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This the text of Bishop Cate's Address to the 172nd Diocesan Convention. You can also download a copy of the address.
 Bishop Waynick's Address to the 172nd Convention (PDF)
Companions through the Valley
The planning committee for this convention chose the theme “Companions Through the Valley.” It was appropriate – since this last year has been the toughest many of us can remember.
Last October the country was coming to grips with the fact that we were definitely in a Recession – with a capital ‘r.’ The unemployment rate had risen, the value of investments had fallen, there had been record numbers of mortgage foreclosures, corporate bankruptcies and takeovers; some banks and investment firms had done what they ought not to have done, regulators had left undone what they ought to have done, and there was little health in our economy.
Anxiety and pessimism have characterized many aspects of our lives, as families, businesses, philanthropies, service agencies, and churches have had to tighten their belts and hunker down for what we feared would be a very long time. Early predictions that the Swine flu would hit us hard have proven true. We are still at war, elections around the world are contested as dishonest, Sudan is still in turmoil and the suffering remains intense in Dar Fur, Asia and Indonesia are wracked by earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, drought is once again causing deaths in Ethiopia, the permafrost continues to melt and the rising level of the seas is claiming land at an alarming rate. During the duration of this convention several thousand people around the world will die of starvation and preventable disease.
The State of Indiana is still recovering from floods, we still bicker over whether to provide smoke free environments for all our workers, and the state of public education remains a scandal…to name only a few of our ills.
As we gather in Convention it is honest to say that for a great many people life still feels like a journey through a vale of anxiety with little hope for relief any time soon.
And yet there are signs of grace; this was the year in which it became possible to elect an African American President of the United States. We are closer than we have ever been to ensuring that all our citizens have health care. The President has, this week, signed a bill which includes homosexuals in the law against hate crimes. Record numbers of citizens are taking part in the democratic process, and the lack of civility which is so widely deplored can be taken as a sign that the changes many people have wanted are actually beginning to take place. Even welcome change can, after all, tend to make us cranky!
Meanwhile, The Episcopal Church has been facing its own inner struggles. Several bishops declared themselves aligned with foreign Provinces and led clergy and members with them into official schism. Lawsuits concerning financial assets and real property have served to deepen the pain and heighten the cost of these disputes. The pain has been deepened, even for those who have left TEC, because they do not all agree on such issues as the ordination of women, and they find themselves at odds with each other.
Our General Convention passed a bare bones budget which necessitated layoffs in the New York office, and we have yet to discover how this will impact the Church as a whole.
And yet there are signs of grace; the Dioceses of San Joachin, Pittsburg, Fort Worth, and Quincy all have provisional bishops in place, and the clergy and people are working to articulate priorities and carry out mission and ministry as TEC in those places. The Diocese of Fort Worth will celebrate the ordination of a woman to priesthood on November 15th. Courts are routinely judging that contested funds and property belong not to breakaway groups, but to TEC.
You will hear a report from our General Convention Deputies; they will ask that you consider resolutions based on General Convention actions. I will report for myself that as far as I am concerned we took positive steps forward by resolving to take seriously the need to adequately pay and provide pensions for lay employees, by revising our disciplinary canons to provide for truth telling and reconciliation, by adopting a church-wide health insurance program which should, in the long run, decrease premiums, and certainly not least, by reaffirming that every priest of this Church is eligible to be considered for the ministry of a Bishop, regardless of his or her sexual orientation.
Here in the Diocese of Indianapolis we have not been immune to problems; the closing of manufacturing plants has left some of our members and parishes struggling financially. Some of our endowed parishes have made the decision to reduce their staffs.
The Rector of St. Paul’s, Indianapolis was removed from his position – and whenever such an action is required there is pain not only for the parish involved but for the whole diocese – most particularly the college of clergy.
Our Committee on Compensation Policy has recommended that salaries for clergy be held flat, even though we know they will be facing a small increase in their copayments for health insurance – which in effect means that our clergy will have less income. Perhaps parishes will find creative ways to compensate for the increase in health care costs.
The new diocesan structure adopted by this Convention is slowly taking shape, and in this coming year we expect that members of the Executive Council will continue to find creative and enthusiastic ways of taking on responsibility for the ordering of our common life and ministries. Sometimes changes happen at what can only be described as a stately pace!
And yet there are signs of grace; more parishes than ever have proudly submitted audio-visual reports of their mission work – you will see these reports throughout the Convention.
Despite the economic downturn many of our parishes are holding their own financially, and I want to express my gratitude that with very few exceptions apportionment payments to the diocesan household have been faithful and timely. You will already have noted that in our proposed budget for the coming year the apportionment rate has been reduced by ½%, and that the funds available for aid to congregations will not be reduced in either 2009 or 2010. I assume you take this as good news!
St. Paul’s, Indianapolis is being served by an exceptional team of clergy and lay leaders, and there is every reason to believe that this time of transition will result in building on the accomplishments of the recent past and moving into a future which is brighter than ever. We give thanks for their hosting of this year’s convention.
We brought two new faces to the diocesan staff this year – The Rev’d Canon Bruce Gray, as Canon to the Ordinary, and Ms. Dontie Fuller as the Coordinator of Ministries To and With the Youth of the Diocese. They are already doing good work among you; I know you join me in welcoming them to the best diocesan staff in TEC.
Bruce and Dontie were brought on board in response to budget priorities articulated by last year’s convention, and tomorrow afternoon you will have the task of helping the Executive Council identify other priorities as well.
Let me mention here that Rita Holliday, a member of the diocesan staff, is not with us this year because she fell two weeks ago and broke her hip in three places. She expects to go home on Saturday to continue her rehab for another five weeks. She sends her greetings and her thanks for all the good wishes and prayers many of you have sent her.
This past June we hosted the Bishops and other representatives from our companion dioceses of Bor and Brasilia. For two weeks we prayed, worked and learned about each other. Many of you turned out to meet with them, and expressed your delight at having faces to go with the names of the bishops for whom we all pray every Sunday. (You will be interested to know that Bp. Ezekiel, who has been the assisting bishop in the Diocese of Bor, has been elected as diocesan bishop for the Diocese of Twic East)
One highlight of our time together was a visit to Louisville, KY, with a community of Sudanese – hearing their stories, worshiping together, and seeing the next to last draft of the little red prayer book in Dinka! After final editing this fall the books will go into print and distribution.
You will hear more about this visit from our Global Missions Committee on Saturday morning, and about plans for our involvement with our companions in the next two years.
But I want to tell you myself about your response to the challenge I offered at this convention last year, to raise $65,000.00 for ministries in our companion dioceses, primarily for educations projects in Bor. Since last year’s convention more than $37,000 has been sent to Brasilia for education projects ($30,000.00 of which came from Christ Church Cathedral) and more than $83,000 was sent to Bor for the Bible College at Malek and other education projects. ($50,000 of this came from fund raising efforts by the Episcopal Church Women and the cathedral). In addition, more than $20,000 was sent to Bor for water projects….a grand total of more than $140,000.00 !!! I invite you to clap your hands for joy!
My hope is that next year we will be able to celebrate 100% participation by every one of our congregations both in local outreach and in contribution to ministries in our partner dioceses of Brasilia and Bor.
Other signs of grace include resolutions you will be asked to entertain concerning the Campus Ministry at Indiana University, Bloomington and St. David’s, Bean Blossom.
For many years the chaplain at IU also served on the staff of Trinity Parish, Bloomington, though the chaplain’s salary was paid by the diocese -- a situation which came into scrutiny during the most recent search for a new Rector at Trinity.
At that time I chose to appoint the Rev’d Linda Johnson as full time chaplain at IUB, and the parish and chaplaincy have worked together to find new ways of collaborating in ministry. You will hear more about this when you are asked to grant Chapel Mission status to the Canterbury community at IUB. This status is consistent with our national and diocesan canons, and gives the chaplaincy the ability to procure property for a Canterbury Center on campus.
St. David’s, our Mission congregation in Bean Blossom, has been on a mission of its own for several years; over the past two years they completed a capital campaign which enabled them to enlarge their building and worship space. What is especially noteworthy is that they made an up-front decision to tithe the capital campaign pledges for outreach, earning them a special award from The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) during the General Convention this past summer.
They have also offered a matching grant challenge to the other parishes of the South East Deanery for outreach ministries – and you will hear more about this as they petition you on Saturday morning to gain Parish status.
You should know that another congregation for Spanish- speaking people is being started at St. John’s, Speedway – another of the initiatives this convention has asked for.
In all of these renewed beginnings I trust you find cause for rejoicing!
We can also rejoice that in at least three of our parishes – Holy Family, Fishers, St. John, Bedford, and St. Augustine, Danville, the size of the worshiping congregation nearly doubles each Sunday when the children are present!
Even so, small numbers of children are being encouraged in places like St. James, Newcastle, by allowing them to collect a second offering each Sunday. In a large metal can they collect loose change from the adults and offer it at the altar. The monies are saved, and when there is enough a flock of chickens, or a hutch of bunnies, or even a goat, can be sent to needy places around the world through the Heifer Project or Episcopal Relief and Development. (ERD)
As we celebrate all these very good things about our common life, we must keep in mind the challenges which face us – many of which are ongoing.
We have made a very good start on training all of our clergy, lay employees and lay leadership in prevention of sexual misconduct – a project which we will need to continue and maintain in order to ensure that our churches are safe places for children, employees and all who come to us. Please watch for announcements of training events and online training opportunities – and if you have any doubts about whether or not to participate, do!
An increasing number of congregations have begun to network in order to share worship, education, and outreach. Four of the congregations in the Northeast Deanery have renewed their commitment to continue working with several vicars in a creative agreement which ensures that every congregation has stable clergy and lay leadership.
Congregations in Columbus, Bloomington and Bean Blossom have collaborated to provide funds for our companion dioceses.
More opportunities for networking, collaboration, and training for Licensed Lay Ministries are being planned for this coming year – all over the diocese -- also a response to mandates of this convention. Parishes and Mission congregations are beginning to see the wisdom of not trying to do everything alone, and more and more parishes are beginning to claim their potential as resources to others. Our ongoing challenge is to foster the kind of cooperation which ensures that every congregation thrives, individual members are able to deepen their faith, and the reach of our mission and our message is widened.
Religious observance in this country has begun to take on new shapes and forms; for over two decades many people have described themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious.’ All the mainline Christian Churches have felt the impact of this shift, and we will be well served to take seriously the reasons for it. We cannot stop it, and we cannot control it – but we can learn about it, and we can identify what we value most about our Anglican approach to Christianity, and offer it in fresh ways to those who seek companions as they define and live out their faith.
An ongoing challenge for us will be to increase the numbers of adults who regularly participate in education and formation as a part of living our baptismal covenant – to “continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers.”
It is essential that we take time to consider what it means to be Christian in our pluralistic context, and to discover where the teachings of other faiths overlap and coincide with our own. Truth is truth no matter where we find it, and we cannot afford to remain ignorant about the teachings of other faiths. This will remain an ongoing challenge for us and for our children and grandchildren – neither to demonize those who differ from us, nor to make Christ too small.
It is precisely in times like these that our faith is crucial— not only as a basis for our own hope, but as a sign of God’s love for the world. Just as Jesus himself is the sign of God’s Incarnate presence and love, so those of us who have joined ourselves to Christ must be, in each age, incarnational signs of God’s ongoing, sacrificial love for the world.
Our time together at this convention begins and continues in the context of liturgy – the enactment and living out of our faith in visible, useful, ways which bear witness to others that what we proclaim makes a difference not only in our lives, but for them.
Part of our time tomorrow will be spent in participatory liturgy – the seeking and serving of Christ in those who most need to know His love and care. Because the Episcopalians gathered here are living their faith, hungry and homeless people will be fed, children will have stories read to them, those in prison will be encouraged, educational projects in Brazil will be funded, people seeking access to our legal systems will be helped, those who do lonely work on river boats will be remembered at Christmas, and our own members will learn how they might become advocates for public policy issues.
Much of this mission activity has been organized by Kathy Copas, our Communications Director and Staff person for Evangelism. She is being aided – as is most appropriate – by our deacons and some of our students in formation for ordination to the Diaconate. We count on the Deacons among us to help us make our faith visible – to give it the creative energy of our hands and hearts.
As we consider resolutions we will do so in the context of being a sign to each other and the world around us. As we listen to each other about budget priorities we will do so in the knowledge that our budget is a theological document, which reveals important things about our faith.
As we offer our prayers for the Church and for the world, as we pray in thanksgiving for the sacrificial love of God in Christ, we will do so as companions – those who literally eat bread together. We will share the sacred meal of Christ’s Body and Blood having spent time in prayer, work, and conversation together, all for the sake of Christ’s love.
Our convention liturgy will not end until we are dismissed on Saturday, giving thanks for the power of the Holy Spirit. We have much for which to give thanks – many signs of the presence and love of God among us, even though we travel through what seems like a valley.
One sign, for which we give thanks, is the ministry of those clergy who have retired this past year. We will miss the presence and ministries of all these clergy, but two of them deserve special mention.
The Rev’d Jonathan Hutchison has not only served St. David’s Bean Blossom, as Vicar, but for several years was the coordinator of Youth Ministries for the diocese, in addition to serving as a hospice chaplain in central Indiana. Many of you know of the ministry he and his wife Deborah have shared as musicians, providing leadership for youth gatherings at Waycross, and fund raising concerts for a variety of youth ministries. We have enjoyed and appreciated their talents as a part of this convention over the years, and Deborah is currently the only Licensed Lay Preacher in the diocese. Jonathan has served as the Dean of the Southeast Deanery, both have served on numerous diocesan committees over the past twenty –five years, and we have benefitted in many ways from their contributions to our common life. I invite you to join in thanking them for their ministries among us.
For over 43 years the Rev’d John Roof served St. Augustine Parish, the wider community of Danville, and this diocese. His weekly celebration of the Eucharist at the Women’s Prison in Indianapolis brought meaning and joy to untold numbers for whom that was the primary time of worship. He served as Chair of the Board of Waycross, Standing Committee, Dean of the Mid-Central Deanery, and he and Midge led innumerable pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and Midge served for many years on the national staff of TEC as Associate for Ecumenical Affairs.
John’s many contributions to our common life give us occasion for deep gratitude, and I for one, am grateful for his humility as for many, many years, as Chair of the Committee on Unfinished Business, he reminded us that we had not, as yet, managed to bring in the Kingdom of God. I invite you to clap your hands in appreciation of John’s and Midge’s life and work among us!
We thank and honor all of our retired clergy, and look forward to finding ways to keep them active and involved, and to make the best use possible of their experience and wisdom.
I say this to you every year, and every year I mean it more; you are amazing and wonderful! If I had been told fifteen years ago that I would have the privilege and joy of serving as your bishop I would not have known how to imagine it. Tonight all I can do, from the bottom of my heart, is to thank you for the privilege—and God for the joy, of having the very best job in TEC.
We are quite literally holy companions—those who break holy bread together. We have the capacity to make our shared journey through the hardest of times and the best of times a sign to the world that we know what it means to find joy in seeking and serving the One whose sacrificial love feeds us all. May it be so.
+Catherine M. Waynick
Bishop of Indianapolis
October 29th, 2009
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