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The Rev. Dr. Laura J. Ahrens
Bishop suffragan-elect
The Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens received a B.A. in Geology and Geophysics from Princeton University in 1984; a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Yale Divinity School/Berkeley Divinity School in 1991; and a Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) from Hartford Seminary in 2000 (the theme of her doctoral work was “Engaging a Generation, Adult Education for Baby Boomers”). She was ordained as a priest in 1992.
Laura served as curate at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Osterville, MA (1991-1993); served as Associate Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord, MA (1993-1995); and served as Associate Rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien, CT (1995-2000). She has served as a member on the Bishop and Diocesan Executive Council and was a part of the design team that articulated the theme “God’s People on Mission.” She served as well on the Diocesan Stewardship Committee. Presently, Laura is serving the diocese as a member of the Standing Committee, a member of Committee I (Priesthood), a member of the Program and Budget Committee, and as Secretary of Diocesan Convention.
Since 2000, Laura has been serving as Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Danbury, CT. She worked with the city of Danbury in creating the Overflow Homeless Shelter, began a relationship in her parish with Habitat for Humanity, and strengthened her parish’s relationship with Covenant to Care. She is also currently an associate of SSJE (Society of St. John the Evangelist).
Laura is presently engaged to be married to Mr. Bob Fawber.
What do you most want the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut to know about you and your vision of the episcopate?
“Do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer ...more likely themselves to be servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit…?” ~ Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader, 1972.
As I pray and seek to discern my ministry in the church, this quote captures my imagination. I believe that I am called to be a servant leader in the church. To me that means being a leader who listens, cares, prays and takes action with love and thoughtfulness. This vision would define my episcopate.
I have sought to share the empowering blessing of God’s love in the four churches I have served. In all places, including worship services, youth groups, adult education offerings, pastoral care relationships and committee meetings, I have helped people to come to a deeper understanding of Jesus, themselves and what it means to love our neighbors.
I bring many gifts to the church, but the most important gift is passion: passion for Jesus, passion for the church and passion for this diocese. What excites me is that I am not alone. During my service on the Bishop and Diocesan Executive Council, Standing Committee and as Secretary of Convention, I have found that this passion exists in all corners of our church. Bringing out that passion in others and helping them to put it into action through mission work and pastoral care have been highlights in my ministry. This is a ministry that I would continue as bishop.
I am passionate about keeping our vision on Jesus and how to share his love with others. While we don’t always agree on how to be the church in the world, the common vision of seeking to serve Jesus is what unites us and calls us to be more fully God’s people. Within this vision I would embrace conversations about differences and would seek healing and reconciliation in Jesus’ name. We are called to speak the Gospel to the places of challenge and sadness as well as to the places of joy and celebration.
Serving at St. James Episcopal Church in Danbury , the Gospel has come alive for me in ways that have blessed me and challenged me. I have seen the incredible power of mission work in a local community. As we have expanded our mission of seeking to meet basic human needs through soup kitchens and homeless shelters to reaching out with a more global touch to a ministry in the Congo , I have seen how a church can change the world.
Pastoral care is another avenue for proclaiming God’s love. Helping others to see the light in the darkness and the strength that Jesus offers in his shared walk with us has been a motivating factor for me in my journey. Offering pastoral care and nurturing others in their pastoral relationships would be a significant part of my episcopate. Empowering others to offer this care though ministries such as Stephen Ministry and Lay Eucharistic Ministry has been my goal in every parish I have served. I am called to bring people together, raise up common gifts and new ministries and to help others to find the servant heart within themselves.
While working on my Doctor of Ministry degree I became more fully aware of resources for congregational development. Learning tools for church growth and studying congregations, I found new ways to listen and care for the church. I believe in using the resources we have, both within this diocese and the larger church, to help all of our congregations be the servant churches God has called them to be. We are called to be servant churches that share the Good News. As a bishop I would be passionate about raising up the servant in all of us and offering that vision of care in the name of Jesus to all. I believe that I have the gifts and the resources to offer to the church as we seek to live out this vision.
In our relationships with others, the love of God is often most fully revealed. A blessing in my life is my fiancé, Bob Fawber and his three children. They have offered me great joy, love and friendship, and I am excited about having a new family in my life.
As a bishop, I would also like to model a life that includes rest, recreation and Sabbath. Activities that refresh and nurture me are golf, reading and swimming.
ESSAY RESPONSES TO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE
1. Share some of the significant parts of your spiritual journey and the spiritual disciplines that sustain you.
Ever since I was very young, I have had a relationship with Jesus. Someone, somewhere along the way, must have said to me, Jesus is your best friend; and that made perfect sense to me. As a child I can remember sitting in the magnificent willow tree in our yard thinking about Jesus and sharing my day with Him. I remember walking to school and saying my prayers. I remember saying the Lord’s Prayer every night before I went to bed. If I couldn’t sleep, I would explain to myself what each line of the prayer meant to me.
I can also remember that ever since I was very young, I felt called to the ordained ministry. I can recall being in church when I was about ten years old and saying to my mother, “I want to do that when I grow up.” As a child, I used to hold services of Morning Prayer for my stuffed animals. As they sat all lined up in the “church” created in my bedroom, I would read carefully selected prayers and offer a sermon. Occasionally, there would be hymn singing.
When I was a teenager, I read Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. This book was exciting to me in many ways, but one of the most powerful aspects of the book was Franny’s experience of the Jesus Prayer. I, like Franny, wanted to pray without ceasing. I wanted to feel close to Jesus all the time. I read The Way of the Pilgrim to learn more about Jesus, the Jesus Prayer and the faithful quest to pray without ceasing.
My faith and love for the Lord grew during my high school years. I was active in my home church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley , Massachusetts . I sang in the choir, was an acolyte and occasionally taught Sunday School.
Two significant events shaped my faith during my college years. The first was the academic challenge of studying the Bible in college. Here it was studied not as a sacred text, but as a literary book that could be dissected and analyzed using historical and literary analysis. With this study, I found my understanding and love for God grew much stronger. I would go from library to chapel and offer my studies, wrestlings and prayers to God.
The second event was a personal tragedy when my friend Nancy died in a drowning accident the summer between my sophomore and junior years. This tragedy and the comfort that I found in my prayer time had a significant impact on my understanding of the resurrection. I had this deep inner sense in that time of great grief that Nancy was at home with the risen Lord and that I was being comforted by the same God. The message that God is always with us is an important message that I hope to convey in all aspects of my ministry.
After college I spoke to the Rev. Vincent Warner, the rector of my home parish, about my call to the priesthood. I began our conversation by sharing with him that I believed I was called to the priesthood, but I did not want to say “yes” to that call quite yet. I was enjoying being an actuarial assistant at a consulting firm in Boston and felt I should work in the corporate world for a while. At that time I also began a relationship with the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) in Cambridge , Massachusetts . I attended retreats there and one of the monks became my spiritual director. It was during a Tenebrae service at SSJE that I finally stopped putting off what I knew in my heart I was called to do. On that night, I said “yes” to my call. It was my unequivocal “yes.” I felt a joyous flood of relief and happiness as I embraced what I had felt called to do ever since I was a young girl.
Throughout the ordination process and in the years since I have been ordained, my spiritual journey has been fed in a variety of ways. I have maintained my relationship with the Society of St. John the Evangelist. It was SSJE and my field placement parish in seminary, Grace and St. Peter’s, Hamden , Connecticut , that broadened my understanding of the sacraments. I grew up very low church in a Morning Prayer parish and was very comfortable with that worship style. SSJE and Grace and St. Peter’s introduced me to chasubles, incense and the importance of having a Eucharistic theology. The line in Eucharistic Prayer C is one that constantly informs how I hear the Eucharist: “Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this table for solace only, and not for strength.” (BCP, p. 372) For me the Eucharist is about solace and strength. As I look into the eyes of persons with whom I share the Eucharist, particularly when I know some of their story, I can palpably feel their longing for solace or strength. This physical moment of taking bread and wine is a spiritual moment in our hearts. To be able to share in those moments as priest and pastor has both overwhelmed me and furthered my understanding of God’s love.
One day when I was distributing the Eucharist, a young girl handed me a picture that she had drawn. The distribution of the Eucharist can be for a priest a time of giving, of sharing Christ’s presence with the congregation. To be handed a picture in the midst of this moment startled me. Here I was giving and she took this time to give to me. In that moment she was sharing Christ’ presence, Christ’s love, with me. The image of sharing the Eucharist rather than giving the Eucharist was made manifest to me in that moment. The Eucharist is an incredible celebration of Christ’ love and gift to us of his life, death and resurrection. It is a moment of solace, strength and joy for me in my own spiritual journey.
My spiritual life is also fed during my sermon preparation or working on materials for teaching. Spending time with the scriptures and in prayer have consistently fed and nurtured me. I read the Daily Office on most days and I practice centering prayer as often as I can. One of my favorite stories about reading the Daily Office occurred when my mother was visiting for a week. In the morning I typically go downstairs to my family room to read the Office. The first morning she was there she came in and started talking to me. I said, “Mom, I’m praying.” The next day when she woke up she made a pot of coffee and brought a cup into me and without saying a word placed it next to me. It felt very loving, affirming and respectful of my discipline.
My work for my Doctor of Ministry degree was a time of great growth for me spiritually as I was constantly learning and teaching. After finishing my D. Min., my friend the Rev. Tara Soughers and I participated in a Shalem Course called: Clergy Spiritual Life and Leadership: Going Deeper. This course also invited me to teach and lead small groups focused on spirituality and prayer. All of these opportunities have fed me and my relationship with Jesus.
Through the Shalem Course I was encouraged to start a prayer group at St. James. We met once a month for a year in the chapel at St. James. While I had led prayer groups before, this was one that was on-going for a good length of time. It was a powerful time of prayer and discussion with a small group of parishioners. Leading and being a part of this group was extraordinary in both the intimacy that the group created and the depth of prayer that we found ourselves able to experience together. One day we forgot to assign a timekeeper for our time in silence and found ourselves in silent prayer together for over thirty minutes. We came away from that time refreshed, fed and fulfilled in some special ways. We also found that was the time that truly formed us as a prayer group.
When I was serving in my first church, St. Peter’s, Osterville , Massachusetts , the rector and I both became associates of SSJE. This commitment has been one that has helped me stay focused on prayer when my spiritual life and practices were experiencing both ebb and flow. My first spiritual director died several years ago. I then began seeing a new spiritual director at SSJE. I have tried in the past few years to be faithful about my visits to Cambridge both for retreat time and visits with my spiritual director. Recently, I have found that making the trip to Cambridge has been harder and harder to schedule and so I have begun to look for a spiritual director in Connecticut . I hope to maintain my relationship with SSJE, but meet with someone locally so that I can be more faithful to this practice.
During my last visit to SSJE for a retreat and visit with my spiritual director, I invited my then-boyfriend, now fiancé, Bob Fawber, to join me. It was important to me that Bob meet my spiritual director and see one of the places that formed me spiritually. The retreat was on themes of love in John’s Gospel. It was a wonderful retreat and one that I was glad I could share with someone special to me. Bob’s new found love for SSJE, the place and the people, is something that I cherish and celebrate.
In addition to times of preaching, teaching and taking retreat time, I find that my spiritual journey is fed by my ministry as a pastor, particularly in times of grief or loss. One pastoral experience in particular has stayed with me for years. It was in the summer of 1999. I had just returned from my vacation (by hours…my car was not yet unpacked), and I received a phone call from a parishioner that her daughter had fallen from a horse at a riding show and was now in the hospital with severe head injuries. I quickly emptied out my car and drove to the hospital. The girl had been in my confirmation class the year before. I spent the next 14 days walking with this family through various surgeries and tests. On the fourteenth day, this wonderful little girl, died. Anointing her dying body, as parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents participated in the Book of Common Prayer’s Litany at the Time of Death (BCP, p. 462-465), was a deeply spiritual experience. As the words of the BCP filled the room, we felt comfort from the Lord our God.
Her death greatly affected me and the community in which I lived. What I experienced, however, was a sense of God’s profound presence and love. It is hard to imagine that one can feel God’s love in the midst of such tragedy. Yet, God was profoundly present in the love that the community poured out to the family. God’s love was also manifest in the ways the family faced and shared their grief with other family members and friends.
This death taught me a lot about ministry, the challenges of being a priest in such sorrowful times and the importance of feeling connected to God through prayer. It is a challenge to hold onto the resurrection in the midst of the darkness of Good Friday and to preach and witness to that message of hope to a people who have stood in the abyss of darkness. What I found was that God did not abandon me in my grief. I found that even when I did not have the words to pray or the knowledge of what to pray for I could feel that God was supporting me. This support enabled me to be strong for the family I sought to comfort. As in all ministries, however, I found that the community comforted me as much as I comforted them. We were a people on a shared journey. That time of sorrow and sadness and the grace of God and the community in which I lived have continued to mold and shape the lens by which I see my spiritual journey and the ways I seek to live out my love for the Lord. Prayer and community are not separate in my mind. One nurtures the other, supports the other and informs how we embrace both.
As I think about some of the ways that I have been fed in my spiritual journey and some of the ways that I have been able to help others journey with the Holy, I find myself reflecting on ways that we could enhance the spiritual life of the diocese. I am a loyal supporter of the work of the Bishop’s Convocation for Prayer, attending as many of the clergy retreats as I am able. These retreats have been wonderful times to reconnect with friends and to connect with new friends in the context of prayer. My friend the Rev. Gail Keeney-Mulligan and I were reflecting on what a wonderful spiritual experience the clergy retreat is and we wondered whether or not we could offer something similar for the laity of the diocese. Perhaps we could offer retreats for the laity in various locations through out the diocese. Or find ways for parishes to link up for parish retreats or quiet days. This would be a ministry that I believe would benefit the diocese and one that I would support in my ministry.
I have also found in my spiritual journey that I am constantly fed by learning new forms and ways of prayer. Shalem was a wonderful resource for me to tap into, but I wonder if we as a diocese could seek to offer more courses on prayer or spiritual direction. I know so many clergy who seek to explore new avenues of spirituality once they are ordained, myself included. I wonder if we could find ways to tap into some of the exceptional resources in and around our diocese and offer more short courses for clergy or clergy and laity on the topics of prayer and spirituality. These are ministries that take time for exploration, research and coordination, but are certainly ideas that I would willingly dedicate myself to as I believe they are vital to our life together in Christ.
2. In this position you would be working with Bishop Andrew Smith and Bishop Suffragan James Curry, who have ministered together on behalf of this Diocese for the past six years. Describe your experiences working in similar collaborative leadership situations .
I have had the experience of working in several collaborative leadership situations. In fact, it is in those situations where I believe that my ministry flourishes as I am fed by the energy that teams create. I have served as an associate rector in three different parishes. Each of the rectors for whom I worked was different, and each one has influenced how I live out my ministry as a rector. I believe that my effectiveness as a rector is in large part due to my relationships with the priests with whom I worked. In each setting, teams were defined differently. What I learned from the sum of these experiences is that communication, trust and a common vision are the words that define how I seek to work collaboratively. As rector of St. James and as Secretary of Convention, I have tried to hold these three words before me.
Communication. Communication is key for teams to work effectively and productively in ministry. For me communication is about finding out what the other is thinking about and seeking. It is an essential tool for a collaborative ministry to work. I believe that I am a good communicator in that I will often seek clarification or further information from others. It is a tool that I am constantly seeking to improve and hone, as I believe it is vital to sharing a common life together.
The first church in which I served was a medium-sized parish in Osterville , Massachusetts . The rector and I were a great deal alike and had similar role models for ministry. We were often on the same page when it came to the practice of ministry. The team was healthy and strong and a unified ministry was presented to the parish. What Ray and I found to be givens in many of our conversations were places that I had to define and redefine when I moved to be the associate rector at Trinity, Concord, Massachusetts and then to St. Luke’s, Darien, Connecticut. I learned that in each new setting roles and expectations needed to be articulated for ministry to thrive. Working for rectors with diverse models of ministry expanded my understanding of how one lives out ordained ministry. Communicating clear roles and expectations helped me and the teams in which I worked to thrive.
Trust. To me this means trusting in the ideas that others have for ministry and letting those ideas be vetted, tried and reflected upon. The book Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers, by William M. Easum, has a wonderful section on the importance of letting others explore new avenues for ministry even if they are ones you disagree with or believe will not work. When I was in Darien , seeing how supportive the Rev. Dr. Jim Kowalski was of my doctoral work and the ways my project would be lived out in the parish was a role model for me of trusting in the ministry of others on the team. In my role as Secretary of Convention, when the idea of having the vendors for convention set up at 960 Main Street , across from the Cathedral was raised, I did not like the idea. I thought it would be a nightmare. In the end, it was a great idea. Trusting the ideas of others and being willing to let them be tried is very important to me in ministry.
Common Vision. The Book of Common Prayer notes that the “mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ (BCP p. 855).” And, “the Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace and love (BCP, page 855).” Why I work in the church, and not in a social service agency or for another not-for-profit agency, is because I love Jesus. I go to work every day and talk to people about how much I love Jesus and how much Jesus loves us. I get to spend my days thinking about God, praying to God and putting God’s love into action in the world. I believe that we are fed and nurtured through Christ’s love for us. In my ministry at St. James I have been blessed with a staff that shares this common vision. When we work to plan worship or discuss pastoral topics, we meet with the common vision of seeking to serve Christ in all persons. That is very exciting to me. I never feel far from prayer when I am meeting with my minister of music to discuss hymns or with the associate rector or parish coordinator to plan for ministry. The bookkeeper at St. James is also the coordinator of our Thanksgiving meal, a meal that serves over 100 people on Thanksgiving Day. We open our doors to all who seek to be fed on that day. Her ministry is one that keeps our books honest and our mission work alive. The common vision of loving Jesus and sharing that vision through prayer, worship and actively living a Gospel of justice, peace and love sustain me in my team ministry.
In the past six years I have had the opportunity to work closely with Bishop Smith and Bishop Curry. Serving on the Bishop and Diocesan Executive Council and now on the Standing Committee, I have had the opportunity to spend time with both bishops and share in their vision for ministry. Serving as the Secretary of Convention for the past three years has also been a wonderful opportunity to work with both bishops. I have found working with them to be rewarding and fun. Words such as communication, trust and common vision I believe define our relationships. With Bishop Smith I have felt that I can always discuss challenging and important topics. We have occasionally not agreed with one another on various topics, but I believe we have found a relationship that is filled with trust and friendship. I have also found in his ministry an energy that both excites me and encourages me for the future of the church. I would be honored to serve the church as his Bishop Suffragan. I have not worked as closely with Bishop Curry, but my experiences with him both as Canon to the Ordinary and as Bishop Suffragan have given me great respect and admiration for him and for his ministries. The opportunities that I have had to work with him as Secretary of Convention and to share some of my own spiritual journey with him have confirmed my belief that his ministry is a gift to the church. I do not doubt that a shared ministry with Bishop Smith, Curry and myself would be healthy, honest and one that would energize the church.
I have always served in collaborative ministries and that has not been by accident. I thrive in team settings where both the team and the individual can be at their best. In high school and college, I rowed on the crew team. What I like best about this sport is that it demands that each individual be excellent for the team to be successful. Each rower needs to be at her best physically and mentally and then dedicate herself to making the team work. The strongest rower does not do the team any good if she does not seek to work to make the team successful. The reason I was good rower and a good team player is because I believe that offering my gifts to the team to make the team work toward unity is something innate within me. It fits well with the mission of the church, a mission that seeks to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
3. Share some of your leadership experiences (from the past 3-5 years) that would aid you in ministering to a Diocese that is diverse and rich in multi-cultural expression. Include specific experiences at multi-cultural congregations and indicate what languages you speak other than English.
At present I do not speak any language other than English. I have studied German, French, Latin and Greek and at various times in my life have been able to speak German and French. I believe that learning Spanish or Portuguese will be the next step in my educational journey. As many of our clergy have learned or are seeking to learn Spanish, learning Portuguese might be a better language as it would broaden our churches’ resources.
I was part of the Executive Council’s design team that helped articulate the theme, “God’s People on Mission ” for our diocese. I believe it is through our focus on the mission of Jesus Christ that our church will have appeal to persons who are diverse in story and in cultural experience. My leadership experiences that would aid me in ministering to a diocese that is diverse and rich in multi-cultural expression are centered on my willingness to engage in conversation around difficult topics and my passion for learning and for education which enable me to see the church as a vibrant place for God’s Word to be engaged, shared and spread by all people.
I live in a very diverse and multi-cultural community. St. James Episcopal Church in Danbury is blessed with more diversity than any church I have ever served. The congregation and staff include persons who are from the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic as well as persons who are African-American, African and Anglo-American. The majority of the parish’s ethnicity, however, reflects the dominant Anglo-culture of the Episcopal Church. St. James is blessed with a diversity of persons socio-economically. Homeless people, lower income persons, the middle class and some persons who are very comfortable financially all worship together at St. James. We work, study, pray and serve God with a common heart. Our socio-economic diversity never seems to come into conversation or conflict.
We are diverse in terms of sexual orientation and marital status. Regardless of one’s family structure, one is welcomed as part of St. James’ family. The parish is committed to this diversity, as am I.
When I was going through the ordination process in Massachusetts , my bishop said one of the greatest gifts that a clergy person can give the church is the ability to sit on a lot of different front porches. That image has always stayed with me as one that I value. Serving in Danbury , in particular, has taught me about ministry on a lot of different front porches. Sharing a cup of coffee in one person’s mobile home in the morning and a cup of tea on a large porch overlooking Candlewood Lake in the afternoon, I have found not only that I can sit on a variety of porches, but that is where I feel most alive in my ministry.
One of the biggest challenges to our understanding of diversity occurred after the election of the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson to the episcopate. How I offered leadership to St. James was through honesty, open dialogue and study/education. Before Bishop Robinson’s name went to General Convention I shared with my vestry that, while I did not know Bishop Robinson personally, I did not believe that his homosexuality was an impediment to his call to the episcopate. One member of my vestry was very disappointed in my voice of support for Bishop Robinson and shared his feelings with me and with others. After Bishop Robinson was confirmed at General Convention, more voices within the congregation spoke of their disappointment in this step. I met with many of the parishioners who sought to leave the parish or who lowered their pledges as a result of the election. Some families left the parish, others stayed. I opened my office up for conversation and began a book study using Bishop Neal Alexander’s Book, This Far by Grace: A Bishop’s Journey Through Questions of Homosexuality as a guide. Many people participated in the book study and others engaged in open conversations with me. I sought in all places to be authentic and transparent. It is my belief that most people were comforted by my willingness to engage in conversation, my honesty about my own feelings and my respect for the thoughts and feelings of others.
Embracing the multi-cultural diversity of Danbury is a ministry that St. James is beginning to explore. As in many areas of my leadership, I have begun with educating myself about some of the diverse populations within Danbury . An avid reader, I have devoured books recommended to me by friends and colleagues in the ministry. Bishop Smith spoke highly of Brown, the Last Discovery of America by Richard Rodriquez, Dean Mark Pendleton suggested Harvest of Empire, A History of Latinos in America by Juan Gonzalez, the Rev. Iris Peterson gave me, Hispanic Nation, Culture, Politics and the Constructing of Identity by Geoffrey Fox, and I found When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago. I read each in turn and found myself thinking in new ways, realizing how little I knew and how much I wanted to learn. I have begun ruminating on a book study at St. James. This has been a successful way for me to begin significant conversations. My hope is to lead a book study in the spring.
My strongest personal experiences of embracing multi-cultural diversity have come from attending the anti-racism training sponsored by the diocese and by taking classes at Western Connecticut State University . I have always prided myself in being very open-minded about racism and diversity of cultures. The anti-racism workshop opened my eyes in some new ways. One woman of color spoke about having to think about the clothes that she wore to the mall. She would always try to wear nice clothes so that she would be well-received by the persons who worked in the stores. This shocked me. I have never thought about what I wear to the mall! One of the questions we were asked to answer was, “Have you ever been told you were a credit to your race?” I heard that statement with the agenda that accompanies it for the first time during the training. The workshop was overwhelming and life changing. I have been blessed with good friends and colleagues who have been willing to continue this dialogue with me. It is one that I believe we, as a diocese, should be continuing and expanding. Beginning to hear of the experiences of others, particularly how persons not from Anglo-cultures experience life, every day life, is a great step toward listening and hearing. I would advocate for anti-racism training as a life skill for any and all in the diocese.
The best place for me to embrace the multi-cultural diversity of Danbury has not been in clergy gatherings or at St. James, neither of which seem to capture that diversity yet. I take various courses at Western Connecticut State University to keep my mind challenged and learning. It has been at WCSU that I have become friends with women from the Dominican Republic , Brazil and Jamaica . It is with these friends that conversations about same-sex marriage, prejudice and the opportunities found in the United States have been most vibrant and alive. These are the conversations I wish for St. James and for the diocese. WCSU is the melting pot I believe the church can be. That involves people like me inviting my friends to my church and it involves seeking to build a bridge between multi-cultural communities. That bridge, heralding the banner, God’s People on Mission, is vital to our church’s thriving and embracing the joys of being Christian in the 21 st Century.
4. Describe experiences or gifts that you have in the area of church growth, including membership, faith formation and stewardship.
I have had significant experiences in these three areas of ministry. In each of the parishes I have served, I have been involved in membership ministries; much of my doctoral work was around the topic of faith formation; and my work with stewardship at St. James has been rewarding and exciting. I’ll address each in turn, starting with stewardship.
Stewardship: I arrived at St. James in the fall of 2000. Filled with the many responsibilities of a new rector, stewardship was not an area that I focused on immediately. The stewardship chair sent out a nice letter and the pledges responded in kind. That December, the finance committee presented a budget for 2001 with pledge income of roughly $260,000. This budget included a $40,000 deficit and included funding a full-time assistant. I protested the deficit for a bit, but let the budget go to the vestry. The vestry passed the budget the next day. That night that I knew I needed to step up to the plate and rethink the financial situation of St. James. I called the vestry back and we met again. I told them I could not, in good faith, support this budget. $40,000 was more money than I believed we could raise beyond our current pledges. A lot of newcomers making very high pledges in the next year was my dream, but I was not willing to risk hiring someone I might then have to let go when the money was not available for salaries.
This event led me to a new passion for stewardship. My stewardship chair and wardens embraced this passion as well. We attended the Province I Stewardship Conference and we attended the diocesan workshops. We were energized by the tools we learned for stewardship and we shared that energy with the parish. We did an every member canvas the next year (the first one they had done outside of a capital campaign), the next year we held cottage meetings and the next year we hosted an all-parish brunch and invited Terry Parsons, Stewardship Officer from the Episcopal Church, to come speak to us. We had an all-parish brunch the next year with Jack Spaeth as our keynote speaker. Bishop Smith came and spoke to the vestry and other leadership of the parish.
Stewardship has become a place of vision and passion at St. James. While financial realties are always upon us (parts of our building are over 100 years old), stewardship is something that is spoken about with respect and some knowledge. We have had a full-time assistant for four years. Our pledge income in 2006 was $354,100. This is an increase of close to $95,000 since I first became rector. It was a blessing to find resources both within our diocese and our larger church that could help us find ways to speak about money that were fun, fellowship-building and Gospel-focused.
Faith Formation: When I was the associate rector at St. Luke’s in Darien , I also began work on a Doctor of Ministry degree at Hartford Seminary. The theme of my doctoral work was, “Engaging a Generation, Adult Education for Baby Boomers.” As part of this project I led numerous courses on prayer, formation, Bible Study, Christian journeys and living our Sunday faith on Monday. Some classes were talks, others were book studies and still others were places for experiential learning. What I realized with great clarity at St. Luke’s was that people have a great desire to learn about their faith and how to live their relationship with Jesus in the places they work, play and take their leisure. I learned that I have strong gifts in the area of faith formation and that my passion for talking about Jesus enlivened this gift in some amazing ways. I say that from a place of humility in that I have always been blessed with a love for Jesus and a love for learning. To have the two meet in a place where I can help others be formed in their faith is one of the reasons I believe God called me to be a priest.
Faith formation also comes from opportunities for worship, particularly from participation in the Holy Eucharist. I have found that many people have not experienced the Eucharist in small group settings. This is a time when people can experience community and fellowship in a new way. I have sought to create these small group worship experiences for various small groups within the parishes I have served. Meeting in people’s homes or gathering around the altar in the church, we hear the Gospel read in a setting that was probably not unlike the experience of the early church. These are moments of significant faith formation.
St. James has taught me about the ways that outreach and mission can form people in their faith. When I first arrived at St. James I was overwhelmed by the fact that so many of the parishioners volunteered at local soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries. I watched as newcomers joined St. James and embraced this vision for local mission. Children, youth and adults all give of their time and talent to care for our community. These parishioners are formed in their faith by their service to others. I see one of my roles being to offer a language for what they live out in their lives, but the heart of the faithful is formed in their ministries. This is not humanism at work, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ shared in a cup of coffee, a blanket, food and smile.
Membership: Membership is a topic that I find exciting at St. James. St. James attracts many newcomers – both young families and others looking for a spiritual home. However, our membership ministry is not an easy ministry. Our downtown church is located in a bustling city center, but it is not a city center frequented by many of the city’s residents. How do we get the word out about our great church? We certainly make our presence known through our mission work. We also have a great carillion that peals its glorious music throughout the city center. This year the vestry, lay leadership and I have dedicated ourselves to “getting the word out” about St. James. We have increased our publicity in local papers and we have improved our webpage. The idea of telling the Good News about St. James is one that the vestry, staff and I are constantly putting before our parish. So far, this fall, we have seen greater attendance at many of our events and services. I believe this is the first fruits of our on-going labor.
Letting people know about St. James is only the first step of our evangelism program. The second part is incorporating them into the life of the community. Our greeters are there to say “Hello” and answer any questions, our ushers are there with bulletins and information. Newcomers constantly tell me they came back to St. James because someone spoke to them, someone showed them how to use “all the books,” someone guided them to the church school or someone smiled at their children. St. James is a friendly place. Our member ministry is similar to programs offered in other parishes. We offer newcomer classes, dinners and occasional mentoring programs. What makes St. James special is the friendly and yet very reverent atmosphere. It is an atmosphere that I both inherited as rector and one that I cultivate in my very personality. I believe that St. James called me as rector in part because they saw my love for Jesus presented to them in both a very formal, reverent way and as one that was joyful and fun. This sense of reverent joy carries over into how we welcome newcomers. It carries over into how we, as a parish, seek to offer our time, talent and treasure to the Lord. I believe that my gifts and leadership have helped make that happen.
5. Based on information you possess about the Diocese of Connecticut and from reading the profile on our website, what do you see as the major challenges facing this diocese? Describe how your experiences and gifts prepare you to assist us in meeting these challenges.
The two major challenges that I see facing this diocese are how to embrace diversity as we seek to hold the church in unity and how to address the financial concerns which exist in our church.
Diversity is an exciting word. It is a word that calls us out from our familiar surroundings and says to us, “The world is filled with people whose stories and experiences are different from our own.” We can easily hear diversity as a threatening word. We can hear it saying to us, “If we invite others in, they may want to change something.” Diversity can call us out of our place of comfort, the known world, and that can be a terrifying thought. But, the Gospel calls us not to a place of fear, but to a place of excitement, a place that says it is in embracing our diversity that our faith can truly become alive.
Before moving to Danbury my experiences with socio-economic diversity had been limited. Living in Danbury for six years has helped me to see the world in a much more exciting way. Not long after I arrived in Danbury , I spent some time at the volunteer homeless shelter. My first night there, I met a woman who was my age, about my height and was HIV positive. The opportunities that presented themselves to her in her life were very different from my own opportunities, but some of her story was similar. The first thing she did when she arrived at the shelter was to call her mom to tell her where she was. This startled me. How like me, calling my mom, checking and telling her where I was. We talked for a while before she went to bed. We talked about TV shows we enjoyed when we were young. She spoke of going to a wedding at St. James and how much she liked the church. We found, in that moment, a friendship. Of all the things I thought I would find at the shelter that night – a sense of feeling good about my ministry, the sense of making a difference in the world – I did not expect to find friendship. I was startled and I learned something. I learned that diversity doesn’t have to be threatening, it can be exciting. I learned that diversity just means parts of our stories are different, but it doesn’t change our common humanity or God’s love for all of us. Nothing I learned was rocket science or something that I didn’t say all the time in sermons, but the incarnation, the reality of the experience, was different from what I had expected. I expected difference; I found similarity. I expected to find little or no common ground; I found a connection that has stayed with me and influenced my ministry in practice as well as in theory.
Our diocese is filled with diversity. Some of it is diversity that we have sought and cultivated. The diocese has a commitment to Hispanic ministry that illustrates our dedication to reaching out to expand our church. This ministry requires listening and hearing, sharing and celebrating. On the surface we can embrace new liturgical styles and learn the importance of enabling people to worship in their first language. At the core is the truth that all of us are children of God seeking to embrace the life that God has blessed us with to the fullest extent that we can. And, that can only be done by embracing others as blessed children of God.
Some of the theological diversity within our diocese has led to great sadness for many of us. I love the Episcopal Church. I was baptized at an Episcopal Church when I was a child. It is in the Episcopal Church that I have chosen to live out my calling, seeking to dedicate my life to loving and serving Jesus. Watching and witnessing as our theological diversity around the topic of homosexuality has led to tensions, lawsuits and a general sadness within our church as been a great emotional challenge for me. What I believe is that Jesus loves all of us and that he will and does watch over us. I believe that these times in our church must grieve the heart of God. As a bishop in this church, in this diocese, I can promise that I would seek to do three things that would address the diversity within our church, both theological and otherwise.
I will dedicate myself to a ministry of listening, listening to all persons, seeking both unity and the excitement of our diversity. I will dedicate myself to prayer, praying that God will hold the church close to God’s heart through the midst of these struggles. And, I will dedicate myself to the church as community. I believe in the Church as a the community of the New Covenant…whose mission is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ… a Church who pursues its mission as it prays, worships, proclaims the Gospel and promotes justice, peace and love. (Book of Common Prayer, page 854-5). Our unity is found in being children of God; our diversity can be either a threat or an opportunity. I choose to see it as an opportunity for growth, for God’s grace to be revealed and for the church to move closer to being the community Jesus has called it to be. One night at a homeless shelter in Danbury drove home to me God’s truth that we are all children of God. Our stories and opportunities might be different, but the unity we have in the heart of God is real. Our ministry is to focus on that unity in Christ and find ways to hear and learn from both the similar and diverse ways our journeys seek, embrace and know Christ’s love
Our financial situation in the diocese is one that comes both from some parishes’ financial responses to our present theological differences and from some parishes’ financial realities. Our diocese passed at the 1993 Diocesan Convention a resolution stating that parishes would contribute 12.5% of their income to the diocese for mission and ministry. This 12.5% is a number that is much lower than what many other dioceses ask for, but one that presents a financial challenge to many parishes. For those who are financially challenged by this number, as your bishop suffragan, I would support two different approaches. The first is to continue to encourage Bishop Smith and Canon Spaeth to do their stewardship “road show”. Last year I had the opportunity to hear both Bishop Smith and Canon Spaeth speak of their personal and theological thoughts and feelings about stewardship. I have first hand experience on how their presentation can be life changing for a congregation. When they visited St. James in 2005, the impact on our giving was noticeable. I would welcome whatever I need to be doing as bishop suffragan to support Bishop Smith and Canon Spaeth in their ministry.
The second approach I would take is one that I have advocated for on the Bishop’s Task Force created to look at finances within parishes. That idea is to create a system by which we consider why individual parishes are in the financial situations in which they find themselves. Is it because they are very small? Or is it that they do not have a culture of good stewardship? Is there a pastoral story related to their history of giving? Looking at each parish that is challenged by the 12.5%, a team of clergy and laity could work with each parish to address their particular goals. If a parish is too small to meet the 12.5% and pay for clergy and heat, there could be tiered giving and conversations and teaching about church growth and evangelism. This ministry takes time and effort, but it is one that I believe in and one to which I would happily dedicate myself. When I came to St. James the parish did not give 12.5%. It is something to which we have dedicated ourselves and have worked hard to achieve. I have seen the pride that exists at St. James in achieving the 12.5%. I have seen first hand the ways this giving way creates a connection with the diocese and a joy in our own stewardship. That is a feeling I would like to share with others.
For those parishes that do not pledge due to theological differences within the diocese, I believe that ministries of listening and healing are required. I also see the reality that some of these parishes may choose to disassociate themselves with the Episcopal Church. These are pastoral concerns which must be addressed, cared for with Christian love and placed in God’s heart. As our church moves forward in time, it is my prayer and my promise that I will dedicate myself to listening and seeking to hear, striving to live into God’s mission for justice, peace and love.