Have you heard the joke about the Mayor and the Bishop?
Normally, those types of jokes start along the lines of,
“Have you heard the joke about the priest, the rabbi and the minister?” …and
I’ve always wanted to suggest that maybe there is a way to have a joke about
the Bishop and the Mayor.
However, today I have to tell you that, while we shared lots
of laughs over the past few years, nothing about the work that Bishop Wolf has
done in and for our Diocese could be considered to be a joke.
In thinking about what to say today, I thought about how I
came to be in this spot. As a lifelong Episcopalian, I had been involved
somewhat in Diocesan activities. But my involvement has increased a lot over
the past several years, and it all stared when Bishop Wolf asked me to serve on
the Committee on Resolutions. I didn’t even know what that Committee did, but
she convinced me to be part of it.
From there it was a short trip to becoming a member of the
Ecclesiastical Trial Court, the honorary chairman of the Episcopal Charities
Fund and a member of Diocesan Council.
Through all of those activities an image of a thoughtful,
principled leader became the way I viewed Geralyn Wolf. And the more I worked
with her, the more my respect for her, and my support for her vision for the
Diocese deepened. So it’s no surprise that when she and the late Ed Bennett
asked me to run for an open seat on the Standing Committee, I immediately said
yes. And, after a year on the Standing Committee, working closely with the
Bishop to work through a number of different issues on church mergers, church
polities and the like, I was elected the president.
And that’s really where the journey that led us to this day
began. A month after becoming president, I went in to meet with the Bishop and,
at the end of the meeting, she pulled out a folder and said, “Now I need to
talk to you about something else.” And in January of 2011, I learned that the
Bishop was going to announce her retirement in March.
I was, of course, concerned about what she intended to do
and, quite honestly, I was petrified about what I was about to have to do. Two
months later, the Bishop announced at convocation her intent to retire and we
began a process that has led to the election of Bishop-Elect Knisley.
In retrospect, to most people it must have seemed like a
very easy period of time and transition for the Diocese. The truth is, it’s
enough material for a book. Who would have ever thought that, by accepting the
Bishop’s request to serve the Diocese, I would learn the process of electing
and consecrating a Bishop, of merging parishes, of removing a priest from
service, or serving as the chancellor? Yet, through it all, Geralyn Wolf and
Tom Bair provided the right amount of leadership, guidance and pastoral care to
allow all of us to do our jobs.
When I think of the legacy of Gerry Wolf, I see an
empowering, gifted leader who, although she had an opinion on issues, always
listened to other points of view and really strove to reach consensus. While
other Dioceses were being pulled apart amidst stories of breakaway parishes,
Bishop Wolf used her talent to ensure that any separations were done with
kindness, and an ability to return.
Whether closing parishes, changing parishes to missions, or
assisting parishes as they merged, Bishop Wolf consistently put the thoughts
and needs of the individuals in the pews first and foremost. You all know that
religion is intensely emotional and personal for most people. Yet it would be
all too easy to administer a Diocese without concern to that emotion. We have
been blessed to have a leader who allowed emotion a place at the table while
making sure that cooler heads always prevailed.
There are lots of similarities to our jobs. Just as a Bishop
is responsible for leading a faith community, meeting the needs of those in
spiritual and personal crisis and ensuring the viability of the church, so,
too, is a Mayor responsible for the overall good of his community, assuring its
stability, and addressing the myriad needs of a diverse group of residents and
businesses. And, as faith organizations and municipalities work together as
partners for the overall good, those roles sometimes intertwine. The Bishop and
I always found an ability to learn from one another’s perspectives. And I know
that my staff at City Hall, if ever on Jeopardy, hopes that the category for
the Daily Double is “Facts about the Episcopal Church."
We have all learned to be stronger in faith and deeper in
purpose from the example of ministry that we learned from Gerry Wolf.
Today the Diocese says thank you and presents you, Bishop,
with a long-awaited trip to the Holy Land . On
behalf of the Standing Committee, I thank you for your steadfast belief in the
future of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and in your never-ending
optimism that good people will always prevail.
Today, I’m sure, brings many emotions with new beginnings
and the closing of different chapters of life.
I will remind you what you said to me right before you
walked to the west door of St. Paul ’s Pawtucket
Well, those people today are full of gratitude, and still
brimming with hope and enthusiasm. For that, we owe you a great big thank you.
