Bishop Burt was a low churchman, with considerable respect for the breadth of the Episcopal Church’s ecclesiology. He knew the Diocese of Ohio well, working hard to visit every parish every year ”” often three parishes each Sunday. Ohio is a geographically large diocese: from the industrial center in the East to the farmlands of the West; from the wealth of the north to the poverty of Appalachia in the south. He knew it well and traveled it often. He knew each parish and respected the integrity of its history. Anglo-Catholic parishes got Anglo-Catholic clergy; conservative parishes got conservative clergy. Low churches got low churchmen. Nearly all the parishes sought and respected his opinion about who should be interviewed and who should not. More often than not, his opinion prevailed and a good match resulted. When the relationships failed between clergy and parishes, Bishop Burt did his best to protect both parties.
He had a talent for building a collegial group of clergy. Diocesan conventions were among the high points of the year, as was the Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival at Trinity Cathedral between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Bishop Burt loved this day involving hundreds in costume. He especially delighted in serving the huge mincemeat pie that had been processed in the pageant and presented before the high altar marking the Christmas season. Our whole family participated in this annual event.