Watch parties bring 28th presiding bishop’s investiture into churches and dioceses across The Episcopal Church

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians gathered in locations across the church Nov. 2 to watch the livestream of the investiture of the 28th presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe.

The limited-seating service took place at the Chapel of Christ the Lord in The Episcopal Church’s denominational headquarters in New York. The scaled down investiture was partly motivated by an interest in reducing the service’s carbon footprint while increasing opportunities for churchwide virtual participation. The investiture was livestreamed in four languages, including English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Mandarin. Close to 20,000 viewers in homes, churches and dioceses in the United States and around the world tuned into the livestreamed service. 

Festivities began at 9:30 a.m. Eastern with a video roll call of greetings from dioceses, and most of the 106 dioceses and mission areas sent messages.

Some highlighted dioceses and their ministries. Several dioceses started their roll calls with Indigenous land acknowledgments. Others included speakers in different languages, including various Indigenous languages, French and Farsi, to highlight their cultural diversity.

The Pensacola, Florida-based Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast filmed its roll call from Beckwith Camp & Conference Center in Fairhope, Alabama, where dozens of Episcopalians greeted Rowe while standing on the shore of Weeks Bay.

“We’re standing in the water because, as the people of God, we know that water is always the symbol of new birth and beginnings. So, we’re in the water to celebrate the new beginnings of the ministry of Sean Rowe as the next presiding bishop,” Central Gulf Coast Bishop J. Russell Kendrick said during the roll call.

Read ENS’ coverage of the investiture, here.

The scaled-down investiture was a deliberate contrast to the church’s past tradition of welcoming new presiding bishops with greater fanfare at installations hosted at Washington National Cathedral, the seat of the presiding bishop, in the U.S. capital.

“I like having the livestreaming and watch party option because everyone gets to participate, and anyone who couldn’t watch it live can go back and watch it later,” the Rev. Cathy Carpenter, priest-in-charge of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Valparaiso, Diocese of Northern Indiana, told Episcopal News Service. “Sure, we didn’t get to see those giant glamor shots from Washington National Cathedral, but this setting in New York was a lot more intimate.”

Five people attended the watch party held at St. Andrew’s. They started the early morning conversing over coffee and doughnuts while watching the roll-call greetings.

The Rev. Bernadette Hartsough, rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church – Santo Tomás Iglesia Episcopal in Plymouth, Indiana, located 42 miles southeast of Valparaiso, told ENS she missed seeing the “pomp and circumstance” of having a large procession in a cathedral, but she also appreciates the consideration of the church reducing its carbon footprint by holding the event in a smaller setting.

“We are a church built on tradition, but at the same time we have to modernize,” Hartsough said. “It’s finding the balance between serving our senior church members and our youth, and I think the livestream, especially in a post-COVID-19 world, was just right for today.”

Plus, Hartsough said, the watch party was a “great excuse” for her to bring her Dachshund, Tommy, with her and socialize with fellow Episcopalians. Tommy isn’t an official service dog, but Hartsough said he serves as a source of comfort for parishioners.

St. Andrew’s was one of two official watch party sites in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church hosted the other watch party in South Bend.

In the Diocese of Indianapolis, three churches hosted watch parties: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Chapel of the Good Shepherd in West Lafayette and St. David’s Episcopal Church in Beanblossom.

To the west in Kansas at St. David’s in Topeka, 18 people – including Kansas Bishop Cathleen Bascom – participated in the service broadcast on a screen in the church’s nave. Assisted by St. David’s rector, the Rev. Doreen Rice, and the dean of neighboring Grace Cathedral, the Very Rev. Torey Lightcap, Bascom celebrated communion for those present as Rowe blessed the communion elements, visible on the screen behind them, during the service in the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the church’s headquarters in New York.

Bascom told ENS that the service felt “like a beginning, a moving us forward in mission.” She added that Rowe’s scaled-down approach to his investiture matched his sermon “about the need for us as the body of Christ to bear the Resurrection into being, to do the unbinding and to bring forth life.”

Becoming accustomed to remote worship during COVID-19 meant that for Linda Crowl, a member of St. David’s vestry, this service not only felt familiar but also made her more appreciative of the ability to watch it with others. It also was a time for her to mark the end of the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry’s primacy. “I love Bishop Curry, so this is a bittersweet, nostalgic moment for me,” she said. But, she added, “I am excited about Sean Rowe.”

Members of All Saints Church in Bay Head, New Jersey, multitasked during the morning of the investiture. They gathered at 9 a.m. Eastern for the parish’s fall workday, raking leaves, repairing steps, dusting pews and vacuuming. The members then gathered in Bristol Hall to watch the service and lunch on sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s, whose original location is about two miles up the road from the church. 

Vestry member Penny Witt said after the service that she appreciated what she called the “uplifting” nature of the multilingual service. “I’m glad to see that The Episcopal Church is moving forward and that we’re still alive,” she told ENS. “I worry about this country, but if we can keep our church alive then there’s hope. I am optimistic because of this.” 

Those attending a watch party hosted by the Diocese of Rhode Island at Providence’s Cathedral of St. John were asked to pay admission — one pair of adult socks in a dark color, which would go to the diocese’s Church Beyond the Walls ministry.

Perhaps the proudest watch party was at St. John’s in Franklin, Pennsylvania, where Rowe served as rector for seven years, beginning after his graduation from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2000 until he was elected bishop of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 2007. 

The Rev. Shawn Clerkin, St. John’s vicar, told ENS that people were saying how proud they were to be part of the celebration and offering remembrances of Rowe’s time serving there. “They said they remember him prompting the congregation, ‘When do we pray?’ and them replying, ‘Always!’” he said. 

Sandy Baker told Clerkin the story of Rowe’s ordination to the priesthood service at the parish and about a red chasuble the congregation had ordered for him. “Barker stood in the parish hall with iron in hand, ready for the garment to be delivered,” he said. “She, and many others, expressed their gratitude for his ministry launching them on journeys of faith and service.”

— Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org. Melodie Woerman is an ENS freelance reporter based in Kansas. The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg, who retired in 2019 as senior editor and reporter for ENS, contributed to this report.