Bishop talks his way into book

By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard was a little embarrassed.

When H. Carl McCall received an honorary degree from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, the Bishop recounted, the honoree boasted to the graduates that to get his degree, "all I had to do was show up today."

"That's the way I feel," Bishop Hubbard explained with a smile. "This is the third book I've had published, and none of them was ever intended to become a book."

Talks to print

"Them" refers to various speeches the Bishop has given in the past few years that were later published as books. His most recent one, "Fulfilling the Vision: Collaborative Ministry in the Parish," came from a 1996 keynote address to the National Conference of Pastoral Planning and Council Development. Bishop Hubbard has served as episcopal moderator for the group for 15 years.

The Bishop said the book was really written by the people of the Albany Diocese, whose work in the area of collaborative ministry gave him the inspiration for his talk.

"I had no intention of writing a book," he stated. "This was an opportunity to reflect upon my own experience as a bishop and priest, and to articulate the insights of those doing this ministry on a daily basis."

Working together

"Fulfilling the Mission" focuses on implementing the kind of collaboration among parishes envisioned during the Second Vatican Council. The Bishop speaks of the struggle to restructure parishes, the changing roles of religious and lay ministers, and his positive outlook on the Church's future.

While he believes that parishes would eventually have begun working together regardless of the clergy shortage, the Bishop said that necessity can be the mother of invention.

"The Second Vatican Council gave us the theology for collaborative ministry," he explained. "Without the insights of the Council, we couldn't move in this direction. Ultimately, that vision would have become a reality in the Church; but I think it was hastened by the decline in vocations. I wonder if, in a certain sense, the shortage is a way in which the Holy Spirit has prompted us to move in this direction."

Future vision

Lay ministry alone is not the answer to the Church's challenges, he added. "I don't care how many lay ministers we have," he said; "ordained and vowed ministers are essential for the life of the Church."

After working on the diocesan Pastoral Planning process, Bishop Hubbard believes that parishes are looking more toward a vision of collaboration.

He said that planning for their futures "has given people the confidence that they can do this," and named Spring Enrichment (see page 1) as a good example of giving laypersons the skills they need to continue the mission of the Church.

Signing session

The Bishop has two previous books: "Always His People," taken from talks given during the 1978 television series; and "I am Bread Broken: A Spirituality for the Catechist," from a 1995 address to the East Coast Conference for Religious Education in Washington, D.C.

At a recent book-signing at Spring Enrichment, several participants were quick to compliment the Bishop's literary skills.

"His presentations are always so clear and so spirit-filled," said Martie Meadows of St. Mary's parish in Oneonta.

Bishop Hubbard joked that while he has no more books planned, one never knows what the future holds. Having publishers ask to put his talks into book form is "an easy way to write a book!" he said. "It's a matter of tailoring a verbal presentation. I never thought I had a book in me."

(To order "Fulfilling the Vision: Collaborative Ministry in the Parish," call 453-6661. The cost is $9.95.)

(05-14-98) [[In-content Ad]]