Farewell to Bishop Sisk - Episcopal Diocese of New York

Farewell to Bishop Sisk
As Bishop Sisk prepares to depart for his upstate farm,
he offers the ENY some final reflections.
ENY: Contributors to the tribute video shown at the Diocesan
Convention in November [http://vimeo.com/
edny/sisktribute] applauded the fact that throughout
your episcopacy you have steered a measured course
and kept the diocese together in a “time of schism.”
Is that how you would most like to be remembered?
The video made a pretty strong case that I’m identified
with having kept the flaps of the big tent wide enough to
help everyone stay, while none felt so threatened that they
felt they had to leave. I’m pleased about that—and it cer-
“One of the principal legacies of this bishop is his calm and steady
unflappable hand on the tiller of our diocesan ship. He came into his
office as diocesan almost coterminous with 9/11, three months later
the Cathedral caught fire, we had extraordinary tumult in the Anglican
Communion over the next decade, and then there was the financial
collapse in 2008, which in many ways changed the course of our
ministry for some time…”
Bishop Dietsche, speaking for the tribute video
(http://vimeo.com/edny/sisktribute)
“I would hope that I might be
remembered for my care for the people and
parishes of this diocese.”
tainly was one of my objectives. It was not so much a matter
of feeling, organizationally, that everyone needed to stay
put: Rather, it was and is my conviction that close to the
heart of the Episcopal Church there is an embracing spirit
that does welcome those who see themselves as being on
the “fringe” of things. So what I felt I was doing was not
inventing something new
but emphasizing and hold-
ing up a core value of our
tradition. This value of inclusiveness
is, of course,
strikingly at odds with
much of the current spirit
of our common life—but I
am convinced that in order
to survive as a civil society,
we need to rediscover the
common ground of respectful
compromise. None
Outside St. Paul’s Chapel on September 12, 2001. Hammering on the door of the Cathedral at his Installation.
“The one good thing I can say about beginning my time as
Diocesan Bishop at this time of crisis is that it has forced us to
recall and reclaim our fundamental purpose and hope as
children of the Risen Lord.” ENY September/October 2001
of us has all the truth. Only the very arrogant would declare
that they do.
But having said all that, I would in fact hope that I might
be remembered for something slightly different—that is,
in particular, for my care for the people and parishes of
this diocese. I have attempted to build a staff, and to develop
programs, that assist congregations in their work of
helping people come closer to God. And that is our purpose:
to move closer to God in love and service.
ENY: How would you describe the current state of
the diocese?
I am quite happy to say that through all the many trials
over this past decade and a half the diocese has remained
a healthy place. That is not to say that we haven’t faced,
or that we don’t still face, real challenges—but I think that
we can, as a community of faith, take pride as we look back
at all we have been through and say: “We survived this time.”
We have been privileged to worship Almighty God, as
well as carry out our ministry and witness during this time.
We can be more confident of our ability to withstand real
adversity for having had that experience. To be sure, these
years have left their scars, but they are scars of honor, earned
“ I am utterly convinced that the core of our lives as Christian people…
is marked by three different, signs, signs that not only identify us as
Christians but actively and fundamentally shape us as Christians. These
three signs are worship, nurture and mission.” ENY Jan/Feb 2002
4 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com