Seek middle ground

At his installation on April 25 as eighth bishop of the Diocese of Fredericton, Bill Hockin urged the diocese to turn to the Bible while “avoiding the legalism of the fundamentalist and the skepticism of the liberal.”

Referring to Luke 24:13-33, he compared the encounter of the disciples with the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus with the reality of today’s church.

Bishop Hockin suggested that, like Good Friday for the disciples, what has happened to the organized church in recent decades is a necessary part of God’s plan.

“Prior to the 1960s, the church was married to the culture. Since then, there has been the pain of a divorce. Now, we have learned that we must engage the culture, but never marry it again.”

Bishop Hockin, 61, was elected in 1998 to succeed Bishop George Lemmon upon his retirement. He had served his entire ministry in his native Ontario before being appointed dean of Fredericton’s Christ Church Cathedral in 1996.