When I was a young priest, before the rapid and ubiquitous communication made possible by the internet, the clergy would receive a letter from the bishop once a month, except for August.
Each letter was a meditation on our theology, relationship with Jesus, and any number of other portions of our life within the covenant. It was a reminder that one of the charges of a bishop was to serve as an educator to the clergy and laity. This practice was a clear descendant from the letters of St. Paul and served the same purpose of keeping us united in perspective and pilgrimage, especially if dioceses were small in number of parishes, but huge in terms of square miles. The bishops of my first two dioceses were masters at these epistles.
This practice moved into devolution about eight years ago, when The Episcopal Church leadership decided that we would primarily be participants in transient secular ideology rather than a spiritual expression that is far older and more eternal than the politics of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and the weird mutant that is American Socialism.
These days all I ever receive from bishops are letters addressing the latest concern of the Democratic Party, awkwardly placed in a theological frame. I never receive a theological reflection that isn't in response to a political concern that is also expressed by the media, half of the politicians, and the entertainment industry.
It's a pity that contemporary bishops deliberately secularize and constrain a role that once could represent a deeply resonating vividity and the power capable of liberating and educating all people, not just those who vote a particular way in American elections.
As the role has diminished, so has the church.