STEWARDSHIP: THE PARISH & THE DIOCESE
© 2024 Frank B. Crumbaugh III
“There is only one Church in The Diocese”[1] of Easton- just one. There are several dozen manifestations of that one Church, of which Christ Church Parish is the oldest, but there is only one Church.
This stark reality means that a large part of our stewardship of God’s resources has to do with looking after and funding and praying for people we rarely if ever meet. When we do our part as a parish (one of those manifestations of the one Church in The Diocese of Easton) and make our contribution to the diocesan budget, we honor our commitment to that one Church. Our pledge asking is derived from figures we report about our communicant strength and local budget here on Kent Island and calculates what our fair share of the diocesan budget for the coming year is. The diocese forwards this data to the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestry who decide such allocations of the Parish’s resources.
Persons unaware or perhaps new to The Episcopal Church may ask, “What do we get for our diocesan fair share?” While this is a self-referent question, it is a natural one. Our diocesan offering is not about us. It’s about the one Church in The Diocese of Easton, whether we receive any direct benefit from the gift or not. The church does not do business that way – quid pro quo – funding going out only in expectation of profit or replacement. Assuming that we will or should “do well by doing good”[2] is a false assumption; as the Church, we spend money for reasons other than profit or return. We make these offerings because through them we can learn and do the work of Jesus.[3] Our diocesan offering is the sign and pledge of our place in the community that is the one Church in The Diocese of Easton. It’s the responsible part we play as members of a larger household. So there’ll be no question, however, let me outline some of “the things we get for our diocesan pledge”:
You get a priest. All dioceses play a part in the education as well as in the placement of clergy. Seminary is breathtakingly expensive. Priests are priests of the whole Church, not of the Parish only, and we as the Church take corporate, not local, responsibility for selection, education, and placement of clergy throughout the one Church that is The Diocese of Easton, and indeed, throughout The Episcopal Church.
You get a bishop. That’s what it means to be an episcopal Church. The Bishop is chief pastor of the Diocese, principal pastor to the clergy, the overseer [and corporation sole in some cases] of the Church. The Bishop mediates disputes, ordains, Confirms, serves clergy, and is the living symbol of unity of the Church. When the bishops of the Church meet as a House, or at Lambeth, it is our bishop who speaks with the voice of Easton.
You get administrative support that simply cannot be done effectively at the parochial level- administration of insurances for Church property and clergy, as well as Church Pension Fund accounting and questions, coordination among parishes seeking to do joint ministries and a host of other staffing functions.
You get to do the missionary work and ministry you say you want to do. Funding for small parishes and missions who could not survive without the help, funding for ministries both within and beyond the diocesan boundaries which include college chaplaincy, after school programs for children in the inner cities, prison ministries, and support for the worldwide mission and ministry of the Church come out of our diocesan pledge.
You get the diocesan publications on the web and in print.
You get interim ministry in a vacancy and provide for the training and coordination of professional interim ministry in other parishes when they are searching for full-time ordained leadership.
You get diocesan resources, in the form of camp and youth work, expert consultation on education, legal matters, stewardship, building construction and maintenance, etc. This is not an exhaustive list[4], but it is representative of how we take our place in the one Church that is The Diocese of Easton. Our Parish is a splendid example of the one Church’s parochial manifestations. We are pulling our weight as we strive to pay our full diocesan pledge. That is a cause for thankful, righteous humility as much as it might be for crowing and chest-thumping celebration.
For all that has been, Thanks. For all that will be, Yes.
FBC3+
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[1] The Rt Rev’d J. Neil Alexander ThD, DD, 8 July 2001
[2] Benjamin Franklin, c 1745
[3] Mission Statement, Saint Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, Douglasville, Pennsylvania: “Learning & Doing the Work of Jesus.”
[4] The list above originally appeared in Vestry Handbook, The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, 1996