Ministry Concerns Heard by Bishops
Episcopal News Service. October 4, 1977 [77333]
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Should Episcopal dioceses deal with the "oversupply" of clergy by adopting either a moratorium or a quota system in selecting candidates for holy orders? Where are self-supporting ministries heading? Does the diaconate need re-examining? And is there a need to amend the canon which requires each priest to be ordained "to a cure"?
Such questions were discussed by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church at its Sept. 30-Oct. 7 meeting at Sandpiper Bay. A panel of speakers had been arranged by the Committee on Ministry: Dean Urban T. Holmes of the School of Theology, University of the South; the Rev. James L. Lowery, Jr., administrator since 1971 of Enablement, Inc., Boston; and Bishop John B. Coburn of Massachusetts, chairman of the Board for Theological Education. General discussion followed their addresses.
Bishop John M. Krumm of Southern Ohio introduced the panel. He chairs General Convention's study committee on preparation for holy orders. Bishop Krumm reported that, via a questionnaire, his fellow bishops estimated that the number of people in ordained full-time ministries would increase by 35 percent in the next five years, while those in ordained self-supporting ministries would increase by 125 percent.
He said that, of today's 1,031 non-stipendiary priests, only 227 selected that mode of ministry from the outset.
Dean Holmes said that about 235 people -- 21 percent of them women -- will graduate next year from the Church's 10 accredited seminaries. That figure falls short of the probable attrition rate of 289 for the coming year estimated by the Church Pension Fund office. He observed that probably 35 percent of current ordinands prepare for holy orders by some route other than seminary education.
"No evidence," he said, "indicates that our present 'surplus' of clergy will continue. The pool of persons available for higher education is expected to drop 27 percent in the coming 20 years. "
In non-stipendiary positions, the Dean continued, the need is "not for less wellprepared people but for more well-prepared ones. Spiritual formation is vital, and this can best take place" in the community of a theological seminary.
The Dean and several bishops underscored the urgency of laying to rest the notion that "to be a real Christian, you' e got to be ordained." He praised the growth of of theology study by lay persons, more than 1,200 of whom are already engaged in Sewanee's Theological Education by Extension program.
Fr. Lowery scanned a panorama of new ministry styles which he sees as creative. Non-stipendiaries are selecting specific targets for ministry -- not only "to keep a congregation going" but also to take the community as target via civic involvements, or the secular sphere as with worker priests who "use the workbench as an altar."
He endorsed as "first class" the training programs stemming from Sewanee and from Tempe, Ariz.; TEAM ministry developments in Alaska and elsewhere; the New Directions program; and designs used by several regions and dioceses.
Lowery and other speakers commended the lifting up of the diaconate not as a "mini-priesthood" nor merely a stepping-stone to priesthood but as the ministry of serving -- noting work in this regard by Bishop Wesley Frensdorff of Nevada and by the Rev. Frances Zielinksi and others via the National Center for the Diaconate. "We can collaborate, too," he added, "with our Roman brothers who are engaged in a valuable re-study of the diaconate in many places. "
Bishop Coburn noted the imbalance between "ascending" seminary enrollments and "descending" deployment opportunities. But, he said, I think a moratorium would be a mistake. We don't have that kind of authority. The call of God and the call of the Church are being heard at the grass roots; we need to embrace and affirm people of quality" who are experiencing such calls.
He suggested the canon regarding "cures" might be extended by adding "or for exercise of special ministries authorized by bishop and standing committee."
Bishop Telesforo Isaac of the Dominican Republic bewailed the ineffectiveness of U.S. missionary priests who maintain a relatively lavish U. S. lifestyle overseas and remain separated in many ways from the people they came to serve. He called for more training for ministry on the local level.
Retired Bishop John Burgess of Massachusetts pointed out another hazard in moratoria: "Young men with a strong sense of vocation may not have an equally strong loyalty to this Church. If we ask them to wait, we lose them" to other seminaries.