June 13, 2003
by Giovanni Figueredo

In an effort to address the expanding diversity in American and its implications for the church, the General Convention's agenda will continue dealing with issues of multiculturalism, anti-racism, and evangelism in an ever-changing demographic landscape, both in the church and society at large.

According to the Blue Book (available in a Spanish edition for the first time), the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) will propose the inclusion of new liturgies and musical resources that suit the cultural milieu in which the missionary work takes place.

With this in mind, SCLM is offering a number of proposals aimed at expanding the musical and liturgical repertoire to mirror the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the constituency of the church. A significant step in that direction is the proposal to approve the publication of newly written bilingual materials for missionary activities such as planting new churches, commissioning new planters, opening new congregations and others (Resolution A101). These materials are to be published in English and Spanish.

These rites acknowledge the reality of new congregations, which very frequently gather in secular spaces and need to sanctify and mark those locations as places of worship. (The text was drawn from the Book of Occasional Services of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.)

Reflecting cultural sensitivities

A similar proposal (A102) is centered on the creation of liturgies that reflect cultural sensitivity to important rites of passage and customs such as "Fiesta de Quinceaqeras"(a Hispanic version of a "Sweet Sixteen" celebration, very popular in Mexico and Central America), and honoring of ancestors (Chinese ritual), among others. These rites would represent a more genuine way for minorities to express their faith in their own language and in accordance with their own cultural experiences, while feeling welcome in their new church community.

Worshiping in the mother language (vernacular) is a central element in Anglican worship. Bishop Mark McDonald of Alaska wrote in his book, "A Strategy for Growth in the Episcopal Church: Joining Multiculturalism with Evangelism," that "minorities that struggle with issues of identity, in a society dominated by an alien culture, seem to look for fellowship among people who are similar in culture, language, and background" and certainly they want and prefer to worship in their own language and in the context of their own culture.

The SCLM also provides musical resources drawn from the repertoire currently in use by the church - the 1982 Hymnal, El Himnario, Wonder, Love and Praise, and Lift Every Voice and Sing. The resolution calls for the allotment of funds ($30,000) for this purpose and the materials developed would have to be finished for the 75th General Convention.

In related matters, the SCLM will table the continual use of Enriching Our Worship, forms I and II, which include liturgical texts for the Daily Office, the Great Litany, and the Eucharist, as well as new rites for Ministry to the Sick and Dying, and the Burial of a Child (Resolution A091). In addition, the SCLM requests the appointment of a task force and a grant ($14,000) to continue the work of developing new liturgies (Resolution A092).

The SCLM will also submit for approval the commemorations of:

. The ordination of Li Tim-Oi, the first woman to be ordained in the Anglican Communion, in Hong Kong in 1944.

. Enmegabowh, a Canadian Native missionary priest to the Ojibway in northern Minnesota and first Native American priest in the Episcopal Church.

. Social reformer Florence Nightingale.

. Philip the Deacon.

. Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda and Martyr.

. William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury.

. C.S. Lewis, Christian writer.

. Philander Chase, Bishop of Ohio, 1852.

All these commemorations should be approved for trial use during the next triennium.

The SCLM will also recommend the definitive adoption of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for the table of readings currently printed in the Prayer Book (BCP). This lectionary is already used by at least 14 denominations with which the Episcopal Church has inter-Anglican ecumenical relations.

According to a survey conducted by the commission, 83 % of the congregations are still using the table of readings included in the BCP, while the rest use the RCL occasionally. The committee has come to the conclusion that the RCL will not be taken seriously unless the GC adopts it (Resolution A103).

Other resolutions propose grants for liturgical education and enrichment projects that support evangelism and church growth through new and revised forms of liturgy and worship.

As an attempt to reflect the linguistic diversity within the church, the BCP might be published in French and German during the next triennium. Versions in Italian, Preghiere Comuni (for the use in the Convocation of American Churches in Europe), and Chinese have already been authorized by the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer.

The struggle with racism

During the last 2000 General Convention the church decided to remain steadfast in its commitment to put an end to any form of racism within ecclesiastical structures and in society. The Executive Council appointed a committee focused on furthering anti-racism programs and policies. Over the last triennium several steps were taken in this direction, such as the training of church officials and designing an anti-racism curriculum. By the fall of 2002, 61 dioceses had anti-racism committees and were hosting at least one anti-racism training event a year.

During this General Convention the Committee on Anti-Racism will propose to continue the work in this field and will request mandatory anti-racism training for all those who seek election or appointment to various standing committees of the Executive Council, related boards and other organizations.

Other committees are suggesting other measures to increase the awareness in the wider church with its increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity, a parallel phenomenon occurring not only in the Episcopal Church but also in the nation and in the Anglican Communion in general.

Anglicanism has ceased to be an "ethnic faith" professed mostly by members of a specific ethnic group that worships in a specific language. Over the years it has crossed cultural, linguistic and ethnic barriers and become an expression of the Christian faith that is open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of their ethnic background.

The Episcopal Church is no stranger to this process. According to the Committee on the State of the Church, at least one diocese reports that its overall membership is nearly 50 percent Hispanic, while two other dioceses report the regular celebration of the Sunday Eucharist in various languages or dialects. Hispanics have been the fastest-growing group within the church during the last 10 years.

The Episcopal Church is already a multi-cultural church (in some places more than others). If approved, the Province IX would welcome two new dioceses which are almost totally made up of Spanish-speaking congregations: Venezuela and Puerto Rico (Resolutions A-141, A142).

The Diocese of Texas reports at least 13 Hispanic missionary congregations, a phenomenon that is becoming common in other dioceses. The Hispanic presence is felt not solely in the pews but also in church leadership. Currently at least six bishops have Hispanic roots and 20 Hispanic deputies will participate in the General Convention (not counting those who come from dioceses outside the United States).

Other ethnic groups are claiming space at the table. Last year Carol Joy Gallagher, a member of the Cherokee Nation, became the first Native American woman elected to the episcopate when she was elected suffragan in Southern Virginia.

Appeal for Hispanics

The Rev. Daniel Caballero of the Office of Hispanic Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center in New York said that "the Episcopal Church is attractive for Hispanics because it is Catholic (despite the Anglican heritage) and offers the sacraments which are very important to their spiritual lives. In addition, the Episcopal Church structure offers community with a voice and a vote, also very important."

Many newcomers to the church, especially those with a Roman Catholic background, are surprised to find that many decisions at the parish level and in the wider church are reached through consensus and votes rather than imposed by vertical structures of power. From the elections of the parish vestry and rector to the election of bishops, laity in the Episcopal Church have a voice that influences decisions at all levels of church life.

In the light of this reality, other standing committees will also propose that seminaries and diocesan schools integrate into their curricula courses on contemporary foreign languages and anti-racism. Likewise, the Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism will propose a revision to the ordination canons to require "competency in a contemporary language other than English or a culture other than the candidate's native culture, and require inter-cultural field education experience of all candidates."

According to Caballero, education is the key element to making a church a welcoming place for ethnic minorities, "educating both the Hispanic and the Anglo communities about each other's cultures and the importance of the church and its response to the Great Commission our Lord gave to his disciples. There must be an intentional desire by both groups, and not just a verbal one, in seeking to learn about each other and to, above all, openly love one another in Christ."

The passing of all these resolutions will contribute making the Episcopal Church a more hospitable and inclusive spiritual home for all those who are called to lead Christian lives and express their faith in the context of Anglican worship and theology regardless of what their ethnic, linguistic or cultural background happens to be.

Web Sites

Los informes a la Convencisn General 74th (de otro modo conocido como el Libro

Azul) - www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/index.cfm?fuseaction=bluebook_spanish

Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) - www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/pdf_blue_2003/18-LiturgyMusic.pdf

Committee on Anti-Racism - www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/pdf_blue_2003 and www.episcopalchurch.org/peace-justice/antiracism.asp

Committee on the State of the Church - www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/pdf_blue_2003/27-HODStateOfChurch.pdf

Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism - www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/pdf_blue_2003/10-DomMissionEvangelism.pdf

Episcopal News Service
Giovanni Figueredo is a novice at the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a member of the ENS news team at the 74th General Convention in Minneapolis.