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Service Beyond the Parish
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A "10-Talent" Congregation: The Chapel of the Cross as a Resource Parish Robert E. Wright and Lee A. Thomas For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his
servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five
talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his
ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents
went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more.
So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he
who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid
his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those
servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had
received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more,
saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made
five talents more.' His master said to him, `Well done, good
and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will
set you over much; enter into the joy of your master. For to every
one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but
from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The Anglican Communion, of which our parish is a vital and
vibrant part, is an unusual and somewhat paradoxical creature, as
press of the past few years has illustrated, usually to the
befuddlement of the general populace. We are both catholic and
reformed, evangelical and reforming. We are orthodox, yet
progressive. We are hierarchical, yet - particularly in the United
States - democratic. We are deeply respectful of the three-fold
order of ordained ministry - bishops, priests, and deacons - yet we
value the role of lay ministry as much or more than any other part
of the Body of Christ. We treasure our traditions, yet we are open
to the Holy Spirit's breathing new life into the
Church. To grasp this sense of self-identity, corporately and
individually, is no quick and easy task. Some 60 % of adult
Episcopalians are, for want of a better word, "converts"
from other Christian traditions or increasingly, especially among
the young adult population, those who have no formal religious
background. When one further considers the relation of parish life,
which is the touchstone for the vast majority of us, to that of the
larger Church, the challenge becomes greater, more exciting, and
more rewarding, personally and spiritually. Our own pilgrimages to the Episcopal Church came through
circuitous and very different routes. Robert was an Army brat, who
lived around the world and whose earliest Christian education and
worship experience was in Army post chapels. He then moved to
Winston-Salem, where he grew up in a large (evangelical but
moderate) independent Baptist church, where the only recognized
expression of the "Church" was the local congregation.
Lee grew up in a large downtown Presbyterian Church in
Philadelphia, where the "prince of the pulpit" tradition
reigned and the music program was the principal source of
evangelism. Robert first visited our parish in 1976, because of a
beautifully crafted poster announcing the Easter Vigil, and he
arrived full time in 1979. Lee came in 1982, because he moved from
Durham to North Street in Chapel Hill, and, on the afternoon of his
first Sunday here, received a call from Van Quinn: "You tried
to slip out, but you were spotted. You're joining the Senior
Choir." The real point is that God was drawing us into the
Anglican tradition. (Talk about music as
evangelism!) The Episcopal Church is one in which the basic unit is the
Diocese, and the Bishop the chief pastor - which is why, when he
visits, we do not "welcome" him to his own church. The
Diocese is, in turn, a constituent member of the Episcopal Church
in the United States of America, one of many self-governing
national churches which comprise the worldwide Anglican Communion,
of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual and symbolic
head. As such, we, the parishioners of the Chapel of the Cross, are
members of something much larger than ourselves, and we -
especially as a relatively prosperous community - therefore bear
the responsibility for something beyond ourselves. When we talk about stewardship, we too often take the term as a
euphemism for financial stewardship, fund-raising, money. That is,
of course, an integral and necessary part of it. But the larger and
more inclusive definition is provided by the Catechism of the
Book of Common Prayer: "The duty of all Christians is
to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate
worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom
of God" (p. 856). As the rector put it in his 2001 Annual Address to the parish:
"We are, of course, not just a community church, but a part of
the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, which extends from Tarboro
to Charlotte. We participate in the work of the diocese by
accepting our full diocesan monetary asking each year and through
the involvement of many of you in its various ministries and
oversight committees." The Chapel of the Cross has a long, devoted, and quietly proud
history of service to the Diocese and to the national church. Many
of these persons serve God, night and day, as part of the communion
of saints, and their earthly remains are in our churchyard. Many
others have the privilege of serving him here, as part of the
Church militant. The names are numerous, and should not be listed
here, lest even one distinguished Christian servant be left out;
their names are known to God, and to many of us. O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling, to tell to all
the world that God is Light; that he who made all nations is not
willing one soul should fail to know his love and might. Publish
glad tidings: tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption and
release. (Hymnal 1982, # 539) At the risk of attempting what the authors of the previous
article cautioned against, the following list of people who are
currently serving the Church beyond their parish work is offered.
Consider, too, the parishioners who have been instrumental in the
development of the diocese and the number of clergy who have been
ordained from the Chapel of the Cross. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS Stephen Elkins-Williams - Diocesan Council Tammy Lee - Chair, Bishop's Committee on Clergy
Wellness Martha Hart - Secretary, Bishop's Committee on the
Diaconate, Commission on Ministry Bill Joyner - Chair, Bishop's Committee on the
Diaconate Joseph Ferrell - Deputy to the 75th General Convention (Lay
Order), Secretary to Diocesan Convention, Commission on
Constitution and Canons Syd Alexander - President, Standing Committee Robert Wright - Treasurer of the Diocese; Board of Trustees,
General Theological Seminary John McGee - Treasurer elect of the Diocese Peter DeSaix - Trustee, the University of the
South Don Stedman - Chair, Ministry in Higher Education (Department of
Christian Formation) Bob Chase - Ministry in Higher Education (Department of
Christian Formation) Michael McElreath - Ministry in Higher Education (Department of
Christian Formation) Bill Easterling - Chair, Board of Trustees, Penick
Village Vivian Varner - Chartered Committee on
Communications Send
items for inclusion in future "Cross Roads." © 2005 The Chapel of the Cross |