Diocese can create legacy, bishop says

Editor's note: This is Bishop Dabney Smith's address to the 40th annual diocesan convention, Oct. 28, 3008 at Christ Church, Bradenton. See a video of his address by clicking here:

I have a particular treasure hanging on my office wall: the framed ordination to the diaconate certificate of my grandfather, dated the Feast of St. Luke, Oct. 18, 1914. He was ordained by Bishop Charles Henry Brent, the missionary bishop of the Philippines, and later bishop of Western New York.

My memories of my grandfather are vague, but I love that he was ordained by a bishop with missionary zeal on the feast of the evangelist Luke, who provides us with so much inspirational material about Jesus, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit and the mission of the Church.

We gather for the 40th convention of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, a momentous occasion indeed. There are some people with us today who were the pioneers of this diocese. The rest of us have joined in the life of this diocese at multiple other times. All of us celebrate the mission of the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

As the pioneers of this diocese could not know the problems and successes they would face in 1969, neither can we as we face 2009. We can know, though, the same Jesus and his “events that have been fulfilled among us just as they were handed on to us” as Luke’s gospel expresses in its introduction. In other words, we are to be faithful in mission with and for Jesus Christ in our present, with His presence.

The gospel story that St. Luke tells is not simply a body of material. The gospel is the personal presence of Jesus Christ in us, forming us, calling us, saving us, using us, forgiving us and loving us. And as Luke says, this Gospel was handed on to us. The Gospel is not to be possessed by us or hoarded by us, but shared by us and lived through us. It is handed on to us to be handed on to others.

We hand on our faith, our living trust in God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, in our prayers, our worship, our Episcopal schools, in our formation of people for baptism, confirmation, marriage and ordination. We hand on our faith in outreach programs, personal and programmatic evangelism, raising our children and sharing our friendships. We hand on our faith. Most of our brothers and sisters of 1969 could not have predicted the life of the early 21st century. We will not successfully predict the life of the mid 21st century. But we can choose our attitude as we face tomorrow. We can choose to hand on our faith.

We live in times that are unsettling, uncertain and disturbing. Fear and anxiety seem to be constant companions. We seem to have multiple reasons to fear. The economy is fragile; the politics of church and culture become mean-spirited; the issues of climate change are overwhelming.

It is helpful to recognize the historical reality of humanity. All times have offered aspects that are unsettling, uncertain and disturbing. The faith that we hand on, though, is settled, is certain and cannot be disturbed. Jesus Christ has come into the world, is alive, and his Holy Spirit is released within us. He is why we are gathered here today.

We seem to have multiple reasons to fear, but that attribute is in constant contrast to the Gospel that consistently tells us to not fear. I am reminded that our faith in Jesus is needed now, perhaps more than ever. Our faith is best handed on when it is humble, patient, forgiving, loving and tangible. We cannot say where our journey will take us in years to come but we can say with whom we will journey. Jesus Christ is why we are gathered here today and He is with whom we are going.

Clearly we must be responsible for our diocesan and congregational lives as we continue this journey. I ask you to read the many reports you received for this convention. There is much to commend to you. The Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee have been working diligently for clarity in the discernment process. We have four individuals currently in seminary and three others preparing for the vocational diaconate. I have asked the Finance Committee of the Diocesan Council to evaluate and rearticulate our policies and practices, particularly regarding congregational apportionment assistance, so that they are clear, coherent and consistent. The School for Ministry Development is an emerging resource for the life of the diocese. The Committee for Congregational Development has started to develop methods and approaches to enrich congregational life. I am grateful for the tireless work of so many that strengthens the life of our diocese.

There is a preponderance of joy and energy in the lives of our congregations. Mary Ellen and I are constantly refreshed by the grace we experience Sunday by Sunday. One such experience of Grace is in this story. When I made my very first visitation to a congregation in February 2007, I had not yet been consecrated bishop. I was at Good Shepherd in LaBelle and an elderly man approached me after the service and said, “You are an apostle.” They were striking and humbling words to hear. I have thought of them many times. The word “apostle” is an English transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one who is sent out.” I did not and could not then realize when he spoke to me that Sunday morning the full impact of his words. You are an apostle … a sent one.

Yes I have been sent all over the diocese, sent to Spain to meet with African and American bishops, sent to the House of Bishops, the Lambeth Conference, Province IV meetings and Episcopal consecrations. Most recently I was sent to Sewanee, Tenn., to serve as bishop in residence for a week at the University of the South and had the opportunity to visit with two of our seminarians.

I just returned this week from the Dominican Republic. As you know, we are in a healthy diocesan companion relationship with the Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana. It took many months to work out a time to visit that corresponded with Bishop Holguin’s calendar. This visit was just days before our own diocesan convention and the timing did not seem convenient. The timing, however, was completely providential.

I participated in a Southwest Florida exploration tour of the D.R. Some of you may know the details of which I am to speak. If you do, I ask you to bear with me. If you do not, I ask you to share in my delight. I was delighted to visit the vibrant ministry of San Marcos Church and School and see the tangible efforts of both the Venice and Fort Myers deaneries. At San Matias Church, I saw the work of Church of the Ascension, Clearwater. In Barahona, the Clearwater Deanery’s ministry was present. In Bani, the efforts of Christ Church, Bradenton, were evident in the Church of the Transfiguracion.

I was invited to preach and baptize at San Jose, Boca Chica, where Church of the Redeemer, Sarasota, has done so much and where our own missionary, Karen Carroll from the Cathedral of St. Peter’s, serves. The Naples Deanery helps the ministry of Good Samaritan Children’s Shelter. The Tampa Deanery’s ministry is present at St. Stephen’s Church and School in San Pedro. They also help there with the Clinica Esperanza y Caridad that served more than 20,000 patients in 2007 in general medicine, pediatrics, HIV/AIDS, cardiology and physical therapy.

My point is a simple yet powerful one. In being sent out, I found virtually the entire diocese of Southwest Florida missionally present. The time was too limited to see everything that our diocese is involved with. I know there are more individual congregations serving our Lord there in transformative ways. Furthermore, there are congregations in our diocese assisting in other places of need such as through the Reach Rwanda program and assisting in Ugandan schools. Clearly, being sent is the role of a bishop, but it is just as clearly a defining characteristic of the whole Church. You both understand this and live it out. I want you to know how proud I am of you, and how honored I am to serve with you.

We are a diocese sent in mission. As we celebrate our mission in our 40th diocesan convention preparing to mark 40 years of life in 2009, I call upon this diocese to establish the Episcopal Charities Fund of the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

At last year’s convention I observed that we should explore this as both a financial and programmatic resource for the life of the diocese. Episcopal Charities is a helpful resource in many dioceses. I am asking 2,009 Episcopalians of this diocese to each contribute $1000 to establish this endowment for outreach. The number 2009 is simply to mark our 40th anniversary. This will raise more than $2 million that will generate approximately $100,000 per year.

These funds could be used to assist work in the Dominican Republic, the Haitian ministry, refugee resettlement ministry, the work with military families as mentioned in Archdeacon [Dennis] McMannis’ report, or immediate funding for crisis care via the Episcopal Relief and Development.

The revenues generated annually by the Episcopal Charities Fund would be used for outreach purposes both within and outside the diocese. The first step in this endeavor is simply to establish the fund. I found it spiritually striking to be in the Dominican Republic in the midst of our economic meltdown. The needs there are so vast, and many so poor, that this economic downturn is, in many ways, incomprehensible. The need for us to be involved in and focused on mission is completely comprehensible. Mission is a lifelong commitment. Again, I this day ask 2,009 Episcopalians in this diocese to contribute $1000. Some individuals have, in fact, already done so or have made a commitment to do so. I encourage all of you to participate. It is my hope that next year’s convention will see this request realized as an accomplishment.

We have inherited a wonderful, vibrant and active diocese. Let us create a legacy of the Episcopal Charities Fund that will equip the mission that lies before us, and leave an inheritance for the ministry of the saints who will follow us. We have prayed this day that God, who inspired Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of His son, would graciously continue in the Church this love and power to heal. May that prayer be true in us. May we live the faith handed on to this diocese for 40 years. May we gratefully live our faith and hand it on.