October 31, 2005

ATLANTA – Reclaiming the Black Church's prophetic voice, celebrating its diversity, responding to HIV/AIDS and community violence, and strengthening and mentoring congregations and clergy into living the vision of God were themes discussed Oct. 23-26 at the 7th Triennial Black Clergy Conference at the Emory Conference Center.

More than 130 clergy from around the world participated in "On Thy People Pour Thy Power: Continuing the Journey," hosted by the national church's Office of Black Ministries. The conference also emphasized cultivating a healthy balance between the professional demands of ministry and financial and personal self-care-a theme repeated Oct. 27-28 in the Convocation for the Newly Ordained.

The Rev. Angela Ifill, who has served as missioner for the national church's Office of Black Ministries for nearly two years, outlined a series of initiatives designed to strengthen congregations and clergy, including a mentoring program for the newly ordained and a ‘One in the Spirit' task force to facilitate interaction between Black clergy and diverse congregations.

"We need to be very concerned about Black congregations thriving, many are struggling and the reality is that we must work together as a cohesive group where ever we can, whether we are from this country, the Caribbean, Central and South America, or Africa," Ifill told the enthusiastic gathering. "This is an effort to say to the wider church that they are missing out on the opportunity when they don't call Black clergy to white congregations," Ifill said.

The convocation welcomed 29 clergy ordained since the last triennial in 2002, who also participated in the Convocation for the Newly Ordained.

Other initiatives include creation of a journal to highlight past and present contributions of the Black church and clergy to the larger church, and a February 2006 commemoration of historical Black Episcopal colleges and chaplaincies.

Black Church Issues Mirror Larger Church

The Rt. Rev. Arthur Williams, retired Bishop of Ohio who serves as the national church's Acting Director of Ethnic Ministries, praised Ifill's tenure. At the same time, he voiced concerns about a growing marginalization of the Black Church.

"In Ohio in the last sixty days I had to go to two congregations to talk about their future or lack of future," Williams told the gathering during a session with the bishops. "We need to concentrate, to be knowledgeable about what's happening to many Black churches."

Ifill said that, while many churches are growing, others are declining, mirroring a national trend among churches of all ethnicities. She said there are an estimated 234 predominantly Black congregations in the nation, and an estimated 550 Black clergy who actively serve congregations of all ethnicities.

Long Island, New York, is one area where the church is growing, largely due to an influx of Afro-Caribbean émigrés, said the Rt. Rev. Orris Walker.. "One-third of the state lives in Long Island," Walker said. "Some Sundays if you don't get to church on time, you don't get a seat," he said.

Other bishops participating in the conference included the Bishops Barbara Harris, retired Suffragan of Massachusetts; Chet Talton, Suffragan of Los Angeles; Julio Murray, Bishop of Panama. The Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, Suffragan of Massachusetts, agreed that efforts to strengthen congregations and clergy and to reach out to youth are vital.

"I went to the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) this year and attended a hip hop mass," she said. "I came out humming Jesus is my homeboy and he has my back. We have to get over ourselves as being Episcopalian and Anglophiles, to change the words so the culture knows Jesus Christ is available to them."

Call to Action: Responding to HIV/AIDS, Violence and Sexuality

Presenters discussed HIV/AIDS, human sexuality, and youth violence within the context of the dualistic nature of the historical Black Church-a church which has remained faithful in spite of living the contradictions of slavery, oppression, racism and other "isms."

The Rev. Dr. Cecily Broderick y Guerra, interim rector at St. Philip's Church in Harlem, told the gathering that the history of the black church is critical "as a survival strategy to get through the conversation around homosexuality." Especially, she added, because of its role as a "radical hope in the midst of oppressions currently experienced."

The Rev. Kelly Brown-Douglas, a Howard Divinity School Professor of Systematic Theology and associate rector at Church of the Holy Comforter in Washington, D.C. and author of numerous works on human sexuality, said racism has often inhibited the church's reluctance to discuss issues of sexuality. She called upon the church to challenge ourselves "to move the debate forward and engage the discourse about sexuality."

The Rev. Billy Alford, vice chair of the national Episcopal AIDS Coalition, charged the gathering to build coalitions to combat HIV/AIDS.

While an estimated one million people are living with AIDS in the United States today, and longevity and survival rates have improved, there is an alarming increase in new infections among young African Americans and Latinos, and those over 50, he said.

"African Americans represent 55 percent of all HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2002," he added. "We are at risk as a church."

Frances McGee-Cromartie, assistant prosecuting attorney for Montgomery, Ohio, called upon participants to address the needs of a disproportionate number of youthful offenders within the Black community. Noting that youth in trouble are experiencing grief, poor impulse control, lack of parental supervision and other issues, she added that: "They could be helped by bereavement support, mentoring and addiction-related programs."

Connections, ‘Balancing Ministry and Self-Care'

The Rev. Dr. William A. Guthrie, rector of Christ Church, East Orange, New Jersey, and formerly of Guyana, charged the group to reconnect with Black Anglicans and Episcopalians throughout the world and especially to serve as missionaries in other countries.

"There is a need for African Americans to go to Africa. There needs to be a strategy for Black Anglicans to know one another, to know the context of our ministries," agreed the Rev. Benjamin Musoke-Lubega, program associate for grant making activities in the Global South and telecommunications in the Trinity Grants Program.

That's exactly why the Rev. Tunde Roberts, vicar of St. Olave's Church in London, and chair of England's Association of Black Clergy in England, an ecumenical coalition of Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and the United Reformed Church said he attended the Triennial.

"Black churches face similar issues in England, the United States and everywhere," he said. "We are being marginalized. Very few of us are in positions of leadership within the structure of the church. We need resources that often aren't available to us; we want to help our congregations understand how to deal with racism within the context of our structure," said Roberts, whose congregation is 95 percent African.

Reaching out to youth is another concern, he added. "Our young people are drawn to Pentecostal denominations because they are good at giving responsibility to our Black youth and involving them in worship."

Representatives of the Church Pension Fund, the Episcopal Public Policy Network and other church agencies discussed personal and financial self-care. John Harris Jr., developer and advance markets consultant of the MetLife Clergy Compensation Planning Program, said often clergy don't really understand enough about how the pension fund works to maximize its benefits.

"I find a lot of the time that our clergy are so busy taking care of other people's stuff they don't pay enough attention to their own, and fall through the cracks," said Harris, who also serves as a consultant for the CREDO institute, a self-care initiative of the national church. "They often don't realize that, if they work part-time, they only receive part-time credit through the pension fund. But, their bishops could give them a full credit."

Clergy also aren't aware of the availability of spiritual care alternatives, said Veronica Aryeequaye, of the Order of St. Helen, who attended to "help clergy learn to take care of themselves."

"I don't see a lot of clergy using the religious in parishes or as resources," said Aryeequaye. "They frequently don't know how to inculcate us into their ministries so we can serve together. We can hold retreats, we can preach to give them a day off. Besides, it's good for parishioners to hear other voices."

‘Vision and Vocation of Hope'; Moving Forward

At a festive celebratory closing Eucharist, the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts, challenged the gathering to remember their vocation to vision and to hope.

"God's plan, God's vision, God's dream for us for this world comes into the very ground of our lives, the texture, in the seasons of our lives, all times, all settings," Harris said. "The times we live in are a context for the Vision of God. We will be built up in love. Love is not a feeling, it's not a sentiment, it is a state of being. It is empowering, liberating, a love that is just, a generosity we can't fathom."

Recalling the prophet Isaiah's hesitancy to live God's vision, Harris said: "This is not about you, it's about God's vision, to be made manifest in you. The vision of God is calling us to focus on rebuilding the world, in the fullness of truth, honoring all of God's creation, to live in the purity called love itself, to offer to God what is excellent and brings meaning to life, to focus on God's people, to love God's people."

She recalled "the three C's: confrontation, celebration and companionship, that we are all confronted by God's vision and call to celebrate beyond what we are experiencing today." She added that Jesus invites us to be companions, partners with him and with one another that we might transform this world into a healed and just world.

"Hope is the vocation of our lives and the context of our faith. We need to build a coalition to make God's vision real, to make ourselves transformed, to move the church forward to mission outposts, making members and making disciples," Harris said.

"We talked all week about what's wrong with the church. Now, it's time to move on. We need to make ambassadors for Christ and of Christ and in Christ. To demand excellence for ourselves and to stop looking at the slice of pie we've been given. It's time for us to buy the bakery. It's time to become the vision, God's vision, the vision that empowers people."

Episcopal News Service