White smoke: Habemus episcopum!

The Rev. Dr. Michael Louis Vono, Rector of St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome, was elected on the third ballot to be the next Bishop of the Rio Grande.

Here are his "who I am" comments on the diocesan website (where you can also see the results of balloting):

I was born in Providence, RI, the second of four children in a close-knit family. I had a clear sense of vocation from an early age, and my sixteen years of seminary formation included Catholic, Protestant and Anglican theological training. I completed my doctoral degree in Congregational Studies in 1986. My spiritual gifts are pastoral care, community building, administration, preaching and evangelism.

As Curate in an inner-city multicultural church, I lived with people in crisis, transition, conflict, and confusion. I learned how to be a shepherd, counselor, and friend, as my parishioners struggled to recognize God in their personal wildernesses. My primary responsibility was to parish and local youth, mostly African and Spanish, as well as to newly married couples and the elderly, visiting hospitals and nursing homes. I came to understand how preaching the Gospel, the sacraments, pastoral care and building community effectively changed lives and inspired hope and faithfulness.

As its Vicar, the ‘bedroom community’ of Christ Church, Leicester taught me the value of living in a spiritually intimate community. I began to concentrate on congregational development, and studied at Hartford Theological Seminary. I learned that I had the pastoral gifts to bring an economic mix of people together, enable pastoral visioning and inspire positive results in conflict management situations. I learned how to be a priest, pastor and teacher at Christ Church. In my twelve years there I learned to appreciate the uniqueness of every relationship and love the complex diversities of the Body of Christ.

Now as Rector of St. Paul’s, Rome, I live and work with people of diverse cultures and religious backgrounds. My church is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, ecumenical and interfaith community. Our ministries include the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, a sizable Latin American community, service to the elderly poor of the city as well as displaced youth. At the center of our mission and witness is a profound ministry of radical hospitality.

My spiritual and physical disciplines include praying and studying Scripture/theology each morning and taking physical exercise each day. I meet with my spiritual director monthly, and make a monastic retreat each year. I love community gatherings, theatre, music, travel and writing, and nothing invigorates me more than a challenge.

I give thanks for his election and look forward to his leading this diocese into a new era of mission and ministry.

To you, O Father, all hearts are open; fill, we pray, the heart of this your servant whom you have chosen to be a bishop in your Church, with such love of you and of all the people, that he may feed and tend the flock of Christ, and exercise without reproach the high priesthood to which you have called him, serving before you day and night in the ministry of reconciliation, declaring pardon in your Name, offering the holy gifts, and wisely overseeing the life and work of the Church. In all things may he present before you the acceptable offering of a pure, and gentle, and holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and power and glory in the Church, now and for ever.

--From the ordination prayer for a bishop, BCP, 521.

--the BB

I ask your prayers

O Holy Spirit, by whose breath
life rises vibrant out of death:
Come to create, renew, inspire;
Come kindle in our hearts your fire.

You are the seeker's sure resource,
of burning love and living source,
Protector in the midst of strife,
Thou giver and the Lord of Life.

In you God's energy is shown,
to us your varied gifts made known.
Yours is the tongue and yours the ear.
Teach us to speak, teach us to hear.

Flood our dull senses with your light;
in mutual love our hearts unite.
Your power the whole creation fills;
confirm our weak, uncertain wills.

From inner strife grant us release;
turn nations to the ways of peace.
To fuller life your people bring
that as one body we may sing:

Praise to the Father, Christ the Word,
and to the Spirit: God the Lord,
to whom all honor, glory be
both now and for eternity.
--Attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856)
Hymn 502 in The Hymnal 1982

Following is the agenda for the Electing Convention, April 24, 2010 to be held at the Cathedral of St. John:

PROPOSED AGENDA
ELECTING CONVENTION
Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
Cathedral of St. John
Albuquerque, New Mexico
April 24, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

Noon – 7:00 p.m.

Convention Registration Opens (Cathedral Gallery)
Delegate certification, Distribution of badges

Saturday, April 24, 2010

7:00 a.m. Convention Registration Continues (Cathedral Gallery)
8:00 a.m. Convention Convenes with seating of delegates (Cathedral Nave)
Introduction and Explanations of procedures
Quorum Report
8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, beginning with Confession and Absolution (Cathedral Nave)
9:00 a.m. Liturgy of the Word (Cathedral Nave)
Collect and Prayer for discernment
First Ballot, followed by hymn
9:45 a.m. Report of First Ballot (Cathedral Nave)
Break/Prayerful Discerning Conversation
Reading of the First Lesson and Psalm
Prayer for discernment, Second Ballot
10:30 a.m. Report of Second Ballot (Cathedral Nave)
Break/ Prayerful Discerning Conversation
Reading of the Epistle and the Gospel
Prayer for discernment, Third Ballot
11:15 a.m. Report of the Third Ballot (Cathedral Nave)
Break/Prayerful Discerning Conversation
Nicene Creed and Prayers of the People
Prayer for discernment, Fourth Ballot
12:00 p.m. The Peace (Cathedral Nave)
Break for Lunch
1:00 p.m. Report of Fourth Ballot (Cathedral Nave)
Balloting Continues, as needed
The Holy Eucharist begins at the election of a Bishop.

The signing of acclamation documentation occurs during communion as electors come forward to receive communion.

May the grace and mercy of the Holy and Lifegiving Trinity descend upon the clergy and delegates of the Diocese of the Rio Grande as they prayerfully elect a new bishop. May God the Father, Wellspring of life and goodness, sustain and uphold them. May God the Son, Word and Wisdom, illumine them and draw their hearts together in charity. May God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful, purify their passions and turn their hearts to seeking the divine will. May their thoughts be of the reign of God, the mission of the Church, and the suffering world beloved of God and in need of Good News and healing. May the diocese love, support, and pray for the new bishop and may the next Bishop of the Rio Grande be attuned to the heart of God, the health of the Church, and the sanctification of all things. Amen.

--the BB

Veni, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita

One week from tomorrow the election for the next Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande will be held.

This was in the back of my mind as I listened to the following Epistle Wednesday evening. It is appointed as the second lesson for the feast of Henry Delany & Edward Demby (April 14).

1 Thessalonians 2.1-12
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

It occurred to me that it would be a wonderful thing if the DRG elected a bishop who might be described in the terms of this passage.

O God, whose incarnate Word, Jesus the Christ, is our Way, our Truth, and our Life: pour forth your gracious Spirit upon the electors of the Diocese of the Rio Grande that their minds and hearts may be attuned to your guiding presence and their wills united in service to the redemption and sanctification of all creation. Of your boundless mercy, grant us a bishop whose courage is grounded in you, who declares Good News, and in whom there is no deceit or impure motives or trickery; who speaks to please you; who does not flatter nor operate from greed. May our bishop be gentle, tenderly caring for your people, sharing his own self with us and holding us dear. Keep our bishop pure, upright, and blameless in conduct toward those who believe and those who do not. May he encourage us all in leading lives worthy of you, O God, and join you in calling us into your reign and your glory. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

--the BB

And the nominees are....

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande is pleased to announce five nominees for the 9th Bishop of the Diocese.

In alphabetical order the nominees are:

The Reverend Ellis Tucker Bowerfind, Rector
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia

The Reverend James R. Harlan, Rector
Church of the Ascension, Denver, Colorado

The Reverend Jedediah D. Holdorph II, Rector
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Medford, Oregon

The Reverend John S. Nieman, Rector
Holy Trinity Parish, Clemson, South Carolina

The Reverend Dr. Michael Louis Vono, Rector
St. Paul’s Within the Walls, Rome, Italy

I have glanced quickly at their shorter bios and will be offline for a while. I invite anyone who knows these gentlemen or knows of them to share any information that may be helpful to the discernment process. As one canonically resident in the Diocese of California, I may not vote in the episcopal election here but our collective future will be shaped by it.

May we listen to the Spirit and be guided to a good and godly bishop.

--the BB

Come, Holy Spirit

For the Standing Committee of the Diocese of the Rio Grande in session today as they prepare to announce the list of candidates for bishop, for the petition process thereafter, and for the Holy Spirit's guidance as we elect a new bishop in a few months.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--the BB

La semana pasada yo di un paseo

Last Saturday I took a walk I have long been wanting to take. In spite of midday summer heat I strolled across the Montaño Bridge, one of the newer links between the West Side and the rest of Albuquerque. It spans the Rio Grande (imagine Mimi calling it my "little river" - teehee) and is "the road to church" when I am attending the "mother parish" of St Michael and All Angels.
The first shot looks south, this one looks across the lanes of traffic toward the north.
I enjoyed watching a great egret wading at the edge.
Here it is again, moving in toward the bank and the shelter of shrubbery (avoiding the gawking guy with the camera, I believe).
Afternoon clouds over the Sandias on the east side of town. They rise somewhat abruptly another 5,000 feet - 1524m - above the city (which is itself at 5,000 feet elevation). My friends and I never tire of looking at these mountains in the changing light and atmosphere.

Flores pequeñas

The acequia (canal) running parallel to the river on the east (mountain) side

The road to church - it felt almost like Sunday morning only I was on foot.

Looking toward Los Volcanes in the west (contrast and exposure enhanced)

The acequia on the west side of the river


Well, that is the tour. I needed some fresh air, big sky, mountains, and local river time and thus treated myself to the same. It had rained so the water is roiled and colored by the reddish clay soil. I have always lived in arid climes and so my "inner" dirt to water ratio is rather high.

I now have a couple of photos up in my office here in New Orleans - one of the gate to my friend's house and one of the Sandias rising over a mass of cottonwoods. They are comforting.

Some new folks have arrived here and now carpool with me. I took them on a long ride home after work tonight, repeating much of the route I was taken on two weeks ago. It was a nice buffer between work and Friday night. We enjoyed the immense older trees, the architecture, the sloping green of the levee, people out and about doing what folks do on Friday evenings.
--the dirty BB

It's not the Mississippi

El Rio Grande

But it's the river flowing through my town.
--the BB

The real thing

Full Moon Rising over the Rio Grande
24 November 2007

Thanks to Anne-Marie and Sue we have a photo from Saturday's retreat. Heaps of gratitude to them.

Hau, Hanhepiwi!
--the BB

La luna è sorta - again

Last month's moon.

I joined a group in a going-into-winter retreat this afternoon. It involved a ritual trip to the river--the Rio Grande in this setting. We smudged one another, we walked, we had a four-direction prayer in Navajo, we walked, we read poems, we walked, we stood on the riverbank. We shared a litany, listened to haunting flute music, and we watched as the sun set, the shadows deepened, and eventually the full moon rose over the northern edge of the Sandias, reflecting in the waters of the Rio Grande. We returned (hastily, for we had pretty well all frozen our butts off), shared a meal, read the compline published here earlier, moved tables and chairs back where they normally belong, and headed our separate way. That's the prose version.

Given the snowfall yesterday afternoon, I was very grateful that today, though chilly, was a bright day, full of sunshine and a glorious clear blue sky with only a few clouds hovering around Sandia crest. The sage was heavenly, a restorative scent. We walked with cowbells of varying pitches ringing as we moved through the bosque. Cottonwood leaves mottled the ground, their pale shades of straw and pearl gray washed over with that coppery tint they acquire in the fall. Some still fluttered in the breeze overhead, bright against the azure sky. We passed bushes with branches of a rich color evocative of something between chestnut and cherry, rich red verticalities. Many were bare though a few still held a pastel mist the hue of pale pumpkin rind, though only lightly saturated.

As we neared the river that wonderful autumn afternoon light characteristic of this region gave things a golden wasj. By the time we reached the river and looked across to toward the east bank the trees there were bright with the low-angled sunlight, the water varying shades of blue gray, the Sandias toward the northeast majestic and snow-tipped. As the sun slid lower the bright golden tints faded and the grays and pale muted greens along the opposite bank became more prominent, shadows inching leftward (as we saw it). Eventually the trees lining the river had all settled into shadow and we watched the sunlight retreating up the slopes of the Sandias, tinging them pink, then lavender, then a misty indigo. By the time the sun no longer touched any part of the the earth we could see, the sky took on a rosy hue like some pink veil floating above the mountains.

The flute would play with duck calls. We watched a grebe hold its place amid the river, refusing to float downstream with the current. Small ripples roiled the surface of the Rio Grande as water flowed over vegetation and sandbanks. A new chattering interrupted the stillness of two dozen people waiting wordlessly. Cranes flew in from the southeast, reached the river, then turned north only to settle just upriver from us and near the opposite bank. Party central. More and more groups of cranes arrived, announcing their arrival and being answered by those waiting with the keg ready (or whatever cranes do on Saturday nights). And still more. There will be a wild time by the bosque tonight.

The world grew darker. And colder. I was thinking that with each passing minute our return path was becoming more obscure. We were all chilled. And then a small patch of ivory cream light appeared at the northern edge of the Sandia crest. It grew. It's reflection rippled in the water. The moon rose and she was glorious, radiant, majestic.

I have watched the moon rise in Albuquerque a number of times but never over the Rio Grande. A real treat.

We walked back in rather obscure light. To the southwest a golden gold glow still hovered, silhouetting the cottonwoods. Now and again we saw the moon, now a snow white orb risen higher, revealing herself when the trees thinned. Lovely. I should have sung the Phos hilaron as sunlight fled the riverbank but I sang it now.


Well, that's where I've been boys and girls. What have y'all been up to this weekend?
--the BB