The Bishop’s Address 2011

Diocesan Convention Address
Beckwith Camp and Conference Center.
11 February 2011

The Rt. Rev. Philip M. Duncan, II
The Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
The 40th Convention of the Diocese

Download the Bishop’s Address

CALLED TO FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST

+Let us pray:
“Help us O Lord, to become the master of ourselves that we may become the
servants of others. Take our minds to think through your word made flesh
that we may live your vision here. Take our lips to speak that only your
words will be spoken here. Take our ears to listen that only your words will
be heard here. Take our hearts to burn with your love that the vision of
your kingdom will be embraced here, in the name of Jesus Christ who is
here. Amen!

We gather for the 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.
“Called to follow Jesus Christ” is our theme, to proclaim that we are centered and rooted
in the Gospel of God’s grace and love in the service of God’s world and all God’s people.
Last year we assembled for a one day Convention because of the disturbing cuts that
were impacting our diocesan common life, and hampering our mission and ministry.
In many ways that has not changed. I made the decision to return to the format of our
longer Convention because we need the time together to “be the diocese gathered for
prayer, study and work” and see and experience ourselves living in a time of hope and
possibilities. We are at 40 years old, still called to be the servant church envisioned by
those who founded the Diocese as a sign of hope and opportunity to a troubled world.
That I believe and that is our witness as we are “called to follow Jesus Christ.”
Financially, we remain in a problematic place. We will see a balanced budget, but
only balanced because of the many cuts that we put in place at the last Convention,
which indeed have had a dramatic impact upon our mission and ministry.
Last year at Convention, the offering received at the Holy Eucharist was given to
Episcopal Relief and Development for the critical work in Haiti, following the devastating
earthquake. Over the course of this past year we have given more than $25,000 for that
much needed aid. Haiti needed our help and we needed to give beyond our own needs.
We were gracious in our giving. Thank you for that sign of faith and sharing God’s love
for as expressed in last years Convention theme, “Where true charity and love dwell, God
himself is there.” For us, indeed we are “Called to follow Jesus Christ.”

We as the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast are called to give of ourselves and our
resources in the midst of our worship. Again I ask you to be generous with your
offerings as we commit beyond ourselves and our parochial needs, in addressing the
suffering and rebuilding in Haiti through the ongoing work of Episcopal Relief and
Development. In the recent appeal made by The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council
to raise $10 million, we are reminded that this is a project that calls us to work with
Episcopalians from around the world. We give thanks to God for forty years as the
Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, and give in thanksgiving for those years and our many
blessings.

Last night at St. James Church in Fairhope we ordained eight Deacons for the
present and future work of our diocese – for the mission and ministry to which we are
all called and to which they will, as both sign and substance, lead us. There is a
connection between our intent and our impact, between our speech and our actions and
these Deacons are to show us the congruity and the incongruity of what often takes
place under the guise of mission and ministry; stewardship, evangelism, worship,
community, service and learning. We give thanks for the ordination of these eight
Deacons in our midst. Thank you! We ask them to help lead us beyond self-serving into
greater self-giving.

I thank our preacher and chaplain for his sermon last evening and for his and
Mary Ellen’s presence with us over these few days. I did not invite Bishop Dabney Smith
because he is a friend and respected colleague in the House of Bishops (That should
make him nervous!), but because he is wise and thoughtful and I value his deep rooted
faith in the Gospel. Thank you for being in our midst.

Last evening we listened to these words from The Examination, during the
Ordination of the Deacons: “… every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ, serving
God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God now calls you to a special
ministry of servanthood directly under your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.
As a Deacon in the Church, you are to study the Holy Scriptures, to seek
nourishment from them, and to model your life upon them. You are to make Christ and
his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among whom you live,
and work, and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and
hopes of the world. You are to assist the bishop and priests in public worship and in the
ministration of God’s Word and Sacraments, and you are to carry out other duties
assigned to you from time to time. At all times, your life and teaching are to show
Christ’s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself.” (BCP p543)
I thank those women and men who have answered this call to serve and for those
who are in the discernment process, preparing to open themselves in response to what
may be a call to ordained ministry. The Deacons School, under the leadership of The
Rev. Dr. Al Pruitt and other committed clergy, is a powerful and intentional program to
equip those who are moving forward in this call. Thank you!

In past years I have asked the Daughters of the King, the Brotherhood of St.
Andrew, and The Episcopal Community (a new prayer community of faith) for their
prayers for the Diocese and during our Diocesan Convention, for the work we do as the
gathered community of faith. I do so again this year, believing that those prayers are
important and help to form us as an intentional Christian Community. I ask each of you
to join with them in offering your prayers, that we may see where we are called to
journey as the Diocese and where God would have us engage the world.
We meet during these few days at St. James Church, Fairhope and Beckwith
Camp and Conference Center. Both Church and Camp have a history of welcome and
warmth.

St. James Episcopal Church has its origin in 1918, when the Church was
established in Fairhope, and The Rev. Louis Tucker, Rector of Christ Church, Mobile
would ride the ferry across the Bay to conduct services. By 1923, St. James had bought
their first church and the building was debt free due to funds raised by the church
women. In 1949 the church became a parish and work was undertaken to build a new
church with a 200-seat nave. The Rev. Bill Hill was Rector for 29 years followed by The
Rev. Gil Green, who worked to enlarge the congregation. With 900 members, both its
facilities and its property were inadequate. At the dedication and consecration of the
new church on the Feast of Pentecost 1994, Bishop Charles Duvall said, “It is what will
happen here that will give this place the aura of holiness—the ministries you are
involved in, the prayers that are prayed and the hearts that are changed.” This past
October, The Reverend Mark Wilson celebrated his tenth year as Rector.

The Beckwith Mission Statement reflects: “To serve the Episcopal Diocese of the
Central Gulf Coast and the community at large by providing opportunities for spiritual
growth through programs and facilities in a natural setting and Christian environment.”
In 1932 a gift of forty acres of timbered land on the west side of Weeks Bay was given
to the Diocese from Bishop Beckwith’s family, “that it might become useful for clergy
conferences, youth programs, summer camps and learning opportunities to further the
ministry of the Church.” Twenty-three boys under the leadership of The Rev. J. Hodge
and Walter Alves, went to the site for a two week experimental work-camp. They cleared
some of the property, built a log cabin, and improved the roads. The Rev. Alves stated:
“We all feel that ‘Camp Beckwith’ is a permanent feature of our Diocesan life.” Herbert
West summarized his experience: “swimming, hiking, boating, studying nature, reading -
these will attract some. A closer communion with their God will attract all.” We are here
today because of their foresight and their leadership and for them we give thanks. The
present Board of Directors and the Interim Director, The Rev. Massey Gentry are
working together to ensure that Beckwith continues for future generations.

In the Church we confront the sin of exclusion from the Body of Christ because
of race, color, background, education, gender, ethnicity, culture, legal and illegal
residence, sexual orientation and societal norms, to name only a few. Black History
Month again reminds us that when we do not see the sin within ourselves, we are want
to exclude and diminish “the other.” Seeing the Gospel as exclusive rather than
inclusive is antithetical to the Gospel proclamation that all of us are created in the image
of God. We are called to witness for Jesus in the world, and work to eliminate “racism,
classism and ethnic discrimination,” as we share Jesus. We know that we are made one
in Christ to the glory of God, and for that we give thanks to God. I again remind you of
the Jonathan Myrick Daniels’ Pilgrimage in Hayneville, Alabama, which this year is on
Saturday the 13th of August, and will include a Service of Repentance and Reconciliation
as we celebrate the richness of our diversities. One of the pilgrims a few years ago, on
a typical south Alabama August day said (Need I say: very hot?), “It sure is hot here
bishop,” and then with a little smile said, “but I remember a time here when even on the
hottest days there was a great chill.” We are called to follow Jesus Christ.

My daily log and the summary list of my official Episcopal acts reflecting my
activities in 2010, I file by title. I also file by title the official list of clergy of the Diocese,
which can be found on pages 7 through 9 in your Convention packet and will be printed
in the Diocesan Journal.

On behalf of our Diocese and the Episcopal Church, I continue serving on the
Board of Trustees for the General Theological Seminary and the University of the South
where as one of the owning Diocesan Bishops, I will be “Bishop in Residence” for a week
this spring. As a Board Member for the Society for the Propagation of Christian
Knowledge, I am aware of the constant need to foster continuing study and education
for our clergy and laity. Additionally, I serve as the Chair of the Standing Commission
on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations until the next General Convention in 2012.
I want to note that last evening in Winston Salem, North Carolina, The Episcopal Church
celebrated a liturgy with the Moravian Church, recognizing each others’ orders in our
common call to ministry and our agreement to share in mission and ministry. The work
of prayer in the newly formed group, The Episcopal Community continues to offer an
experience of a deepening sense of God’s grace within the fellowship of prayer and study,
using the Rule of St. Benedict, and I am privileged and pleased to serve as their national
Chaplain.

I am revising my visitation schedule and plan to have weekly visitations on both
Sundays and weekdays, to allow me to spend more time within our congregations. I am
not pleased with the current eighteen month schedule and believe that it is too long a
time between my visits. A number of congregations have expressed that same belief as
well. I will be working on my visitation schedule following this Convention, as we seek
a way to move forward in this process. I officially inform the Diocese at this time that
I will take my sabbatical leave during the months of October, November and December
this year.

Since the last convention, the following priests and spouses have died within the
Diocesan clergy family:

• Anita June Williamson Holcomb, widow of The Rev. Charles Holcomb, died the 5th of April 2010.

• The Rev. John Wright Blow, retired, Diocese of Florida, died the 19th of July, 2010.

• The Rev. Shirley Hall Wise Humphrey, retired, Diocese of Western Louisiana, died the 30th of August, 2010. She served as supply priest within our Diocese.

• Barbara McLeester, wife of The Rev. Jack McLeester, canonically resident in the Diocese of New Jersey and retired in our Diocese, died the 10th of October 2010.

• The Rev. John Wesley Bell Thompson, retired, Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, died the 8th of January, 2011. He served as Rector of Good Shepherd, Mobile from 1961 to 1969.

• The Rev. Samuel Robinson Hardman, retired, Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, died the 10th of February, 2011. He served as chaplain in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1975. Upon retirement he served for ten years on the Diocesan staff as Assistant for Program, and then Archdeacon for Missions. He was instrumental in the establishment of Cursillo in the Diocese. He died last evening at 6:00pm, as we began our opening service.

We remember them before God, giving thanks for their time with us and their
entrance into the Church Triumphant. Please stand, as in silence we remember them
and their witness in our diocesan family. (Silence)

REQUIESCANT EN PACEM
“Into paradise may the angels lead you. At your coming may the martyrs
receive you, and bring you into the holy city of Jerusalem. + May their souls
and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in
peace. Amen!”

On Sunday the 16th of January at the 10:30AM Holy Eucharist and Confirmation,
I received Aaron Kuster as a member of the Episcopal Church at Holy Nativity Church,
Panama City. Aaron is active military and a short time before my visitation he had been
deployed to Al Udeid American Military Base in the Emirate of Dawlat Qatar in the
Middle East. He was present via electronic means, (Skype), as his wife, Holly, and the
rest of the confirmation class were confirmed and received. This was powerful and I
want to recognize it would not have taken place had the possibility not been presented
to me by the Rector in a well thought-out way. Thank you Fr. Bates for making that
possible. By word, sign and action Aaron is now a member of Holy Nativity Episcopal
Church, received from the Roman Catholic Church while we (he and I) were together in
both the United States Air Force Base Chapel in Qatar and Holy Nativity Church,
Panama City Florida.

Currently, I am in conversation with The Rev. Marianne Stephens-Kroll, the First
Vice President of the Episcopal Conference for the Deaf and Rector of St. John’s
Episcopal Deaf Church in Birmingham, Alabama. We are seeking a way for her to be
present week by week on Sunday mornings electronically, to conduct services
simultaneously for/at the Church of St. Mark’s for the Deaf in Mobile and her
congregation in Birmingham. Fr. Cam Desmarais is no longer able to conduct the
complete service and will be present only to consecrate the elements of the bread and
wine for distribution by Lay Eucharistic Ministers. What we are considering is being a
pilot program for us and for the Deaf Community throughout the Episcopal Church.
I have asked Fr. Greg Hein to facilitate a special committee (The Theology of
Grace), whose members I will appoint to consider, advise and work with me on how we
might move forward in the use of electronic technology, within the fullness of our
common life together. This will include Sunday morning worship, church meetings,
continuing education for clergy and adult formation, training for lay ministries and
interview processes. I want to consider what may be for some a radical approach for
congregations, where it is very difficult to have a priest physically present for the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist. I am presently in conversation with other bishops and
theologians about this process and I am excited about the possibilities that it may offer
to us.

Dr. Mendy Henderson continues to gift us with her work, with and in the area of
the Five Year Plan. I thank her for this important work and for the Diocese seeing this
as an intentional way to engage looking at who we are and who we want to be. The
setting of goals and priorities while living into these realities, is even more important in
this time of financial distress.

I am always hopeful that the financial piece of my Convention Address will be
positive! That has not been the case over the last several years. Our congregations and
our diocese continue to struggle financially. I would describe 2010 as “bitter-sweet.” For
the fifth year in a row, pledge receipts were less than pledged at the beginning of the
budget year, with five congregations in the Diocese giving over $5,000 less than they
pledged, totaling more than $76,000. The “sweet” piece of news in the income side of the
budget, is that two congregations paid considerably more than they pledged: Nativity
Church, Dothan and St. John Church, Wewahitchka.

St. John the Baptist Church, Wewahitchka is a mission in a small community on
the eastern side of the Diocese. They have dutifully pledged 10% percent of their plate
and pledge income to the Diocesan budget for years. In 2010, they received a one-time
gift of about $400,000 to pay the balance owed on their mortgage for their new Church.
Typical of St. John’s leadership, The Rev. Jerry Huft and the supportive congregation
paid 10% percent of this, approximately $42,000, to the Diocesan budget. So, in 2010,
St. John’s Church, Wewahitchka pledged $4,280 and paid $47,660! Thank you Fr.
Jerry Huft as you celebrate thirty years as a priest and thank you the people of St. John
the Baptist Church, Wewahitchka. Nativity Church, Dothan, overpaid their pledge in
excess of $10,000! Thank you Mtr. Ede Plovanich and Nativity Church, Dothan for your
generosity and give to work beyond your community.

Another “semi-sweet” piece is that as a result of some savings in the expense side
of the budget, which is outlined in detail in your Convention packet, the Diocese actually
ended the year 2010 with excess income over expenses of a little more than $50,000.
The Commission on Finance and the Standing Committee voted to put this surplus back
into the Julia Quigley Fund, a discretionary fund on the Diocesan books, from which
more than $300,000 has been taken over the last several years to balance deficit
budgets. There was a one-time salary bonus given to the Diocesan staff from the Quigley
Fund, responding to the reality that there has been no salary increases for three years,
with none budgeted for 2011, and two senior staff received a 10% reduction in the total
of their compensation over that same period of time. I note also, that two positions, the
Canon to the Ordinary and the office receptionist, were eliminated – they were let go
because we do not have the money to fund their work. The balance in the Quigley Fund
after these transactions is now $119,000.

The trend for 2011 continues to be “bitter!” Pledges received to-date are down
$114,000 from the budget of 2010. The original proposed budget to the Commission on
Finance had a deficit of ($74,289). Both the Commission on Finance and the Standing
Committee have worked hard to not present a deficit budget! Therefore, significant cuts
are proposed for balancing the 2011 budget, as follows:
< Reduce Beckwith Camp & Conference Center $9,000, from $117,500 to $108,500
< Reduce Wilmer Hall $9,000, from $117,500 to $108,500
< Reduce Commission on Youth Ministries from $12,857 to $10,000
< Reduce Commission on Young Adults from $7,150 to $2,500
< Reduce Clergy Conferences from $7,500 to $2,500 (there will only be one clergy
conference in 2011!)
< Reduce Director for Communications Office from the proposed full-time service at
$40,000 per year plus full benefits, to the 2010 status, $20,000 with no benefits;
a savings of approximately $43,000.

Compensation for the rest of the Diocesan staff remains the same as it was since 2008,
with the exception of the two senior staff that took a 10% percent cut.
These cuts are painful, coming after the significant cuts that were part of the 2010
budget. The inability to fully fund Beckwith and Wilmer Hall, traditionally a priority in
Diocesan spending, and the inability to fund needed work in communications and youth,
are more than casualties of our priority to balance the budget.
Our experience over the years clearly indicates that we cannot afford a deficit
budget! We have drawn down more than a million dollars during the last twelve years
to fund deficit budgets. That cannot continue!

As your Bishop, I must ask the difficult and unspoken question: are we to be a
diocese? If the answer is yes, then how?
I have continued to hope and pray that this financial trend would reverse itself.
I was hopeful that Operation Redesign would bring about a new energy and commitment
to the work in and support for the Diocese.

The Standing Committee has begun some initial work in looking at various ways
to seek financial support of the Diocese. We are historically a voluntary giving Diocese,
where congregations make a voluntary percentage commitment of plate and pledged
income to the Diocese. Over the years, the average percentage that congregations are
giving to the Diocese has fallen below 10%. Some congregations are able to give more
than that, but don’t. Some congregations struggle to give that and more, and do give it!
The Commission on Finance and the Standing Committee are looking into ways that
other dioceses are having their work funded from congregations. Please continue to keep
the Diocese in your prayers. We will continue to pray for the congregations within the
Diocese, that we may grow together in financial sustainability for the work that is set
before us.

To our diocesan Staff I offer my thanks for the work you do for us to ensure that
we are meeting the needs of our congregations: Vince Currie, Mary Poss, Jennifer
Barnard, Carmen Kimmons, thank you for your gifts given. Cindy McCrory and Venessa
Riutta, your gifts and ministries empower us to move beyond self – Communication and
Youth are ministries we want to engage more fully. To Bob Graves, Chaplain to the
retirees – Thank you. To Bob Gaines and Jerry Cotsonis, volunteer front desk
receptionists – Thank you. To the many unnamed, working near and far on our behalf -
Thank you.

We are forty years old as a diocese. We believe that we are still “…called to follow
Jesus Christ” here. We celebrate our call to mission and ministry, knowing that we face
challenges and knowing that in the future before us, Christ is already in that space to
welcome us. It is our intent to continue in the work given to us here, and to ensure that
the impact of that work is an opportunity for others to know the saving grace of Christ’s
love, for all of us now and in the future, here!

God’s blessings upon us as we meet in His Holy Name!