USA > Connecticut > The story of the Diocese of Connecticut : a new branch of the vine (Espiscopal Church) > Part 18
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Aroused by the revelations of neglect, the Diocese about 1940 began to survey unoccupied districts by employing theological students in the summer. Their reports suggested missions in several places that have since been occupied. Earnest laymen began to offer their services to start schools and read services in newly-settled districts. A few older city churches have begun to build chapels for their remote parishioners. In 1946 the Con- vention adopted an "Advance Work" program to engage a diocesan missionary and accumulate land-purchase and equipment funds. The Executive Council called upon parishes and archdeaconries to seek and occupy new places. Bishop Gray recalled that most parishes had begun as missions of older ones, and as Bishop Coadjutor he infused new zeal into the diocesan missionary program.
The policy of closing weak churches has now been abandoned. Previous to 1940 several were sold, as at Moosup, Suffield, Round Hill in Greenwich, Old Lyme village, Chester, and Hadlyme. In Suffield and Round Hill suburban growth has proved that it is not always safe to assume that an area is hopeless. Nor should a mission be considered a failure merely because for years it does not seem to be growing. In 1949 Bishop Gray remarked that within three years five missions had petitioned to be made
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parishes. Several missions and aided parishes have became self- supporting in the eastern counties, which formerly were considered to be almost impenetrable.
What triumphs can be achieved in new or reclaimed territory is obvious in the recently established missions at Turn- of-River in Stamford and Simsbury, and in the revived one at Old Lyme. The first began as a congregation of seventeen persons meeting in a school assembly hall. Within a year it in- creased to ninety families, forty-eight communicants, and seventy- five in the church school, and had several organizations and a new building. St. Alban's, Simsbury, started in the gymnasium of the Ethel Walker School, and at the end of a year had an average congregation of more than one hundred, an active church school, and plans for a church. St. Ann's, Old Lyme, was founded in the 1890's as a summer chapel and mission. After declining almost to extinction, it was revived by an infusion of new popu- lation, and by the zeal of student readers from the Berkeley Divinity School. Within a few years a congregation of nearly one hundred families could pledge fifty thousand dollars for a hand- some church.
The results of the new missionary expansion have been substantial, even if not spectacular, especially since the appointment of the first diocesan missionary, the Rev. Donald Greene, in 1948. Hardly a year has passed without a new mission or the revival of an old mission or parish. Congregations have been gathered in Suffield, Storrs, East Hartford, Simsbury, Bolton, Middlebury, Hamden, Sherman, North Greenwich, Madison, Turn-of-River in Stamford, Rocky Hill, Wolcott, Darien and Gales Ferry.
In the meantime, the revival has inspired some dwindling city churches to move to new locations. A heartening example is the relocation of St. Andrew's, Hartford, in the thriving suburban area of Bloomfield. The stir of new life throughout the Diocese has been accompanied by a noticeable increase in missionary giving. No such zeal has been known for several generations. In one year, 1958-1959, five new missions were opened. If this trend continues for a few more years, the Diocese will stand first in the nation in the number of places of worship. It is reliving the great era of expansion that followed the organization of the Missionary Society nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. But the great
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revival would not have been possible without the slow, substantial growth of effective administration since the era of recovery after the Revolution. [Maps showing the congregations of the Diocese in the Colonial period and in 1961 appear inside the front and back covers]
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE VISIBLE CHURCH: ADMINISTRATION
THE EPISCOPAL OFFICE
T HE Diocese originated in the office of the bishop, and the clergy believed that there could be no diocese without a bishop. All the original nine American dioceses except Connecticut had conventions composed of clergymen and lay deputies, without bishops. Connecticut elected a bishop, who summoned a Con- vocation of clergymen which acknowledged him as the head of the Diocese. A convention of clergymen and lay deputies was not organized until seven years later.
The founders intended to send Abraham Jarvis to Scotland for consecration and to be coadjutor, to succeed in case of Bishop Seabury's death, but for many years the Diocese did not think of permitting the bishop to share his responsibilities. There was no assistant until John Williams was elected in 1851. After Bishop Brownell's death in 1865, there was none until 1897, when Chauncey B. Brewster was chosen, and he ministered without assistance until 1915. For more than half of its existence, the Diocese has had only one bishop.
Although it has always been, numerically, one of the largest American dioceses, sentiment has decreed that the first American diocese should not be divided. The Convention always has re- jected division, even when suggested by such revered pastors as Bishops Williams and Brewster. In 1865 the former contemplated it, in order to promote missions which he alone could not undertake. The Convention's committee would not agree and proposed that division should occur only upon the petition of a portion of the Diocese. Their report politely but pointedly suggested that the Bishop's teaching at Berkeley Divinity School required too much time from his episcopal duties.
Division was not seriously considered again until 1909, when Bishop Brewster had served for ten years without assistance.
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He surprised the Convention by declaring that, while he ap- preciated the reluctance to divide the earliest American diocese, he felt that efficiency was more important than prestige. He was earnestly supported by the Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Harriman, who argued for division in the Connecticut Churchman and on the floor of the Convention. He proposed a "Diocese of New Haven" to include New Haven, Fairfield, and Litchfield Counties, leaving the other five counties as the Diocese of Connecticut. The dele- gates considered a leaflet containing Bishop Williams's arguments for division, but did not budge. A committee called the plan un- feasible, and suggested recommending to the General Convention a constitutional amendment to permit the election of suffragan bishops. In 1913 the Convention again rejected a proposal of division, and instead consented to the election of a suffragan.
This was the last serious discussion of the project until 1954, when a committee considered it exhaustively, and with the tra- ditional negative conclusion. They advised Bishop Gray of their opinion that Connecticut is not too large for efficient administration. The expense of two dioceses seemed to them unreasonable, and a respectable sentiment favored the territorial integrity of the original American diocese.
The result of having only one diocese has been a formidable enlargement of the bishop's administrative burdens. The vast mass of correspondence crossing his desk concerns everything from signing business contracts to acting as referee in many canonical problems. He shoulders almost innumerable duties as the head of many organizations, even though they have acting presidents or chairmen. He is president of the Convention, the Executive Council, and the Missionary Society, chairman of the Departments of Finance and Missions, and president of the Chapter of Christ Church Cathedral and of the trustees of the Berkeley Divinity School. At his discretion, he holds responsible positions in numerous organizations of the national Church.
In spite of ever-mounting burdens, the bishops have refused to consider themselves as mere officials, and their office as a business corporation. Bishop Brewster gently repulsed a suggestion that, with enough clerks, he could be bishop of all New England. "The work of a Bishop," he said, "includes business. But it is not primarily bureaucratic. Rather is it something essentially different.
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It is pastoral and personal."1 Clerks, secretaries, and chaplains, he added, never could settle questions of marriage or divorce, parochial disputes, the character and qualifications of ministerial candidates, and the fitness of clergymen. They also could not perform the delicate task of adjusting the episcopate to the con- stitutional and legislative authority, the Diocesan Convention.
CONVOCATION
At the time of its origin, the American diocesan convention was a novelty in the Anglican Communion. No such body existed in the Church of England, whose legislature was Parliament. While it was a branch of the Church of England, the Church in Connecticut had no legislature, and in fact no effective adminis- tration above the parish. Parishes were the only legal units of administration. The gulf between them and the English hierarchy was partially bridged by the Bishop of London's Commissary for New England, and by occasional voluntary conventions of the clergy.
Connecticut's clerical conventions began in 1739 and continued at intervals throughout the colonial period. They com- plained to the S. P. G. and the English bishops against dis- crimination and persecution, pressed for an American bishop, suggested new missions, recommended and supervised candidates for ordination, and discussed or proposed means to promote the Church's welfare. In fact, these conventions did help to prepare the way for an independent American Church by training the clergy in self-government, while the laity received the same schooling in vestry meetings. Without such experience, the Church might have floundered helplessly after the Revolution. The meeting of clergymen to elect a bishop - in 1783 - was a natural out- growth of colonial conventions.
The clerical Convocation became the cornerstone of the diocesan legislature. The meeting summoned by Bishop Seabury in August, 1785 was the first of many during his episcopate. For seven years Convocation was the only deliberative meeting and in 1790 began to keep minutes. After the Diocesan Convention began to meet in 1792, Convocation ceased to act upon temporal affairs. It convened until 1848, advised the bishop at his request, exercised discipline, and approved candidates for orders. It was very in-
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fluential, and its records sometimes were more complete than those of the earlier Conventions.
Convocation was exclusively clerical and the spirit of the American Church insisted upon lay representation. Connecticut recognized the incvitable, and in 1788 summoned parochial dele- gates to discuss provision for the financial support of their bishop. The Church's Constitution, adopted in 1789, required clerical and lay deputies to the General Convention, and Connecticut ac- cordingly inaugurated a Diocesan Convention of both orders. In 1792 the first "Convention of the Bishop, Clergy, and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Connecticut" met in New Haven, to elect deputies to the General Convention and to draft a constitution.
CONSTITUTION AND CANONS
Written constitutions, democratically adopted, expressed the new nation's republican spirit. They were usually models of simplicity and clarity, and so were the eight brief articles of Con- necticut's first diocesan constitution. The principal points were three orders of the ministry, an annual convention, an elective episcopate, election of lay deputies to the General Convention, and reference of the constitution to the parishes for approval.
Within a year most of the parishes accepted the constitution, and its basic principles still stand. In 1795 the Convention adopted "Rules of Order." The first provided that the Bishop (or in his absence the senior clergyman present) should preside. The con- stitution was extensively revised in 1821 to conform to changes wrought by the growth of the Diocese.
No general altcration was attempted until 1896, when the revisers omitted sections that properly belonged in the Canons or the Rules of Order. They simplified necessary provisions and preserved essential details, condensing and arranging rather than making radical changes in cherished principles and forms.
The five earliest Canons were prepared by a committee in 1790, and were revised and completed by Bishop Seabury and his advisory "College of Doctors." They concerned annual parish meetings and elections, the clerk and his duties, prohibition of non-religious meetings in church, provision of a Bible, a Prayer Book, and a surplice, and clerical vestments. In 1798 the Con-
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vention added canons on parish registers and reports, admission to Communion, trial of a clergyman, strict observance of rubrics, application and examination of ministerial candidates, transfer of priests, and formation of new parishes. In 1812 there were added canons relating to parish meetings and Communion alms.
The Diocese never has recognized a sharp distinction be- tween Constitution and Canons, and refers proposed changes in both to the same committee. They are regarded as one body of law, with the same source and authority. The Constitution is that part of canon law which can be altered only by two successive Conventions.
Alterations have been infinitely too numerous to recite. The delegates patiently consider proposed amendments and reject many as unnecessary or impractical. Rare is the Convention in which nobody proposes one. In 1951 the seemingly impossible event happened. John H. (now Bishop) Esquirol, chairman of the Committee on Canons, joyfully reported: "For the second successive year, the miracle of utter peace and contentment among the brethren with the laws of the Diocese carries on .. . May this glori- ous tranquillity continue - unabated!"2
Few new canons have made important changes. The most significant was recommended by a committee appointed in 1919 to study the administration. It inaugurated a sweeping reform by creating the Executive Council with a Secretary, to coordinate the departments. It repealed all inconsistent provisions, made ap- propriate alterations in other canons, and introduced an efficient pattern for complex administration.
The new form soon displayed some weaknesses in the re- lations among Diocese, departments, archdeaconries, and parishes. Bishops Acheson and Budlong voiced a general conviction that the departments were "too remote from the field," and favored closer coordination. The Convention accordingly altered the Canons to give votes in Convention to organized missions and their clergy. It accorded representation in all departments to the archdeaconries, which organized similar departments and began to make quarterly reports and annual surveys of aided parishes and missions. The more efficient administrative organization soon proved its worth.
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THE DIOCESAN CONVENTION
While diocesan administration seems to be self-sufficient, it is strictly responsible to the democratic Convention. That august body is as jealous of its just powers as the Congress of the United States. It includes all canonically resident clergymen but is not an exclusive clerical corporation, and is close to the people through lay representation of parishes and organized missions.
Clerical and lay deputies sit and deliberate together and decide most questions by a simple majority vote. Together they elect deputies to the General Convention and the New England Provincial Synod. They elect their own officers and adopt canons and amendments to the Constitution. They are the ultimate con- stitutional authority. Such full recognition of the "brethren" agrees with the constitution and practice of the primitive Church.
THE STANDING COMMITTEE
Even when not in session, the Convention never relaxes its vigilance over diocesan government. It elects the Standing Com- mittee, the ecclesiastical authority in case of disability or absence of the Bishop, or of a vacancy in the episcopate.
The Committee's origin apparently was the College of Doc- tors of Divinity, established by Convocation in 1790 as Bishop Seabury's council for consultation in emergencies. For some years, beginning in 1791, Convocation named the Committee, and its annual appointment was required by the Constitution of 1792.
The Constitution did not determine the membership, but it became the custom to name only clergymen. In 1796 the Con- vention assumed the power of appointment and named five clergy- men, and the practice was fixed by the revised Constitution and Canons of 1825. Repeated proposals to enlarge the Committee and include laymen always have met defeat, in spite of arguments based upon the general practice of other dioceses and of the General Convention. The Committee still consists of five clergy- men, chosen annually by the Convention. They make a yearly report of proceedings, including candidates for ordination.
THE BOARD OF EXAMINING CHAPLAINS
They have been responsible for the examination of can- didates since 1872. The learned priests are nominated by the Bishop
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and confirmed for two years by the Convention, to which they report annually. The members have included professors of Trinity College and of the Berkeley Divinity School, church historians, and a notable number of men who became bishops.
THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
In addition to the diocesan and his coadjutor or suffragan, the Council includes all the principal diocesan officers. The Bishop, the Convention, and the archdeaconries appoint clerical and lay representatives. The Council elects its own officers and regulates its own proceedings and the business of its departments. Its records and annual reports present the fullest accounts of diocesan gov- ernment. It administers any work delegated to it by Convention, initiates and develops new projects, compiles the budget, and supervises all assessments and financial affairs.
The Council accomplishes this immense task through its hard-working departments: Missions and Church Extension, Chris- tian Education, Christian Social Relations, Promotion, Finance, and Youth and Laymen's Work. The Bishop is ex-officio chairman of all departments, which may elect vice-chairmen and include archdeaconry representatives and must report annually to the Council.
Mere description imparts only a faint idea of the work done by devoted Council members for many years. They have richly illustrated Bishop Brewster's quotation of Lord Bacon's saying: "The life of the Execution of Affaires resteth in the good Choice of Persons." The Council reflects the modern trend toward collective, efficient effort. And yet it has never been permitted to obscure Bishop Brewster's definition of the purpose of church administration to bring all "into the full freedom of personality which comes of obedience to Christ and likeness to Him."3
The members' sacrificial dedication has belied any lingering fear that "ecclesiastical bureaucracy" would smother the personal element in service. Many active business and professional leaders have proved the maxim that if one really wants something done, he should ask somebody who already is busy. Their deaths often have left the Diocese contemplating a lonely place and wondering who could ever fill it so well.
The Bishops have specially mentioned, and the Diocese
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will remember, a few men now long deceased who labored un- sparingly to make the new administration successful: John Hall Sage and S. Fred Strong, treasurers; the Rev. Floyd S. Kenyon, inspirer and director of social service; the Rev. Samuel Sutcliffe, promoter of religious education and youth work; Charles A. Pease, pillar of the financial administration; Harry H. Heminway, organizer of the Every Member Canvass; Willard S. Adams and Archdeacon J. Eldred Brown, guides of the department of missions. Two of the Chancellors, Origen S. Seymour and Burton Mansfield, have had few rivals as experts in canon law, and the latter conceived the idea of the Council and was its moving spirit until his death.
THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
The Secretary is the busiest diocesan official after the Bishop. He is a "clearing house," the agent of the Council and its departments, and of all commissions and boards. Through his office streams a complex variety of financial and other business, and he assumes the burden of drafting the budget and the Council's annual report.
A superb standard was set by the Rev. John F. Plumb, who made the office practically his life for twenty-four years, 1923-1947. The Diocese owed much of its accomplishment to his astounding capacity for painstaking work, at an age when most men long to retire. Everybody relied upon him for information and advice. Bishop Budlong said: "His skill and patience and dangerously accurate memory along with his understanding and truly loving interest in every clergyman and in every parish and mission are superlative."4
Canon Plumb was succeeded by the Rev. Canon Ralph D. Read, who was the Assistant Executive Secretary following service on the staff of the Cathedral. He has maintained the high standard of effectiveness set by his predecessor, and was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology by the General Theological Seminary.
THE CHANCELLOR
Closely associated with the Secretary is the Chancellor, a learned lawyer, who is elected by the Convention upon the Bishop's nomination and holds office until resignation or death. He is the
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Bishop's legal adviser, and with his consent shares in the pro- ceedings of the Diocesan Convention.
FINANCE
The complicated diocesan government contains parts which the average Churchman rarely considers. These are five cor- porations that control important funds: the Bishop's Fund, (See Appendix I, for the origin of this fund) the pension funds, the Missionary Society, the Church Scholarship Society, and Donations and Bequests for Church Purposes. The latter originated because the Diocese had no organization to control gifts for general or special purposes. Bishop Williams was troubled, and in 1863 ad- vised the Convention to obtain a charter. The Legislature in- corporated the body with trustees to be elected by Convention and to use all funds subject to the conditions imposed by the donors for the benefit of the Diocese, its institutions, parishes, and mis- sions. Subject to strict rules, the corporation controls funds and real estate valued at millions of dollars, and makes a meticulous annual report of their condition and use.
The Trustees' code of management inspired a general raising of standards in financial administration. Beginning in 1884, the Convention adopted rules requiring the audit of permanent funds held by trustees, and of the diocesan Treasurer's accounts. After 1905 funds held by parishes and institutions were covered by a canon on the security of trust funds.
Administrative reorganization in 1922 implied a thorough reform of the financial structure. Beginning in 1924, the Executive Council submitted a budget based upon close study of needs. Gradually the Diocese introduced a more uniform practice for parish and mission treasurers, and secured more regular payments of missionary offerings and assessments for diocesan purposes. It was not easy, especially during the bleak depression of the 1930's. Parishes were tempted to feel that they were oppressed by an im- practical bureaucracy. Bishop Budlong patiently explained the democratic procedure of fixing quotas, and the number of de- linquents gradually dwindled as the people became fully informed.
In contrast was the failure of an ambitious plan for a diocesan endowment of half a million dollars, adopted by the Convention in 1929. Bishop Acheson headed a large promotion
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committee, and intended the fund to raise clerical salaries and extend diocesan missions, especially in rural areas. The depression stopped the campaign before it really started.
Bishop Budlong and the Council found a partial consolation in 1935, by establishing the Diocesan Chest, for contributions to projects beyond local means. A committee discovered the needs and raised the money by appealing personally to selected donors, and by offering paid memberships. Bishop Budlong displayed rare ability in raising funds for special projects, and a warm gratitude for the cordial response. Special appeals still open the wellspring of generosity, and lend the individual touch, which Bishop Brewster said must be preserved to keep financial affairs truly Christian.
ARCHDEACONRIES
Support of the Church's enterprise depends ultimately upon a healthful spirit in the archdeaconries, parishes, and missions. The archdeaconry fills a gap in missionary work that formerly existed between the parish and the diocesan offices. The origins of the archdeaconries were the county clerical convocations, which used to meet for two or more days for services, fellowship, dis- cussion, and missionary addresses.
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