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By Diane Ney
Washington Window
Vol. 73, No. 12, December 2005
The Rev. William Barnwell recently began work as Washington National Cathedral's new canon missioner. Here, he speaks with writer Diane Ney about his work.
As canon missioner, you're something of a link between the cathedral and the diocese, aren't you?
I hope to be. The dean and the bishop are both very interested in the cathedral and the diocese working together on many projects. I'm fully committed to that.
Would you describe some of those projects?
Well, there's the Disciples of Christ in Community. This is a Christian formation program that focuses on building community in the larger church, but we go about that by emphasizing community building in small groups. The program, which begins Jan. 10, will involve lectures by Dean Lloyd lasting about 50 minutes, after which participants will divide up into small groups and respond to how the content of the lectures relates to their own lives. And the hope is that over a period of 18 weeks this community in Christ will develop so that the participants are then positioned to offer lay leadership to the larger church.
Here at the cathedral, or in the greater community?
Both. There'll be some people who'll want to stay and become part of an ongoing community at the cathedral, but we hope that others will join other diocesan churches and make that church their home. Members of St. Alban's and St. Columba's parishes are participating in this first session. If the program works then they can take it back to their churches. And the next time we offer DOCC, I hope next fall, we'll invite other churches to take part.
Is the idea to discuss beliefs?
The focus is not doctrine at DOCC, it's relationships - how we receive the love of God directly through other people, how we struggle with faith and relationships in our own lives. We're very careful to say this isn't therapy. We hope it's creating what St. Paul talks about in Romans, that people of the church are those who "rejoice with those who rejoice and stand with those who grieve." Well, we can do that in God. And this community that we hope will form will be in a much better position to do outreach in the larger community and pursue justice-seeking efforts there.
What do you mean by justice-seeking efforts?
Well, like WIN, Washington Interfaith Network, a broad-based coalition driven by faith communities that the bishop and at least three of our churches - St. John's Lafayette Square, St. Alban's and St. Columba's - are very supportive of. There are two big efforts in the DC area that WIN has chosen to work on: affordable housing and better public schools.
So, you're talking about social and economic justice.
That's right. Wearing my canon missioner hat, there are two special jobs that I have. One is to develop and support outreach programs that serve individuals and support direct service programs like Communities in Schools, a national program just starting in Washington. The other part of my job is to support efforts which are trying for systemic change, like making more funds available for affordable housing. That's the kind of public advocacy role I want to be part of. Not so much as an individual, but working with diocesan churches and the cathedral leadership.
Historically, there have been deep racial and economic divides in this area. What do you hope to do in that regard?
There are large separations geographically and economically, but in my short time here I've found that people on both sides of Rock Creek Park really want to develop relationships. And it's not rocket science when we say that if we want to bring the races together we need to start visiting back and forth and getting to know each other. There is a lot of very strong African American leadership among Episcopalians in this diocese. So, I've been going out and calling on people in the community churches and other groups and beginning to develop these relationships. I'm interested in us not just bringing people to the hill but that we get off the hill and worship in other churches and meet at those churches when we develop programs together.
Besides Communities in Schools, there's another education program you're spearheading.
Education for Excellence, which will start this summer. It's designed for seventh and eighth graders, to give these young people very strong, enjoyable academic experiences. Three classes in the morning and a camp-like experience in the afternoon - athletics, recreational trips, cookouts, things like that. We're hoping, once we get it rolling, that other churches may start their own Education for Excellence program.
It seems your idea is to plant the seed here, get it going, and then spread out to other churches in the diocese.
However we can make it work. Just yesterday, Dr. Marilyn Brown, the former director of Cathedral Scholars, took me to meet Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, whose parish, Metropolitan Baptist Church, is one of the largest black churches in the District. They have this great program - a free health service using doctors and nurses from their congregation as volunteers. I'm looking at ways the cathedral and the diocese can be involved in that. Again, it's not rocket science, it's just a way for people to come together and get things done.
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