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Bishops Charge at Synod Nov 08
I have just returned from a two week holiday with the family, we stayed in a cottage on the Western side of Mull and I spent some of the time reflecting upon this first year as bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness.
I wish to start this charge by offering heartfelt thanks to you all, I have visited each and every charge, in many cases more than once, I have spent time with the clergy and begun to learn from them the complexities of ministry in their charges. I have had the pleasure of working alongside the congregations of Tain, Invergordon and Lochinver during their vacancy and I am delighted that we have Loma and David working alongside us from the Tain Rectory, I am also learning much about the joys of the Black isle as we continue the process of preparing for a new Rector. Richard Burkitt has continued to develop his pioneering work amongst the least favoured of our society, his presence in Merkinch and the media presence he has had in both local and national newspapers has raised the profile of the project, walking along grant Street with him as he engages with so many people is to witness ministry in action, it is also most fitting to thank Len and the people of St Michael’s for their support in this, Richard won’t mind me saying that he isn’t always the most comfortable priest to have around. In Elgin, Lossiemouth, Aberlour and Dufftown we have welcomed Christopher as Rector and I on a very emotional level handed them into his care.
I have worked with congregations on their LCM reviews, spending time with both Ullapool and Rothiemurchus and whenever possible I have been with congregations and clergy as they celebrate the high points of their lives and ministry. I have also begun the first faltering steps towards the diocese having a place in the life of the communities we serve. I know that in so many cases you all work very hard in maintaining and growing community links but I have discovered little or no regard for the institution that is the diocese and even less for the office of Bishop, the fault for this we have to lay at our feet, we seem so often to apologise for who we are, or pretend we are not really here. Yet I have also discovered nothing but appreciation and happiness from people as I have offered to become involved in the life of the Highlands. Andrew and the audit team have also discovered opportunities and ministry we could and should be involved in not least the presentation we heard today from Woman’s Aid.
The process of putting together a diocesan programme of study and vocational discernment has also been a major part of this year’s work; I must take this opportunity to thank Canon Ruth Tait for her years of ministry as both vocations advisor and DDO, Ruth has decided that the time has come for her to take a back seat and to allow a new era to emerge. You have heard from both the provost and from the DDO of the exciting plans for the future. Can I make a plea through you all, please ask for patience amongst your congregations, we do feel at times as if we are being judged by past failings rather than by present work, all of this takes time if we are to get it right, we obviously have an issue in some places with trust, the word of the Bishop and those charged by him for particular tasks seem to be distrusted or treated almost with disdain in certain quarters, this leads to an unpleasant atmosphere, the potential for us to rush at plans and training so as to “keep people happy” is both time wasting and ultimately damaging to those involved, so please lets have a little patience.
At our last synod I was challenged about communication, quite rightly so, I have since then attempted to keep you all informed of plans and developments through both the website and the Bishops Notices, we are also experimenting with a Diocesan Journal using the For the Right Reasons project to help us, you will hear more of this soon. But communication works both ways, I have spent time with members of congregations who have never heard of the work of the Diocese, have never had a report from the Lay Representative, have never been informed of our financial situation and when I have told them they are shocked, I have even been informed that they have been told that what we say about Bishops Stipend and Budget matters is untrue and is me simply scaremongering. At this point I once again want to place on record my thanks to Louise for her hard work but also to ask you all to open your eyes and realise that it is you who approve the budget and it is therefore you who must see it achieved. I do wonder if the news that we are preparing a new way of collecting quota will take as long to reach the vestry as the other decisions of these meetings seem to.
So let me recap, Financial Reality, Community Links, and let me add to that Mission, Young peoples work and the sense of being Diocese. Those are the agenda items for the next year, I am sure others will appear but these are my priorities. So I now charge you all with the following matters.
We will spend time developing a new and challenging method of collecting and assessing quota, this will hopefully allow us all to believe that we are all pulling our weight and allow us to hold our heads up in the provincial structures. This work will be undertaken by the new structures that we have asked you to approve, the provision of an Administration Committee for the diocese to balance the work of the Ministry and Mission committee, the admin board will scrutinise the processes that allow us to function, it will include in its membership the treasurer, the registrar, the Dean, the architect and the boundaries convenor, the board will report to a slimmed down standing committee and to you as Diocesan synod.
The provision of a regular diocesan youth programme will hopefully also take shape this year, I have discovered young people on the edges of most of our congregations, young people keen to be involved not only in activities but also in the working life of the diocese, many of these young people feel isolated and marginalised in an older church so I plan to call a meeting at Arpafeelie asking for representatives from each congregation, youth representatives, to come along and decide on a strategy for themselves, our offer to them as a family is the use of our home and it’s grounds for a monthly diocesan activity and once the work is completed on the property we should also have limited accommodation for those who may need to stay overnight. I charge you all to remember that most of those young people who worship with us aren’t looking for an all singing and dancing new expressions of church, rather a full acceptance of them as members of that church, to that end I will be seeking youth members of the Admin Board the Ministry and Mission Board and the Diocesan Standing committee, I ask you to consider young members of your Vestries, I will support any discussion that may cause locally. As for children’s work Jane has begun to bring together those few who offered to help in the creation of and on line Diocesan Sunday Club programme, this would enable the largest to the smallest church to have material available for any children who may attend or who those have difficulty in regular attendance the first modules will be a series of worksheets and ideas based upon our local saints and traditions. The plan is also to hold a number of Sunday Club days in Inverness each year bringing both leaders and children together from across the diocese.
This leads me on to our identity as a diocese. As a young Episcopalian in the 1970’s I always felt a sense of belonging to something bigger than just my local church, it was one of the glories of being an Episcopalian, you had your own church with its own history and tradition and you also had the diocese, I was proud to be a member of the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney, I felt at home in all of it’s churches and I expected to be welcomed in them all as well. Further than that I also knew I belonged to the whole Scottish church witnessed every seven years when the RCC came to town, I well remember the conflict in my heart when most of my family ended up in this diocese and I had to change my own allegiances. We have a wonderful identity, we are the Highland Diocese we have a lot to share with each other , things we cannot easily do as small units become possible when we work, play, pray and worship together as a diocese, yes that may sometimes mean you have to “put up “ with things you don’t do in your own church, but watch out you may discover you enjoy something new occasionally. I believe that at present we are too small a church to simply sit it out in our own corners we have to join together to enthuse and awaken the spirit within us. How to do this, yes large diocesan events but also hospitality, inviting other congregations to join you in your Patronal festivals, sharing in the celebration of saints days and special occasions, like the West Coast churches this year, when the churches came together to celebrate harvest with worship and sharing lunch together.
My family are planning opportunities for hospitality, this month we are hosting afternoon tea for retired clergy and clergy widows, on boxing day there will be a walk in the Gallows hill wood followed by mulled wine at the house and next year when the alterations are completed we hope to welcome all of you to see and the work done and share time with us, how wonderful if the whole diocese made next year a year of hospitality. Plan an event for the whole diocese to attend, be adventurous and please rather than saying it won’t work, commit yourselves to making it work by simply turning up. Two major events take place in the Diocese next year, one is the Provincial Conference at Aviemore and the other is the completion of the audit with a diocesan festival in the Cathedral, the audit team are beginning plans for this now.
And that leads onto mission, the audit is only in its early stages and I have no wish to pre-empt any of its findings, the audit will tell us who we are now and possibly what we hope to be in the future, I hope that once the information is in we can begin to put together a diocesan mission strategy, a mission strategy that isn’t about managing decline but is about a growing and life-giving church, fit for the mission of God in this new millennium, I am not looking to close churches, rather to establish new ones, I am not looking to reducing ordained ministry rather to enliven and expand it, I am not looking to small teams of lay people running everything but whole congregations involved in the ministry and mission of the church. But that can only happen if we all put aside self interest and congregationalism and continue to work for the kingdom of God in this beautiful place.
I have spent a year deciding on my mission needs, how I can best use the gifts I have, how I can be more effective in my ministry, part of that I hope will become clearer once the Audit team have audited me, I am also very clear that many others would wish to share this task with me, just as there are many of you who are seeking to help me lighten my own work load. This has led me to examine the various appointments that I can and will make as Bishop, some of these changes you already know about, some are yet to be finalised and embedded but two I can reveal now.
I have asked Rev Ian Pallett and he has agreed, to become the Diocesan Warden of Readers, we have a number of Lay readers in the Diocese and I hope we can begin to encourage others to take up this Preaching and Pastoral ministry, Ian will work with them, developing study and fellowship amongst them.
It has also become clear that I and my family have need of a Chaplain, not someone who only holds my hat and stick, rather a domestic chaplain for my family, a priest for me to turn to for pastoral matters and more importantly a priest for Jane and the Children, if such a need was to arise. The chaplain will also be someone who can ensure that the things I need in particular places are ready without the need for me to keep travelling backwards and forwards. I have asked and she has agreed, I have appointed Rev Alison Simpson to that post, a decision that carries the full support of my family.
So I begin, a Cathedral Chapter to advise me, a staff team to help carry out my duties, a financial task force to ensure our future, an audit to tell us all who we really are and where we could be going, a vocations and training scheme to further our ministry, a youth programme to feed the life blood of our church today and in the future. There will be other thing, there will be other changes, there will be many challenges, but what challenges, to bring the love of God through our Lord Jesus to the people of God’s own country, a church fit for the Highlands a church fit for the service of God.
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