Mary and I are now en route, returning from Spokane where we have been for the past week for the House of Bishops meeting, so I thought I'd check in. Kevin has posted the statement "A Word to the Church", but I thought I'd add some personal reflections from our own experience.

Mary and I flew into Spokane a couple of days early and drove out to Coeur d'Alene (in northern Idaho) for a get together with the "Class of '99". These are the bishops (and their spouses) who were elected & ordained the same year I was (1999). It includes the Persells of Chicago, the Garrisons of Western New York, the von Rosenbergs of Eastern Tennessee, the Bainbridges of Idaho, and Jack Croneberger of Newark. Jack's wife, Marilyn, has been ill, and couldn't join us, and the Whitmores of Eau Claire couldn't make it either, due to Keith's ill health. In any event, we had a marvelous couple of days, comparing stories about the dioceses we serve, and enjoying one another's company.

On Thursday, we drove back into Spokane and arrived at the Davenport Hotel - a grand old place, with huge and ornate meeting rooms and banquet halls, and old fashioned rooms for overnight, with curtains and bedspreads out of the century before last (it seemed). As a matter of fact, the last time the House of Bishops met in Spokane was 1983 (a year after Tom Ray was ordained). The meeting was then held at the Davenport as well, and some remember a cattle auction being held in the massive lobby. (We'll have to ask Tom & Brenda if *they* remember it that way.) Shortly after that meeting in 1983, the old place was closed and abandoned for many years. It was only recently restored and reopened. And what a setting it was!

As the approximately 130 bishops and their spouses/partners/companions gathered, it became obvious that a significant number were absent - some due to the hurricanes in the south, some due to health concerns and sabbaticals, and a number of the more conservative bishops who have objected to decisions made by the last General Convention were also choosing to sit out this meeting. This latter was especially poignant in the face of a long anticipated (and not yet received) report from the Lambeth Commission - the Commission appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury from throughout the Anglican Communion regarding the differences concerning human sexuality and how unity might be maintained in the face of these differences. It seems that some of the more conservative bishops have chosen to wait for that report, to know where things stand, before continuing conversation within the House of Bishops.

Over the coming days, we spent considerable time reflecting the themes of reconciliation and how a community deals with serious disagreement. A theologian, Miroslav Volf (a professor at Yale) shared thoughts about "Exclusion and Embrace of The Other". It was a highly intellectual and abstract reflection which raised some basic principles and offered some vocabulary used throughout the meeting. Then, we were greatly moved by a talk given by Richard Rodriguez, an author and journalist with PBS and Public Radio, who spoke from his own cultural background as a Mexican American about the concept of "Brown". He said that he was neither black nor white, but was brown - a color of mixed heritage which, in fact, is what we all are to one degree or another - since each of us have a mixture of many cultures and heritage within us. He helped us understand that our country (in fact our entire world) is browning, and that old notions of division between black and white and along other distinct lines are not so slowly disappearing. Within this context, he pointed out, the concept of "the Other" in fact comes into our midst, and even into our own hearts and identity in a way we cannot deny. His words deeply moved us, and many of us noted a significant shift in the focus and tenor of our conversations following his talk.

On Sunday morning, we gathered at the grand old gothic Cathedral in Spokane for a gala celebration. 2004 is its 75th anniversary, so there were many special processions and musical compositions and so on. That evening, we returned to the grounds of the Cathedral, or nearby, where the Bishops House and the diocesan offices are located. We had an old fashioned picnic on the grounds late into the evening, with musicians playing a variety of pieces as we fed upon local Salmon and other delights. At one point, Mary and I wandered into the diocesan offices, and we were delighted to see a familiar sight on the wall. It was a picture of Herman Page (the elder) who before coming to Michigan, served as the Bishop to the Missionary District of Spokane. Carl Gerdau reminded us that it was in Spokane that Herman Page (the younger) was born, and that his wife had been a Coeur d'Alene girl.

Meanwhile, between the Sunday morning liturgy and the late afternoon picnic, there was a remarkable session of the House of Bishops, during which one bishop after another took the microphone and told stories of what has been happening in our various dioceses since the 2003 General Convention. The very frank conversation continued into Monday morning and afternoon, and concluded on Tuesday. We also heard voices of other bishops from around the Anglican Communion, from South and Central America, and from Africa, helping us understand better the tensions which have been felt during this time of heightened disagreement. In the context of these various reflections, we mapped out a process for receiving the upcoming report of the Lambeth Commission with as much graciousness and openness as possible. On October 18th, the report will be released to the Steering Committee of the Primates, and on that day its contents will be made public. We can expect a fury of publicity and knee jerk reaction, and we should be prepared for many in the public media to misrepresent its implications (indeed this has been the track record recently as many rumors have circulated, including an erroneous report published by the London Times). Between October 18 and early December, the Bishops of each Province in the Episcopal Church will gather for day long meetings to reflect together on the content of the report (in Province V, we will meet in Chicago on November 22). On December 6-7, the Council of Advice (made up of one bishop from each of the nine Provinces) will meet with Frank Griswold, our Presiding Bishop, in New York, to gather wisdom from the various Provincial meetings. In January, there will be a special meeting of the full House of Bishops. In February, Frank will attend the annual Primates Meeting overseas, and in March, we will hold the regular week-long House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen in Texas. This whole process is designed to help us listen as carefully as possible to the rest of the Anglican Communion, to work through how we might continue to be full partners with our sister churches throughout the world, even while moving ahead in mission as we have been called to do.

I want to stress that this is not a time of panic or high anxiety (all of that is greatly hyped in the press, of course) but it is a time for serious listening and deliberation and graciousness of heart. We are moving through significant transition and transformation because of the important choices we have made as a Church, and we must be prepared for strains and challenges to our relationships with those who are not prepared to cross thresholds which the majority of us in this Church have crossed. We are blessed in this diocese to have handled it all with a grace and generosity of spirit which has not been evident in every other diocese over these past months.

Of course, there were many other conversations and interactions which took place throughout this past week. On Tuesday morning, I made another presentation about the Title III (Ministry Canons) as we live into the changes approved in Minneapolis and work further on the canons related to Bishops and those dealing with the reception of clergy from other denominations. The Standing Commission on Ministry Development meets early next week in Virginia, and I was collecting input from the Bishops to be taken to that meeting.

There was also debate about Open Communion (whether the canons which restrict communion to the baptized should be more strictly enforced, as some believe they should, or whether they should be revised to reflect a growing trend in many places to extend an open invitation to all present to receive). And the coalition known as Bishops Working for a Just Society (of which I am a part) met for planning next steps. We also heard a moving report, and viewed a remarkable video about a recent trip to Palestine taken by a number of bishops and their spouses. There is quite a story to be heard about the small Christian community there, caught between the tensions and violence of Jews and Muslims towards one another - and of the very real plight of the Palestinians as a people as a whole.

There was a report from the Nominating Committee for the next Presiding Bishop (who will be elected at the 2006 General Convention in Columbus, Ohio), a subject about which there is, of course, endless speculation. And there were any number of other reports and side conversations, which spurred on networking and strengthened partnerships in mission across the waterfront. The worship shared by the community and the meditations offered by the chaplains were remarkable. The spouses had their own program, based on the theme "An Open Door; There's a Wideness in God's Mercy".

Mary and I are eager to get home. It's been a full and important meeting, but also a long time to be away. We'll be glad to see you and be in your midst again. We feel deeply blessed to have been called to serve alongside you and to be fed and strengthened by your many gifts.

Jim