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I have not
written many limericks, but I was inspired to write this one by the
example of the Rev. Michael Russell, Rector of
All Souls’ Episcopal
Church in San Diego, California. Mike regularly writes limericks
about the Episcopal Church and posts them to the House of Bishops and
Deputies e-mail list. I have much to learn from his imaginative verse.
So, what is this poem about? My church, as
mentioned elsewhere, is
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. We are
currently looking for a new rector (the head clergy person in an
Episcopal parish). It is customary for a parish in such a situation to
hire an interim rector, a priest to take on the duties of rector while
the search for a permanent rector is in progress. The vestry, the board
of laypersons that manages the financial affairs of a parish, hires the
interim rector with the advice and consent of the local bishop. Engaging
an interim rector can be tricky business, as the job of interim is seen
as a specialized ministry, and not many priests perform it. Moreover, it
makes little sense to spend extraordinary effort on finding an interim
rector only to have to mount another such effort to find a permanent
rector.
Now to the story behind the poem: St. Paul’s
can best be described as a broad-church parish within the very
conservative Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. Our worship is neither too
Catholic nor too Protestant, and we welcome both theological and
personal diversity in parishioners, even though we do not always achieve
them. Our bishop, the
Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, heads the
Network of Anglican
Communion Dioceses and Parishes, a dissident group seeking to take
the Episcopal Church in a more “biblically orthodox” direction. St.
Paul’s has regularly opposed its bishop’s agenda, albeit with some
reluctance. It is a relatively
large and prosperous parish, however, which provides some protection
from diocesan efforts to drive parishes to the theological right.
In many dioceses, the bishop would meet from
time to time with parishes searching for rectors or interim rectors. In
Pittsburgh, Bishop Duncan who seems to spend much of his time working
for the Network, is less involved in local matters, so
Canon Mary Maggard Hays is the primary diocesan contact with parish
vestries. On her visits to parishes, she is usually accompanied by
Assistant Bishop Henry Scriven, whose primary function seems to be
to provide episcopal gravitas and British charm.
When St. Paul’s first sought an interim
rector, Canon Hays recommended the Rev. Nancy Chalfant-Walker, known
improbably as Nano (or Nan). Chalfant-Walker is charming, talented, and
theologically conservative—right of the St. Paul’s center, but decidedly left of the
bishop. The vestry interviewed her and decided that the ideal candidate
should have more experience. (Chalfant-Walker had only been ordained a few
years, had no experience as rector or interim rector, and had no
training in interim ministry.) The vestry finally hired another priest
suggested by Bishop Scriven. Not to put too fine a point on it, this
priest did not work out well and had to be dismissed after only a few
months on the job. Thereupon, the continuing clergy at St. Paul’s,
mostly retired priests, collectively and informally began operating as
might an interim rector. The long-term viability of this arrangement was
unclear. (The oldest priest was nearly 80.) Canon Hays met with the
vestry after the debacle of its first interim rector choice and indicated that, after a decent interval,
she would have additional recommendations for an interim. She assured
the vestry, however, that it could reject any proposed candidate. The
vestry, unwisely it seems, waited for Canon Hays to act.
She did so on April 24, 2006, in a meeting with
the vestry in which she read a
letter announcing that, contrary to her previous pledge—and
perhaps even contrary to the canons of the Episcopal Church—the vestry would have to
accept the Rev. Nancy Chalfant-Walker as its interim rector. In response
to questions from the vestry, Canon Hays admitted her about-face, but
she was firm in her determination to impose this particular priest on
St. Paul’s.
It seems unlikely that Mary Hays (and,
of course, Bishop Duncan) will not get her way. Chalfant-Walker may
even do a commendable job at St. Paul’s. Nonetheless, the move is likely
to divide the vestry and put a cloud over the work of the rector search
committee.
These events are ironic, given that Bishop
Duncan and his allies are always complaining about how “liberal” bishops
intimidate and persecute their “orthodox” congregations. This surely seems to be a case
of an “orthodox” bishop intimidating a moderate—not even a
liberal—parish.
May God have mercy on us all.
This poem was written the day after Canon
Hays’ visit. I should mention one technical point. I was tempted to
render “interim” as “int’rim” in the second line, but this rather unnatural form did not
really seem necessary. Syllables “in” and “call,” of course, are to be stressed in
either case.
— LED, 4/26/2006 |
