Assisting Bishop

The Rt. Rev. William C. Frey, retired Bishop of Guatemala and Colorado

Bishop Frey comes to our Diocese after a lengthy tour of service that includes having been Bishop of Guatemala from 1967 to 1972, Bishop of Colorado from 1972 to 1990, and Dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry from 1990 to 1996. The Bishop, and his wife of fifty-seven years, Barbara, retired to San Antonio in 1996. Since then, the Freys have conducted many retreats and conferences around this country and in Latin America, the Bishop has served as Interim Rector of a parish, and taught at a Church-owned Prep School, and has assisted the Bishops of Texas, Pittsburgh, and West Texas.

A note from our Assisting Bishop

A couple of years ago, at Convocation or some other gathering of diocesan leadership I told the story of my visiting a small West Indian congregation near the east coast of Costa Rica. It was the rainy season and water was pouring in from a leak in the thatched roof just over the altar.

I remarked to the Warden, “That’s a bad leak you’ve got there.” And he replied, "Oh yes, Father. When the bishop he gonna fix it?” I of course said, “The bishop he’s not going to fix it. That’s your responsibility.”

As we approach the election of our new bishop, I think it’s worthwhile to say a word about unrealistic expectations. The bishop’s not going to fix all our problems. A bishop’s crosier is not a magic wand. And the bishop is not some Super Hero from the comic strips.
Years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book, Life Together, warned people of the danger of comparing their imaginary ideal community with the real flesh and blood community in which they live. Fantasy always defeats reality. But, as a wonderful African bishop once told me, “God does not bless unrealities.” Let’s keep our hopes and expectations high, but let’s keep them realistic.

And let’s engage ourselves in a process where we earnestly seek God’s will – true spiritual discernment – rather than treating the process as a merely political endeavor.

+Bill Frey

Progress Report

Well, what does it look like after a year and a half? I began my tour as Assisting Bishop about eighteen months ago, and I have to say that it’s been a remarkable experience. I haven’t had a chance yet to visit every congregation in the Diocese, but I’ve covered lots of our geography. From Farmington to Alpine and Marfa, Gallup and Grants to Clovis and Portales, El Paso, Las Cruces, Silver City, La Union, Mesilla Park, Roswell, Hobbs, Los Lunas, Belen, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Taos, and Raton. Sort of reminds me of the old Geoff Mack song, “I’ve been everywhere, man.” I can’t sing it as well as Johnny Cash, but then bishops are not called to be singers.

Or are they? Don’t we all become singers when, in melody or monotone we proclaim the glory and the majesty of the Lord? And isn’t the resurrection of Jesus the song that God sang amidst the violence, the hopelessness, and despair of the Cross? And isn’t our witness to the world of that great fact our way of participating in the heavenly chorus?

This is an awkward way of confessing that I’m moved to do a lot of singing as I travel around and have the privilege of participating in the ongoing life of our diocesan family. We are, as I said at Convocation last year, a megachuch with a lot of scattered campuses. And though the character of the campuses varies a bit from town to town, I keep finding a core of committed people utterly dedicated to maintaining faithful witness to an authentic Anglican proclamation of the Gospel.

No doubt our Church has its problems, and for some reason they seem to get an inordinate amount of press. But I got a fresh perspective on problems a number of years ago from a TV reporter. She was interviewing me about some scandal or other, and at the conclusion of the interview confessed that she was a lapsed Christian and wondered if I could direct her to an Episcopal Church in her neighborhood. I was surprised by the request and said, “This is the third or fourth controversy you’ve interviewed me about in the past year or so. Why would you want to become one of us?” “Oh, Bishop,” she replied. “Those things are just signs of life!”

+William C. Frey
31 May 2009

Farewell Message

My dear friends,

I frequently send new bishops a copy of an old New Yorker cartoon that I think captures the essence how it feels to be a diocesan bishop. It pictures a single athlete in a small racing scull pulling on the oars. In the stern there are about a dozen other guys with megaphones shouting instructions.

My guess is that Michael Vono has already begun to have that experience! While we know better, we have a tendency to expect our bishops to be miracle workers. At the same time we expect them to follow our own personal agendas. In reality, there’s only one megaphone that really counts, and a faithful bishop must play to an audience of One.

Faithfulness to the living God, and to his agenda, will be uppermost in Michael’s mind as he assumes the mantle of leadership in this Diocese at the end of October.

Permit me to use another metaphor. In Spanish, a bishop’s ring is sometimes referred to as “la esposa del Obispo,” the bishop’s wife.

A bishop marries a diocese and together they form a family. As with other marriages there needs to be a time of adjustment as the spouses get to know each other better. My prayer is that this diocese will afford Michael an adequate honeymoon period before placing too many demands, spiritual or political, on him.

John the Baptizer once said of Jesus, “He must increase and I must decrease.’ I’m no John, and Michael Vono wouldn’t claim to be Jesus, but the phrase is apt as I wind down my ministry as Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of the Rio Grande.
Barbara and I have counted it a privilege to be allowed to serve you for the past two and a half years. And we will lay down our charge with gratitude and a firmly grounded hope for a glorious future in this Diocese during the months and years to come. God bless you all.

+Bill Frey