. Because we have called for an interim bishop and for safe and open dialogue about our differences that would lead to healing, we have been called destructive, subversive, that we misunderstand the process, and that we do not promote healing for the church.

The situation in our diocesan system is very much like a family system that experiences great conflict and pain, and when one member of the family asks for counseling and healing, the others turn on her and claim that the only conflict that exists is being created by she who raised the issue.

Is it not true that when one member of a family feels there is a serious problem, then there is, by definition, a serious problem? As St. Paul said, If one member suffers, all suffer together with it, and therefore the members should have the same care for one another? Jesus himself called us as the church to recognize that when even one of the sheep becomes isolated, the shepherd must drop everything, seek it out, care for it, and include it back in the fold.

Instead, our concerns have been ignored, dismissed, even condemned. We hope that our leadership will reverse this state of affairs as we move ahead into dialogue during the discernment process and in our eventual relationship with a new bishop.

VIA MEDIA GOES NATIONAL

We are not alone. In every diocese where there have been similar divisions and where some have joined the Network, Via Media groups have arisen spontaneously, from the ground up, with no central planning, sponsorship, or funding. Recently leaders of each of these groups discovered one another and began to communicate with one another through an email list serve. After a number of conference calls, a decision was made to have a meeting of the leaders of all of these groups. It will take place in Atlanta on March 25-27. The purpose of the meeting is to support one another in our difficult circumstances, and to see if a coordinated response to church developments on a national level may be advisable in the future.

The bishop of Atlanta will celebrate Eucharist with us. The Via Media leaders observers from the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church (our national governing body between General Conventions, chaired by the Presiding Bishop). The Executive Council accepted the invitation, sending three of their members. In responding, they cited their desire to observe the work and concerns of various groups in the church today, and specifically their previous desire to attend the October meeting of the American Anglican Council, from which they were barred.

Via Media Rio Grande Steering Committee members Diane Butler, Dick Murphy and Brian Taylor will attend the gathering in Atlanta, and will report on it in future Via Media newsletters.

HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

1. Participate actively in the search and election process
Attend the days of discernment for laity and clergy (see directions below). Be directly in touch with members of the discernment committee, listed above, about your concerns, either in person, telephone, or in writing. Look for the survey which will be mailed March 1 or download it from our website, fill it out and return it before March 15, copy it for others in your congregation who may not have received it.
Day of Discernment, March 27, 9am to 3pm, Trinity Church, Albuquerque:
Directions: I-40 to Louisiana (north) exit
Turn right on Prospect (one block south of Menaul)
Church is located at intersection of Prospect and Chama
The church building has a large sign painted on the outside wall that says
"Kids on Track."
Day of Discernment, April 3, 9am to 3pm, St. Francis on the Hill, El Paso
Directions: I-25 to I-10, first Mesa exit to Resler
left on Resler to third light, right on Escondido
Cross light at Westwind, St. Francis is on the immediate right

2. Stay informed and connected
Talk to one another in your congregation, perhaps forming a discussion group for this purpose. Talk to other Via Media members via our website (this has now replace the more troublesome Yahoo list serve, which flooded your inboxes with everyone’s thoughts. Now you can choose whether to participate in discussions by going to our website, www.viamediariogrande.org)
Also see relevant articles and links which will be updated from time to time on our website.
If you’ve picked up this newsletter and aren’t on our mailing or email list, contact us (see letterhead) and join in.

3. Spread the word
Distribute copies of this newsletter to others, provide copies for members of your congregation, and encourage others to join our mailing list or visit our website.

4. Attend Upcoming Via Media Rio Grande regional gatherings
Announce regional Via Media meetings, and clergy meeting prior to the March 27 and April 3 days of discernment and March 31-April 2 clergy conference. Announce that there will be regional Via Media meetings after the whole diocesan discernment and profile process is done, sometime in May. At this meeting we will form any response to it we might want to make, to eventually send along to candidates for bishop.