From March 19-24, 22025, the House of Bishops gathered at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama, for its annual spring retreat. This year’s retreat focused on “discussions of witnessing to the Gospel amid today’s contentious political climate and The Episcopal Church’s future in a secular society.” Read the story on Episcopal News Service.
Among the many presentations – including the Rt. Rev. Robert Wright of Atlanta speaking on Christian nationalism, and Rebecca Blachly, The Episcopal Church’s chief of public policy and witness, presenting the latest updates on recent immigration actions – Seminary of the Southwest’s dean and president, Dr. Scott Bader-Saye, was asked to deliver a presentation entitled “Institutions and Hope.”
“It was an honor and a joy to be with the House of Bishops,” said Dean Bader-Saye. “There was a great spirit in the gathering and a sense that the week together had been valuable for everyone. I led the bishops through some theological reflection on the nature of institutions and the goods that come from attending to institutional health and strength. Institutions, at their best, are nests that uphold the central practices and shared goods of a community. The church is much more than an institution, but it is not less. Our careful institutional stewarding of traditions and goods helps us live into the hope of our mission. This has been a theme of Bishop Rowe’s tenure thus far, and I’m grateful to have been able to contribute to the conversation.”
It was the first time a seminary dean had addressed the House of Bishops formally in recent memory, and the presentation landed with the desired effect.
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Bishop of Indianapolis and vice chair of the House of Bishops, described Dean Bader-Saye’s reflection as “sitting in a seminary classroom.”
“There was so much depth to his presentation,” she said. “The way I might encapsulate it is that institutions are living, breathing things.”
Dean Bader-Saye was able to connect with several Bishops personally, including many sending bishops of current students (“I said great things about all of them!” shared Dean Bader-Saye) and the growing group of Southwest alumni bishops, including the recently ordained Rt. Rev. Angela Cortińas and the soon-to-be ordained Very Rev. Amy Meaux.
“Our alumni bishop cohort has grown a great deal in recent years,” said Dean Bader-Saye. “It is a testimony to the quality of leadership formation the seminary has built over the last two decades. I cannot wait to watch this new generation of leadership steward our church into the future.”
