Bishop Clay Matthews, who heads the Office of Pastoral Development in New York, told ENS December 5 that he or his designee meets with a diocesan standing committee prior to the public announcement of a call for an episcopal election to guide them through the manual and help the diocese create the process and its timetable. His office also offers a search consultant to work with the diocese as the process unfolds.
The anticipated revisions are meant to consider best hiring and transition practices of the field of human resources “while recognizing and insisting that [electing a bishop] is a discernment process,” the Rev. Gay Jennings, a task force member and CREDO associate director, told ENS.
A task force made up of bishops, consultants, theologians, former nominees, spouses and partners of nominees, and chairs of diocesan committees began working on possible revisions in June 2007. Matthews said the group has already outlined some areas for attention, beginning with the fact that the model process his office offers is based on methods used to elect the rector of a parish.
“That’s not the same thing as a bishop being elected to serve a diocese,” Matthews noted.
The group believes that the process needs to be undergirded by a “clearer understanding of the theology of the order of bishop,” he said.
Those specific questionnaires include ones for elected and non-elected nominees and their SPOUSES OR PARTNERS; the outgoing bishop and his or her SPOUSE OR PARTNER; members of diocesan standing committees as well as search and transition committees; search consultants and diocesan staff members.
Any doubt this is being institutionalized???? Anyone, Anyone???
What is wrong with depending on the Holy Spirit? What’s wrong with the historical ‘discernment process?”
Well, the historical discernment process has been turned into a manipulative political ‘free for all’ devoid of the theology that is received from and based upon “…the Faith once given…” and I cannot convinvce myself that the ‘spirit’ moving the revisionists is in a redemptive way moving ECUSA toward what is Holy.
So far, I am am a bit more than ‘put off’ by the revisionist efforts to ‘bless’ their sectarian agenda and efforts as anything ‘holy.’
Rest assured now beyond any doubt that +Lawrence is the last orthodox Christian bishop to be consecrated in TEO.
We are from 815 and we are here to help you discern according to our guidelines.
Sounds vaguely familiar…
[blockquote] The anticipated revisions are meant to consider best hiring and transition practices of the field of human resources . . . .[/blockquote]
So how we doin’ with those “best practices”?
[i] The anticipated revisions are meant to consider best hiring and transition practices of the field of human resources [/i]
Nihil obstat: +Dogbert
Imprimatur: +Catbert
Ouch! -Ratbert