“Why on earth would we do this?” I asked the 100+ people who crowded in the Swing Pavilion for the fifth annual Southern Alameda Deanery Vestry Retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg. The Reverend Dr. Michael Barlowe, the diocesan Canon to the Ordinary; Kathleen Piraino, the Executive Director of Episcopal Charities; and The Very Reverend Jane Shaw, dean of Grace Cathedral joined us for this year’s retreat, adding addition heft to my question. I continued: “It’s not like other congregations are doing this kind of work together! Nor does it make the work of our own congregations that much easier! It’s hard enough leading our own congregations…so why are we doing this?”
The answers fell like the rays of sunshine just outside the building: “Because this who God has called us to be!” Or “I love it when I see other people from different churches whom I know.” And “Being away from home, in this place, with these people, multiplies the energy we have for ministry. We come away with a deeper sense of the holy than we ever could in our individual parishes.” Such fine answers!
Still I knew my own reasons for this gathering, and frankly, some of those reasons are selfish: there is nothing quite like a large gathering of Episcopalians.
We Episcopal folk are a mislabeled lot: words like “Frozen Chosen” or “People who like to read to God” fall easily from the lips of those who don’t know us. Mind you, we’ve earned some of that sass, but the name calling really only describes our veneer: scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find we’re as lively as any of our Christian counterparts.
Case in point: The Southern Alameda Deanery Vestry retreat. There are few places in the Episcopal Church that I know of where so much laughter, appreciation of our diverse gifts, and cooperation take place in one setting! Add the gracious hospitality of the ranch, the liquid sunshine of the golden state (The winters in this part of the country are the envy of the world), the bucolic environs (even with the smell of the cows!), and even a “frozen chosen” would have to thaw.
Indeed, that’s what we do at this retreat.
We thaw from our old traditions of “my church is better than your church.” Instead, we focus on what’s working in the congregations of our deanery and how we might take those ideas back to our individual parishes.
We thaw from self-serving models of ministry, where “my congregation’s resources are mine and not yours,” evaporate like a warm January weekend at the ranch.
No, our congregations: St. Ann’s, Fremont; St. James, Fremont; St. Bart’s, Livermore; All Saints, San Leandro; Holy Cross, Castro Valley; and St. Clare’s, Pleasanton have developed through these retreats shared mission: such as house building in Mexico (which we’ve done for the last five years), walking in the San Francisco AIDS Walk (with the largest Episcopal contingency to date) and working with Deacon John Trubina on planting a “church without walls” in Hayward this year. That’s not the work of a frozen people: it’s more like January thaw!
But that’s just the beginning.
All work and no play makes for a very boring church. So we play at the retreat and in our common ministry. For the past four years we’ve hosted “The Bash.” It’s a gathering at a park for worship, a meal, and playtime. It’s one heck of a witness to the rest of the world to see Episcopalians (our Episcopal flag flying in the breeze) having a good time together…most especially since some of what the world sees of Christians can be pretty ugly!
And because we like each other so much, we’re taking over St. Dorothy’s Rest in August for a come one, come all retreat. The agenda? Just to have a good time! There’s more, but this newsletter has space limitations!
All this talk about what we’re doing and where we are going may seem counter to talking about a vestry retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch. It may even seem like bragging. You’d be wrong on both counts.
We couldn’t do any of this without the support, leadership, and partnership of clergy and laity. A lot of work and planning go into these gatherings. And mind you, this isn’t “perfect ministry.” Getting six different communities of faith to agree and work together is hard work. What keeps drawing us back together is that we know we have touched on something vital, a form of ministry that is as intoxicating and beautiful as the vineyards that surround the ranch.
Which leads to my final point: We decided that we’re going to do this again in January, right here at the Bishop’s Ranch. This time, however, it won’t be just Southern Alameda Deanery. According to the president of our deanery, Mr. Fred Hanson, we’re going to invite leadership from across the diocese to come and see what we’re up to. I’ll admit this may not work for every deanery…but heavens, if what we’ve experienced over the past five years excites other parts of the diocese the way we get excited, there’s no telling what God will do!
In conclusion, the retreat is an amazing mix: one part laity, one part clergy, one part Bishop’s Ranch and whole lot of Holy Spirit. And that is a very good thing, indeed!
Yours for the reign of God,
Ron
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