FINAL CELEBRATION REV. JOHN BUENZ RETIRES AS DEAN OF ST. JOHN'S

The Very Rev. John Buenz, his face flushed, hands clutching a wadded tissue, proceeded down the aisle of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for the last time Sunday morning.

Episcopalians stood in their huge stone cathedral and sang, "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name," as tears trickled down their faces.

"He has just had a profound effect on so many people," says Nancy Goodspeed, a member of the South Hill congregation, who wept as Buenz, 64, officially retired as dean Sunday.

In the Inland Northwest, where many people don't belong to any church, and in a time when the influence of old mainline churches is declining, Buenz managed to bring growth and vitality to St. John's.

"He's leaving on a very high point in his life professionally and in the life of the congregation," says senior warden Tim Williams.

Since Buenz's arrival in 1986, average Sunday attendance has increased from 284 people to 358. The church's budget has swelled from $377,000 to $537,000 per year.

But it was Buenz's rare combination of warmth, strong leadership and keen intellect that meant most to the congregation and staff he leaves behind.

Parishioners say that when they took communion from Buenz, they never got the feeling they were in the drive-through lane. He looked each person in the eye, often called them by name, and performed a ritual which felt both real and sacred.

A former architectural engineer, Buenz has helped preserve the Gothic landmark, 127 E. 12th Ave. The building attracts 7,000 to 8,000 visitors every year, including an occasional bridal couple who drop by, after a wedding at another church, to have their photos taken in front of the St. John's altar.

Buenz helped establish an endowment fund, and he recently announced a $1 million gift from the dissolving Leuthold Foundation, which will help maintain the building for years to come.

Ten years ago, he brought new warmth with his wide grins and south Texas accent. On Sunday mornings, he frequently greeted people outside on the street.

"The church is among the really civilizing forces in a world now that has become increasingly uncivil, angry and contentious," he says.

In many churches, contention breeds from within. A tense relationship can form between a strong predecessor and a current leader.

Not at St. John's. The Very Rev. Richard Coombs, who served as dean for 29-1/2 years, says, "If they'd made me chairman of the committee to choose my successor, I'd have chosen John Buenz. He's been a very good friend."

One of the great disappointments of Buenz's tenure was the loss of several active families who left to form a more conservative church.

Yet even Spokane attorney Shaun Cross, who was among that group, says the disagreement occurred without acrimony.

"John Buenz is a very, very nice man," Cross says. "You can't say enough about him as an individual. He's a fine person, a very caring person, and very pastoral."

On his last morning in his office on Friday, Buenz fielded a call from a transient woman seeking a bus ticket to Key West, Fla. He had a sermon to write, and goodbyes to say, but he climbed in his 1979 BMW and rushed to the stranger's aid.

The core of Buenz's theology, he says, is this: "The Christ who was present in Jesus continues to be present in other people in other times and in other places throughout history."

It's in experiencing the Christ in other people, and within oneself that brings life meaning, Buenz believes. Behaving like Christ entails truth-telling, giving real care and attention to other people, confronting difficult issues, and expressing compassion for the poor and the outcast.

According to his friends, that's also Buenz's morning "to-do" list.

Here's what Episcopal Bishop Frank Terry admires most: "John is just a straight-shooter. He doesn't play games. He speaks the truth and you know where you are with him. John is a dedicated, hard worker. He sees things through."

The Rev. Ernest Mason, a 90-year-old canon at the cathedral, says, "He was, by temperament, a CEO. This was the sort of thing which the cathedral needed."

Buenz was an administrator with an engineer's methodical mind; an eloquent preacher who relied on a burst of Saturday morning creativity to craft his sermons; a pastor who wore a Darth Vader mask for cathedral Halloween parties.

He loves old BMWs and owns three. He watches "The McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" on PBS religiously. He and his wife, Marilyn, attend countless films at The Magic Lantern. A recent favorite: "Richard III."

The couple will move back to Northern California, where they will live closer to their daughters, and where Buenz will serve as chaplain of his former seminary.

Buenz senses that some people envy his move. "Spokane has a strange inferiority complex about itself that I've never understood," he says.

He describes the relationships he leaves behind at the cathedral, and tears tumble down his cheeks.

"If you have really significant experiences with people, and then you have to discontinue them, that's hard to do," he says softly.

Copyright 1996 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.