Varley Completes Minnesota Troika
Episcopal News Service. July 23, 1981 [81207]
MINNEAPOLIS -- A second assistant bishop -- who will also serve as a vicar of a congregation -- has been named in the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, thus setting in motion a new experiment in episcopal ministry.
Diocesan Bishop Robert M. Anderson tapped Bishop Robert P. Varley as an assistant at the same time that the vestry of St. Luke's parish in Detroit Lakes called the former Nebraska diocesan as vicar. He and his family moved to the northwestern city -- he is much closer to Fargo, N.D., than to the see city here -- in early July.
In late June, Anderson announced that Bishop William Dimmick was resigning his Northern Michigan see to come to Minnesota as an assistant. Dimmick will live in a Roman Catholic community and share parochial duties at a St. Cloud parish.
Varley, 59, was graduated from Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin, and received his M.Div. from Nashotah House seminary. Later he received another master's and his doctorate from Philadelphia Divinity School. As a priest, Varley served parishes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland and he was Bishop of Nebraska from 1971-75. He is trained as a therapist and family counselor and has taught at several universities.
At his appointment he was program director for alcoholic services at Rockbridge in Lexington, Va.
In addition to serving St. Luke's two Sundays a month and one day a week, Varley will assist Anderson with Confirmations and parish visitations. The focus of his ministry in the diocese will be among American Indian people in 13 Episcopal congregations on the reservations and in the Twin Cities. In addition, he will serve as chairman of the Diocese's Commission on Social Action and Advocacy.
In announcing the appointment, Anderson said, "I am delighted that Bishop Varley will come to live and work among us, and I am especially pleased that he will be at St. Luke's. It's an active and strong, though small, parish. And the people are excited about his arrival. No priest has actually lived in Detroit Lakes for over eight years." He added, "Bishop Varley has skills in chemical dependency and family counseling that will be useful throughout the Diocese."
While there are other assistant bishops in the Episcopal Church, none have parish responsibilities. From the beginning, Anderson has stressed his desire to try the model of a bishop in a local church. He believes the model will be watched with great interest by other dioceses. Anderson is also intentional about placing assistant bishops outside of the Twin Cities area. This reflects his ideas about the episcopate: "Bishops not only serve the larger church but also have roots in a particular eucharistic community."