Dean’s Letter: The Episcopal Parish Network

Hello St. Paul’s,

Last week, Kathleen Burgess and I attended the annual Episcopal Parish Network conference in Houston. This is always a conference filled with good content, and it has tracks for rectors/deans, associate clergy, and lay professionals, so between us, Kathleen and  I covered a good proportion of the offerings. About 500 lay and clergy attended. My time in Houston started with the Rectors and Deans preconference, a series of panel discussions about parish leadership, and continued with panels and keynote addresses on church renewal, stewardship, entrepreneurial initiatives, evangelism, capital campaigns, faith-based investing, Christian Nationalism, Latino ministry, and more.

We heard from a variety of speakers, including the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, England; the suffragan Bishop of Dover, England; the Presiding Bishop’s canon for evangelism; and the current Fellows of Trinity, Wall Street. Sadly, the Presiding Bishop, who was to have given a keynote address, was not well enough to join us even on video, but instead we had a panel of speakers who have known him in different eras of his life speak about his ministry and legacy. We worshipped together in Christ Church Cathedral at the end of the conference.

One of the repeated themes was that of loneliness and belonging. We heard over and over that the antidote to the current epidemic of loneliness is offering people a way to belong. This goes deeper than simply welcoming others; it means helping people find their unique place and contribution in the faith community, so that they are fully aware of how much their participation matters. Bishop Rose of Dover challenged us to ask the question, “Why do we come to church at all? What would be lost if we weren’t there?”

We discussed the meaning of “e pluribus unum” – from many, one; the dynamic of bringing a diverse group of people together into one body. We heard about the four essential questions to ask someone as we build beloved community: “What do you love? What have you lost? Where does it hurt? What do you dream?” If we are intentional about asking these questions of one another and listening deeply to the responses, we cannot help but be drawn closer together.

We were encouraged to see church as a classroom for practicing connection and vulnerability, to risk giving God of our first fruits and not just our leftovers.

One practical suggestion that I took away was to invite those who regularly attend our worship online to form small groups for sharing and meditation. The Episcopal Church’s Province Four (in the mid-Atlantic) is launching a training for people who want to start such groups.

In between the formal sessions there was plenty of time to reconnect with friends, to browse the exhibits hall, and to continue the conversations on our own. Each Episcopal seminary hosted a dinner for alumni and friends, and I was invited, not only by my own seminary Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, but also by Virginia Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. I was delighted to meet the new Dean of Canterbury, who like me is from Northern Ireland, and to reconnect with the Dean of Coventry, as well as many friends and colleagues from across the Episcopal Church.

As I mentioned in Sunday’s sermon, I had the now familiar experience of hearing about many initiatives that we are already engaged in: St. Paul’s is on the leading edge! But there were also nuggets of creativity that I picked up along the way and will explore with staff and Chapter.

Next year’s EPN conference is in Kansas City in late February. Let me know if you’d like to come along and help us learn and grow!

Your sister in Christ,
Penny