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I am including it here, in this “extra edition” of the blog.. and the response resolution, offered by the Rev. Gene Tucker and Mrs. Marion Schwartz.
It was a great Convention. I am grateful to God for our work together.
The Rt. Rev. Audrey
Cady Scanlan
Bishop’s Address
Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania
Diocesan Convention
2016
Spooky Nook, Manheim
Last night, you heard a story about me (the slow start to the beginning of my
career as a McDonald’s Evangelist) and you shared stories with each other from
your own lives, as connected to our Holy Scripture.
…all in an effort to build community and to gain a better
understanding of God’s call to us and our identity as disciples of Jesus.
This afternoon… let me share another story: a story of us. In parable form.
The Kingdom of God is
like…
The Kingdom of God is like… a woman who travels from her
homeland because God said, “Go,” and the People said “Come.” When she arrives in this new place, she finds
it a delight to the eyes and a feast for the senses: tall, green mountains; wide, generous fields
with winding rows of corn; a broad river; sparkling streams … trout, deer…
eagles and hawks soaring in the sky; brilliant sunsets of orange and pink and
red; hope-filled sunrises of orange
and pink and red, cast against the blue-black hills.
The people are kind. And swift to love. They share the bounty of the land as the
woman makes her way around: eggs, honey,
strawberry jam. Even some homemade wine.
They gather with her for worship- singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts
(Col 3:16). They wash their children in
the waters of baptism, receive, again, the Holy Spirit in services of
Confirmation and Reception, and join to witness the miracle of Christ made manifest,
again and again, in the holy food of Jesus’ body and blood.
The people and the woman break bread, share table fellowship
and they introduce the woman to real bologna, chicken corn soup, a soup with
broad noodles called “chicken pot pie”, and the decadence of whoopee pies,
Hershey Chocolate and Wilbur’s buds. And
it was good.
An affection develops and a trust begins to build and the
woman hears about the people’s sorrow:
of lost industry, environmental damage, struggling communities, drug
epidemics and gun violence in the cities.
These concerns are raised up, held up high, and offered with a weariness
that begins to wonder from where will their salvation come.
And… it is clear, to the woman,
that salvation is in their midst- already- in the faith that they hold in the
Lord God and in the power of the Holy Spirit. This faith and this power fuel an
amazing amount of work: in soup
kitchens, in community gardens, clothing drives, and backpack projects. The Spirit is alive in prison visits, nursing
home calls, at hospital bedsides and in the halls of St. Stephen’s school. God is active among those gleaning in the
cornfields and apple orchards, at the Community Computer Outreach Center in Mt
Carmel, in the voices of the children’s choir at St. Andrew’s, York and among
the hundreds of souls who find community and salvation in our parish halls in
12 Step meetings. The Spirit of God
blows through projects like Transform Jersey Shore. We Share in Marietta. Through the circle of
teenagers at a Happening, and in innovative worship on Saturday nights at St.
James. In the Beacon Program in Altoona,
the Beacon Clinic in Harrisburg, and
the Episcopal Home in Shippensburg.
Jesus’ hands are reaching out in new programs like campus ministry in
Bloomsburg, in brave building projects like at St. John, York, and in the
wilderness hiking ministries of the Northern Tier.
Our salvation is at
hand- as God opens
our hearts with compassion to care for the lost and lonely, the poor in spirit,
and those who know not the Lord Jesus, but who receive measures of Gods’ grace
in the mission of our Church.
The Kingdom of God is at hand. Here, in Central Pennsylvania. And, the woman... and the people rejoice,
together, for the gifts they have been given, for the blessings of God and for
the work, still to come.
The end.
But- it’s not the end.
It’s really, just the
beginning…
…the beginning of our time together as I enter the slip-steam
of God’s presence among us, here in Central Pennsylvania and work with you to
greet the future of God’s Church.
Let me talk a little bit about where we’ve been together, in
the last year, and about my hopes for the next steps of our journey together:
In this past year, I have focused on listening and discernment.
I’ve visited more than half of our congregations (38) on Sunday mornings, participated in
Confirmations, Receptions, and Reaffirmations; officiated at 3 Celebrations of
New Ministry, led two retreats, attended a Youth Happening event, and, as of
last week, have finally made it around to each of our 7 Convocations for “3 Day Immersion Excursion” events. These 3-Day events have been such a gift;
they’ve given me a chance for deeper engagement with our laypeople and clergy and,
most importantly, have given me a chance to learn about the places in which you
live, work and minister. On those 3-Day visits I have gone fly fishing, on a
Holy Hike in God’s Country, on tours of prisons, hospitals, a paper mill, the
Army War College, and a Transitional Living Center for the formerly
homeless. I’ve picked corn in a Gleaning
project, eaten dinner with the Amish, visited re-settled Syrian refugees,
thrown out the First Pitch at a baseball game, had communion in a Pop-Up
Eucharist on the banks of the Susquehanna, gone out in my boots and camo
baseball cap to stock trout, visited the Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, held baby
lambs one-hour old, and had tea with the oldest parishioner in our Diocese, Mr.
Bob McGregor- He’s 103 ½. I’ve heard stories
of deep joy and great sadness, of redemption, reconciliation, hope, wonder and
commitment to serving God’s mission. I
believe that these trips have given me real insight to who we are… and how God
is moving among us. The parable… is
real.
I’ve tried to reflect some of what I am hearing and learning,
back to you- in clergy gatherings, in
sermons and in my blog. I began my blog,
“Compass Points” last year when I arrived in Pennsylvania. In that year I’ve
written weekly entries on Friday mornings and have had more than 33,000 visits in a year. That’s almost 700 visits a week; someone is reading what I am writing!
As you’ve seen reflected in the material for this Convention
– and heard at our Convocation meetings- there are some new initiatives that I’ve asked us to implement to build our
capacity as a diocese, to re-direct some of the choices about diocesan Program
back to our people, and to strengthen our existing structures. These changes include adding 3 new laypeople
to our Council of Trustees, giving the Assistant Convenors a vote, and inviting
the oversight of programs and committees to be conducted by the Trustees. (These
will all be addressed in the revisions of the Constitution and Canons)
In the area of
staff, we’ve re-defined job portfolios
to sharpen the focus on the work at hand including continued commitment to
developing clear financial procedures and reporting, a greater emphasis on the
formation of children and youth, the capacity to re-develop our website and
administer it in-house, new resources to support parishes in the areas of
finance, transition ministry, stewardship and community engagement, and
dedication to formation for all ages and stages in the Stevenson School. I am
grateful to our staff for their dedication and hard work, for their willingness
to work with me as we re-shape ourselves to best serve our parishes and for all
that they have taught me in the past year.
In this coming year, our Staff will participate in 5 staff Development
Days as we work on becoming a more collaborative team, dedicated to serving you- and serving God’s mission.
Let me say more about the Stevenson School. I believe
that the Stevenson School- and its predecessor, the School for Christian
Studies- is one of our diocesan gems. The Christian Life is one in which our
relationship with God is continually evolving and ever richer as we study,
learn, come together in Community, pray and reflect on our Anglican heritage,
the tradition that we have inherited and the way that God moves in us,
today. When we commit to a process of
formation, we are, essentially, equipping ourselves for mission, claiming responsibility
for our call as disciples and inviting the Holy Spirit to guide us as we are
sent out, in Jesus’ name. This is hard
work. And, we have the school to help us
do this work. The Stevenson School for
Ministry is shaped to make learning accessible for all of us, and to provide a
rich environment in which to grow ever closer to God. The Stevenson School forms lay people. It also forms people for Holy Orders- in the
role of deacon and worker- priest. It is
an essential resource in a changing church landscape in which congregations
look, more and more, for part-time clergy leadership. The Stevenson School can serve, as it continues
to develop, as a leading resource for the Church-at-Large as we face the issue
of clergy shortages and smaller (but not necessarily fewer) jobs. Our fellow PA dioceses- Northwest,
Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Pennsylvania- and our Lutheran neighbors have all
shown an interest in the school and have supplied both faculty, board members
and students as the Stevenson School continues to build itself up. We have added the care of Children, Youth and
Young Adults under the umbrella of the Stevenson School and are offering institutional
support for this very important part of our church family. Mary Ellen & Bob Kilp and Theda & Jon
Tallman have been an amazing support and programming team for our Youth in
these past years and the Stevenson School is looking to support them in their
work, as they partner together, for the good of our children and young people.
Later today you will hear a presentation from the Dean of the
Stevenson School, the Very Rev. Robyn Szoke-Coolidge and the Chair of the Board,
the Rev. Canon David Lovelace as they describe some of the work ahead for the
school in the next three years.
The Spirit is alive and
at work in our midst
as new projects and programs have
started in the past year: a new Social
Justice and Equity group that was formed last spring is discovering how they
can serve as a networking resource and organizing body for much of the justice
work that is already happening in our diocese.
A diocesan-wide initiative led by Deacon Loretta Collins has engaged us
in aiding re-settling refugees, The Rev. J. Patrick Peters has accepted my
appointment as our new Ecumenical Officer and is bringing lots of energy to
that role, and a group called The Pool of Bethesda supporting our LGBTQ
brothers and sisters has taken shape and meets at St. Paul’s, Lockhaven. You can look for a newly designed website in
the not too distant future, a new group has been appointed to help direct the
programmatic work of our clergy conference, and I am looking forward to forming
still another group to study the important issue of “Sacramental Accessibility”
or, how, in a diocese with small congregations -some without priests- we can ensure that our people can have communion
and access to other sacramental rites on a regular basis.
There’s a lot to do.
This year’s focus on Storytelling
and Discipleship is critical for us as a diocese.
You’ve heard me talk about my 3-Year Plan: Year One of
Listening and Discernment, Year Three of Shaping a Vision and Direction
together, and Year Two – this year-
of Deepening our Understanding of
Ourselves as Disciples of Jesus. (Discernment,
Discipleship, Direction) I believe
that this middle year in the 3-Year Plan is crucial. We need to understand who we are today and
how God is calling us today to participate in God’s mission. The way that we are Church is changing. We need to understand not only the
institutional and systemic changes around us, but the personal identity-oriented changes that bear on our
participation in God’s mission. Our
Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry talks about the Jesus Movement. He talks less and less about buildings… and
more about God’s people on mission. Fulfilling
Jesus’ command to love. Bishop Curry’s
new tag line for the Jesus Movement is this:
“The Jesus Movement- loving,
liberating and life-giving.” (X2) He
affirms that our call is to be about Jesus’ work in this world, especially in the areas of evangelism,
racial reconciliation, environmental stewardship. How do we
do that, as individuals? How are we
joining the Jesus movement as disciples?
How are we called to be loving, liberating and life-giving agents of the
Jesus Movement?
I hope that in this next year, we will spend time thinking
about this and finding our individual
senses of purpose re-freshed by dwelling on God’s Holy Word- connecting our Story to God’s Story.
The key to understanding of God’s call to us, of finding
our place in the Jesus Movement, is by returning
to the source- The Word- for
re-freshment.
Last night we made a start, connecting our stories to God’s story and with the help of some
resources handed out at this convention (a small booklet in your packet) and a
regular practice of this kind of discernment among your clergy, I hope that we
can, together, grow in our understanding of who we are as Jesus’ disciples.
We can do great things together, standing with Jesus.
We are already
doing great things, together, in Central Pennsylvania.
May we continue to be strengthened, care for one another and
rejoice in all that we have received from God.
The parable is true.
The Kingdom of God is like a woman… who found a people… and received- in
this place- grace upon grace.
and the Response:
Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania
146th Annual
Convention
October 15, 2016
The Report and
Resolutions on the Bishop’s Address to the 146th Convention of the Diocese of
Central Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS the Rt. Rev. Audrey Cady
Scanlan has come among us, telling us her story;
AND
WHEREAS, in the thirteen months since her consecration,
Bishop Audrey has learned our story, taking part in three-day Immersion
Excursions in each of our seven Convocations;
AND
WHEREAS the Bishop has boldly lived among us, and has
discerned the truth that salvation is on our midst already, and now offers us a
vision for proclaiming our story in God’s story, declaring that the Kingdom of
God is at hand here in Central Pennsylvania;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that
we in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, knowing that we find in the pages of
Holy Scripture the well spring of God’s story, commit ourselves to learning
God’s story, in order that we can link our story to God’s, and can boldly live
that story in the world.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we will equip ourselves for the living out
of our story and God’s by diligent, faithful and lifelong learning, taking
advantage of the resources of the Stevenson School for Ministry, to the end
that the laity may be more edified and strengthened in their Christian walk,
and that deacons and worker-priests may be formed and trained to serve God’s
people.
The Committee on the
Bishop’s Address respectfully request that this 146th Convention accept and
adopt these resolutions in response to our Bishop’s Address.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mrs. Marion Schwartz
The Rev. Gene Tucker
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