Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s proposed revisions to the bylaws of Executive Council, which he described as the first step in a strategic overhaul of the Episcopal Church’s structure, passed easily during the first day of meetings for the church’s governing board on November 7 in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Earlier in the day, council members participated in a workshop on “conversations across difference” that seemed aimed at directly addressing the contentious nature of council meetings in the last two years, which have often been dominated by a small group of outspoken lay members who allege racial bias.
“All of this work — budgets, bylaws, oversight — is all in the service of creating an Episcopal Church that can best serve the world,” Rowe told council members in introducing the bylaws revisions.
“Today in the Episcopal Church we are faced with institutional structures that we have for some time now permitted to atrophy. They have lost their ability to do what we need to do …. All of these values that we say that we hold, all the ways that we want to witness in the world — we have to have the capacity to carry that out.”
“Working toward this vision is driven by supporting ministry on the ground in the institutions, congregations, and dioceses where it happens. Nobody gets up in the morning and says, ‘I can’t wait to go to 815 Second Avenue’ [the Episcopal Church Center’s address in New York City]. …They want to go where the ministry is happening, where they can see it, and we want to enable all those places that helped change our lives help change others.”
Julia Ayala Harris, the President of the House of Deputies, signaled that she stands with Rowe in his efforts at structural change, noting in her opening address:
Change, transition, and evolution are actually the norm on Executive Council, and that’s been my experience for four terms. But in times like these, when the wider culture seems increasingly polarized, how will we know that we’re on the right track through all this change?
I’m particularly grateful to be walking this path with Presiding Bishop Rowe, while acknowledging the incredible foundation laid by Presiding Bishop Curry. All three of us worked together on the Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church, known as TREC. We share a deep understanding of both the challenges and opportunities that are before us. Presiding Bishop Rowe and I are committed to modeling what collaborative leadership truly means.
Bylaws Revision
The main focus of the bylaws revision was eliminating the council’s Joint Standing Committees on Mission Within The Episcopal Church and Mission Beyond The Episcopal Church, which aligned with two senior positions on former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s staff. This halves the number of mandated committees.
In their place, Rowe said he will propose the creation of several ad hoc committees, each focused on a major issue referred to Executive Council by last summer’s General Convention.
These will focus on realigning the church center’s staff, supporting mission and ministry in the troubled Diocese of Haiti, reviewing the recently vacated Executive Officer of General Convention position, and making strategic recommendations for appointed positions on churchwide boards and bodies. A subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Operations will tackle issues involving the relocation of the Episcopal Church’s archives.
These committees would all have limited scope and could be disbanded — and new committees formed — at the direction of Executive Council. Committee meetings are scheduled for most of the council’s third day.
The revised bylaws also allow for a geographically dispersed church center staff by modifying a provision about Executive Council’s office to state that they “may be located and maintained at Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue, New York.”
Rowe has indicated that he plans to continue living in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a recent announcement noted that other senior staff will be dispersed, continuing a practice begun during the tenure of former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.
Rowe said an Executive Council committee would consider further revisions to the bylaws, which are expected to be presented for approval at the council’s February 2025 meetings at the Maritime Center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.
Council member Laura Russell of the Diocese of Newark spoke in support of the revisions, alluding to earlier online orientation sessions for the body that focused on the boundaries of their work as a governing board.
“I like the minimalness of this. I like the fact that we look at what we need and move forward. We’re the board of directors, and our job is to make sure the staff do their job. And by staff, I mean what we call ‘c-suite people.’ We need to have the people in those positions that we trust and then let them do their job. And they’re going to do mission and they’re going to do program, and we’re going to hear from them in the future. That’s our job level, not to micromanage.”
‘Conversation Across Difference’
In their opening addresses to Executive Council, Rowe and Ayala Harris both spoke about the need for resetting the norms for conversations within the council, as a prelude to a workshop led by Visions, Inc., a Boston-based diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firm.
“The day I was elected, I asked bishops and deputies to think about the time between then and November as a kind of relational jubilee, a time of letting go of the resentment, anger, and grudges that too often weaken the leadership of our church, and to look for new ways to work together, and to be pulling for this mission, which is now more critical than ever,” Rowe said.
“I hope you will extend this season of relational jubilee. Allow it to infuse our interactions with one another in this meeting. I hope that the way we treat one another here can be a witness to the power of the good news of God in Christ, and we can build up relationships for leading the church. And I hope that where we’re divided we can find courage to forgive one another and to begin again.”
In her address, Ayala Harris referenced Galatians 5’s description of the “fruits of the Spirit”: “These are living principles that guide our work together: when we seek love manifesting in our decisions, joy in our fellowship, peace in our deliberations, patience in our processes, kindness in our disagreements, goodness in our intentions, faithfulness in our commitments, gentleness in leadership, and self-control in governance.”
The Rev. Nancy Frausto, who was recently appointed as one of Executive Council’s chaplains, preached at the gathering’s opening Eucharist. She acknowledged the tensions about racial identity that have complicated the body’s recent work, while also calling council members to unity.
“Love demands that we pay attention to whose voice is not present. … Love is clear that we must keep our privilege and our suspicions in check. Love craves for us to be present, patient, and to extend grace to one another.”
“We are leading a church and people are craving unity,” Frausto added. “You will model what unity will look like for our church, much-needed unity.”
A three-person team from Visions, Inc. led the council through a training session on a tool for “conversations across difference” that relies on a series of principles including “It is not okay to blame, shame, or attack self or others,” and awareness of “intent and impact” in evaluating the statements of others.
Several council members pushed back against the suggested norms for conversation. Annette Buchanan of the Diocese of New Jersey said that “for some ethnicities, disagreement shows up differently. In some communities, when you disagree, it appears as disrespectful.”
Dr. Sanda Montes of the Diocese of Texas criticized the discussion tool’s emphasis on discerning the intent of the words of others over their effect.
“It’s very difficult to speak up, as it is a very white space …. When I am told that I am being too sensitive, that I am being too angry, because I dare to speak up as an Indigenous woman,” she said.
“In the Episcopal Church, which a super, super white space, and dangerous for many of us, it’s uncomfortable for many of us.”
At Rowe’s request, members of the council agreed to use the conversation tool to guide their work during the next several days of meetings and to discuss its effectiveness at the end of their time together.
