William Wordsworth, having learned of the death of his brother, John, wrote a poem to mark his brother’s death and commemorate his life. The poem, entitled “Character of the Happy Warrior” includes these three lines:

“Tis, finally, the man, who, lifted high,
...plays in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value, must be won.”
(What I value most – has got to be won!)

Tonight I want to talk to you about values….my values….the ones that undergird my ministry as your Bishop…the principles that have been especially important to me during these past seven years. I choose to present four values this evening that especially inform my work and, I believe, our work, as a diocese.

Simply put, these values are:
1) encouraging and empowering each congregation to identify its unique ministry
2) developing collaboration and collegiality
3) supporting the ministry of all the Baptized, and
4) maintaining a focus on justice issues.

First, I place high value on the encouraging and empowering of each congregation to find its unique ministry. There is no “cookie-cutter” approach to congregational growth and development -- no one way for every congregation to carry out its ministry. I strive to enable and encourage local communities to dream and vision what it is that God is calling that particular community to be and to do.

Ultimately, however, it takes more than dreaming and visioning…it takes resources to carry out those dreams and visions.

In 2001, I enlisted the support of the Trustees of the Diocese in setting up a Congregational Growth and Development Fund to which every congregation in the diocese has access. To be funded, a congregation must show a clear direction in which it feels called and articulate measurable objectives to describe their progress. To date, grants to 20 congregations, totaling $619,899, have been recommended by the Bishop’s Office and approved by the Trustees. We have witnessed well-documented progress made by individual congregations who are using these funds.

In order to insure the future availability of this resource, I have asked the Trustees of the diocese to tithe ten percent of the sale of present and future properties for the ongoing life of the Congregational Development Fund.

In the coming year, I hope at least six other congregations will sufficiently clarify their vision to apply for these funds.

As one result of congregations finding and celebrating their special ministries, we have moved from a small beginning venture in Hispanic ministry to having at least eight bilingual clergy with two more in the ordination process and another six clergy who are at various stages developing their Spanish language skills. Currently, seven congregations in the diocese conduct Spanish-language services on a regular basis. Of course, far more can be done and needs to be done in this area, but ministry to and with the Latino/Latina community is simply part of who we are and who we are called to be as the holy people of God in northern New Jersey…and… we are making solid progress.

We have also been moving beyond the mere rhetoric of diversity and inclusivity, with the black congregations’ initiative, where clergy and laity of primarily black congregations have studied and reflected together this year on the unique nature of their special, primarily urban, ministries.

Reflecting on this value of unique ministries, I have a question for Trivial Pursuit fans. Name two churches in the Diocese of Newark that regularly use large-screen projection in Sunday worship services. (I know of four.) One answer: St. Michael’s, Wayne and Grace Van Vorst, Jersey City. Just when you thought these two congregations might have little in common, you learn they have this in common. I affirm they also have in common a deep and passionate love for the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. These two congregations may well have different approaches to some of the issues of our time, including their respective approaches to Scripture, but I believe they also have similar goals, which are being realized. The Gospel is being proclaimed! These two congregations clearly reach out to their surrounding communities. There are new faces and financial growth in both congregations, and they worship the same Lord, Jesus Christ. Go figure!

To enable diverse ministries, it has been important for us to gather significant resources for the use of congregations.

In addition to the relatively new resource of the Congregational Growth and Development Fund, long-established funding from ACTS/VIM and Ward J. Herbert have become increasingly focused on “congregational development” in recent years.

Our revived Stewardship Commission, building upon the bold foundational work of the past, seeks to equip parishes for sound and faithful stewardship.

Motivated congregations are taking advantage of other new resources we have offered in recent years. Two hundred four (204) members of eighty-nine congregations have registered for and are using Percept’s Link2Lead information to strengthen their ministry. These congregations aspire to being known for Eight Quality Characteristics statistically proven to describe growing and healthy congregations. This past year the staff and Diocesan Council developed questions to help congregations think strategically, assessing six structural components. (We call them ministry capacity areas of congregational life.) This kind of assessment takes place at vestry retreats, congregational meetings, and for congregations in interim periods between clergy, during the “self-study” phase. Thriving congregations without exception have a clear sense of their unique ministry…. of who God calls them to be.

If your congregation isn’t using these resources…..Why not?

Our training options continue to expand. Twenty-eight clergy and lay leaders from fifteen congregations have actively participated in CDI – The Church Development Institute. Celebrating Creative Congregations began in a modest way in 1998 with eighty participants in the Sawtelle Auditorium in Montclair and moved the next year to one hundred fifty participants at Calvary, Summit. When I urged the committee to think on an even larger scale, we found some existing space at NJIT and Essex Community College and, for the past five years, attendance has ranged somewhere between 500 and 700 people. The next Celebrating Creative Congregations on March 18th will again give evidence of a high interest in sharing our gifts together in an event that has been tested, trusted, and proven to equip the saints for ministry.

I believe that the Diocesan Convention itself has become a powerful congregational resource. The table conversations, workshops, discovery centers, informal conversations, and worship….all point to an evolving, more interactive Diocese, where resources can be shared, community can be built, where we find ourselves in a collegial atmosphere with opportunities to take back to our local congregations some of what has been useful and helpful.

…which leads to the second value that I would like to hold up this evening….developing collaboration and collegiality…...the “We’re in this together” value. Shortly after I became the Bishop Diocesan in January of 2000, I gathered staff and Diocesan leaders to plan for a Visioning Convocation for the Diocese, which took place at the Glenpointe Marriott in 2001. A focus on appreciative inquiry invited us to dream dreams and see visions of what we might do together. An area in which I see a deeper collaboration and collegiality is the development of a stronger partnership between staff and governance in the form of the Diocesan Council. This came about after serious conversation between the Council and me. Together we determined that we are no longer interested in Council being a rubber stamp for staff-driven events and decisions. Council leadership now works closely with the staff to set the agenda for the program life of the Diocese and for the work of the Council. This is possible because we value shared leadership, using substantial gifts of others, seeking a broader view of what is really happening and what needs to happen in the life of the Diocese, and, finally, of an understanding that each voice will be heard and valued and respected.

The Council has been reorganized according to our diocesan values into 4 working groups, namely Christian Discipleship, which affirms the primary task of the Gospel to make disciples and to move beyond the rhetoric of talking about it…..to practical ways in which this work can be done; Congregational Vitality, a working group which promotes resources to assist in the development of lively and life-giving congregations throughout the Diocese, including resources that will encourage people to come in the front door and not leave quickly by the back door. A working group on Inclusion, which keeps before the Council and the Diocese issues of diversity and inclusivity, calling us to pay attention to those persons and groups in whatever category that seem to become marginalized, and an Outreach working group, which keeps before us the needs of our neighbors and the stewardship of those ministries, while recognizing that the absence of outreach is the beginning of death.

A marker of growing collegiality among clergy can be found in District Clergy Conversations. As Bishop, I know well the importance of opportunities for prayer and conversation with clergy of the Diocese; and so, since 2000, the Bishops and the Canons have met with district clergy groups on a regularly-scheduled basis. We in the Diocesan Office have learned and gained much from these conversations, and I want to believe that much has been gained by the clergy as well. On a larger scale, participation in the Annual Fall Clergy Conference remains strong, having grown three-fold in recent years. Those days together have, in my opinion, greatly enhanced our life together in the Diocese of Newark; they provide us with time to pray, to play, to talk, to laugh, to cry, to listen, to learn, and to dream.

As we strengthen the bonds of Collegiality, we are better equipped to share our joys and sorrows, feeling the support of the larger community. That has been evident this past year, as we have mourned the death of three priests of the Diocese, who died while in active service and ministry: The Rev. Steve Steele, St. Thomas’ Church, Vernon; The Rev. Hank Dwyer, St. Peter’s Church, Clifton; The Rev. Isaac Persaud, Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City. Our hearts go out to these families at this time. These clergy and other lay leaders will be remembered in our noonday prayers tomorrow.

The Fresh Start Program sets aside time with clergy who have recently arrived in the Diocese and clergy who have moved to a new call, providing opportunity for conversation about the joys and challenges of a new cure.

We have also worked in collaborative and collegial ways to develop lay ministry and leadership. We have reinvented wardens’ training events to strengthen connections between wardens and a better understanding of the skills and gifts needed for wardens to function well in these positions in their individual parishes.

We have affirmed mutual ministry review as the norm for the Diocese. It is a time to review goals that have been set, strengths exhibited in the accomplishment of those goals, and challenges yet to be managed.

Working for collaboration and collegiality has also meant increasing the involvement of young people in the life of the Diocese. Our very capable, energetic, and mature youth missioner has helped refocus much of our youth work toward local congregations, bringing resources to assist youth in parish ministry, while continuing to offer broader Diocesan activities.

I continue to believe that collegiality and collaboration need to be encouraged within our districts. I maintain my conviction that Confirmation and Reception, serious steps in the lives of our young people and adults, should continue to take place on a district level, not to lighten the Bishop’s schedule (in fact, this approach to Confirmation adds to the Bishop’s schedule), but because Confirmation events, on the district level, encourage and enable our young people to see a picture of a larger Church, larger than any one individual congregation. The services are an opportunity to participate in a larger experience of worship with more of our resources available. Confirmation prep events in and of themselves offer positive opportunities and experiences for young people approaching Confirmation. I am encouraged by the considerable support and positive feedback received, concerning district confirmations.

Living into District Confirmations has allowed the weekly Episcopal visitations in local congregations to focus on the life of the congregation, its dreams and visions for the future, and its challenges. There is something very special about the opportunity for the local congregation to worship with its Bishop and to have time for prayer and conversation, for food and fellowship, and for the wonderful opportunity to celebrate our life together. I am grateful to have Bishop Gallagher with us to share in the parish visitations and other Episcopal ministries essential to our Diocese.

Other expressions of increased collegiality and collaboration within districts include the growing examples of shared ministry between parishes, Lenten programs, Confirmation preparation, Stations of the Cross, district worship, swapping preachers and more. All of these things bring a greater sense of trust and collegiality, an awareness that we indeed wear the same jerseys and play on the same team without a need for competition between us.

Our potential for creative partnerships expands as our trust of each other deepens. We see more examples of our ability to think outside the box, to discover the things that hinder our growth and those that allow us to pursue new directions. Sometimes it is simply discovering that the old way no longer works. A creative exploration and dialogue is currently taking place between Christ Episcopal Church and Grace Lutheran Church in Teaneck as they explore the possibility of doing ministry together. In partnership with Bishop Riley from the Lutheran Synod here in New Jersey, I want to support and encourage this conversation to go forward with as many options open for consideration as we can imagine. This may prove to be an exciting venture in our ecumenical efforts.

Valuing collaboration and collegiality also extends to our relationship with the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. In this Diocese, we have a long and proud stewardship history in support of the mission of the Episcopal Church and its outreach into the world. Not only have we contributed significant funds to the National Church on an annual basis, but individuals from this Diocese have stepped forward to provide essential leadership in the life of the Episcopal Church: representation on the Executive Council, representation on significant National Church committees and Standing Commissions, leadership in all aspects of ministries specifically focused on women’s ministries and strong voices raised out of concern for issues of social justice. I have had the privilege of serving the National Church as the Chair of the Standing Commission on Ministry Development for the past six years. Bishop Gallagher and I actively participate in the life of the House of Bishops through dialogue and by our actions.

In celebration of our ongoing relationship with the larger Episcopal Church, I want to announce to you this evening that our present Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold, has accepted my invitation to visit the Diocese of Newark on Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Bishop Griswold will spend two hours in the afternoon with the clergy of the Diocese. He will have dinner with a group of Diocesan leaders and then will be the preacher and celebrant of the Holy Eucharist for this Ascension Day eve to be held at our Cathedral in Newark. I look forward to welcoming our Presiding Bishop and Primate to the Diocese of Newark, as he also completes his final year in that office. I know you will want to put this date on your calendar.

This brings me to Trivial Pursuit question #2: What is the corporate and legal entity of our National Church? Answer: “The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church USA” (DFMS). Our roots are strongly imbedded as a Missionary Society, challenging all of its members to be missionaries…..domestic, as well as foreign. May we never lose sight of our roots.

Titus Pressler, Chair of the Standing Commission on World Mission, said: “People being with people must be the heart of mission in the new century.” I believe the call of the 1960’s and ‘70’s for Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ is still the call to the Church….here at home in this Diocese, and in the world beyond us.

Therefore, collegiality and collaboration has fueled our journey toward another companion diocese relationship. The Diocesan Task Force working on this matter has had fruitful discussions and experiences with leaders from the Diocese of Panama. Visits to and from Panama suggest that a positive and fruitful companionship can be established. After the Diocese of Panama votes to accept our offer, we will develop a Covenant of Companionship.

Much of what I have discussed in the first two values relates to the third value that I want to affirm: supporting the ministry of all the Baptized.

We support the ministry of all the Baptized by focusing on the formation of Christians – by developing Christian identity. The Christian Formation Commission, a merger of the Christian Education Commission and the Youth Ministry Commission, seeks to find and gather the best resources available to support local congregations in the development and formation of disciples. A recent example of this work has been the success of the program entitled, Unpacking the Bible. The first three sessions of this largely lay-led program had a total attendance of one hundred twenty with representation of twelve congregations.

Supporting the ministry of all the Baptized has included the restoration of an historic order of ministry…the Diaconate. Currently, we have seventeen deacons serving in the Diocese of Newark and at least eighteen persons in the process of discernment about Diaconal ministry. In addition to the work of our Archdeacon, I want to hold up one unsung hero, who has labored long and hard, providing strong leadership for the fledgling Diaconal Committee, Ms. Hattie Stone, St. Mary’s, Sparta. The restoration of the Diaconate supports parish ministry, the work of priests, as well as the work of the laity, particularly keeping congregations aware of their responsibilities for outreach. Deacons connect with the needs of the world and mobilize the laity of the congregation for action in response to those needs.

The Commission on Ministry’s subcommittee formed several years ago to focus on lay ministry in the Diocese provided a collection of remarkable workshops last spring at which Suzanne Farnham offered a keynote address. This committee is charged with paying attention to the work of the largest percentage of people in our Church and to consider the resources needed to equip and commission lay ministry for work in the Diocese.

The fourth value I want to hold up is maintaining a focus on justice issues. The Diocese of Newark has an obvious history of leadership in matters of justice and equality and inclusivity. When asked why we talk about sensitive issues facing the Church at large, one answer here in this diocese is simply ...”because we can”. The Baptismal Convenant for us is clearly not lost in rhetoric but moves us beyond rhetoric to action.

Currently, we are one of only four dioceses wrestling with the issue of reparations for slavery, challenging ourselves to address the work that needs to be done, concerning this historic injustice. A progress report will be offered by the Reparations Task Force tomorrow, and we will look forward to a more final report at next year’s convention.

Another matter of justice for our diocesan life is the lack of guidelines for lay compensation. I am therefore appointing a Task Force on Lay Compensation, which will report back next year with guidelines and principles for justice in the workplace. This is a long overdue conversation that needs to take place with necessary action to be taken. It is a simple matter of justice and can no longer be pushed aside as well, “It is just too expensive”. Treating people unfairly is what is really too expensive!

I actively participated in a Call for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty in the State of New Jersey, and I am pleased that we successfully convinced the legislators in New Jersey to support that resolution, which has now been signed by former Governor Codey. This will provide ample time for a review of the results of the state’s past position on the death penalty and, hopefully, encourage more people to think through this matter and to speak strongly in favor of life.

Recently, I added my name and voice to a concern for the poor and marginalized and the inequities we experience in our Federal budget. I see this as a matter of responding to the primary work of the Gospel to bring Good News to the poor. All of us ought to be outraged at the inequities and injustices of our Nation’s budget.

On a matter of justice, about which all of us are not in agreement, I do remain proud of the decisions made by the majority of the voters of our Diocesan Conventions to support the election of the rightfully-elected and consecrated Bishop of New Hampshire.

The matter of support for same sex blessings remains for me a personal matter of conscience and belief. I do not ask others to agree with me about this, but I am personally convinced that any kind of moratorium on this ministry is simply unacceptable, and I will proceed accordingly.

At the same time, I am troubled by the division within the Church, and I pray that we may find some way, God’s way, to continue our journeys together as members of the Anglican Communion, while still recognizing the need for each of the provinces to carry out their ministries in ways that they believe are faithful to the Gospel.

In 1952 Reinhold Niebuhr wrote these words, “Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.”

In a perfect world, I would like to have had more time to work as your Bishop in service to the values I have been holding up tonight. But then Neibuhr is right: “Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in this present context; and nothing we do can be accomplished alone. Therefore, we must be saved by faith, hope, and love.”

So, the choice for me appears to be: (1) – to spend the next twelve months quacking by the roadside and saying goodbye or (2) in addition to the day-to-day requirements of the Office of the Bishop, to choose a number of specific ministry initiatives in which I would like to invest my time and energy, hoping to see them come closer to fruition. I choose #2.

So, In addition to the initiatives I have already outlined I want to dedicate myself to three other concerns this year:

1. I want to sit with interested and appropriate parties in the region to discuss the disposition of the Haledon property. I want to see us develop a strategy and a plan that will call upon us to begin something new and creative, utilizing the existing Haledon property, or, to develop plans and strategies for new ministry in the area, utilizing the financial resources realized from the sale of the Haledon property. This might include the utilization of the resources of neighboring congregations. This should be an exciting time for all of us, especially for those prepared to think outside traditional boxes.

2. I want also to sit with a gathering of interested parties willing to work through and beyond individual agendas for our ministry in Jersey City. These conversations will need to include agreement about the use of the St. John’s property and/or proceeds from its sale; a decision to build a new church somewhere in Jersey City; or perhaps a decision to make either a major renovation at Incarnation or a complete rebuilding of the Incarnation Church on Storms Avenue. Creative decisions can be reached only as all interested parties are ready, willing, and able to work together for the larger good of the Church. I want to be part of discussions that will enable us to move toward specific decisions and actions.

3. I have been working with the Cathedral, particularly the staff and lay leaders, for a number of years. Together we have faced into significant issues, including the improvement of relationships between the Office of the Bishop and Cathedral; the serious condition of the finances at the Cathedral; and the serious concerns for the care and maintenance of the Cathedral buildings. I believe we have made significant progress in each of these areas. I have appointed some consultants from other parishes to support the work of the Finance and the Property Committees of the Chapter. These groups are working long and hard to bring us to a more positive picture for both the present and future ministry at the Cathedral. I believe it is now time for us to reaffirm, as a Diocese, that Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral is the cathedral for the entire Diocese of Newark and needs and deserves our support. It is our Cathedral. During this year, we will develop and begin to implement plans to raise funds from around the Diocese, directed toward the refurbishing of the Cathedral. I am aware that much of the property surrounding the Cathedral is part of a larger plan for the continued refurbishing and revitalization of the downtown section of Newark. The Episcopal Cathedral on the edge of Military Park is strategically located where it can carry out a vital and exciting ministry in the city of Newark. I want the Cathedral to find itself as a jewel in the midst of new and exciting ventures in Newark.

In our collegial efforts for ministry, we also need to sharpen our conversation, concerning the role of the Newark Regional Ministry and the total witness of the Episcopal Church here in Newark. That will include conversations with Grace Church, Newark; St. Andrew’s, Newark; St. Barnabas, Newark; and House of Prayer.

The Diocese of Newark has also embarked on a search for the Tenth Bishop of Newark. Armed with a brave and creative Profile, I am excited, both for our present and our future. May we indeed lift every voice and sing.

I will be paying attention to opportunities to offer thanks to the Diocese for being on this part of the journey with me and supporting my ministry among you. When I recently asked a parish warden whether they had made appropriate plans to say goodbye to their rector, he responded with a straight face….”Yes, indeed, we have reserved space at McDonald’s at the airport”. Marilyn and I are already very appreciative of the early efforts being made to say a good goodbye. Just remember, this address has been full of things I want to do this year, so I plan for the year to be filled with rich opportunities for our ministry together. Thank you and may God richly bless you.