Presiding officers emphasize Executive Council’s role supporting church’s ‘moral witness’ in world

[Episcopal News Service – Linthicum Heights, Maryland] Executive Council has convened here Feb. 17-19 for its first meeting since the inauguration of President Donald Trump – a political earthquake that Episcopal leaders say has shaken many of the communities the church serves, but not the church’s commitment to serving them.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris, in their opening remarks Feb. 17, did not reference Trump by name but alluded, mostly in general terms, to the sharp shift in many federal policies during the first month since his return to office.

“We are weathering what has proven to be a hard season for us and for the people that we serve, for sure. Many of us are afraid and looking to the church to provide a sense of safety and moral witness,” Rowe said. “As the political landscape of the United States becomes even more confusing and harder to navigate, we are being called to make decisions here in this place that are firmly rooted in the kingdom of God.”

Rowe then repeated a theme that has become common in his public addresses since the inauguration: The people marginalized by society and by our political leaders are at the center of God’s kingdom. In his remarks to Executive Council, he again singled out “migrants, transgender people, the poor and vulnerable.”

In God’s kingdom, “they are not reviled and scapegoated. … They are the bearers of salvation,” Rowe said. “If we believe this to be true, where does that leave us as a church? Where does that lead us as a church?”

Ayala Harris cited a recent lawsuit as one example of the church actively responding to the needs Christ calls on his followers to meet. The Episcopal Church last week joined more than two dozen ecumenical and interfaith partners in suing the Trump administration over policy changes giving immigration agents greater flexibility to conduct enforcement actions in houses of worship and other “sensitive” places.

“This is not about politics. It’s about embodying Christ’s radical hospitality in our very structures and policies,” Ayala Harris said. “The Gospel compels us to welcome the stranger, to care for the vulnerable and to ensure that all who seek spiritual sanctuary can do so freely. And my friends, if we fail to lead with courage, we risk not just stagnation but irrelevance.”

Executive Council is The Episcopal Church’s governing and oversight body between meetings of General Convention and typically meets in person three times a year. Its last gathering, in November, occurred days after both Rowe’s installation as the church’s 28th presiding bishop and Trump’s election as president. The current meeting is being held in suburban Baltimore at the Maritime Conference Center, a frequent venue for Episcopal Church governance meetings.

Executive Council’s initial agenda for this meeting was light on action items – the board spent most of its first morning in a training on emotional intelligence and effective interpersonal relations – though some of its upcoming sessions, both open and closed, will touch on Trump’s suspension of the federal refugee resettlement program, committee work and church leaders’ ongoing recruitment of a new executive officer for General Convention and a chief finance officer for the church. 

On Feb. 18, representatives from Compass, a contractor hired to survey and analyze the churchwide staffing structure, will present their latest findings and recommendations to council members, and on Feb. 19, Rowe is scheduled to offer more details in a closed session about efforts he is spearheading for a “structural realignment” of churchwide operations to better serve the needs of dioceses and congregations. The first phase of those plans won’t be unveiled publicly until after this meeting.

Rowe, as presiding bishop, serves as chair of Executive Council, and Ayala Harris is vice chair. It has 38 other voting members, a mix of bishops, other clergy and lay leaders. Twenty are elected by General Convention to staggered six-year terms – or 10 new members every three years. The Episcopal Church’s nine provinces elect the other 18 to six-year terms, also staggered.

Ayala Harris, in her opening remarks, underscored the importance of Executive Council in upholding the church’s faith values, especially in today’s world.

“Our decisions here ripple through the life of every diocese, every congregation, every seeker who is looking to The Episcopal Church right now as a beacon of radical welcome and transformative love,” she said.

“As we make decisions about resource allocation and policy, we directly influence the capacity of our congregations to serve their communities, whether that’s supporting a food panty in Appalachia, sustaining a ministry with immigrant families in Los Angeles or enabling a small parish in Puerto Rico to rebuild after a natural disaster.”

Rowe, too, emphasized the critical role that the church plays, through Executive Council’s work, in responding to the challenges of the day.

“We live in a world in which the enemy is bound and determined to keep us separated and sow division among us,” Rowe said, but Christians belong to God and “can find the face of Christ in one another.”

“We must remember that our job as the board of The Episcopal Church is to lead an institutional structure that has tremendous power to serve and comfort and transform God’s people and congregations and ministries in all the countries we serve.”

He continued that, although there are times when it is appropriate to “speak with one voice” to world leaders who fail to uphold Christ values, the greater power of the church is not in making “a barrage of statements” reacting to all the news of the day. “Instead, our power lies in a churchwide structure rooted in Christ and in the kingdom principles that can make a strong and effective witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Friends, we are leading this church we love through uncharted waters, and I do not pretend that it is easy, or that it will be simple. I only know that we are here to do the work that God has given us to do. We must do it faithfully and with love for one another and for the Lord we serve.”

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.