Front Row/Back Row

A newsletter published by the Committee on Pastoral Development of the House of Bishops. It was originally called The Front Row. It began publication in Nov. 1979. It was started by the Rt. Rev. John Raymond Wyatt, the retired Bishop of Spokane. Wyatt wanted the newsletter to maintain contact among retired bishops after they stopped attending meetings of the House of Bishops. Shortly thereafter, his wife began enclosing her letter to the spouses of retired bishops. Wyatt called his letter The Front Row because bishops move forward in the House of Bishops so that the longest in membership sit on the first rows. Mrs. Wyatt called her letter The Back Row because spouses usually sit in the visitors' gallery at the rear of the house. The letter is now called Front Row/Back Row. For a while the letter was called Front and Back Row.