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[Episcopal News Service] The bells of Washington National Cathedral, silent since the Aug. 23 earthquake, rang out joyfully following the Nov. 12 consecration of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington's ninth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde.
And though black netting draped across the cathedral ceiling was testament to ongoing repair work, colored light from the stained glass windows filtered through, one of the many expressions of joy that greeted Budde as she took her place as Washington's first female diocesan bishop succeeding the Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane who served as the eighth bishop of Washington since June 2002.
Elected by the Diocese of Washington, D.C., on June 18, Budde, 52, previously served as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis. Members of that congregation were on hand to present her with vestments – symbols of her new office – during the traditional presentation of gifts.
The service began with drumming – honoring Budde's outreach to Native Americans – by the Southwest Eagle Dancers, who led the first of four processions. Then came music in Spanish – Alabaré, or I praise – a nod to her commitment to Latino ministry (she spent a month in Guatemala polishing her Spanish this summer); an anthem by Gary Davidson commissioned for the occasion, The True Shepherd; and the processional hymn, St. Patrick's Breastplate.
Readings (Ezekiel 34:11-16 and Ephesians 4:7 11-16) were given in Spanish and English and the Gospel acclamation was offered in Igbo, a language spoken in Nigeria, reflecting some of the diversity of the diocese.
Budde's husband, Paul, read Coleman's Bed, a poem by David Whyte. In a sometimes blunt-spoken sermon, the Rev. Linda M. Kaufman also quoted a portion of the poem:
"… Feel the way the cliff at your back Gives shelter to your outward view And then bring in from those horizons All discordant elements that seek a home…"
Asking Budde to stand, Kaufman said: "Mariann, you must find places where you can lean back. … Trust the cliff because its strength goes back. Its strength is the awesome power of God. … I know in the strength of the cliff and the silence you find there you will find the strength of God wrapping his arms around you."
Kaufman noted that chief among the gifts Budde brings to the diocese are her grounding in Christ and a deep understanding of how parishes thrive.
She spoke of what it means to be a shepherd – a recurring theme in the service – saying "the shepherd is required to feed the flock justice, no matter who it comforts and who it bothers."
She also spoke of the deep love of Jesus – "the invitation from Jesus is always love" – and of the centrality of forgiveness to the faith, as set out at the beginning of the Nicene Creed.
"Forgiveness is not some little appendage to our faith," she said. "It is in the top three things we believe in. Forgiveness is central to our faith and don't you forget it."
Dressed in a simple white robe, Budde stood before Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the chief consecrator, to be examined.
"With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the church throughout the world," Jefferts Schori said. "Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Asked by the presiding bishop if she was persuaded that God had called her to the office of bishop, Budde said: "I am so persuaded."
Following a recitation of the Nicene Creed, Jefferts Schori and the co-consecrating bishops gathered around Budde, laid their hands on her and prayed over her. (Co-consecrating bishops were Chane; Mark Beckwith of Newark; Brian N. Prior of Minnesota; Eugene Sutton of Maryland; Jane Holmes Dixon, retired bishop suffragan of Washington; Mary Glasspool, suffragan bishop of Los Angeles; Arthur Williams, retired bishop of Ohio; Richard H. Graham of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Douglas H. Kleintop of the Northern Province of the Moravian church in North America.)
Budde was presented with a Book of Common Prayer and with vestments – a chasuble, stole and miter – a pectoral cross and ring. These were placed on her by her immediate family, sons Amos and Patrick and husband, Paul. Retiring Bishop Chane presented the crosier (shepherd's staff) of the Diocese of Washington, and the presiding bishop presented a Bible.
Then, resplendent in her [Howdy Doody] robes, Budde was presented to the congregation to tumultuous applause.
"It is my great honor and joy to welcome you to your cathedral," the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope, vicar of Washington National Cathedral, said to the new bishop. And to those gathered: "Welcome back!" In her first blog post as bishop, Budde wrote on Nov. 12: "Thank you for your warm welcome, countless acts of kindness, and heartfelt prayers. Thank you to all who have worked so hard to ensure a smooth transition for the diocese. Thank you for gathering to praise God and rededicate ourselves to the mission of Christ, and for all who have worked so hard to make today’s worship an occasion of beauty and grace. I am blessed to be your bishop."
The Diocese of Washington is composed of congregations in the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's.
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Now read the Washington Post version. But please, do not drink liquids near the keyboard.
Washington National Cathedral: the Problem-Ridden Consecration of Mariann Budde
by Sarah Frances Ives Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org November 12, 2011
The first service at the Washington National Cathedral following the August 23, 2011, earthquake was a cacophony of odd errors and uncomfortable mistakes. The many problems created a service who as one participant said "was not up to Episcopal standards." That statement puts it mildly with misspoken words, a malfunctioning pipe organ, poorly practiced musical groups, squealing microphones and a flustered Mariann Edgar Budde.
The service focused on bringing together many diverse musical elements with the opening processional done by a three-man group of Native Americans called Southwest Eagle Dancers. The lengthy constant drumming and chanting created a distinct tension as listeners wondered what religious tradition they were from. Clergy processed in to the syncopated drums and no singing.
Before the Episcopal Church bishops and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori walked in, the sounds of the pipe organ began the introduction and first verse of "I bind unto myself today." After the second verse, the organ dropped out and the singing stopped and an eerie silence filled the Cathedral only relieved by the sound of walking feet. Everyone began to look at each other as the silence grew to over one minute. The organ started with verse three, played about four measures and abruptly broke off. Another long and uncomfortable silence began during which time the bishops continued their tense procession for another two minutes. Then the next sound heard to the congregation with its many empty seats was a tinny, electric keyboard. The hymn finished with this bizarre musical accompaniment that was too quiet for the hymn. Everyone was murmuring in speculation about what happened but no answers were given.
Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori began the service with the declarations of the election of Budde (who was ordained by John Shelby Spong.) During the Litany for Ordination, the prayer was being read "For Katharine, our presiding Bishop, and for all bishops, priests, and deacons that they may be filled with your love..." when something seemed to fall upon the pipe organ keys hitting simultaneously about three octaves of notes, creating a tremendously large sound of dissonance, overwhelming all spoken words and creating a sound like something from a horror movie. Everyone quickly stopped speaking and looked at one another aghast. A woman sitting in the row behind me said, "What is the Spirit doing?"
The service continued with the disruptive pattern of first a paragraph or two in English and then in Spanish, with this constant change throughout the service hindering any focusing on worship and the meaning of the day.
But the service became more and more confused. Dr. Paul Budde, husband to Mariann, read a long poem called "Coleman's Bed" by David Whyte, not an accessible poem that seemed entirely out of place in a liturgical service. One line reads, "Ghost then, to where others, in this place, have come before, under the hazel, by the ruined chapel, below the cave where Coleman slept." What was this? The only connection seemed to be odd ruins with the mangled liturgy at this point in a Cathedral whose entire ceiling was covered by netting in case more things dropped down on the congregation.
But wait, the worst was still yet to come. The Rev. Linda Kaufman, a close friend of Mariann, gave the sermon. Kaufman started off with a reference to her own "beautiful and elegant wife" and the advice she had received about this sermon. This preacher went to describe Mariann in seminary as rich, thin, very liberal and driving a Volvo. Kaufman went on to make jokes about her weight and described herself several times as "fat" and she was surprised that the thin Mariann would be her friend. To make jokes about fat people was inappropriate to the maximum but Kaufman did this several times. Instead of the scriptures, Kaufman preached about the poem and told Mariann in a loudly yelling voice "to be hospitable, even to the stranger to you." She offered no ideas about what this meant and left the image hanging out there of the wealthy Mariann Budde having an easy financial time of life. And this was Budde's friend?
But the service continued with Jefferts Schori reading the liturgy in a long, low monotone. Everything went very slowly. During the actual consecration, "Therefore, Father, make Mariann a bishop in your church" the pipe organ decided to make more unexpected dissonant sounds, though these notes were quieter but still noticeable.
Following the consecration the newly consecrated Budde stood up to applause dressed in her new orange, purple and blue vestments. She was asked to speak and in a shaky voice gave a testimony to the great work of "John and Karen Dixon" apparently mixing together the names of Bishop John Bryson Chane and Bishop Jane Dixon.
Everyone in the congregation waited for someone from the House of Bishops to help her but they did not. Finally after a minute of this extremely shocking mistake, members of the congregation yelled out to Budde that she had her names wrong. She stopped and finally understood what was said but embarrassment reigned everywhere. She had recently dismissed Chane as Interim Dean of the Cathedral and it is widely believed that Jane Dixon organized to help Budde win the election.
So who did she want to thank in her heart? Probably Jane Dixon. Budde said, "I should probably stop now." After this mistake, Budde faded away and went to sit down for the offertory. She sat down next to Jefferts Schori and talked throughout the offertory with the Presiding Bishop (who seemed through her body language to be trying to discourage Budde's continued private loquaciousness). But Budde continued and the congregation tried to recover from the failed tribute to John Chane, who looked shaken by this.
Even after all of this, none of the rest of the service went well with the liturgy continuing as a few words in English, a few words in Spanish. This pattern successfully added to the already broken and confused environment. The communion music between singers and a piano pulled apart several times, and the microphones squealed throughout the service.
The receptions were poorly attended. What was there to celebrate after this long day of mistakes, gaffes, dissonant organ interventions and a group of noticeably discomposed group of Episcopal bishops?
Who knows what will happen next at the Washington National Cathedral? Stay tuned.
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Sarah Frances Ives is a frequent contributor to Virtueonline
