The Rev. R. Stanley Runnels
Click here for résumé
Video from the Nominee Walk-about on March 20, 2012
at St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church, Franklin Park
Ordained:
February 2, 1984, Diocese of Mississippi
Currently:
Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church & Day School, Kansas City, Missouri, serving since 2006; age 59
A Word of Introduction from the Rev. Stan Runnels:
Growing up with a father in the U.S. Army, I lived in Europe for many years until returning to our native state, Mississippi, during my senior year of high school. My post-college years included graduate work in immunopathology, oil field work, antique restoration, and drug/alcohol counseling. However, after several years of discernment, on February 16, 1980 I was accepted as a postulant for Holy Orders and married the same day.
I have served six congregations, with memberships as few as 10 to nearly 800. In almost every place, I have worked to restore broken relationships in the parish history. My ministry spans the challenges of being a volunteer chaplain to Mississippi’s death row to the joy of working with the children of the day schools operated by two of my parishes and a diocesan summer camp.
I believe strongly in the notion of lived faith/lived baptism and seeking to be the Body of Christ in mission and ministry in the world. I believe the church must fling open wide the doors of our churches, unafraid and non-judgmental. We must be prepared to receive the amazing diversity of people who will walk in if we offer places of hospitality, safety, grace, love, and the Gospel as it is revealed to us. I believe in the essential need of collegiality and collaboration in church governance.
At St. Paul’s, I have been instrumental in developing an interfaith Habitat project, bringing a Sudanese Episcopal Congregation into our parish as a mission, and supporting the lay leadership in developing and expanding several food ministries to our own neighborhood as well as for an elementary school we operate in Haiti.
Other Church Service:
Diocesan Camp & Conference Center Board and camp leader; Diocesan Standing Committee (Mississippi and West Missouri); three-time deputy to General Convention, Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church; Title IV Revision Committee and Title IV consultant in several dioceses; Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, term to begin 2012.
Education:
Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, Merrill Fellow, 2002
Trinity Wall Street Clergy Leadership Project, 1996-1999
University of the South, Sewanee, M.Div., 1983
Millsaps College, Bachelor of Science, 1974
Family:
Married 32 years to Mary-Guyton Holley Runnels, an Occupational Therapist/CHT; three adult children.
Hobbies & Interests:
Bicycling, including leading my parish team in the 2011 Tour de BBQ, a Kansas City LiveStrong charitable event; gardening and deer hunting.
Answers to Questions Asked of All Nominees
1. Why do you feel called to be the Eighth Bishop Diocesan of Pittsburgh and what experiences equip you for this call?
I presented myself for consideration as the Eighth Bishop of Pittsburgh because I felt God called me into this process and relationship with the people and clergy of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. About a year ago, as I reviewed my vocation and ministry, the Diocese of Pittsburgh came to my attention. Well aware of the events leading to the difficulties in the diocese, I became interested in how Pittsburgh was moving forward and in the importance of the coming election of the next bishop to the future of the diocese. I began to imagine the qualities and vision needed by the next bishop.
I expected the next bishop to need to spend extraordinary amounts of time with the people and clergy, listening to them, understanding their frustrations and concerns, celebrating their joys and successes, proclaiming and living the Gospel, and doing ministry with them. The next bishop must be out and about in the diocese, not an administrator in the diocesan office. I thought this to be a very creative and exciting prospect for the next bishop.
I imagined the need of the next bishop to challenge the people of the diocese to embrace continually their baptismal covenant, looking forward boldly as they once again reclaim their full vocation as the Body of Christ unencumbered by the pain and sorrows of the recent past. I imagined the bishop and people, energized by the Holy Spirit, reclaiming the joy of their faith and the unlimited possibilities of their ministry. This next bishop, I thought, will have the good fortune to be a part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as it reclaims its unique mission and ministry as a voice of God’s justice, mercy, grace, and love. An amazing prospect, I thought.
The ministry of hospitality stood out to me as an important ministry of the bishop and congregations as they collaborate to reveal their unique, sacramental perspective of the good news of Jesus to the broader community, churched or un-churched. The bishop, I thought, should encourage congregations to welcome, unconditionally and without judgment, all who are seeking to discover the will of God in their lives. Incredibly exciting, I thought.
Finally, I considered the healing and reconciliation still needed by many in the diocese. The recent history of the Diocese of Pittsburgh represents experiences the people and bishop must engage constructively and hopefully. While there may yet be details to complete, it will be necessary for the bishop to work with the clergy and people of the diocese to discover God’s healing balm for this time and to move forward confidently. This will be, I thought, a pastoral challenge well worth the best efforts of the people, clergy, and bishop.
Slowly my reflections resolved into a realization of God beckoning me to enter into the narrative of the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s search for its next bishop. At first, I resisted. Yet, the possibilities and potential I recognized in the future of the Diocese of Pittsburgh captivated me. The possibilities for a model of episcopate based upon a missionary presence, instead of an administrative presence, energized me. The power of the baptismal covenant to lead the diocese out of its pain and into joy and celebration excited me. The ministry of hospitality and openness as a pathway to healing and reconciliation filled me with hope. After extended prayer and consultation with mentors and colleagues, I grew more confident in the idea of God calling me to enter this discernment process with the diocese. In time, I discovered the ideas intriguing to me were of similar interest to the people of the diocese as they described their visions and hopes in the published diocesan profile. Likewise, my conversations with members of the Nominating Committee affirmed the same thing. I go forward with you in this process confident we share a common vision of God’s future for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In twenty-nine years of parish ministry, God has challenged me in an amazing variety of ways. Each step of the way, I have found God’s preparation of me to be sufficient. In this instance, God eased me slowly into a new idea and a new direction for my vocation and ministry. I am confident of God’s continued support if I am chosen for this challenging opportunity of ministry and service. Working with the clergy and people of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as colleagues in mission and ministry is an exciting prospect I look forward to exploring with you.
2. The Diocese of Pittsburgh is significantly smaller than it was in 2008. Given that we now have 32 participating congregations, a) how would you foster growth in the ministry, stewardship and membership of our parishes, and b) what do you see as the best way to approach our diocesan organizational structure?
Growth is the result of good practices. Consequently, my efforts as bishop would be to explore the practices of each congregation in the areas of ministry, stewardship, evangelism, etc. I would engage in conversations with each parish in the diocese in order to understand who they are, what is important to each in ministry and mission, and how, as a community, they incarnate the baptismal covenant. My questions would be specific, seeking to understand: 1) How the people live the baptismal covenant? How this is reflected in the life and activities of the congregation? 2) How the congregation talks about stewardship? How the congregation budgets its resources? 3) How it welcomes people? What barriers it allows to discourage people from visiting or returning? How it incorporates new people? Each congregation, in consultation with the bishop, would establish unique and measurable benchmarks considering specifically a) what it does well, b) what it needs to improve, and c) what it wants to change. Going forward, a part of the continuing relationship between each congregation and the bishop would be an ongoing evaluation of progress on its unique plan. This same process would be instituted at the diocesan level as well.
The organizational structure of the diocese should be lean, energized, and committed. The office core group would be the Bishop, Canon to the Ordinary, Executive Assistant, and Administrator/Finance Director. Full-time employment for the core staff would be most effective, but, in the near term, part-time may be a financial necessity. As to the broader diocesan structures, we would continue current structures until the bishop, in consultation and conversation with the diocesan leadership and broader diocesan community, understands the shared imagination and vision for mission, ministries, and activities of the diocese. Studying the diocesan strategic plan currently being developed will be an important part of the bishop’s learning curve in this area. A distinction between operational structure and ministry structure would have to be made. Canonically-required structures would be maintained appropriately. The most fluid component would be the ministry structures of the diocese. These structures must reflect the dynamic commitment of the diocese to serving the active missions and ministries to which God calls and challenges the people of the diocese. Each component part of the ministry structure must be able to describe and illustrate how it serves the people and congregations of the diocese as they, uniquely and collectively, seek to proclaim the Gospel. As bishop, my ongoing questions for every structural component of the diocese would be: 1) How are you serving God? 2) How are you serving the people of God? 3) How are you living the Gospel in the world? 4) How effectively are you doing what you do? 5) How well are your resources managed?
3. What challenges facing the Church today energize you and, as our bishop, how would you lead us to respond to them?
A historic strength of the Episcopal Church has always been its capacity to be a place where many could gather at the altar of God and be the Body Christ despite broad differences of theology, ecclesiology, worship styles, and even politics. Sadly, the modern obsession (sacred and secular) with conformity and absolute allegiances threatens this vision of the Church as a safe haven for all people, no matter our differences, who are seeking to discover God in their lives. Instead, churches are often perceived as places existing to welcome only those who already agree with predetermined conceptions of truth. As bishop, I will work diligently to affirm the vision of church as a place welcoming and accepting of all God’s people, embracing each as a unique and wonderful creation of God, people with whom we have much in common and from whom we have much to learn. I will endeavor to encourage acceptance and grace, challenging us to be loving of one another just as Jesus challenges us in the Gospel.
I believe Christian churches today operate in large part out of fear and anxiety, fear of doing or thinking or believing the wrong thing, and all the anxiety that derives from the fear… “I am not afraid; I am not anxious.” The Gospel I know is liberation; it is freedom. “Love God and love others” is not complicated; “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” is not cryptic; “when you have served the least, you have served me” is amazingly direct. I am energized by the freedom God offers. It fills me with joy and opens me to the unlimited majesty of the God of Creation. I stand before God in awe, not fear or anxiety. Sinner though I may be, I know the grace and love of God, and I want to do all in my power to turn paralyzing fear and anxiousness into the liberating awe of God. I serve, standing in awe before the majesty of the God of Creation, the God of the Incarnation, the God of the Crucifixion, the God of the Resurrection, the God of Salvation. This is who I am and it is who I will be if elected to be your bishop.
Growth — Our Episcopal Church appears to be growing smaller with every passing day. Papers have been written, conferences held, debates argued. As parishes, it is easy to find comfort in reports of challenging cultural changes, demographic shifts, and social theories that “explain” this shrinkage. However, as I sit in my office and ponder the world around me, I ask, “How much are we really doing to be a welcoming place?” To be sure, when people like us show up, we usually do a decent job of welcoming them; but when someone different, whether outcast or stranger, appears in our midst, how well do we really do? Our world is changing, the demographics of our neighborhoods are changing, and our society is changing. In conversations with young people and those of other races, cultures, and traditions, what I hear most often is, “I didn’t feel welcome.” How sad. Our Episcopal parishes should be leading the way as places of open, welcoming hospitality to all people. Our theology, doctrine, and liturgy are among the most inclusive and welcoming in all of Christendom. How sad any would say, “I didn’t feel welcome” as they leave an Episcopal parish. I believe strongly in the mandate of radical hospitality modeled by Jesus in the Bible and believe our congregations must do more to be open and welcoming to all people.
I believe strongly in bringing the youth and young adults of our congregation into active participation in the life of the church. In my current parish, we have licensed Lay Eucharistic Ministers as young as 16, we have active youth and young adult lectors, we designate half the slots of our Annual Convention delegation for young adults, and we have young adults on the vestry. We have made it a priority to include young adults in leadership in all areas of our parish activities and functions. As bishop, I will do all I can to encourage and expand the role and function of the youth and young adults in the life of the diocese and her congregations.
4. How might you respond if a person who was not a Christian approached you and said, “Why would I want to be a Christian?”
My recent encounters, particularly with those of only marginal or no knowledge of the Christian narrative, lead me to conclude relevance precedes conversion. Thus, the biblical model of encountering someone, opening the Scriptures to them, and then climbing down from the chariot to baptize them in a small pool by the side of the road, may not be normative today. Instead, what I find are hidden questions — “Why should I be a Christian?” is usually, “Why is this faith stuff relevant anyway?”; “What do religious people do that matters?”; “I am spiritual, not religious, so what’s it to you?”; “Christian, really, you guys can’t even get along with each other.” I can be offended by these challenges or I can challenge right back by showing them what the faith community does to make a difference in the world, showing them why the life of Jesus matters… ah, assuming we do indeed do something that matters in the world. Most external critique of modern Christianity arises from either our amazing capacity for navel-gazing, rendering us precious and pointless to the casual observer, or our ability to engage in internecine dogmatic battles royal, presuming outside onlookers care. My response to this hypothetical person seeking faith, “Why would I want to be a Christian,” will be to invite him/her to join me for worship and the sacrament at a local parish, to feel the grace-filled hospitality of the parish, and to discover God present in the service ministries of the community. My response will be an invitation to join the parish community in the work of the faithful — feeding the hungry, standing for justice, advocating for the poor, the oppressed, the widowed, and the orphaned. My response will be to do all I can do to be the Body of Christ, present and vulnerable, to this person searching for God. My response to this inquirer will be encouragement to continue in worship, prayer, and service and, in time, when they are ready, to receive the gift of new life in the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
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