Episcopal Presiding Bishop's installation a hodgepodge of multilinguistic confusion

The multilingual service was conducted with more than a dozen languages and dialects including: American English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, Haitian Creole, Native American Shoshone, Mandarin Chinese, South Sudanese Juba, Indigenous Anishinaabemowin of the Ojibwe Tribe, and South African Xhosa with a live inset of a sign language interpreter.

Much emphasis was focused upon the indigenous people and Native Americans in an apparent attempt to make reparation for past societal and church failures.

Obviously Episcopal dioceses span the states with significant Indian tribe or indigenous peoples’ populations including: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The US Department of the Interior tracks 574 various native American tribes.

The first spoken words in the impending ceremony came from former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as a mea culpa and reparation to the Indian Nations: “We honor the land and the Indigenous people on whose traditional territory the Church Center in Manhattan is located. With gratitude, we acknowledge the Munsee and Lenape people, whose home this land was for thousands of years.”

Getting to the point she continued: “We also acknowledge all those whose territories interconnect us — the indigenous peoples of every land that is home for those gathered today. As we make this land acknowledgment, we are mindful of the traumatic history of systemic racism and oppression in the history of this nation and in the Church — a history we are only beginning to understand.”

A “land acknowledgement” is a relatively recent addition to the political correctness growing list of offensives. It is a “formal” statement of apology that recognizes the indigenous people who originally inhabited the land upon which an event is taking place. In this case the Episcopal Church Center on Manhattan Island which was the tribal home of the various Lenape tribes 400 years ago. The significant event was the investiture of Sean Rowe.

The Episcopal Church Center is located on Manhattan Island that every mid-20th century school child was taught was purchased by Colonialist Peter Minuit representing the Dutch West India company in 1626. The Lenape Indians received “$24 and trinkets” for the land which centuries later would become the heart of New York City.

“We reaffirm our commitment to learning, growing, and finding new ways for meaningful, mutual healing as we move forward together,” the former Presiding Bishop concluded.

On June 26 Sean Rowe (VIII Northwestern Pennsylvania & I Western New York-provisional) was elected the Episcopal Church’s XXVIII Presiding Bishop during the 2024 General Convention. Within two days he announced that he was planning a vastly scaled down investiture which has traditionally been held at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

“With gratitude to all involved, I have decided to begin this ministry in a new way,” Presiding Bishop-elect Rowe said at the time. “With a simple service at the Church Center that will include everyone via livestream, we can care for God’s creation by reducing our collective carbon footprint.”

“God is calling The Episcopal Church into a new future, and this service will mark the beginning of that journey,” he continued.

The newest Episcopal Presiding Bishop chose to have his simplistic investiture service conducted in the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Avenue in New York rather than being held at the massive National Cathedral in Washington which historically has been the venue for the investiture and enthronement of Episcopal Presiding Bishops since 1938 when Bishop Henry Tucker (VIII Virginia) became the IXX Presiding Bishop and the first to use the Washington location.

Then in 1941 the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (National Cathedral) officially became the primatial seat of the Episcopal Presiding Bishop.

The new Presiding Bishop will have to claim his cathedra — primatial seat — at another time indicating that he would be working closely with Dean Randy Hollerith and the National Cathedral staff as they plan for that yet-to-be-scheduled enthronement.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde (IX Washington, DC) explained: “We look forward to the day of his seating at the cathedral, and we will celebrate that occasion with great joy.”

The National Cathedral comfortably seats 4,000 while the Chapel of Christ the Lord maybe can seat 150 — with a shoehorn — forcing the Episcopal Church to conduct a virtual passing of the primatial staff.

Presiding Bishop Rowe’s investiture became a virtual event. A zoom event. A live stream event. A disconnected event. A disembodied event.

Before the actual live streaming of the investiture took place a “Roll Call of Dioceses” happened where the various dioceses throughout the Episcopal Church were encouraged to send the Presiding Bishop-elect their prayers and well wishes as he begins his nine-year reign as their Chief Shepherd. These video offerings were viewed on the Episcopal Church’s streaming site and Facebook before the start of the installation service which was dubbed a “virtual intimate, but festive, investiture service where everyone was invited.”

Dioceses and churches were also encouraged to hold watch parties and gather together to watch the live streamed service as it unfolded.

Episcopalians seemed to embrace the scaled down service. Several positive reviews were popping up on social media.

“The Investiture ceremony for Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was a well-organized and impactful event, characterized by its inclusivity, simplicity, and eloquent message, notably emphasizing reconciliation with Native Americans while bringing together a diverse representation from across the Anglican Communion, including representatives from all Episcopal Church provinces and dioceses, all within a small chapel setting with beautiful music and a particularly praised sermon from Bishop Rowe himself.” …

“Overall, the Investiture of Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was a well-planned and executed event that effectively communicated a message of unity, reconciliation, and hope for the future of the Episcopal Church.” …

“Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s Investiture was inclusive, simple but eloquent, highlighting reconciliation with Native Americans, ecumenical, with multiple languages with representatives from the worldwide Anglican Communion, the nine Provinces of the Episcopal Church, USA. and long-distance representatives of the 96 dioceses. And joyful music. A small chapel, 129 seats. Beautifully planned and executed. And Presiding Bishop Rowe’s sermon was STELLAR!” …

But in actuality Presiding Bishop Rowe’s reconfigured service missed the mark.

The venue was too small. Way too small to accommodate a church which spans the globe. The Episcopal Church is based in the United States yet reaches 19 other foreign countries including: Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, Micronesia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Georgia in Eastern Europe, Ecuador, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Honduras, and Venezuela. The Episcopal Church is more of an “Episcopal Communion” than it is a localized, regional, or national church.

Ecumenical, Interfaith, and Anglican Communion representation was very slim.

The Episcopal Presiding Bishop is one of the primates in the worldwide Anglican Communion. He has a strong voice to be reckoned within the Anglican Communion. Yet only four representative Anglicans were on hand to witness this monumental moment in the life of the Communion. They included: Bishop Anthony Poggo from the Anglican Communion Office; Canon Sammy Wainaina from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office; Bishop Mark Strange, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church; and Bishop Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto, Primate of the Americas for Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil.

Ecumenical Representatives included: Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; and the Rev. Dave Bennett Moravian Church in America.

The Interfaith representatives were: Reformed Judaism Rabbi Esther Lederman; and Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.

The nine Episcopal provinces each sent a bishop and one other witness.

Missing was a long and colorful procession of bishops and priests, community and religious leaders, choir members and acolytes.

Not only was the venue too small to accommodate such an important moment in the life of the Episcopal Church the focus on online participation denied Episcopalians the opportunity to be a part of the physical gathering of the wider church. They were stripped of the chance to be able to travel and experience the coming together of fellow believers in one location. They weren’t given the opportunity to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime memory-making live experience.

Watching a church service online is not the same as experiencing it live. The ambience is vastly different. The sights, sounds and smells of a church service are missing.

The sounds of shuffling feet and rustling pages with kneelers dropping indicate that people are gathering with a common purpose and a common focus to offer a common prayer.

Seeing the jewel toned beams of light streaming through stained glass windows enhances the worship experience and draws the mind and heart to God.

The sweet smelling fragrance of liturgical perfume assures one that their unified community prayer is being gently lifted to God on blue-gray clouds of incense. For many this was missing at Presiding Bishop Rowe’s installation.

NO COMMUNION

One thing — a very important thing — that was missing was the opportunity to receive Holy Communion. One can only receive the Eucharist in person, not online.

In many ways the investiture was such a mixture of elements that it was confusing and disorienting.

The music was an eclectic mix of raucous Hispanic praise songs, Negro spirituals, children’s Vacation Bible School lyrics, Taize refrains, familiar traditional hymns, and African chant.

At 49, Sean Rowe is the youngest Episcopal Presiding Bishop elected. He will turn the Big 5-0 in February. He will have much to learn and he will have a deep learning curve as he takes the helm of a shrinking Protestant denomination which is shedding members, churches, and dioceses.

When Presiding Bishop Rowe was born in 1975 the Episcopal Church had 2,857,513 members down from a peak of 3,444,265 in 1959. As he takes over the church the latest available 2022 stats show an Episcopal Church membership of 1,584,785.

In 1975 there were 7,192 congregations down from a peak of 7,894 in 1944. In 2022 Episcopalians were worshipping in 6,789 congregations. The 2023 statistics have not yet been released by the Episcopal Church.

Former Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori prayed that God would grant Sean Rowe “the leadership qualities of Moses, the judgment of Deborah, the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of Esther, the risk-taking of Peter, the hope of Martha, and the witness of Mary Magdalene.”

He will definitely need those qualities as he grasps the Episcopal Church primatial staff.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

Episcopal Presiding Bishop’s installation a hodgepodge of multilinguistic confusion
Pared-down service found lacking

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
November 4, 2024

NEW YORK CITY — In a pared-down ceremony Bishop Sean Rowe was elevated to Presiding Bishop and made the sitting Primate of the Episcopal Church on Saturday (November 2).

However, the stripped-down event had all the earmarks of the Episcopal Church’s attempt to be as diverse, inclusive, and embracive as possible in a very limited space complete with clanging noise makers and a Native American chieftain wearing a fully feathered war bonnet.