Presiding Bishop tells endowed parishes to be 'confessors of the resurrection'

Jefferts Schori was the preacher at the closing Eucharist of the organization's 23rd annual conference which concluded on February 23 in St. Louis, Missouri. The service was held at the Church of St. Michael and St. George, in suburban Clayton, one of the two host congregations for the conference. Missouri Bishop George Wayne Smith was the celebrant.

The service commemorated the Feast of Polycarp, bishop of Smyra, who was executed in 156 A. D. because, according to the Presiding Bishop, "he would not repudiate his faith in Jesus Christ." The story of Polycarp and the readings for the day provided what she termed "a theme of confession and resurrection," which was fitting for the conference.

"You and I are here because we confess a faith in Jesus Christ and the eternal possibility of new life," she said.

Jefferts Schori said that the conference and the vision of the consortium's leaders "invites us all to die in order that new life might be brought forth.

"Looking into the future and confessing our faith in the power of the resurrection is going to require all of us to die to our favorite ways of seeing the world," she said. "It's going to mean we cannot give our full trust and faith to limiting ways of engaging God's creation.

"Jesus is going to send us out to build houses in New Orleans, to dig wells in Haiti, to train pastors in Indiana, and to feed the hungry in Botswana," she said. "And in all of it, confess 'yes' we are up to this work because we understand and give our hearts and faith to the reality of resurrection."

The annual conference welcomed more than 500 people from approximately 100 of the Episcopal Church's largest congregations to share best practices for effective church administration and creative mission to the world.

The majority of the teaching and networking of the conference was done through a series of workshops, repeated over the three days and conducted by some of the most recognizable names in church leadership today. From topics including parish communication, "teaching green," effective stewardship, and examining "future forces affecting the Episcopal Church," the aim of the conference was about dying to old ways of doing "business as usual."

Two decisions were announced during the conference that support current needs throughout the world and in the United States -- decisions very much in keeping with the Presiding Bishop's reminder, in her keynote address, that the Episcopal Church is both the "Foreign and Domestic Missionary Society."

The Consortium's board of directors announced that it will henceforth donate 0.7% of its annual budget to the Episcopal Church in support of the Millennium Development Goals.  A check, representing the 2008 donation, was presented to the Presiding Bishop at a Friday luncheon.

On Saturday, February 23, during its annual business meeting, the Consortium's president, Pamela Wesley Gomez, announced that the 2009 conference will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana with two local congregations as hosts. The Rev. Henry Hudson, rector of Trinity Church and the Very Rev. David duPlantier, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, were on hand to extend a formal welcome.

During his remarks, duPlantier also thanked Consortium members for their generosity to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Their gifts exceeded $1 million.

A powerhouse for good
From a beginning with 10 member parishes 23 years ago to 112 members and more than 500 participants in 2008, the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes has succeeded in providing a forum where the special needs of its members and their desire to employ their resources for the sake of the world can be addressed through its annual conference.

It's what the Rev. Jay Sidebotham, rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest, Illinois calls "a fruitful opportunity for learning, exploring and supporting each other."

The Rev. Sherrod Mallow, rector of All Saints Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, calls the conference "a spiritual homecoming."

Experiencing the conference for the first time, the Presiding Bishop summed up her feelings by saying, "This group is a powerhouse of good for the whole church."

-- Joe Bjordal is Episcopal Life Media correspondent in the dioceses of Provinces V and VI. He is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.