Fourteen
Years with Bishop Paul, updated somewhat ... Tuesday June 29 will mark 14 years
since Bishop Paul Marshall became Eighth Bishop of the 14-county Diocese
of Bethlehem. Last year, I wrote Thirteen Years with Bishop Paul:
Well-kneaded God-baked, God-broken, God-made. You may find that here, and some updating below. I hope to write more later.
Recently I asked Bishop Paul, among other things, about his interest in psycholanalysis and psychotherapy, his open-heart surgery, diocesan ministries that have begun or have expanded with his encouragement, almost 14 years of writing monthly columns for secular newspapers, what he would have done differently over the past 14 years, what he wishes he had known, and what he wants to do with the rest of his life.
Bishop Paul received a diploma in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in 2009, after several years work. In the fall he intends to begin a new and longer program as a candidate in the Psychoanalytic Institute of Philadelphia (same place. In addition to using these skills to understand the human person, he has been donating five or six hours a week to counseling persons at Trinity Soup Kitchen, Bethlehem, working with the most under-served segment of the patient population. "I have, of course, gotten more out of this than I have given." he said. "If I ever retire, I would be there several days a week. My next book will be a about psychoanalysis and Christianity. It is amazing to me how each field operates with absolutely wild beliefs about the other."
Would you say something about your open-heart surgery? "In the long run, I am much better for it, but I wouldn't wish the experience on anybody. The recovery was/is much slower than they lead one to believe, and only late this spring did I feel like I have my brain back. I have to say that while I have always respected the practitioners of the medical and nursing professions, my appreciation of their skills and the demands made on their lives has trebled."
Your secular newspaper column? "When I meet people from other denominations they do often say something about reading the columns. It was a monthly agony to do the column, but it was a way I had to reach the most people. The column often bounced around the Internet, and I occasionally heard that I have been helpful to people outside the diocese."
Upon writing his December 2009 column for secular newspapers, Bishop Paul decided that the column had "run its course." Thirteen years of his monthly columns had been published in newspapers throughout eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania. More than 90 were chosen a few years ago for publication in Messages in the Mall (Seabury Books).
What diocesan ministries have begun or have expanded with your
encouragement? "You've probably got a more perfect list than I, but I have been grateful above all for New Hope. The evangelism revival, modest as it is, is certainly excellent. World Mission was restarted a decade ago with gratifying results. Several parishes have seen great progress in reversing the trend towards contraction in numbers and program. We have done more with liturgy and music on the diocesan level than at any time in our history, and now have something of a national reputation. Our re-imagined commission on ecumenical and interfaith relations has done an astonishing job in a very short time.
"Something I have worked for consistently is a wider dispersal of power in our structures. There are more voices and votes in taking both strategic and tactical decisions than at any time in our history. I think this is a living into the baptismal theology that is transforming the Church.
"We have crossed several boundaries. One was with Father Patrick Malloy's ordination, a real struggle for the Standing Committee of the time, but one which has brought us a number of superbly gifted priests. We have more women as rectors or priests-in-charge in substantial churches than at any time.
"I could, I think, chatter on (like a fool). I still believe what I said at my first meeting with the clergy in 1996, before my consecration. This is a collegial office: bishops are almost nothing without their colleagues in ministry.
Keeping clergy connected and 'resourced' is an always-present and critical task. I think we have an excellent pool of clergy, and I am grateful that we are sending young people to seminary again. The joy of what is for some people a crushing job is in not doing it alone. At the diocesan level: when I came here there was an excellent staff, which I think is at optimum level today, even though we are somewhat smaller in number.
"This has always been a 'good' diocese, and that is the water in which I have been privileged to swim. Bethlehem brings out the best in people, even me sometimes. Golfers regularly talk about how much better they play ('playing up') when they are with good or better players –– that is clearly true in church life. We have in this diocese a situation that causes most of us to play up. Bishop Mark established some patterns (the Bible studies, for instance), that continue to provide a framework for excellence."
What would you have done differently over the past 14 years? "I would have worried less, causing less anxiety in those around me. I would not be so focused on my short-comings –– it is part of my job to show people what it looks like to be touched by grace.
What do you wish you had known? "•That we don't know how much we don't know. •The vital importance of community and collegiality is to point out to each other what we cannot ourselves see. I have been off-and-on accepting of some criticism and rejecting of others, but find that I now seek it. I owe this to learning that the unconscious is just that –– others must invite us to consciousness about ourselves. •The non-anxious presence concept is more important than anything else in leadership. The Robinson crisis and what followed taught me that the most important thing was to take a clear stand, calmly. My non-calm moments are my least constructive. •Creativity is a form of madness –– it is small comfort that science is just figuring this out with brain scans, that creative moments look just like psychotic breaks in terms of what lights up. •There is no easy way to travel between the US and Sudan."
What do you want to do with the rest of your life? "Become more ambivalent about myself. That would be the key to teaching 1 Cor 15:10a: By the grace of God, I am what I am. It was the text at my ordination in 1973, and I couldn't really hear it for decades. I could ramble on, and eventually I will, if asked. I think Garrison Keillor's book title says it all: Happy to Be Here."
More to come.
Farewell for Canon Cal Adams ... An excerpt from Bishop Paul's sermon in Douglassville, at Sunday afternoon's (June 27) farewell celebration for Canon Cal Adams: "Discipleship isn’t a contest, it’s a community. Satisfaction comes from the sense that each of us actually does our part, without comparisons, without living for that pat on the back that the insecure seek. One of the things I love most about Fr. Cal is that he has done his ministry for the sheer joy of it. There were turns he could have taken that would have been self-aggrandizing, but he has remained the servant of God’s people because that is who he really is and enjoys being. On hot Sunday afternoons, I end sermons on the top quarter of this very page, but you have installed air conditioning this week. For which I congratulate you, but it’s a two-edged sword. So I will go on and say something that I hope you will cherish now and actualize continually. I don’t know any priest who more consistently speaks of his parish as “we” rather than “they” or “them” than does your rector. Fr. Cal has been a success here because he is connected to St. Gabriel’s life, not existing over-against it. As long as all those who lead and serve this parish consistently remember that we are connected to one another in Christ, God can do much. Read it all here.
50 years ... July 11 will be the 50th anniversary of the ordination of the Very Rev. Robert D. Schenkel, Jr., onetime dean of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Bob will preside and preach at the cathedral that day.
Innovation: Who else is doing it? ... To get more successes, you have to tolerate more failures. In short, it's important to try more things. That doesn't mean betting the company on each and every idea. It does mean engaging in a wider search for ideas and getting more things started at a small scale, with modest investment. And you may have to be the first. More at the Harvard Business Review.
Did Michelangelo draw a brain in God's neck? A New York Times story says it has been hiding in plain sight for the past 500 years, a rare Michelangelo anatomical drawing high on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Or not.The Vatican v. Protestant Free Thinkers ... A new four-volume work from the Vatican Library suggests that the concerns of the papacy in the early modern period were focused almost entirely on the new threat posed by the Protestants. If some scientists, especially the astronomers, got caught in the cross-fire, then this was only because they were perceived to be Protestant-style "free thinkers." More here.
Supreme Court rejects Vatican appeal in sex abuse case ... (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to consider whether the Vatican has legal immunity over the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the United States, allowing a lawsuit filed in 2002 to go forward. The nation's highest court, asked to rule on a U.S. appeals court decision that cleared the way for the lawsuit to proceed, rejected the Vatican's immunity appeal without comment. More here.
Belgium a 'perfect storm' on sex abuse crisis ... [John Allen, National Catholic Reporter] As a remarkable war of words between the Vatican and Belgium heated up over the weekend, one thing has become crystal clear: While there’s no good place for the Catholic church to experience a sexual abuse crisis, few places on earth are quite as combustible as Belgium. The June 3 raid, which reportedly included drilling holes into the tombs of two deceased archbishops of Brussels to see if any documents lurked inside, illustrates that when it comes to the sexual abuse crisis, Belgium represents a “perfect storm.” That’s the case for at least three reasons. More here.
Moravian/Episcopal Full Communion ... The Northern Province of the Moravian Church voted June 18 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church. The nearly unanimous voice vote [one dissenting vote] came during an evening session on the second day of the church's June 17-21 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Moravian College in Bethlehem. The Episcopal Church voted to affirm full communion at las summer's General Convention. Read the Episcopal News Story story here. The story as it appears on the Moravian Church blog is accessible here and here. Over the years of dialogue with the Moravian Church toward full communion, Nick Knisely, Jane Teter and Maria Tjeltveit have served consecutively on the dialogue team. We've been way ahead at Diocesan House in that Kat Lehman, our Info-Tech coordinator and Diocesan Life editor, is a Moravian and the spouse of Derek French, pastor at East Hills Moravian Church on Butztown Road, Bethlehem. Photos taken by Kat are at the DioBeth Flickr site. [What follow is from Bob Schenkel, former dean, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem] Full Communion with the Moravians has been in the works for some time, but our local relationship goes back to the very beginning when the Church of the Nativity (not yet the Cathedral) was established in the mid-19th century. The Moravians graciously permitted the use of Central Moravian Church for Episcopal services when there was no Episcopal church. On April 19 1865, the Moravian clergy participated in the dedication of Nativity, and both Episcopalian and Moravian clergy (and perhaps others) held joint memorial services for President Lincoln who had been assassinated the previous Friday (Good Friday incidentally). The history is well told in a little volume - One Hundred Years of Nativity.
NZ bishop to PB: In my cathdral you can wear your mitre ... Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is spending a fortnight visiting Anglican churches in Australia and New Zealand. Her first Sunday looks to have been a fruitful one. More here.
The Book of Common Prayer in Four MInutes ... Father Matthew leads a rapid romp through the BCP. View here.
Jane Shaw named dean of Grace Cathedral San Francisco ... Shaw joins Grace Cathedral from the University of Oxford in England where she has served as the Dean of Divinity and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. In addition, she has taught history and theology at the university for 16 years; she has been at New College for nine years. More here. [H/T to Andrew Gerns, reporting at Episcopal Cafe]
How to sell Christianity? Ask an atheist ... [By Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today] Jim Henderson is a recovering evangelist. Back in his soul-chasing, church-starting days, he began hearing a grating dissonance between his faith in Jesus and the way he went about winning new converts. Henderson realized he was doing unto others what he would never want done unto him. He was manipulating conversations to set up a pitch. Viewing people as potential notches on his evangelism belt rather than fellow sojourners and prospective friends. Listening only to the extent it could reveal an argumentative opening. He realized he hated the whole enterprise. More here. [H/T to Leadership Education at Duke Divinity]
Ask people why they don’t come to church ... First listen, then speak. More here. [H/T to Leadership Education at Duke Divinity]July 4 bulletin inserts recount history of congressional chaplains ... [Episcopal News Service] The custom of appointing clergy members to lead the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States in prayer has continued with few interruptions ever since the Senate elected Samuel Provoost, Episcopal bishop of New York, as its first chaplain in 1789. ENS Weekly bulletin inserts for July 4 outline the history of the Senate and House chaplains, many of whom have been Episcopalians. Inserts may be downloaded here.
The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is ... Can you be so incompetent that you can’t know you’re incompetent? Ignorance profoundly channels the course we take in life. Unknown unknowns constitute a grand swath of everybody’s field of ignorance. Part 1: The Juice. Part 2: The Illness of Doubt: Everyone poisons himself in his own way. Part 3: Doctors Everywhere. Part 4: Belief is not a monolithic thing. Part 5: Honest Feedback.
New Hope grants ... [From the Rev. Daniel Gunn] The Social Ministries Committee is now ready to receive and consider requests for disbursements from the New Hope Campaign. The total amount we are able to grant for the 2010-11 calendar year is $100,000. Therefore, we are inviting Letters of Intent from parishes and Episcopal related organizations within the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. The Deadline for Letters of Intent is 30 July 2010. More here.
Diocesan Life, the July/August issue ... Download it here.
Calendars ... •Download the current Calendar of Events for the whole diocese here. (If you would like and event listed, email Kat Lehman with event name, date, location, costs, time event starts and any contact info. She will gladly add any events your parish is hosting. •Find the Calendar of Diocesan Events here. Please note the difference between the two calendars.
•June 29, Brian Pavlac will be ordained to the priesthood 7:00 p.m., at St Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. A reception will follow. •July
10, Bishop's Day for Kids, The Gospel
according to Dr Seuss, at Good
Shepherd
Scranton. More info here.
Register
online. Registration closes on July 5th. No walk-ins permitted.
This is going to be a really fun event! We need kids to register now so
we can order enough supplies, T-shirts and other fun stuff. Spend the
day with Bishop Paul and the Gospel According to Dr. Suess! Saturday,
July 10, 9:30 to 2:30 For kids who have completed grade one, upt to
grade 5. Parents welcome. To register, go to Event For more information
contact Canon Anne Kitch at akitch@diobeth.org or 610-691-5655 x237.
•August
5-8, Middle School Mission Trip in Bethlehem. More info
here.
Register online here. August 5-8, Thursday thru Sunday. Youth who have completed Grades 6-8. (Adult Chaperones Over the Age of 24) Staying at Lehigh University.
Find earlier issues of the newSpin newsletter here.
Please send the following to friends you think may be interested ... newSpin is an electronic newsletter that includes news, information and commentary related to the Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion and the world of religion ... with some spin, of course, from the editor. It is edited by retired communication minister Bill Lewellis and ordinarily published twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday. To have it emailed to you, you may subscribe at the "Get Connected" box on the right column of www.diobeth.org. Select newSpin under the groups. You may find samples of the newSpin newsletter at the newSpin blog, www.diobeth.typepad.com.
About the newSpin newsletter ... Composed at least weekly (usually twice a week) by Bill Lewellis, the newSpin newsletter appears as a post within the newSpin blog, but newsletter and blog are not identical. The newsletter currently goes to some 1,000 email addresses on a separate list. The newsletter comes, of course, with some spin from the editor, but the views expressed, implied or inferred in items or links contained in the newsletter or the blog do not represent the official view of the Diocese of Bethlehem unless expressed by or forwarded from the Bishop or the Archdeacon as an official communication. Comments may be addressed to Bill.
I want the future to be better than the past. I don't want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled.
Posted by: coach handbags | June 28, 2010 at 10:27 PM