Bishop Robinson inducts new rector in Tamworth [05/08/2004]

By Margo Mallar

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson reminded Rev. Heidi H. Frantz-Dale that both Moses and God got frustrated with the burdens of leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. Robinson presided over the induction of Frantz-Dale as rector of Saint Andrews-in-the-Valley on Thursday evening. "On the very night that Friends ends on television, Jesus in this evenings Gospel reading, said to his disciples I call you servants no longer. I call you friends,'" Robinson quipped, leading the congregation through a passage in the Book of Numbers from the Old Testament where Moses asks for help in leading the Israelites, who begin to talk longingly of the days of servitude back in Egypt. Theyve been wandering in the desert for 40 years and theyre none too happy. Manna, which seemed like such a blessing, now tasted like soggy cardboard, he said. They talked wistfully about the leeks, garlic, fish and onions that they knew in back in Egypt. So Moses says to God, These people are too heavy for me, said Robinson. God then appointed 70 leaders to assist Moses in leading the Israelites. When you are a leader there will be dissent. But the only way you can get your people closer to the Promised Land is to get them to leave the imagined comfort of the things they left behind in Bondage, he said. Moses frustrated plea for help was answered. God doesnt expect our prayers to be pretty but He expects them to be honest, said Robinson, adding, Think how frustrating it is for God. We need to listen for Gods complaint. God wants us to share his burden, to put us in touch with that essence of God which is to want to be with us and to comfort us. Bishop, whose appointment as bishop of the New Hampshire diocese split the Episcopal Church because he is openly gay, noted that the words of encouragement that St. Paul wrote to the Romans in the evenings Epistle, should not be understood as words of praise for the Early Church but proof that Early Christians had great disagreements. We wouldnt have most of the New Testament if people werent behaving so badly, he noted, urging the congregation and their new rector to be tender and forgiving of one anothers frustrations and missteps. We live in a country now where there are color codes for how anxious we ought to feel. When the color changes from yellow to orange we arent told what will happen or where or when or how. We are just told that we should be more anxious. Churches can be like that too. But the role of leadership is simply to hold the hands of the people though whatever wilderness they are in illness, the loss of a loved one and stick with them all the way to the Promised Land because God is with us, he said. Representatives of the congregation and clergy of the diocese offered Frantz-Dale gifts of welcome to the church before she pledged herself to the duties of her new ministry.