UPDATE: See the new "Personal information" link on each candidate's page.

The Reverend Canon Stephen Lane

Having read our profile, why are you interested in being the Bishop of Maine, and what gifts would you bring to this ministry?

The issues presented in the profile of the Diocese of Maine plague many dioceses in the Episcopal Church (including my own) and much of the Christian church in the United States. The Christian church in the US is in the midst of a period of transition. Congregations that were established in small towns and villages during a time of national expansion are now beset with declining demographics and aging facilities. The hymns and liturgies that spoke to earlier generations no longer reach todays potential church members. Denominational church structures that were designed for foreign missions are now too large and bureaucratic. As a percentage of the population, church membership is static. Across denominations, churches arent really adding new members. Church members are simply swapping up to larger churches.

We are increasingly a two-church culture: big churches and little churches. In big churches, the administrative and deployment systems that were developed over the last thirty years continue to function pretty well. The quality of life is good. Church membership is increasingly diverse. In small churches, its challenging to find ordained and lay leadership and to meet diocesan salary standards and the requirements of building, insurance and tax codes. Quality of life is declining, and its difficult to create a diverse community.

While this is no doubt a time of crisis for the Episcopal Church, it may also be, in fact, a time of opportunity. God is inviting us to do a new thing, to ask, What does it mean to be the Episcopal Church in the 21^st century? What does it mean to maintain an Episcopal presence in our communities? What are the unique gifts we bring? What is our ministry? Can we be the Episcopal Church without our historic buildings? Can we adapt our liturgical tradition for people whove never held a prayer book? Can we find new ways to identify and form lay and ordained leaders for our congregations? Can we offer our communities more than worship and pastoral care for the people who already belong?

These are the questions I work with every day. Theyre the questions I try to address in the development of parish profiles, in the calling of clergy to work in our diocese, in the continuing education of clergy, in the formation of deacons in our new diocesan diaconate program, in our Fresh Start program, and in my educational work with congregations. Theyre the questions I see in the profile of the Diocese of Maine. How do we sustain relationships when distances are great, travel is expensive, and schedules are full? How do we create appropriate worship spaces for our people when maintaining the old ones is impractical? How do we minister to younger, more diverse populations without alienating the bedrock membership? How do we share resources in a way that honors the ministries of both large and small congregations? How can we be faithful in our time and place? Answers to all these questions will require the creative participation of every member of the diocese.

Im interested in the office of bishop for the Diocese of Maine because Im interested in working with a community thats wrestling with these questions. I bring the gift of having prayerfully reflected on them for some time, as a diocesan staff person and a former member of Executive Council. I think I understand the issues both in their national sweep and their local particularity. I think I have a vision of some new possibilities. Im passionate not only about keeping the doors of the church open, but also about opening them wider and welcoming all who wish to take a part. I want each congregation to discover its unique calling and ministry. I care deeply about pastoral support for all our members, clergy and lay alike. And I want us all to be formed in prayer and worship to address the new thing God is doing in our time.

Describe the process you have used to assist or lead a congregation through their struggle with a theological issue.  Was there a resulting epiphany in your own understanding?

Ive recently spent a great deal of time helping the Diocese of Rochester and several congregations come to terms with the renewed diaconate thats described in the new Title III canons, particularly in relation to the nature of the diaconate and the requirements for formation.

The Diocese of Rochester has never had many deacons and has not ordained a deacon in nearly twenty years. A previous bishop had little use for deacons and saw them as a threat to lay ministry. I understand the new diaconate as a rightful claiming of Christs ministry of service to the world and an opportunity for the church to strengthen the formation of its members for that service. Far from threatening the ministry of the baptized, the diaconate may encourage, recruit and support the baptized in ministry.

Its been a daunting task because every rector and vestry believe they already understand the diaconate and what it takes to educate and form a deacon. Most of that understanding is rooted in the practice of the last thirty years, and its simply wrong. Encouraging the development of a diaconal ministry has meant re-educating the entire diocese and then recruiting people to be the first participants in the new program.

We began with an enabling resolution at diocesan convention and a small task group whose job it was to recommend norms and standards for the diocese. Working with these guidelines, the Commission on Ministry developed a new Vocational Handbook to guide potential deacons through the formation and ordination process. In addition, we produced leaflets and brochures about the nature of the diaconate, the identification of potential deacons, the diaconal discernment process, and the role of the vestry in discernment. Finally, working with the Bexley Institute, we designed a process to cover the academic and mentoring aspects of deacon formation. As staff person to this work, I have been intimately involved in all phases of this process and have done a good bit of the writing. Ive also met with rectors, vestries, discernment committees, potential deacons and deacons-in-training to respond to questions and provide training. I currently convene and serve as mentor to the Community of Deacons. We now have twelve postulants and candidates in the deacon formation process.

After four years of work, I think were making progress, but a recent meeting with rectors who are supervising deacons-in-training makes it clear that much work still lies ahead. We are so much creatures of the formation we ourselves received, and it takes conscious effort to come to new understandings.

Unlike the discussions of human sexuality, some of which have been laden with hostility, the discussion of the new diaconate has generally been welcomed. But education alone has not been sufficient to change diocesan culture. My aha has been that education is just the first step in changing a culture. In addition to education whats required is an opportunity to engage the issues in connection with real people. Its necessary to connect the letter of the canons with the new thinking about the diaconate and a person who is wrestling with Gods call to serve as a deacon. Change takes place one mind, one heart, at a time. Whats required is a willingness to meet people where they are and to be flexible as people struggle to adapt to new requirements and new processes. A generation from now, by the grace of God and the presence of deacons, we will have become a church much more committed to serving Christ in the world.

What legacy would you like to leave when you retire as Bishop from the Diocese of Maine?

A legacy is, I think, something we would leave together, particularly in a community that values a shared episcopate. Reading a profile and a website gives a rather flat view of the diocese. I can surmise a number of things about the state of the congregations or the diversity of opinion among older and newer clergy, but it will take conversation and experience to build depth and correct my impressions, and it will take time to build a legacy together.

That said, I would like to be remembered as one who built upon the foundations that were laid before I arrived. We have a saying in the Deployment Ministry Conference, the expertise in the room. That is, the people doing the work have the best knowledge. The people of the Diocese of Maine are the experts, and I would hope to join my gifts and experience with theirs. New leadership brings changes, but continuity is also important. Finding the balance is a task of shared episcopacy.

I would like to be remembered as someone who served the diocese with care and compassion, who was a pastor to all of the people, especially the clergy, and who made decisions thoughtfully and prayerfully. I would like to be remembered as someone who listened, both to God and to the people, who brought everyone, including youth and young adults, to the table, and who helped the diocese make the best choices we could make.

I hope our time together would be remembered as a time of service to the Gospel of Christ, a time during which we made difficult decisions together for the welfare of the church and the community, when congregations were supported and ministry was strengthened. I hope our legacy would be one of greater inclusion of all the various constituencies of the diocese, of greater efficiency in diocesan operations, and of helping congregations come to terms with their liabilities, financial and otherwise.

Most of all, I hope our legacy would be of lives of faithfulness to Jesus Christ and to all the people of Maine, both within our walls and without.