General Convention 2006

A Prophet Honored in her own Country?

2006-08-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

From the Nevada Appeal:

"Come November, the nation's first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal church will put Nevada in the spotlight and herself in a familiar territory - on the fringe of a turbulent world.

"Katharine Jefferts Schori, the current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, knows the challenges of sitting in a male-dominated post that represents 110 dioceses across the nation and works with 300 bishops...

"After about two decades of service, she was elected to the highest post of the church in June, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. The position will also serve as a U.S. diplomat to the international Christian community..."

Lydia's note: This is another example of the inflation of ++KJS's experience. Unless each year of the episcopate pays medallion miles..er, bonus years, then I don't consider twelve years as "about two decades." Even with three years of seminary, we're only talking about 15 years. Maybe they're figuring that she was ordained in the 1990s and now we're in 'the 2000s' -- that's two decades...

Read the rest here.

One more bit from this article. ++KJS, speaking on ECUSA's approach to birth control, sexuality, and divorce, notes that "We're more flexible than the Catholic church." The author of this article then makes a stunning observation: "The irony is, Catholicism was part of the Episcopal Church before a split in the 1500s."

Talk about getting the cart before the horse. The Roman Catholic Church as a part of the Episcopal Church before the Reformation/Schism? More on this from Doug LeBlanc.

We Did Remember to Check Her References, Didn't We?

2006-08-01T07:54:00.000-04:00

PB-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori is being challenged on her resume:

"The newly elected presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church lists as her major qualifications for office positions at two institutions shrouded in mystery and without any formal accreditation – if they exist at all.

"That's the finding of an investigation of the rise of Katharine Jefferts Schori, 52, a pilot and oceanographer and strong advocate for same-sex marriage and homosexual ordination by Virtue Online, which describes itself as "the voice for global orthodox Anglicanism."

"Schori and the nominating committee for the election that took place in June list as Schori's major qualifications the following positions she reportedly held:

pastoral associate and dean of the Good Samaritan School of Theology, Corvallis, Ore., from 1994-2000;

priest in charge of El Buen Samaritano, Corvallis, Ore.

"Terry Ward, a writer for Virtue Online, says he could find no record of the existence of the Good Samaritan School of Theology in his examination of the web pages and church newsletters of the Good Samaritan Church of Corvallis, Ore., the web pages of the Episcopal Church USA and the Oregon and Nevada Dioceses, the web pages of the Association of Theological School, which lists all accredited and affiliated institutions in the U.S. and Canada.

"None of these sources showed any evidence that the 'Good Samaritan School of Theology' existed as an independent organization with staff or facilities," Ward wrote. "There was no mention of the school or of the titles or positions (dean, pastoral associate) associated with the school."

"But there is now.

"Just do a search for the school and you will find dozens of references to it, in USA Today, Washington Post and other major papers – all involving the election of Schori and her reliance on that major qualification."

Read the rest here.

Set in her Ways? Expect More of the Same from Politically Active PB-elect

2006-08-01T01:06:00.000-04:00

"The Episcopal Church's Election of its first female presiding bishop has made a split with the Anglican Communion even more likely. Katharine Jefferts Schori delighted Episcopalians who support gay bishops, same-sex unions, and other liberal social policies. But her victory also confirmed what church conservatives have long feared: The liberal majority is going to keep pushing until the leftward drift of the past few decades is complete.

"Jefferts Schori embodies the Episcopal evolution. While bishop of Nevada, she voted for a gay bishop's consecration and allowed same-sex blessings. She was also noted for her political activism. In letters to Nevada politicians, she quoted Scripture and used the power of her office to lobby for liberal policies.

"On April 21, 2004, she wrote to Nevada senators Harry Reid and John Ensign on the subject of immigration: "The Bible repeatedly enjoins people of faith to remember the stranger, to care for those without family or roots in a place, and to ensure that they are fed, housed, and shown hospitality." She then chastised the United States for "[forgetting] that mandate, especially since September 11th," because "the fear-mongering of late has eclipsed the demand to treat our neighbors fairly and humanely."

"In an October 31, 2005 letter to Nevada's entire congressional delegation, Jefferts Schori opposed the FY 2006 federal budget reconciliation, which provided funding for Hurricane Katrina relief. "The budget process provides the opportunity for Congress and the President to work together to address the poverty that exists in this nation," she explained. "Congress must not exacerbate poverty . . . by passing a budget that further impoverishes one group of already poor people in our nation in order to help those newly or more deeply impoverished by the recent hurricanes . . . . We must not ask the poorest among us to bear a burden which should be borne by this entire nation."

Read the rest from Jamie Deal in the Weekly Standard.

An Open Letter to Episcopal Clergy

2006-07-11T07:29:00.000-04:00

"But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

In this passage from Romans, Paul is referring to the 52nd chapter of Isaiah. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes… salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”’ (Isaiah 52:7)

This is not just a reference to a messenger or a herald coming over the mountain with an announcement. This Good News is the salvation found in Jesus Christ.

How are they to call on him? How are they to believe in him? How are they to hear? The answer is that a preacher must be sent – one who will bring this Good News to the one who has not heard.

And the Good News is this – Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Messiah. He is my Saviour. He is the only Way to the Father. I have heard this message. I believe it, and it is the story that I tell anyone who will listen.

At the General Convention this year, a resolution was put forward reaffirming this understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus as Messiah. D058: Salvation through Christ Alone. It was relatively straightforward, with language straight out of John 14. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Perhaps it was too clear because the Evangelism Committee voted to discharge it, an action which would prevent D058 from being discussed on the floor of the House of Deputies.

But, following a request for reconsideration, it did come up. From the discussion which followed, it was apparent that a diversity of opinion existed among the clergy and laity regarding Jesus as the only Way. In the end, the discharge was upheld by a vote of 675 to 242. More than seventy percent of the deputies present were unable to commit to salvation through Christ alone.

Think about this for a minute – more than 2/3 of the House, which includes over 400 ordained priests, were declaring that they are either unable or unwilling to proclaim without a doubt that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Which leads me to wonder – what are they preaching each Sunday from the pulpit?

Now just the other day, I read a piece in the News & Observer written by Lauren Stanley, in which she says that ‘many of us caught in the middle believe that neither side speaks for the rest of us…we don’t look at the world as black and white. We can see the justice on both sides of the sexuality debate. And most of us have no idea which side is correct.’

I can understand Miss Stanley’s dilemma --- up to a point. She is passionate about the mandate in Matthew 25 to heal the sick, house the homeless, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry. And as Christians, we are absolutely called to care for the ‘least of these.’ But often the poor we encounter are poor in spirit, hungry for the Truth, thirsty for the Living Water found in Christ alone. Are we not also to offer these folks a drink?

And the ‘middle’ to which she refers – that confused ‘Anglican middle’ who see the world as shades of gray – they are what I have come to call ‘the Anglican muddle.’

But here ’s the rub. Lauren Stanley is ordained...

Read the rest here.

Archbishop Bernard Malango: Henderson May Not Return

2006-07-11T07:17:00.000-04:00

"The office of the Anglican Archbishop of Central Africa in Zomba has indicated that the decision to order Bishop James Mwenda to return to Zambia does not mean giving a chance for rejected British clergyman Paul Nicholas Henderson to head the Diocese of Lake Malawi.

"Provincial Secretary Eston Pembamoyo said Monday Mwenda had to leave the country to allow for neutral discussions between Anglican bishops in Malawi and the laity of the Lake Malawi on the way forward.

"Pembamoyo ruled out the possibility of reconsidering the diocese’s first choice, Henderson, who was rejected following allegations that he supported gay activities in the United Kingdom.

“Henderson’s case is a closed chapter. There is no way we can start discussing him again,” said Pembamoyo.

“After all, Mwenda’s contract has not been cancelled and if in the long analysis it transpires that he should not come back he will still be paid for the period he was going to serve as diocesan bishop,” said Pembamoyo.

"He said the other two Anglican bishops, James Tengatenga and Christopher Boyle, will meet the complainants to find out their concerns before inviting Archbishop Bernard Malango to agree on the future leadership of the diocese.

Read the rest here.

And this from a December article:

“Quite a number of people were doubting if Reverend Henderson is a man of sound faith and we have found that he is not, according to research by the Anglican Church,” said Malango.

More here.

Ruth Gledhill: Setback for Traditionalists

2006-07-11T06:52:00.000-04:00

"THE Church of England will force traditionalists for the first time to accept that the ordination of women as priests and bishops is valid.

"In the first step towards women bishops, the General Synod voted yesterday to enforce a church law that upholds the ordination of all bishops, priests and deacons without exception.

"Until now, an Act of Synod has protected Anglican Catholics who refuse to accept the ordination of women as valid and allowed them to declare their parishes “no-go zones” for women priests.

"Traditionalists do not want women to have the power of ordination — something they would have as bishops — and have asked for a “third province”, in effect a church within a church, to ensure that apostolic succession in the Church remains “untainted” by women’s hands.

"Earlier this year bishops tried to draw up a plan that would have created havens for traditionalists, but their attempts collapsed in disarray. Yesterday the General Synod agreed in York to set up a new group to tackle the framing of the legislation for women bishops. The legislation will be voted on in about five years and will need a two-thirds majority to pass."

Read the rest in The Times (London).

Read also Ruth Gledhill's account of Days
One, Two, and Three.

Charlotte Allen Tells It Like It Is

2006-07-10T09:48:00.000-04:00

This piece from Charlotte Allen is provoking lots of comments on the HOB/D listserv, and according to +Patrick Augustine, it's being widely distributed in the Islamic world.

"...You want to have gay sex? Be a female bishop? Change God's name to Sophia? Go ahead. The just-elected Episcopal presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is a one-woman combination of all these things, having voted for Robinson, blessed same-sex couples in her Nevada diocese, prayed to a female Jesus at the Columbus convention and invited former Newark, N.J., bishop John Shelby Spong, famous for denying Christ's divinity, to address her priests.

"When a church doesn't take itself seriously, neither do its members. It is hard to believe that as recently as 1960, members of mainline churches — Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and the like — accounted for 40% of all American Protestants. Today, it's more like 12%...

"According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, in 1965, there were 3.4 million Episcopalians; now, there are 2.3 million. The number of Presbyterians fell from 4.3 million in 1965 to 2.5 million today. Compare that with 16 million members reported by the Southern Baptists.

"When your religion says "whatever" on doctrinal matters, regards Jesus as just another wise teacher, refuses on principle to evangelize and lets you do pretty much what you want, it's a short step to deciding that one of the things you don't want to do is get up on Sunday morning and go to church...

"Sociologist Rodney Stark ("The Rise of Christianity") and historian Philip Jenkins ("The Next Christendom") contend that the more demands, ethical and doctrinal, that a faith places upon its adherents, the deeper the adherents' commitment to that faith. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, which preach biblical morality, have no trouble saying that Jesus is Lord, and they generally eschew women's ordination. The churches are growing robustly, both in the United States and around the world.

"Despite the fact that median Sunday attendance at Episcopal churches is 80 worshipers, the Episcopal Church, as a whole, is financially equipped to carry on for some time, thanks to its inventory of vintage real estate and huge endowments left over from the days (no more!) when it was the Republican Party at prayer. Furthermore, it has offset some of its demographic losses by attracting disaffected liberal Catholics and gays and lesbians. The less endowed Presbyterian Church USA is in deeper trouble. Just before its general assembly in Birmingham, it announced that it would eliminate 75 jobs to meet a $9.15-million budget cut at its headquarters, the third such round of job cuts in four years.

"The Episcopalians have smells, bells, needlework cushions and colorfully garbed, Catholic-looking bishops as draws, but who, under the present circumstances, wants to become a Presbyterian?

"Still, it must be galling to Episcopal liberals that many of the parishes and dioceses (including that of San Joaquin, Calif.) that want to pull out of the Episcopal Church USA are growing instead of shrinking, have live people in the pews who pay for the upkeep of their churches and don't have to rely on dead rich people. The 21-year-old Christ Church Episcopal in Plano, Texas, for example, is one of the largest Episcopal churches in the country. Its 2,200 worshipers on any given Sunday are about equal to the number of active Episcopalians in Jefferts Schori's entire Nevada diocese."

Read the rest here. More here at TitusOneNine.

One Convention, Two Views

2006-07-10T09:15:00.000-04:00

Here's a letter to the editor in today's paper from a South Carolina priest who attended GC2006 as (I think) a visitor. I didn't have the pleasure of seeing this priest and his wife in Columbus.

Where was I? Oh, right, I was on the floor of the House of Deputies (for hours and hours each day) watching paint dry.

This letter is so interesting. It sounds like the author attended a different convention. For those of you who were in Columbus, does his experience match yours?

"My wife and I were privileged to attend the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church recently in Columbus, Ohio.

"We were impressed by the city and its convention facilities. We were elated to meet and greet fellow Episcopalians from throughout the country, and we were impressed with their serious attempts to be true to scripture in today's world. We were there for the presiding bishop's forum on reconciliation and heard several wonderful speakers, including John Danforth, an Episcopal priest and former U. S. senator and ambassador to the United Nations.

"We observed the clergy and lay delegates from each diocese deliberating and voting on the many resolutions and issues to come before the convention. We participated in a wide variety of liturgical worship services attended by thousands, which incorporated many styles of music, and were flavored with the diverse cultures and people who are in our communion.

"We heard many fine preachers, and we enjoyed the "table conversation" on the Bible lessons for each day with the people sitting with us. We watched and listened as the House of Bishops prayed, deliberated and voted on key issues...

Read the rest in today's Post and Courier.

Center Stage for a Pastor Where It's Rock that usually Rules

2006-07-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

"At the Logan Square Auditorium here one recent night, Rob Bell arrived in a rock band tour bus and strode past posters for Cheap Sex, a punk band performing at the hall later this summer. Following a T-shirted bouncer through the sold-out crowd of about 450, Mr. Bell hopped onto the stage.

"Of his new secular venues, Mr. Bell said, "I just thought, What are the places my brother and I like to go to?" The answer: where bands play.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and earth," he began, without introduction. "Now, it's a very old book."

"This, Mr. Bell believes, is what church can look like. For the hall's bartenders, it was the start of a slow night.

"Mr. Bell, 35, is the pastor and founder of Mars Hill Bible Church, an independent evangelical congregation in Grandville, Mich., outside Grand Rapids. The church has a weekly attendance of 10,000 and meets in a former mall."

Read the rest in today's New York Times.

Church Marketing from the CofE

2006-07-08T15:44:00.000-04:00

Another chuckle from Dave Walker at Cartoon Church.

For more tips on congregational development from the Church of England, visit this site.

Lauren Stanley: Caught in the Middle

2006-07-08T14:14:00.000-04:00

To better understand the theology behind her point of view, see this piece from TitusOneNine (along with the comments it generated).

And today's article in The News and Observer:

"Many liberals in the Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion cheered the actions that took place in 2003 and, claiming that issues of human sexuality are issues of God's justice, want more support for gays and lesbians. We are radical prophets, they claim. If you don't like what we liberals are doing, be gone yourselves.

"Both conservatives and liberals have huge pulpits and use them loudly. Outsiders watching this debate cannot be blamed for thinking that all the Episcopal Church talks about, thinks about and acts on, is sex.

"But many of us caught in the middle believe that neither side speaks for the rest of us. Most Anglicans, both in the United States and throughout the world, do not believe that the core issue of our faith is sexuality. Most of us want to focus on preaching the Gospel, curing the sick, caring for the homeless, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty.

"Of course, few listen to us in that vast middle, because we don't have big pulpits. And we don't speak in sound bites.

"We don't look at the world as black and white. We can see the justice on both sides of the sexuality debate. And most of us have no idea which side is correct."

This is exactly Rev. Stanley's problem.

Read the rest here.

CofE Gives the Nod to Women Bishops

2006-07-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

"Proposals to bring the introduction of women bishops closer to reality have been backed by more than two-thirds of the Church of England's ruling body. The General Synod approved the concept of women bishops as "theologically justified" by 288 votes to 119.

"Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams will address the Synod on Monday to support setting up a legislative group to tackle the issue.

More from BBC News.

And from The Scotsman

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England voted on Saturday to ordain women as bishops, a major liberalising step in a faith that has also faced schism over homosexuality, although it could be years before the first woman bishop is named.

The church has ordained women as priests for a decade and one in six parish priests is now a woman. But the church maintained what critics called a "stained-glass ceiling" that prevented women from rising to the rank of bishop.

At their synod in York, the three "houses" of laity, priests and bishops each voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion that declared ordaining women bishops to be compatible with Church teaching.

"This means it is consonant with the faith," a spokesman for the synod said. But while the vote resolves the theological question, the Church must still amend its rules, a process that requires a two-thirds majority vote and could take years.

Opponents of woman bishops are holding out for compromise measures, like a proposal that would allow conservative parishes to secede from woman-run diocese.

The issue has been one of several that pit traditionalists against liberalisers within the world's 77-million-strong Anglican communion.

More here.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

2006-07-07T21:37:00.000-04:00

Miss Prudence Dailey (Oxford) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q46 Is the House aware of the pub in Paddington Railway Station named The Mad Bishop and Bear, and can it shed any light on the identity of the mad bishop?

This is one of 65 questions which were asked this afternoon as part of the General Synod of the Church of England, meeting this weekend at the University of York. I am told that this system of questions is based on the Westminster parliamentary model and is aimed at stating or confirming policy rather than producing a resolution (known as a measure).

The questions are each numbered -- Q1, Q2, and so forth -- and they are preceded by the names of two persons, that of the inquirer along with the one who will give a reply. Here's an example:

The Archbishop of York to reply

Mrs Margaret Condick (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q42 In February 2004 this Synod requested that all future legislation of the Synod referring to offices should be drafted (where legal and drafting considerations permit) so that gender neutral language is employed. What is now being done to encourage the use of gender neutral language within our dioceses, deaneries and parochial church councils and their related committees?

Okay, so this question does sound a bit like those at the General Convention. But this is the General Synod of the Church of England, and so you'll note the absence of multiple resolves relating to this inquiry. It's a question, not a resolution.

For more information on General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England which meets twice each year, visit this page.

Now, are you ready for a demonstration of how this works? Here's the first question which was asked earlier today and which related to the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division.

The Bishop of Sodor & Man to reply as a member of the Divisional Group.

Mr Roy Thompson (York) to ask the Chairman of the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division:

Q1 What feedback has the Division had on the use of ‘trench arch drainage’ which is highly suitable for rural churches with low solids production but which can be rejected by a Building Control Officer in ignorance of the environmental benefits?

Now listen to this question being asked by Mr. Thompson (er, Crapper) and addressed to the Bishop of Sodor & Man. Listen to his entire answer.

Theo Hobson's Choice: Catholic or Liberal?

2006-07-07T19:10:00.000-04:00

From The Guardian

Find out why Father Giles is irate.

"Deconstruction is a form of analysis in which the internal illusions and rhetorical habits of a cultural tradition are nakedly exposed, its age-old evasions and contradictions finally forced to the surface. As an intellectual sympathetic to postmodernism, it must give Rowan Williams a certain thrill to know that he is presiding over the deconstruction of Anglicanism.

"The essential development of the past few years is the discovery of the impossibility of liberal Anglicanism... What the current crisis has established beyond any doubt is that this liberal middle ground is dead and gone.

"Williams has learned this the hard way: that Catholics cannot afford to be liberals too. A Catholic has very publicly sacrificed his or her belief in the moral rightness of ordaining homosexuals, for the sake of the church's unity...

"Kierkegaard called this the teleological suspension of the ethical: committing a moral crime for the sake of a cause that transcends human morality. Williams is performing the ecclesiastical suspension of the ethical: renouncing the moral good for the sake of the unity of the Church. This is what a Catholic must do.

"The average liberal Anglican priest (let's call him Father Giles) is understandably irate. His former mentor is telling him that he must not push for the ordination of homosexuals while it endangers the church's unity. He must accept the fact that the institution he serves is, for now, structurally homophobic...

"This is what Catholicism demands, Williams is telling Father Giles - and Catholicism trumps liberalism... But Father Giles had always thought that Anglicans were free from this dilemma, that they had a looser concept of authority..."

Here's another piece from Hobson -- a liberal challenging others to 'come out' in You can't have it both ways

The Archbishop Repeats Himself

2006-07-07T17:42:00.000-04:00

"...at the very least we must recognise that Anglicanism as we have experienced it has never been just a loose grouping of people who care to describe themselves as Anglicans but enjoy unconfined local liberties... That is why a concern for unity – for unity (I must repeat this yet again) as a means to living in the truth – is not about placing the survival of an institution above the demands of conscience. God forbid."

++Rowan Cantuar, July 7, 2006

Church of England General Synod Opens Today

2006-07-07T16:42:00.000-04:00

We interrupt this lazy Friday afternoon in America to bring you breaking news from the University of York where the General Synod is in full swing. Thank you, T19 and the Elves

More of today's agenda is available here.

Listen to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Address to General Synod on the Anglican Communion. Below are a few highlights.

"I am glad to have the opportunity of offering in these few minutes a very brief update on the current situation in the Anglican Communion, particularly in the light of the recent session of the Episcopal Church’s General Convention – which was, of course, attended by my brother Archbishop, who made an outstanding contribution to its discussions. The first thing to say is that the complex processes of Convention produced – perhaps predictably – a less than completely clear result.

"The final resolution relating to the consecration of practising gay persons as bishops owed a great deal to some last-minute work by the Presiding Bishop, who invoked his personal authority in a way that was obviously costly for him in order to make sure that there was some degree of recognisable response to the recommendations of the Windsor Report...

"However, as has become plain, the resolutions of Convention overall leave a number of unanswered questions, and there needs to be some careful disentangling of what they say and what they don’t say. This work is to be carried forward by a small group already appointed before Convention by the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC. And I have also written directly to every Primate to ask for a preliminary reaction from their province. The next Primates’ Meeting in February next year will digest what emerges from all this.

"You will be aware of a number of developments in the public arena in the last couple of weeks, notably the request from several US dioceses for some sort of direct primatial oversight from outside the US, preferably from Canterbury. This raises very large questions indeed; various consultations are going forward to clarify what is being asked and to reflect on possible implications.

"There has also been an announcement from Nigeria of the election by the Nigerian House of Bishops of an American cleric as a bishop to serve the Convocation of Nigerian Anglican congregations in the US. I have publicly stated my concern about this and some other cross-provincial activities...

"...this leads me to say a word about my own published reflections in the wake of General Convention. In spite of some interesting reporting and some slightly intemperate reaction, this contained no directives (I do not have authority to dictate policy to the provinces of the Communion) and no foreclosing of the character and content of such a covenant. Were any such arrangement to be proposed, it would of course have to be owned by the constitutional bodies governing Provinces.

Read the entire address here.

Hearing Voices in Central Florida

2006-07-06T08:19:00.000-04:00

"A group of mainstream Episcopalians will meet in July to address the Central Florida diocesan Standing Committee's late June decision to seek alternative oversight from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Standing Committee took action citing disagreement with 2003 and 2006 actions of the Episcopal Church's General Convention."

Read the Standing Committee's 'open letter' here.

"Episcopal Voices of Central Florida, a group of lay people and clergy from all regions of the diocese, which extends to both state coasts, will meet at 10 a.m. on July 29 at St. Richard's Episcopal Church in Winter Park to discuss the standing committee's action and to plan a course for the future.

Episcopal Voices is an organization in Central Florida dedicated to remaining in full support and union with the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, according to their spokesperson, Donna Bott.

"We are extremely unhappy about the diocese's hasty decision which indicates an impending break with the Episcopal Church," said Bott. "A handful of people and the bishop have made a knee-jerk decision without thoughtfully consulting the membership of this diocese and seeking a wide consensus. Many people oppose breaking with the Episcopal Church, but our voices have not been considered in this action."

Is she serious? The Standing Committee in Central Florida took unilateral action? Aren't they an elected body representative of the diocese? She must have missed the reports from Columbus...

+Philip C. Linder Seeks Anglican Middle

2006-07-06T08:01:00.000-04:00

The Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina shares his perspective on the impasse he witnessed at the General Convention. He writes: "I was stunned to see these two extreme sides actually voting in unison for opposite purposes." Why is it so hard to imagine that South Carolina and Newark could find one thing on which to agree at convention? In the end, both dioceses remained steadfast, seeking absolute clarity, rather than an Anglican muddle.

"The Episcopal Church is certainly at a crossroads in its history, perhaps like none other since our beginnings at the founding of our nation and independence from Great Britain.

"Unlike so many of the predictions of our denomination’s demise, I believe that the Episcopal Church emerged from the 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, with a stronger will, hope and vision for the future. I say this as one who was there as a deputy, fighting for her soul, representing the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. And I believe it is the very soul of our great Anglican heritage that is at stake.

"Three years ago, the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, by consenting to the election of Gene Robinson — a partnered gay man — as bishop of New Hampshire, acted unilaterally and without regard for the challenge that this action would pose to the majority of Anglicans throughout the world. The ramifications were as immediate and severe as many had predicted.

"Above all, what was at stake was the mutual understanding that no member church of the Anglican Communion could on its own accord make such a decision and not expect it to have serious consequences for how that member church would be regarded in the fellowship.

"For the past year and a half, the bishop of Upper South Carolina, Dorsey Henderson, co-chaired the special commission that would offer at the convention a formal response to the Anglican Communion’s Windsor Report on the election of Mr. Robinson. This commission, which represented the broad spectrum of the Episcopal Church, offered a serious response to Windsor. However, during this same time many others worked to break up the Episcopal Church.

"On the floor of the House of Deputies in Columbus, I witnessed the extreme factions of our church — represented in the dioceses of Newark and South Carolina — working from the posture of extreme liberalism and extreme conservatism for the same purpose. I believe that their goal coming into convention was to fracture the Episcopal Church’s place in the Anglican Communion to suit their own objectives, and that breaks my heart. I was stunned to see these two extreme sides actually voting in unison for opposite purposes.
Neither Newark nor South Carolina was interested in coming to what Episcopal priest and former Sen. John Danforth claimed as the “higher calling of reconciliation” and consensus for the greater good of the church.

"Since the convention, this has been further proven in the proclamation of the Diocese of South Carolina that it could not be under the authority of new Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Newark, too, stayed true to form by naming an openly gay candidate as one of the four nominees for bishop within its diocese, thus defying the resolution of General Convention that asks dioceses to refrain from such nominations and elections.

"What is at stake here is the very soul of the Episcopal Church and Anglicanism..."

Read the rest in The State.

Two More Nominees in Newark

2006-07-06T07:14:00.000-04:00

Episcopalians name 2 more nominees for bishop

"The Episcopal Diocese of Newark, which gained national attention last week by including a gay man among its four candidates for bishop, announced yesterday that two more candidates -- both heterosexual -- will be added to the ballot through a petition process.

"The new candidates are Newark's Assistant Bishop Carol Gallagher and the Rev. William Potter, rector of St. Luke's Church in Hope, Warren County, whose great-grandfather was bishop of New York.

"Gallagher and Potter made it to the ballot via petition of five clergy and five lay people, after not making the cut in recent deliberations of the diocese's nominating committee. Yesterday was the deadline for petitions.

"Last week, that same committee nominated the Rev. Michael Barlowe, 51, of San Francisco, who lives with his male partner of 24 years..."

Read the rest in the Newark Star-Ledger.

Considering having your marriage or life covenant blessed at St. Luke's Church in Newark? Fr. Potter gives you several choices, including a traditional BCP service, Covenant Blessing I, or Covenant Blessing II. Pay particular attention to the prayers in CBII.

Try the Parish Directory Test

2006-07-05T12:19:00.000-04:00

Read this bit from Catholic legal scholar Robert P. George as he is asked to consider how followers of Christ can be 'a counterculture for the common good?'

Now replace the Trenton phone book with an average parish directory and swap the Princeton faculty for the House of Deputies, and you have a great way to explain the disparity between the folks in the pews each Sunday and those making critical decisions for the Episcopal Church.

CT: "Before we can talk about becoming a counterculture, we have to understand the culture. What's your reading of our culture right now?

RG: "I've argued in my book The Clash of Orthodoxies that the contemporary moment is marked by profound cultural division. We have a clash of two worldviews. On the one side are those who maintain traditional Judeo-Christian principles, such as the principle of the sanctity of human life, the principle that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, the principle that sex is integral to marriage but that sex ought not to be engaged in outside of marriage, and so forth.

"On the other side of the cultural divide are people who have abandoned those principles in favor of some alternative ideology. Often it celebrates personal autonomy and freedom from traditional moral constraints, mixed with certain utilitarian elements. Sometimes it manifests itself in radical forms of feminism or quasi-pantheistic forms of environmentalism.

"This division runs between elite and popular opinion. If I may borrow a concept from William F. Buckley Jr., consider what the results would be if we were to ask 800 members of the Princeton faculty about their views on abortion or homosexuality or other issues of that sort, and then make the same inquiry of the first 800 people in the Trenton, New Jersey, phone book.

"Interestingly, the Princeton faculty and people of Trenton are probably going to vote largely alike—for Democratic candidates—albeit for different reasons. But when it comes to morally charged political issues, you're going to get answers from the 800 people consulted in the Trenton phone book that would be similar to those answers that would be given by 800 people from north-central West Virginia (where I grew up) or from Kansas or New Mexico. Their answers would be very different from those that would be given by the Princeton faculty or the editorial boards of The New York Times or The Washington Post.

"That's what I call a clash of orthodoxies.

CT: Why do you call it that?"

Read the rest in Christianity Today.

Report from Nairobi

2006-07-05T10:25:00.000-04:00

"The Anglican Church in Nigeria on Tuesday rejected a proposal to accommodate divisions over homosexuality, calling instead for liberal churches in North America to be removed from the religious world body.

"Last week in a message to Anglican Church leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the global Anglican Church, Rowan Williams, called for a dual structure of "Constituent Churches" and "Churches in Association" as a means of preserving church unity threatened by divergent opinions between conservatives who oppose homosexuals in the church and liberals who support them.

"One would have expected that those who had embarked on this religious misadventure would be encouraged to judge their actions against our well-established historic tradition," the Church of Nigeria said in a statement on its website.

"A cancerous lump in the body should be excised if it has defied every known cure," the statement added.

"To attempt to condition the whole body to accommodate it will lead to the avoidable death of the patient."

Read the rest here.

More here from the Church of Nigeria.

Faith, Hope and Parity?

2006-07-04T21:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I referenced Alan Cooperman's recent article in the Washington Post regarding the election of ++KJS as the next Presiding Bishop. Toward the end of the article, the author notes that according to the Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam, "women hold 3 percent of the leadership positions in the Anglican Communion."

Now this is one of my pet peeves -- the reader is given an unsubstantiated statistic.

I wonder if the suffragan bishop of New York can tell us how she arrived at the figure of 3 percent? Is she counting primarily female bishops in the 38 provinces of the Communion? Does this include female members of the Anglican Consultative Council? The membership of the Lambeth Commission?

What about the Daughters of the King, the Episcopal Church Women, and the Mothers' Union? Are these considered positions of leadership? Because they certainly are places of influence for women in the Anglican Communion.

But we aren't given a source, and so having established that a mere 3 percent of the leadership of the Communion are women, Roskam goes on to say that, "many women feel that were we represented even close to the percentage we have in the pews, we would not be having these divisions over human sexuality...Of course, women differ over sexuality. We just wouldn't be dividing over it."

This reminds me of the Jefferts Schori's response to a question posed by Christopher Sugden of Anglican Mainstream. Read about it in Doug LeBlanc's article in Christianity Today. Sugden said "the average Anglican believer today is an impoverished African woman, younger than 30, and an evangelical. How did Jefferts Schori think such a believer would respond to the Episcopal Church's advocacy on behalf of its gay and lesbian members?"

++KJS responded that she "likely would be focused on hunger, safe housing, unclean water, and providing for her children. Concerns about sexuality would appear only later in the hierarchy of need."

I absolutely agree that for the average African Anglican woman, meeting the basic needs of her children and her family would be paramount. A mother's first instinct is always to shelter and feed her children, sacrificing her own needs and desires to provide for them.

But we must never forget that the average African Anglican, male or female, lives in a world increasingly dominated by Islam. In Nigeria alone, according to the U.S. State Department, Christians account for about 40 percent of the population, contrasted with Sunni Muslims at more than 50 percent. This makes it more difficult to be an Anglican, and particularly dangerous to be an American missionary.

So let's go back to Bp. Roskam's supposition that, were there more women in Anglican leadership, we would not be dividing over issues of human sexuality. Well, let's see, according to Dr. Louie Crew, statistician extraordinaire of the Episcopal Church, women made up 42% of the House of Deputies in 2006. This is a record number, overtaking GC2003 (38.8%) and GC2000 (36%). And each convention has been trending toward more ordained women than the last. The voices of more women on the floor of the House of Deputies (and more female clergy).

And here we are, deeply divided on issues of human sexuality.

I do think that if we were to involve the Daughters of the King, the Episcopal Church Women, and the Mothers' Union worldwide in these legislative matters, we would indeed be in a very different place. Because these women, I believe, would carefully weigh a number of factors before making a decision which would rock the Communion. They would prayerfully consider Lambeth 1.10, the statements of the Primates, the Windsor Report, and the impact on our missionary witness throughout the world.

So perhaps we should listen to the voices of more Anglican women. I've heard from Bp. Roskam, from Dr. Jenny Te Paa, and from +Ruth Meyers. But I'd like to hear from real women -- mothers, missionaries, members of the choir and the altar guild. Because I've heard what the women in the 'institutional Church' have to say, and frankly, it's the same old song.

NYT: August 7, 2003

2006-07-04T00:30:00.000-04:00

In an article in the New York Times at the close of the 2003 General Convention, it was noted that "prelates of the church tonight rejected a proposal to begin writing an official liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions."

Those of us who were deputies in Minneapolis know that this is a carefully worded statement. Technically, no, the Episcopal Church would not officially sanction the blessing of same-sex unions. But ECUSA, and especially many of her bishops, would turn a blind eye to the rites taking place in their dioceses. And the number of blessings would greatly increase. Two openly gay men quoted in this article -- +Michael Hopkins and ++Otis Charles -- would have their unions blessed in the years to follow.

In retrospect, therefore, I read this comment from ++Gethin Hughes in a totally different way than I might have in 2003. Sounds like he is referring to a local-option policy, doesn't it?

'"This is best because those of you who have reached a further point of clarity can continue to do what you think is right in your area," said Bishop Gethin Hughes of the Diocese of San Diego. "For many of us who are still struggling," he said, there will be more time for sorting through the issues and coming to some answer together.'

A Look Back: Spong Addresses 2003 Clergy Conference in Nevada

2006-07-04T00:19:00.000-04:00

"John Shelby Spong will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Christ Church Episcopal, 2000 S. Maryland Parkway. The lecture, which is open to the public, is titled 'God Beyond Theism.' Spong also will speak Sept. 6 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno. His Reno lecture is titled 'Jesus Beyond Incarnation.'

"Spong also will address the clergy of the Diocese of Nevada at a retreat in Lake Tahoe.

"'Bishop Spong continues to be one of the important voices for an intellectually involved Christian theology,' said the Right Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, bishop of the Diocese of Nevada. 'You may not agree with everything he says, but you will not come away from a meeting with him without having examined what you do believe and why.'"

Read the rest from the Las Vegas Review-Journal here. Subscription required.

A Rough Landing?

2006-07-03T23:48:00.000-04:00

"To visit Episcopal parishes across her huge but sparsely populated Nevada diocese, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori pilots a small airplane. She often bumps down on tiny airstrips, but wherever her single-engine Cessna 172 lands, she is welcome.

"That's about to change."

Read the rest here.

Here's an interesting bit that mentions the genesis of her call to the priesthood.

"In her study of marine invertebrates, she said, she saw 'the great wonder and variety of creation.' And when federal research funds began to dry up in the 1980s, three members of her congregation in Corvallis, Ore., suggested she become a priest."

Hmmm. Hope that's not how she put it to the Commission on Ministry.

Cephalopods of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean?

2006-07-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

If this whets your appetite for more, contact the librarian at Oregon State University for a copy of the 1983 dissertation of Katharine Jefferts (Schori) -- 305 pages on the Zoogeography and Systematics of Cephalopods of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.

"Collections of cephalopods from the northeastern Pacific north of 20(DEGREES)N and east of 170(DEGREES)E were examined in order to elucidate zoogeographic patterns for the region. Sixty-four species were identified, including two new species of Gonatus. The distributions of Subarctic and Transitional (including California Current) species are now fairly well understood. Less clearly defined are the distributions of central and equatorial species. This is in great part due to the lower sampling density in those areas."

"In several instances, species have been identified for the first time from North Pacific waters, primarily within the central gyre. Ten pelagic distributional types are defined for cephalopods in this area; most coincide with water masses or portions or combinations thereof. In many cases, good correlation is seen with the work of others on other taxonomic groups. The relative abundance of cephalopods in main water mass types is considered, using diversity and evenness statistics. The central water mass is dominated by Enoploteuthidae, and the Subarctic by Gonatidae. The dominant taxa of the Transition Zone and California Current show a mixture of these two families..."

Source: Dissertation Abstracts Online

What does the PB-elect have in common with Mary Baker Eddy and Ellen White?

2006-07-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

"When Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori this month became the head of the U.S. Episcopal Church, she wasn't just the first presiding bishop of that faith—she became the first woman in American history elected to lead a major Christian denomination.

"Although there have been influential religious women in the past, like the 1920s evangelist Amy Semple McPherson and modern-day megapreacher Joyce Meyer, only two other American women have reached the pinnacle of a religion's organizational chart: Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science in 1879, and Ellen White, who helped to found the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863.

"So what, if anything, does Jefferts Schori's election mean for women seeking a similar path?"

Continued in the July 3rd issue of Newsweek

Food for Thought

2006-07-02T13:06:00.000-04:00

"We will by God's grace worship not Father, Son and the Episcopal Church, or Father, Son and the Anglican Communion, but Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and it is only that Spirit that can deal with our self-righteousness and the spirit of revenge and self-pity which needs to be purged within ourselves."

The Rt. Rev. C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Bishop of South Carolina, on worship, as quoted in The Living Church, June 5, 2005

This was today's Food for Thought from the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham. To receive a gem like this in your mailbox each morning, visit the Advent to subscribe.

The Post-modern Pulpit

2006-06-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

Here's another great cartoon from Dave Walker over at Cartoon Church. I love his cartoons. You can also find this one in the latest Church Times.

Guess Who?

2006-06-29T23:11:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a little digging around this past week, and in my digging, I bumped into an interesting little coincidence (or is it?).

A095 -- Gay and Lesbian Affirmation is a resolution which originated from the Standing Commission on National Concerns, one of the CCABs during the last triennium.

Guess who chaired the Standing Commission on National Concerns for 2003-2006?

The Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, nominee in the Newark Episcopal election, served as chair of the SCNC, which put forth six resolutions for presentation to the 75th General Convention. All in all, these resolutions went unnoticed in Columbus, except for one – A095 Gay and Lesbian Affirmation.

A095 is a resolution which begins by asking for a reaffirmation of the Episcopal Church’s support of gay and lesbian persons and their entitlement to full civil rights as well as the Church’s continued advocacy on their behalf for domestic partnership benefits. Ultimately A095 asks for quite a bit more, however. The last resolve requests that the 75th GC “oppose any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriage or civil unions.”

* FINAL VERSION - Concurred

Resolution A095
Title: Gay and Lesbian Affirmation
Topic: Civil Rights
Committee: 10. Social and Urban Affairs
House of Initial Action: Bishops
Proposer: National Concerns

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 75th General Convention reaffirm the Episcopal Church’s historical support of gay and lesbian persons as children of God and entitled to full civil rights; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention reaffirm the 71st General Convention’s action calling upon “municipal council, state legislatures and the United States Congress to approve measures giving gay and lesbian couples protection[s] such as: bereavement and family leave policies; health benefits; pension benefits; real-estate transfer tax benefits; and commitments to mutual support enjoyed by non-gay married couples”; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention oppose any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriage or civil unions.

EXPLANATION
For at least thirty years, and even as debate about the role of gay and lesbian people within the Church has continued, successive General Conventions have recognized the equal claim of gay and lesbian persons to the civil rights enjoyed by all other persons. In 1994, General Convention (1994-D006) called on all levels of government to support legislation giving same-sex couples the same legal protections as non-same-sex married couples. In light of recent legislative actions in several states, and a proposed federal constitutional amendment, an affirmation of the Episcopal Church's support for equal rights is warranted.

One more thing -- Fr. Barlowe was appointed to the Social and Urban Affairs Committee at GC2006, and his subcommittee assignment was Human Sexuality. He was in just the right spot to watch the progress of A095, and when needed, to give it a little nudge through committee. And then, when we were up to our eyeballs in unfinished business on the floor of the House of Deputies, somehow A095 got through at the eleventh hour.

Isn't that lucky?

A Rector Writes His Parish in Belgium

2006-06-28T23:22:00.000-04:00

The rector of All Saints Church, Waterloo was ordained in South Carolina by Bps. Allison and Haynsworth.

Dear Saints,

Recently, I received an e-mail from a first cousin of mine, who lives in South Carolina, and with whom I had been out of touch for a number of years. As one might guess, she first inquired about recent family news, our health, our life overseas, etc. And, not surprisingly, knowing what I do for a living, she politely but directly asked me for my “take” on the news and recent developments in the Episcopal Church.

A lifelong and loyal Episcopalian herself, she cannot help but be aware and likely distressed by the sometimes sensational press reports predicting and/or speculating on the Episcopal Church’s impending “demise”, “doom”, “split”, “fissure” or “meltdown” (depending upon which news service one happens to read).

I must confess her e-mail sits in my “in box” unanswered as of yet; it’s taken me a while to condense “my take” into a single e-mail. I’ll bet I am not alone in my struggle to “get my head around” all of this.

Wondering about his "take" on the crisis in the Communion? The author was a deputy to the General Convention in Columbus. Can you guess who? Read the rest here.

The Envelope, Please!

2006-06-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

And the nominees in the election for Bishop of Newark are...

the Rev. Canon Michael Lee Barlowe, 50, who serves as the first congregational development officer in the Diocese of California

the Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, 54, currently rector of All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts

the Very Rev. Petero Sabune, 53, pastor and chaplain at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and associate at Trinity Church, Ossining, New York

the Rev. William "Chip" Stokes, 49, currently rector of St. Paul's Church in Delray Beach, Florida.

here

"When I graduated from Harvard and moved to Manhattan to work on Wall Street, I thought I knew exactly where my life was heading: two years of "real world experience," followed by a return to Boston for an MBA, and on to a shining future of unlimited success and happiness. But a funny thing happened on my way to the B-School..."

personal statement

answers

Will the Sun never set on the Anglican Communion?

2006-06-28T07:59:00.000-04:00

Ruth Gledhill is calling yesterday's statement an 'ultimatum' from the +ABC "threatening to exclude the liberal wing" of Anglicanism. She notes that there is "speculation that those in Scotland, New Zealand and other liberal provinces could also" become involved.

The possibility that the worldwide Anglican Communion could, in fact, become a two-tier Church with 'constituent' and 'associate' member churches has +Mark Harris, a GC2006 clerical deputy from the Diocese of Delaware, crying foul.

Quoted in The Times, he says, "General Convention 2006 will go down in history, among other reasons, for the clarity with which the Church of England has attempted to exercise direct and indirect ecclesiastical colonial control.”

Why must this always boil down to the oppression of human rights for these folks? This is not about sex. This is not about entitlement. It's really a question of whether or not we are willing to submit to Holy Scripture. And yesterday's statement could not have been more clear. ++Rowan Williams views Biblical authority as an essential part of theological decision-making.

Indeed, it's the place to start.

The Worldwide Episcopal Communion?

2006-06-28T07:39:00.000-04:00

Here's a prediction this morning from the The Times Online regarding the acceptance of a covenant within the Anglican Communion.

"The repercussions within the American Church will be profound. It is already deeply split between liberals who supported the ordination of Gene Robinson and conservatives who saw the nomination of an openly gay bishop as anathema. The liberals are eager to show that they are not isolated, however, and have changed their name to the Episcopal Church to cement links with some 16 other Anglican communities worldwide. They will, if they leave the orbit of Canterbury, be seen as a rival Anglican communion — and at bitter odds with conservatives in America, who will side with Canterbury."

Note my earlier prediction here that ECUSA, excuse me... TEC was preparing for this possibility.

What They're Saying about The Statement from Lambeth

2006-06-27T20:39:00.000-04:00

This post has been updated throughout the evening.

We've been watching the reaction so far today to the statement from ++Rowan Cantuar. Here’s a quick summary.

The (London) Times Online led with a relatively blunt headline – ‘Worldwide Anglican church to split over gay bishop’, with Ruth Gledhill noting that "the Archbishop of Canterbury has outlined plans to expel the Episcopal Church of the US from the worldwide Anglican Church…proposing a two-track Anglican Communion, with orthodox churches being accorded full, "constituent" membership and the rebel, pro-gay liberals being consigned to "associate" membership." Ruth Gledhill also weighed in on her daily blog.

The BBC opted for a softer approach, sort of an Archbishop-cum-Mister Rogers. The headline, ‘Archbishop raises idea of split’ makes it seem like a friendly suggestion – just an idea. BBC says that the +ABC “favours exploring a system of ‘associated’ Churches” and ‘constituent’ Churches, while acknowledging that those unwilling to enter into a covenant agreement would retain an historical relationship to Anglicanism, much like that of the Methodists.

'Williams Lays Out Two-Tier Membership for Anglicans' is the headline in Daniel Burke's piece for the Religion News Service. According to RNS, the Archbishop sees "the best way forward for the deeply divided Anglican churches" in the adoption of "a Communion-wide covenant and a two-track membership system."

Burke references a number of participants in the Episco-drama, including ACN Moderator ++Robert Duncan, and +Tobias Haller, a NY priest. He also notes the recent statements of Christ Church, Plano, and the Diocese of Fort Worth. Finally, he calls on the fount-of-all-knowledge, the Rev. Dr. Kendall S. Harmon of South Carolina, who says that, "Rowan has a way of standing above it all and trying to connect everything."

The headline from the Associated Press is ‘Archbishop of Canterbury recommends ‘covenant’ for Anglicans,’ and they noted that “feuding Anglicans [were] urged to work toward a structure for co-existing despite differences.” This article from the New York Blade Online, interprets the statement more strongly than I would have imagined, considering their readership is probably primarily LGBT. Their subtitle is “ Episcopals to be pushed out for ordaining openly gay bishop” characterizing today’s statement as a “plan to exclude the U.S. Episcopal Church.”

No matter how they spin this story, so far, everyone’s favorite quote seems to be the acknowledgment that “there is no way in which the Anglican Communion can remain unchanged by what is happening at the moment.”

‘Anglican leader proposes way forward over gay clergy row’ is the report from Agence France Presse, a news agency based in Paris. You can count on the French to lead with sex, can’t you? They note that the +ABC “raised the prospect of division…with those opposed to homosexual clergy and unions forming ‘associated’ or ‘constituent’ churches.” They noted that such an arrangement would remove direct decision-making, and compared it to the relationship which “exists between the Church of England and the Methodist Church.” This wire service, I think, really glossed over the substance of this morning’s letter, preferring to point to the “outrage within the Church” notably “among more conservative elements in Africa.”

Be sure to watch The Guardian for their take on this story. It’s bound to be interesting.

Here it is. The headline reads 'Williams admits church faces split over gay bishops.' The writer, Stephen Bates, acknowledges a probable restructuring of the Anglican Communion into a "looser federation of... central 'constituent' national churches willing to sign up to a full doctrinal covenant of shared beliefs," along with other "churches 'in association' but outside the constitutional structure, accepting some... Anglican beliefs and disciplines."

The outside perspective in the Guardian article comes from the Most Rev Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Canadian Anglican church, who was interviewed on Monday evening. Aware that the Canadian Church "might find itself in the outer circle as it moves towards the blessing of same-sex partnerships," Hutchison said: "If the covenant helps collaboration, absolutely. But if it is exclusionary and disciplinary, that would be utterly inappropriate and un-Anglican and something I would not favour at all."

The Guardian piece termed today's statement "an about-turn", noting that Williams "had previously indicated his opposition to the creation of a federal structure to replace the communion and stressed the need for both sides to work towards reconciliation."

The New York Times, with their headline 'Proposal by Anglican Leader Could Split Church', calls this a "defining moment in the Anglican Communion's civil war over homosexuality" which could "ultimately force the Episcopal Church USA to decide whether having gay bishops and same-sex union ceremonies is worth losing full membership in the Communion."

'Anglican View on Gays Close to an Ultimatum' is how the International Herald Tribune (Europe) put it, printing essentially the same article that ran in the NYT (with a byline by Laurie Goodstein). But what struck me in this article is the perspective from Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, gleaned during a telephone interview.

Kearon downplays the statement, saying that, "for the proposal to be enacted would take at least half a dozen major church meetings spread out over the next three to four years," and adding that "he did not regard the archbishop's proposal as a step toward schism, but rather as an attempt to clarify 'identity and common decision- making procedures.'

The Telegraph (UK) decided on ‘Archbishop of Canterbury plans Anglican split’ and told much the same story as we’ve seen elsewhere, noting that “the proposal comes after the US Episcopal Church, known for its liberal stance, failed to toe the conservative line on homosexuality last week as the majority of the Anglican Communion demanded.”

It’s interesting to see which photos of the +ABC that each site chooses to run. There’s quite a variety, ranging from the Kind, Fatherly Archbishop in the Purple Cassock to the Bushy Eyebrows-and-Beard (somewhat reminiscent of Jack Nicholson in The Shining) photo. Look for your favorite.

The Bishop of Rhode Island Gets It

2006-06-27T18:46:00.000-04:00

"I believe that the issue is not sexuality, but ecclesiology."

"Namely, what does it mean to be a world-wide Communion in a time of great global changes, cultural differences, and various mindsets? Is it desirable? If so, then it is possible?"

"The belief that we will arrive at a consensus of opinion on the issues at hand is unrealistic. Will we both find a way to claim that which binds us together and define the limits that we must not trespass?"

"Will we find it necessary to walk apart?"

More here.

The Rev. Barbara Cheney: Shock and Tears

2006-06-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

Here’s a distraction from the current situation in the Anglican Communion. The Rev. Barbara Cheney, a clerical deputy from the Diocese of Connecticut had an important chalice stolen last Sunday.

From the Hartford Courant:

Officials of the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. James are hoping for the return of a nearly 100-year-old chalice that was stolen sometime on Sunday.

The gold and silver chalice, which is adorned with a dozen semiprecious stones, was consecrated by parishioners in 1909. Church leaders don't believe it was ever appraised, but they consider it priceless.

"The initial response was shock and tears," said the Rev. Barbara Cheney. "I don't know that it ... tests the faith in God. It tests sometimes the faith in other people."

No Turning Back? Integrity, Be Careful What You Ask For

2006-06-27T15:18:00.000-04:00

"There is no way in which the Anglican Communion can remain unchanged by what is happening at the moment"

Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury

See what the BBC is saying about this morning's statement.

Times Online: Rowan Williams Proposes Anglican Split

2006-06-27T11:32:00.000-04:00

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Dr Rowan Williams, is proposing to split the Anglican church (Chris Harris/The Times)

Worldwide Anglican church to split over gay bishop
By Ruth Gledhill

"The Archbishop of Canterbury has outlined plans to expel the Episcopal Church of the US from the worldwide Anglican Church.

"The US branch of Anglicanism is to be punished for consecrating the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, an act which has propelled the worldwide church to the brink of schism.

"Dr Williams is proposing a two-track Anglican Communion, with orthodox churches being accorded full, "constituent" membership and the rebel, pro-gay liberals being consigned to "associate" membership."

Read the rest of Ruth Gledhill's interpretation of the statement from the ABC here and here.

Why we passed A095 and A167

2006-06-27T10:23:00.000-04:00

At the recent General Convention of the Episcopal Church, we spent hours and hours playing with voting machines and practicing our parliamentary procedure. We got very little done for the first week, and then we nit-picked resolutions in order to free them from the constraints of Windsor language. We didn't have time to consider many worthwhile pieces of legislation. But when all was said and done, the General Convention made sure that a few resolutions were passed -- A095 and A167, sacred cows for a number of members of the Human Sexuality subcommittee of Social and Urban Affairs.

Here's why.

'Buried on Page 195 of Jonathan Rauch's new book, Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, is this insight into why the government's stamp of approval isn't actually the one that matters most in the battle over gay marriage: "The full social benefits of gay marriage will come when religions as well as governments customarily bless it: when women marry women in big church ceremonies as parents weep and ministers, solemnly smiling, intone the vows," observes Rauch, a writer in residence at the Brookings Institution.'

'In other words, forget courthouses and city halls; the fight for legitimacy for gay couples will be won under a roof topped by a cross and a steeple. About three-quarters of Americans choose to be married by a member of the clergy. When it comes to weddings, if not regular worship, we remain a country of steadfast churchgoers.'

'It's a point grasped by both proponents and opponents of same-sex unions: Marriage is a threshold, a life-changing event because of its distinct combination of legal, social, and religious significance. For many of us, the importance of the institution is rooted more deeply in joint blessings than in joint tax returns.'

From an April 2004 article in Slate magazine.

Here is the final text of A095 and A167.

Anglican Church in Nigeria gathers for Synod, Conference this week

2006-06-27T09:52:00.000-04:00

Abuja, June 26, 2006

Hundreds of Anglican delegates will this Wednesday gather in Abuja, to launch the 1st National Conference of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and discuss how to build the welfare of the nation.

The three day conference, with the theme ‘Welfare of the Nigerian Nation: Role of the Anglican Communion in Nation Building’ will be declared open on Thursday by the Primate, The Most Rev Peter Akinola.

Delegates will listen to and discuss papers presented on the role of the Church in education, political development and economic development. The conference will also address the role of the church in health, unity of the country, legal development and youth participation.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), otherwise known as the Episcopal Synod begins Monday in Abuja. Over 90 bishops are expected at the two-day meet.

The Bishops are expected to join other delegates for the National conference.

More here.

A Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury

2006-06-27T08:50:00.000-04:00

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today written to the Primates of the Anglican Communion following the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. In addition, he has sent a reflection (see the following post) for "the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Anglican Communion," entitled ‘The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today."

According to Canterbury, "the Primates of the Anglican Communion will meet early next year to consider the matter. In the meantime, a group appointed by the Joint Standing Committee of the ACC and the Primates will be assisting Dr Williams in considering the resolutions of the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church (USA) in response to the questions posed by the Windsor Report."

Here is the text of the letter:

"Following last week's General Convention of the Episcopal Church (USA), I have been preparing some personal reflections on the challenges that lie ahead for us within the Anglican Communion. I have addressed these reflections to a wide readership in the Anglican Communion and they are being made public today on my website. I wanted to bring them to your attention accordingly, for you to draw to the attention of members of your Province in whatever way you see fit.

"These reflections are in no way intended to pre-empt the necessary process of careful assessment of the Episcopal Church's response to the Windsor Report. Rather they are intended to focus the question of what kind of Anglican Communion we wish to be and to explore how this vision might become more of a reality.

"I am also sending you a copy of the press statement I issued at the close of General Convention, which you will see mentions the Joint Standing Committee working party that will be assisting in evaluating the outcome of the 75th General Convention.

"I shall be writing to you again later this week, to invite your own response to me to various questions as the Communion’s discernment process moves ahead.

Rowan CANTUAR”

The text of the press statement mentioned in this letter may be found here.

The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today: A Reflection for the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Anglican Communion

2006-06-27T07:52:00.000-04:00

The Anglican Communion: a Church in Crisis?

What is the current tension in the Anglican Communion actually about? Plenty of people are confident that they know the answer. It’s about gay bishops, or possibly women bishops. The American Church is in favour and others are against – and the Church of England is not sure (as usual).

It’s true that the election of a practising gay person as a bishop in the US in 2003 was the trigger for much of the present conflict. It is doubtless also true that a lot of extra heat is generated in the conflict by ingrained and ignorant prejudice in some quarters; and that for many others, in and out of the Church, the issue seems to be a clear one about human rights and dignity. But the debate in the Anglican Communion is not essentially a debate about the human rights of homosexual people.

"It is possible – indeed, it is imperative – to give the strongest support to the defence of homosexual people against violence, bigotry and legal disadvantage, to appreciate the role played in the life of the church by people of homosexual orientation, and still to believe that this doesn’t settle the question of whether the Christian Church has the freedom, on the basis of the Bible, and its historic teachings, to bless homosexual partnerships as a clear expression of God’s will."

That is disputed among Christians, and, as a bare matter of fact, only a small minority would answer yes to the question.

Unless you think that social and legal considerations should be allowed to resolve religious disputes – which is a highly risky assumption if you also believe in real freedom of opinion in a diverse society – there has to be a recognition that religious bodies have to deal with the question in their own terms. Arguments have to be drawn up on the common basis of Bible and historic teaching. And, to make clear something that can get very much obscured in the rhetoric about ‘inclusion’, this is not and should never be a question about the contribution of gay and lesbian people as such to the Church of God and its ministry, about the dignity and value of gay and lesbian people. Instead it is a question, agonisingly difficult for many, as to what kinds of behaviour a Church that seeks to be loyal to the Bible can bless, and what kinds of behaviour it must warn against – and so it is a question about how we make decisions corporately with other Christians, looking together for the mind of Christ as we share the study of the Scriptures.

Anglican Decision-Making

And this is where the real issue for Anglicans arises. How do we as Anglicans deal with this issue ‘in our own terms’? And what most Anglicans worldwide have said is that it doesn’t help to behave as if the matter had been resolved when in fact it hasn’t... the decision of the Episcopal Church to elect a practising gay man as a bishop was taken without even the American church itself (which has had quite a bit of discussion of the matter) having formally decided as a local Church what it thinks about blessing same-sex partnerships.

There are other fault lines of division, of course, including the legitimacy of ordaining women as priests and bishops. But... the Lambeth Conference did resolve that for the time being those churches that did ordain women as priests and bishops and those that did not had an equal place within the Anglican spectrum. Women bishops attended the last Lambeth Conference. There is a fairly general (though not universal) recognition that differences about this can still be understood within the spectrum of manageable diversity about what the Bible and the tradition make possible. On the issue of practising gay bishops, there has been no such agreement, and it is not unreasonable to seek for a very much wider and deeper consensus before any change is in view, let alone foreclosing the debate by ordaining someone, whatever his personal merits, who was in a practising gay partnership. The recent resolutions of the General Convention have not produced a complete response to the challenges of the Windsor Report, but on this specific question there is at the very least an acknowledgement of the gravity of the situation in the extremely hard work that went into shaping the wording of the final formula.

Very many in the Anglican Communion would want the debate on the substantive ethical question to go on as part of a general process of theological discernment; but they believe that the pre-emptive action taken in 2003 in the US has made such a debate harder not easier... However, institutionally speaking, the Communion is an association of local churches, not a single organisation with a controlling bureaucracy and a universal system of law. So everything depends on what have generally been unspoken conventions of mutual respect. Where these are felt to have been ignored, it is not surprising that deep division results, with the politicisation of a theological dispute taking the place of reasoned reflection.

Thus if other churches have said, in the wake of the events of 2003 that they cannot remain fully in communion with the American Church, this should not be automatically seen as some kind of blind bigotry against gay people. Where such bigotry does show itself it needs to be made clear that it is unacceptable... It is saying that, whatever the presenting issue, no member Church can make significant decisions unilaterally and still expect this to make no difference to how it is regarded in the fellowship; this would be uncomfortably like saying that every member could redefine the terms of belonging as and when it suited them. Some actions – and sacramental actions in particular - just do have the effect of putting a Church outside or even across the central stream of the life they have shared with other Churches. It isn’t a question of throwing people into outer darkness, but of recognising that actions have consequences – and that actions believed in good faith to be ‘prophetic’ in their radicalism are likely to have costly consequences.

Truth and Unity

It is true that witness to what is passionately believed to be the truth sometimes appears a higher value than unity, and there are moving and inspiring examples in the twentieth century. If someone genuinely thinks that a move like the ordination of a practising gay bishop is that sort of thing, it is understandable that they are prepared to risk the breakage of a unity they can only see as false or corrupt. But the risk is a real one; and it is never easy to recognise when the moment of inevitable separation has arrived - to recognise that this is the issue on which you stand or fall and that this is the great issue of faithfulness to the gospel. The nature of prophetic action is that you do not have a cast-iron guarantee that you’re right.

But let’s suppose that there isn’t that level of clarity about the significance of some divisive issue. If we do still believe that unity is generally a way of coming closer to revealed truth (‘only the whole Church knows the whole Truth’ as someone put it), we now face some choices about what kind of Church we as Anglicans are or want to be. Some speak as if it would be perfectly simple – and indeed desirable – to dissolve the international relationships, so that every local Church could do what it thought right. This may be tempting, but it ignores two things at least.

First, it fails to see that the same problems and the same principles apply within local Churches as between Churches...It may be tempting to say, ‘let each local church go its own way’; but once you’ve lost the idea that you need to try to remain together in order to find the fullest possible truth, what do you appeal to in the local situation when serious division threatens?

Second, it ignores the degree to which we are already bound in with each other’s life through a vast network of informal contacts and exchanges... They mean that no local Church and no group within a local Church can just settle down complacently with what it or its surrounding society finds comfortable. The Church worldwide is not simply the sum total of local communities... An isolated local Church is less than a complete Church.

Both of these points are really grounded in the belief that our unity is something given to us prior to our choices - let alone our votes. ‘You have not chosen me but I have chosen you’, says Jesus to his disciples; and when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we are saying that we are all there as invited guests, not because of what we have done. The basic challenge ... ‘Are we joining together in one act of Holy Communion, one Eucharist, throughout the world, or are we just celebrating our local identities and our personal preferences?’

The Anglican Identity

The reason Anglicanism is worth bothering with is because it has tried to find a way of being a Church that is neither tightly centralised nor just a loose federation of essentially independent bodies – a Church that is seeking to be a coherent family of communities meeting to hear the Bible read, to break bread and share wine as guests of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate a unity in worldwide mission and ministry. That is what the word ‘Communion’ means for Anglicans, and it is a vision that has taken clearer shape in many of our ecumenical dialogues.

Of course it is possible to produce a self-deceiving, self-important account of our worldwide identity, to pretend that we were a completely international and universal institution like the Roman Catholic Church. We’re not. But we have tried to be a family of Churches willing to learn from each other across cultural divides, not assuming that European (or American or African) wisdom is what settles everything, opening up the lives of Christians here to the realities of Christian experience elsewhere. And we have seen these links not primarily in a bureaucratic way but in relation to the common patterns of ministry and worship – the community gathered around Scripture and sacraments; a ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, a biblically-centred form of common prayer, a focus on the Holy Communion. These are the signs that we are not just a human organisation but a community trying to respond to the action and the invitation of God that is made real for us in ministry and Bible and sacraments... There is an identity here, however fragile and however provisional.

But what our Communion lacks is a set of adequately developed structures which is able to cope with the diversity of views that will inevitably arise in a world of rapid global communication and huge cultural variety. The tacit conventions between us need spelling out – not for the sake of some central mechanism of control but so that we have ways of being sure we’re still talking the same language, aware of belonging to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Christ. It is becoming urgent to work at what adequate structures for decision-making might look like. We need ways of translating this underlying sacramental communion into a more effective institutional reality, so that we don’t compromise or embarrass each other in ways that get in the way of our local and our universal mission, but learn how to share responsibility.

Future Directions

The idea of a ‘covenant’ between local Churches (developing alongside the existing work being done on harmonising the church law of different local Churches) is one method that has been suggested, and it seems to me the best way forward. It is necessarily an ‘opt-in’ matter. Those Churches that were prepared to take this on as an expression of their responsibility to each other would limit their local freedoms for the sake of a wider witness; and some might not be willing to do this. We could arrive at a situation where there were ‘constituent’ Churches in covenant in the Anglican Communion and other ‘churches in association’, which were still bound by historic and perhaps personal links, fed from many of the same sources, but not bound in a single and unrestricted sacramental communion, and not sharing the same constitutional structures. The relation would not be unlike that between the Church of England and the Methodist Church, for example. The ‘associated’ Churches would have no direct part in the decision making of the ‘constituent’ Churches, though they might well be observers whose views were sought or whose expertise was shared from time to time, and with whom significant areas of co-operation might be possible.

This leaves many unanswered questions, I know, given that lines of division run within local Churches as well as between them - and not only on one issue (we might note the continuing debates on the legitimacy of lay presidency at the Eucharist). It could mean the need for local Churches to work at ordered and mutually respectful separation between ‘constituent’ and ‘associated’ elements; but it could also mean a positive challenge for Churches to work out what they believed to be involved in belonging in a global sacramental fellowship, a chance to rediscover a positive common obedience to the mystery of God’s gift that was not a matter of coercion from above but of that ‘waiting for each other’ that St Paul commends to the Corinthians.

There is no way in which the Anglican Communion can remain unchanged by what is happening at the moment. Neither the liberal nor the conservative can simply appeal to a historic identity that doesn’t correspond with where we now are. We do have a distinctive historic tradition – a reformed commitment to the absolute priority of the Bible for deciding doctrine, a catholic loyalty to the sacraments and the threefold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, and a habit of cultural sensitivity and intellectual flexibility that does not seek to close down unexpected questions too quickly. But for this to survive with all its aspects intact, we need closer and more visible formal commitments to each other. And it is not going to look exactly like anything we have known so far. Some may find this unfamiliar future conscientiously unacceptable, and that view deserves respect. But if we are to continue to be any sort of ‘Catholic’ church... we have some very hard work to do to embody this more clearly. The next Lambeth Conference ought to address this matter directly and fully as part of its agenda.

The different components in our heritage can, up to a point, flourish in isolation from each other. But any one of them pursued on its own would lead in a direction ultimately outside historic Anglicanism... Pursued far enough in isolation, each of these would lead to a different place – to strict evangelical Protestantism, to Roman Catholicism, to religious liberalism. To accept that each of these has a place in the church’s life and that they need each other means that the enthusiasts for each aspect have to be prepared to live with certain tensions or even sacrifices...

Conclusion

...Being an Anglican in the way I have sketched involves certain concessions and unclarities but provides at least for ways of sharing responsibility and making decisions that will hold and that will be mutually intelligible. No-one can impose the canonical and structural changes that will be necessary. All that I have said above should make it clear that the idea of an Archbishop of Canterbury resolving any of this by decree is misplaced, however tempting for many. The Archbishop of Canterbury presides and convenes in the Communion, and may do what this document attempts to do, which is to outline the theological framework in which a problem should be addressed; but he must always act collegially, with the bishops of his own local Church and with the primates and the other instruments of communion.

That is why the process currently going forward of assessing our situation in the wake of the General Convention is a shared one... My hope is that the period ahead - of detailed response to the work of General Convention, exploration of new structures, and further refinement of the covenant model - will renew our positive appreciation of the possibilities of our heritage so that we can pursue our mission with deeper confidence and harmony.

Read the complete statement here.

William Murchison: Eyewitness to GC2006

2006-06-26T22:10:00.000-04:00

"We Episcopalians, here in Columbus, just elected a new presiding bishop named Katharine Jefferts Schori. I guess she's nice enough; she went to Stanford, holds a Ph.D. and speaks well."

"Her experience as a bishop in Nevada? Minimal. Her previous experience as a priest? Less than minimal."

"What got her where she is? Two things: her sex and her commitment to those issues that most fascinate today's Episcopal Church -- peace and justice."

Read the whole story here.

From the "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" department

2006-06-26T19:40:00.000-04:00

Catholic Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl emphasized the power of faith yesterday during his first homily and Mass as archbishop of the Washington Diocese.

The archbishop told of a boy named "Little Dominick" whom he met early in his religious career. Dominick said he believed in Jesus through the teachings of the Catholic Church, even though nobody had seen Him in the past 2,000 years, Archbishop Wuerl said.

"I'll always remember it," the archbishop told about 900 worshippers who assembled at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on Rhode Island Avenue Northwest. "I find it amazing ... that extraordinary message. ... It requires a great act of faith to accept this."

Read the rest here.

Here's a cartoon while we await the upcoming statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury

2006-06-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

Statement? Yes, there's talk of a word from Lambeth Palace. Stay tuned or check with Kendall, or Greg, or Binky, or your favorite source of Windsor Anglican news. (Could there be other sources of news? Nah!)

Too bad we didn't see this guy last Tuesday morning...
More fun from Dave Walker at Cartoon Church

What it means to be a Windsor Anglican

2006-06-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

"As the Mother Superior told Sister Maria in the "Sound of Music," where God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window. What window is God opening for Windsor Anglicans in North America?

There is a window open and the window is called Jesus. "Lord, to whom would we go?" Peter said when Jesus asked if the disciples would also leave him.

"You have the words of real life, eternal life. We've already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:68-69.

An excellent reflection from Mary Ailes, a member of Truro Church and a GC2006 blogger par excellence.

Kendall Harmon writes The Times

2006-06-26T16:37:00.000-04:00

Reprinted with the permission of the author, who was, at the time this letter was written, a Ph.D. candidate at Keble College, Oxford.

The title of his dissertation? Finally excluded from God?: Some twentieth century theological explorations of the problem of hell and universalism with reference to the historical development of these doctrines.

A Letter to the Editor of The Times (London) in 1992

From the Reverend Kendall S. Harmon

Sir, Conor Cruise O'Brien's arguments (article, April 22) against John Patten's call for greater fear of hell and damnation (report, April 17) may be summarised as follows: hell ``is for the others'', it does not work as a deterrent, and only those whose minds have been ``steeped in traditional Christian theology are capable of reconciling the notion of infinite love with the practice of eternal punishment''. Therefore, it should be left quietly alone.

Throughout his column he focuses his criticism on the idea of hell as ``fire and brimstone'' in spite of the fact that (a) Mr Patten did not specify the ``damnation'' which he hopes Britain will be taught and (b) a careful reading of the New Testament reveals that there are three images of hell and not one: punishment, destruction, and personal exclusion.

The most important function of hell in Christian thinking is the one which Dr O'Brien never discusses: hell serves as the alternative to salvation. Mr Patten recognised this by calling for the teaching of redemption and damnation.

The two belong together: to deny hell in any form is implicitly to repudiate the requirement of redemption.

If men and women do not need to be saved then the central focus of Christianity, the cross, loses its primary significance and the Church loses her sense of urgency and moral seriousness.

Dr O'Brien would do well to think on these words from Soren Kierkegaard:

Do away with the terrors of eternity (either eternal happiness or eternal perdition) and the idea of an imitation of Christ is fantastic. Only the seriousness of eternity can compel and move a man to take such a daring decision and answer for his so doing.

Sincerely,

KENDALL S. HARMON,
24 Princes Street, Oxford.
April 23.

Just in from Brad Drell

2006-06-26T16:10:00.000-04:00

Western Louisiana lay deputy Brad Drell has an interesting report on Bp. MacPherson's visit to St. Paul's, Shreveport yesterday.

And everyone in the blogosphere is frantically hitting the refresh button as we await a statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury today.

Kudos for Kay Meyer

2006-06-26T15:54:00.000-04:00

From the Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander in the e-newsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta:

"Meeting alongside the General Convention was the Triennial Assembly of the Episcopal Church Women, and again we were well represented by women from across the diocese. Kay Meyer, a faithful servant from St. Andrew’s Parish in Fort Valley, was elected church-wide president of the Episcopal Church Women. Congratulations, Kay!"

To read the rest, visit the website of the Diocese of Atlanta and subscribe.

Psyched for Ministry

2006-06-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

An interesting read, especially considering some of the stories the Commission on Ministry hears about "the process" in more liberal dioceses.

"The call to Christian ministry came in my mid-20s. At that time, I was living in Tennessee and had been taking classes for personal enrichment at Sewanee School of Theology. I was also leading mission trips to support an orphanage and seminary begun by Anglican Sudanese in a refugee camp in northern Uganda. I found that I had a natural inclination toward preaching and pastoral care."

"So I began an official discernment process with my Episcopal Church in Sewanee. Shortly afterward, my husband and I were obliged to move to New Jersey, where I had my first taste of the paralyzing red tape that governs Episcopal polity. Because I had not officially become a candidate in the discernment process in Tennessee, I was compelled to begin the process all over again, at square one, this time in a new diocese."

"Undaunted, I complied. After all, I still had all of the idealism and high hopes of one who has discovered her passion and vocation in life, and I was chomping at the bit to serve God and God's church. The only thing that was standing in the way, it turned out, was . . . God's church. But I had no idea just what I was in for."

"I remember clearly that first visit to headquarters. With a plastic smile, the smartly dressed "canon for ministry development" (canon is a fancy term for the bishop's right-hand person) described a Byzantine system of hurdles designed to weed out the undesirables and make absolutely sure that ordination is the right path. Then she uttered the lines she undoubtedly repeated to every bright-eyed and bushy-tailed candidate: "Trust the process."

"A big part of that process was psychotherapy. Lots of it. The diocese had recommended one to three years of therapy to nearly half of the candidates who had come forward in the past year. Their calls were put on hold until the psychological evaluations came in. Only then would the diocese decide whether a candidate was truly intended for ordained ministry, or if he or she would be better off selling real estate."

"One full year after that first visit, I faced the next challenge in the ordination obstacle course: the dreaded psychological exam. This consisted of a breathtakingly immense packet of assessments, ranging from the standard Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (intended to weed out psychotic killers and child molesters) to a questionnaire asking for spontaneous word associations. Once completed, these forms were dissected and analyzed over two days on a couch with a shrink, who then wrote a report detailing my psychological profile and her recommendations."

"I considered myself a fairly normal person, but when, early one morning, I received a call from the psychologist, I got a little scared. In urgent, staccato tones, she informed me that I had left so many questions blank that the test would be difficult to score. I nervously explained that I did not know that I had left that many questions blank, and that I had not known how to answer particular questions, such as "Do you like to flirt?" with either a yes or no. (The test did not allow "maybe" answers.) Over the phone, we reviewed the unanswered questions and I obediently filled in the blanks with ayes and nays. When the test results came back, I had scored well within the "normal" range on the MMPI, meaning I got the all clear on diagnosable manias and phobias. What a relief!"

"The fact that I had grown up in an evangelical missionary home, with a strong father who was conservative about sexual mores, presented other problems. When asked to describe my earliest childhood memory, I had recalled the time my father read J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to my brother and me, and we then played a game of "Captain Hook," with my father pretending to be Captain Hook in search of small victims to be tickled. This tidbit of information elicited an exclamation from the shrink, as if, in mining the deep recesses of my subconscious, she had finally seized upon the prized nugget of gold."

"That's fascinating!" she mused, taking off her horn-rimmed glasses. "The hobbit is a small, marginalized creature trying to assert himself, and Captain Hook is a strong, patriarchal and oppressive figure." Somehow, in the innocent retelling of a childhood memory, I had succeeded in painting my father as an ogre whose oppressive regime I had tried to overthrow."

Read the rest of the story.

Terry Mattingly: When is a reporter a reporter and when is a reporter a blogger?

2006-06-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

"Anyone who follows what Ruth Gledhill has to say at her "Articles of Faith" website knows that she has strong religious opinions...Gledhill has a right to her opinions, of course.

"But she isn't just another Anglican with a "weblog," one of dozens of "bloggers" who flooded the Internet with news, rumors and opinions during the tumultuous events this week in Columbus, Ohio.

"Gledhill is the religion correspondent for The Times of London. Thus, she writes waves of regular newspaper stories, as well as columns that mix traditional reporting with her own analysis. And now, blessed by her editors, she writes thousands of words each week at her "blog" -- ranging from coverage of theological issues that may be too complex for the regular news pages to personal observations about her own parish and her own faith. She isn't alone. The Times offers dozens of blogs by reporters covering everything from politics to fashion footwear, from movies to gay family life.

"Many editors want their reporters to blog and many others do not. What happens when journalists who are supposed to write unbiased stories about hot issues start airing opinions online that tell readers what they really think? When is a reporter a reporter and when is a reporter a blogger?"

Here's the rest of the story.

Note: Gledhill is the daughter of an Anglican clergyman. With a lifetime spent in the Church of England and two decades of religion reporting, she offers a unique perspective vis a vis the unfolding Anglican crisis -- one I look forward to reading.

Did you miss this wedding in the New York Times two weeks ago?

2006-06-26T00:05:00.000-04:00

Travis Scott Wright and Marc Paul Diaz were married yesterday afternoon at Christ Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Mass. Kerry Brock, a friend of theirs, who was authorized by Massachusetts to solemnize the marriage, officiated, and the Rev. Joseph Robinson, the rector of the church, led a religious ceremony.

Mr. Diaz (above, right) and Mr. Wright met as graduate students at Harvard. Mr. Wright, who holds a master's in education from Harvard, was awarded a doctorate in education there on Thursday. Mr. Diaz, who holds a Harvard undergraduate degree cum laude, received an M.B.A. and a master's in public administration on Thursday.

Mr. Wright is 31. He is on the board of the Points of Light Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Washington that encourages volunteerism. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee.

His mother, Linda Majors of Russellville, Tenn., is a registered nurse at Wellmont Hawkins County Memorial Hospital in Rogersville, Tenn. His father, Charles D. Wright II of Springdale, Ark., is a truck driver there.

Mr. Diaz, 28, is to become an associate in September in the Washington office of McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm, where he will specialize in financial institutions. From 1999 to 2001 he was a business analyst at McKinsey's headquarters in New York.

His mother, Diane Diaz of Cooper City, Fla., is the assistant director of the JFK Library in Hialeah, Fla. His father, Jesus Diaz of Mexico City, is the director of marketing and sales at Grupo Sevilla, a hotel chain there.

Source: New York Times

Another Cartoon Flap?

2006-06-25T23:40:00.000-04:00

From Sunday's Letters to the Editor in the Columbus Dispatch:

Editorial cartoon insulted church, gays

The June 15 Dispatch editorial cartoon showing two men, identified as Episcopalians, holding hands displays an insensitivity to issues facing most mainline churches in this country. The assumption by the other couple, that the men are both gay and Episcopalian, seems to be a judgment by the editorial staff that the small group of traditionalists in the Episcopal Church should be supported.

This minority faction is hiding church politics behind the smokescreen of religious tradition. This isn’t about religion; it’s about taking control of the church and requiring all members to believe as they do. Where is understanding, compassion and sympathy?

The cartoon is judgmental, saying that the gay community has no place at the table. The kingdom of God should be inclusive and not exclusive. All people fit the kingdom, with no exceptions. Gays should have the same expectations of serving the church in all offices of the church, Episcopal or other! I’m not gay and I’m a member of the Episcopal Church.

Shame on you. As a minimum you owe the gay community an apology.

R.T. DYER
Columbus

Here's the offending cartoon:

TIME Magazine, July 3, 2006

2006-06-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

From the MILESTONES column, p. 23:

ELECTED. Katharine Jefferts Schori, 52, theologically liberal Episcopal bishop of Nevada; as Presiding Bishop of the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., becoming the first woman to lead a province of the global Anglican Communion; in Columbus, Ohio. Citing her support of the 2003 consecration of openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, conservatives predicted she would further alienate the U.S. church--which 30 years ago made history by ordaining women--from Anglicanism's more traditional branches.

Spin, Spin, Spin...

2006-06-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

Oasis California President Warns 'compomise' is dead on arrival

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The head of the Bay Area's LGBT Episcopal ministry warns a "compromise" resolution passed by the General Convention to prevent a schism in the worldwide Anglican Communion is "dead on arrival."

"The compromise measure rammed through the General Convention last week has been undermined by those who are determined to break apart the Anglican Communion," Oasis President Rev. John Kirkley said. "The ink on the resolution was hardly dry when conservative American Episcopalians flatly rejected the compromise. Ultra-conservative Anglican bishops in Africa have joined the chorus, demanding our church 'repent' for making Gene Robinson the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and stop blessing same gender couples."

"The good news for LGBT Episcopalians is: the convention rejected this extreme demand. Only last minute pressure from our top bishops forced approval of an unworkable -- and unworthy -- compromise," he added. "Once again, gay and lesbian Christians were sacrificed for the "sake of the Communion."
"Once again we see that no matter how great a sacrifice gay and lesbians make, we can never satisfy the ultra-conservatives who want to lead their own church."

Huh? Were we at the same convention? Shouldn't that read "once again we see that no matter what happens, the conservatives will never compromise on the Truth of the Gospel?" Here's the rest of their version of the story.

VGR: "My advice...do it quick."

2006-06-25T22:34:00.000-04:00

Dave Hartline interviews Kendall Harmon, Gene Robinson, Susan Russell, and Greg Griffith -- interesting reading. Here are a few of the questions for ++VGR below.

Dave Hartline: What are your views on abortion? The reason I ask is I have worked with people in the Catholic Church that I knew to be homosexual, and as liberal or progressive as some were, many seemed to be pro-life. They seemed to equate the unborn with their situation. I don’t see that here. How do you feel?

Bishop Robinson: Well, I can certainly understand those you spoke of equating their situation with those in the womb. However, I believe in the Episcopal Church’s teachings. I believe in viability. I don’t counsel women to have an abortion past the first trimester. My advice has always been if you are going to get an abortion do it quick.

Dave Hartline: When is viability? I just put a story on my website about a baby who survived an abortion years ago and she just sang in the Colorado General Assembly. What if a woman came to you and said she’s getting an abortion in her second or third trimester?

Bishop Robinson: Well it’s her right to choose so, though I would be personally against it, that’s her decision. The young woman you mentioned, well, that’s why I believe in getting abortions as early as possible.

Read the rest at Stand Firm.

Conscientious Objection?

2006-06-25T22:05:00.000-04:00

This paragraph is taken from the recent Statement of Conscience put forth by a group of bishops, led by ++John Chane of the Diocese of Washington, who rose to prayerfully dissent from the actions of General Convention 2006 in passing Resolution B033 on the Election of Bishops.

"Our conversation has been framed in a flawed paradigm, forcing us to choose between two goods—the full inclusion in the life of the Church of our brother and sister Christians who happen to be gay or lesbian and our full inclusion in the life of our beloved Communion."

Don't they mean 'forcing us to choose between two gods'?

A Statement from the Rector of Holy Cross in Response to General Convention 2006

2006-06-25T13:59:00.000-04:00

Dear friends and parish family,

General Convention 2006 is over, and I truly thank you for your constant prayer while we delegates dealt with interminable political maneuvering and resolutions designed to obfuscate. We went to General Convention with one overarching plan – to force clarification upon those who wanted none, and to lose gracefully. It would be an understatement to say that we accomplished our goal on both accounts.

The House of Deputies and the House of Bishops failed to affirm the Windsor Report, and the insipid resolution that we did pass, B-033, was immediately rejected by 20 revisionist bishops who said they would not abide by it. We also passed a resolution that opposes any state or federal constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex civil marriage or civil unions, and we passed a resolution that states that parts of Holy Scripture are Anti-Semitic.

The bishops chose the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori to be our next Presiding Bishop, and the House of Deputies confirmed her by an approximate 90% margin. Ms. Schori is indisputably the least qualified Presiding Bishop ever chosen, having never served as a rector of a church, and having been a bishop for only five years. In addition, her theological leanings are those of radical revisionism. In her first sermon to General Convention, Katharine Schori referred to Jesus as “our mother, who gives birth to a new creation.” She voted for, and ardently supports Gene Robinson, and she sees nothing but goodness in homosexuality, which she described as just a different gifting.

The Official Convention worship was described as often non-Trinitarian by our Canon Theologian who attended every service. There was no cnfession of sin at any Communion except the Sunday service. The sermons were for the most part borderline heresy; being Pelagian at best, and sounding like Marcion at worst.

What is clear is that we have two entirely different religions now trying to exist under one name. The Episcopal Church as revealed at General Convention 2006 no longer even remotely resembles the Episcopal Church I once knew. As a result, I find that I must repudiate the national leadership of the Episcopal Church as it is presently constituted, and I repudiate the Episcopal Church that the present national leadership would want us to embrace.

Our Diocesan Standing Committee will meet in a special session this Wednesday, June 28^th, and I fully expect them to respond to this Convention strongly and decisively. I ask your prayers as we move ahead in the coming months. I also ask you to remember that we are going to be just fine. I join with our bishops who wrote to us and said:

"Our future as a diocese in full Communion with the worldwide Anglican Communion is bright, and our gospel energy in our parishes and missions is strong. What is critical is that we seek to navigate these turbulent waters together as a diocese, and not simply as individuals or even individual parishes. The Lord will bring us through this time stronger than ever before if we all begin to take more initiative as a body.”

May our Lord Jesus Christ give us grace as we navigate these uncharted waters, and may we rely solely upon Him.

John Burwell+

What I Said on the Sunday After the General Convention in 2003

2006-06-24T23:35:00.000-04:00

It's interesting to look back at where we were in August of 2003. I ran across this statement on the St. Philip's website which I shared on the Sunday following the last General Convention.

Here's what I said.

The General Convention in Minneapolis was full of irony. About a week before I left, I was praying, and the Holy Spirit gave me a scripture: Isaiah 43:19, and I told a few of you about it. It says, "Behold, I am doing a new thing," and it promises us a way in the wilderness, and water in the desert. And I took great comfort in that scripture...

The incredible irony is that the folks at Claiming the Blessing, the lobby for full inclusion of homosexuals in the Church, use that same scripture to justify their agenda. It just goes to show you that interpretation is everything.

But GOD IS GOOD and He kept His promise to me in Minneapolis: He allowed the complete and total heresy that exists in the Church to be revealed in new and different ways than in past conventions. As we testified at hearings on same-sex blessings and the confirmation of Gene Robinson, we heard one story after another--from clergy detailing illegal blessings that they had conducted in their dioceses with the support of their bishop to blessings that many of them had participated in, and the difference it had made in the lives of them and of their partners....A priest from the Diocese of Maryland read a statement from their youth presence in support of the development of rites for inclusion in the prayer book. Shame on those in the Diocese of Maryland for allowing their youth to reflect their depraved lifestyles. Never before had we heard tales like these. Peter Lee, the bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, stated last Thursday morning and I quote, "The Diocese of Virginia continues to affirm its policy that the normative context for sexual intimacy is lifelong, monogamous marriage." And then we watched as their entire deputation voted in favor of local option same-gender blessings.

But GOD IS GOOD.
He allowed the Presiding Bishop to reach new heights of pluralism. We had some of the weirdest worship ever. Strange new age instruments, the noticeable absence of the word "Jesus." Where was the confession, the penitent language? But the Lord provided an alternative in a wonderful Forward in Faith worship service held by orthodox bishops at the Presbyterian Church down the street. Inspiring hymns, great sermons, and a focus on the Truth. A much better way to start the day.

But GOD IS GOOD.
Everyday during the lunch recess, we'd head to the Lutheran Church across the street from the convention center where the American Anglican Council had set up their headquarters. They had brought in a chef to prepare a light lunch for us each day, and Doug McGlynn from the Diocese of Pittsburgh would give us a great meditation. John Guernsey would give us a legislative briefing. The AAC had volunteers who would sit in on all 24 committee meetings in the early mornings, and then compile updates on the status of all resolutions. Martyn Minns from Truro Church would give us further guidance on what might come up on the house floor in the afternoon. There were around 300 resolutions that required action during the 10 legislative days. The AAC helped organize all of the hearing testimony, and they were available to help us with anything we needed. But the greatest thing they did was to keep us shored up during the really difficult times. They kept us focused, and reminded us that the primates were behind us. And they continue to work on our behalf by organizing an October meeting in Plano, Texas, to plan for the future.

GOD IS GOOD.
Because although the General Convention managed to turn the Changeless Gospel into the Ever-Changing Gospel, we are not defeated. It is they who have abandoned the Church. We will be fine.

Because God is doing a new thing, and although I don't have all the details, I know it will be according to His plan.

As John Burwell would say, "It is Day Five of the new Church," and the Lord will provide for us as we continue to share His Changeless Gospel at St. Philip's Church in the Diocese of South Carolina!

Let's Talk About Jesus

2006-06-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

It has been very important in this last decade for the Diocese of South Carolina to have a presence, voice and vote at the triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

But as important as what we say and do at Convention is, I'd much rather talk about Jesus. That's why I've loved serving as the president of the Province IV Episcopal Church Women for these last three years (and why I'm tickled that Margie Williams is the new president).

Part of the fun each year has been coordinating the Province IV ECW Conference at Kanuga. To see a bit of this year's event, check out this slideshow.

A Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of South Carolina in response to the 2006 General Convention

2006-06-24T19:49:00.000-04:00

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

I write in sadness to tell you that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church taken as a whole did not respond adequately to the plea of the Anglican Communion as expressed in the Windsor Report. A number of bishops in the Church of England and Primates throughout the Anglican Communion have agreed with this assessment.

Our worship in Columbus often focused just on God with only occasional references to the Trinity. Our daily eucharists omitted confession of sin (on the one Sunday service we had confession was mercifully included). We elected as Presiding Bishop the person of all the seven candidates who is in deepest disagreement with the theology of the Anglican Communion, and who with her whole diocese moved ahead to allow same sex blessings in October 2003 on the eve of the Primates meeting later that same week. Many more similar actions could be mentioned, but the point is clear: the Episcopal Church as its leadership understands itself to be is at fundamental odds with the majority of the Anglican Communion as well as our common vision here in the diocese of South Carolina.

Let me remind you that the Windsor Report, put together by a large group of people from throughout the breadth and depth of the Anglican Communion, made important specific requests of us as a Province.

We were asked to express regret for what we did and the consequences which followed-and in Columbus we changed the language in which our regret was expressed away from the language of the Windsor report. We were asked to place a moratorium on same sex blessings-and we did not do so. We were also asked to place a moratorium on any person who was in a non-celibate same gender partnership being elected or consecrated as a bishop. At first the House of Deputies voted not to do so on the second to last day of Convention. Then, on the very last day of Convention, using a process which pushed both Houses backs up against the wall, and which violated our own rules, we passed a nonbinding resolution which pleaded with bishops and Standing Committees (but not electing Conventions) to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion." Even in this resolution we did not use the specific language of the Windsor Report but the vague language of "manner of life" which presents "a challenge." Immediately after this was passed in the House of Deputies, a number of bishops led by Bishop Chane of Washington, D.C., a friend with whom I have worked for the last year to seek resolution to this crisis, issued a statement of conscience making clear they had no intention of following the resolution.

The overall picture is very clear. As the Council of Anglican Primates in Africa June 22nd statement put it, the General Convention 2006 "elections and actions suggest that" we "are unable to embrace the essential recommendations of the Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué necessary for the healing of our divisions."

Where do we go from here? Our future as a diocese in full Communion with the worldwide Anglican Communion is bright, and our gospel energy in our parishes and missions is strong. What is critical is that we seek to navigate these turbulent waters together as a diocese, and not simply as individuals or even individual parishes. The Lord will bring us through this time stronger than ever before if we all begin to take more initiative as a body.

Bishop Skilton and I ask your prayers for the Standing Committee as they meet June 28th, and for the clergy day set for July 5th. We also ask your prayers as we prepare to elect a new bishop this September. As is always the case, please be in touch with us directly should you have any questions.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Edward L. Salmon, Jr.
XIII Bishop of South Carolina

William J. Skilton
Bishop Suffragan of South Carolina

Another Daft American Idea

2006-06-24T14:34:00.000-04:00

Richard Ingrams in The Independent (London):

"The conflicts over gay bishops etc, which are threatening to break up the Anglican communion, are reported as a struggle between the traditionalists and the liberals. I would prefer to see the dispute as one between those who are still reasonably sane and others who are dangerously bonkers."

"It was a view confirmed by the pronouncement this week by the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in America, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who in her first sermon told the congregation: "Our Mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation - and you and I are His children."

Kendall Harmon: Must See TV

2006-06-24T10:55:00.001-04:00

Video 14 Part I

See how the Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon spent his summer. The Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina gives an insightful introduction to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This is Must See TV!

We are especially grateful to Kevin Kallsen from The Connecticut Six for making more than two dozen videos which bring you a perspective which you will not get from the Episcopal News Service. To watch all of the videos, visit theCTSix GC2006 Video page.

Kendall Harmon: Part Deux

2006-06-24T10:55:00.000-04:00

Video 14 Part II

The Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon's trip to Columbus, Part II. Hear more about his impressions of General Convention and the legislation he introduced (which was too dangerous to be brought to the House of Deputies floor for discussion). For more +KSH, visit TitusOneNine.

We are especially grateful to Kevin Kallsen from The Connecticut Six for making more than two dozen videos which bring you a perspective which you will not get from the Episcopal News Service. To watch all of the videos, visit theCTSix GC2006 Video page.

Cal Thomas on GC2006

2006-06-23T23:37:00.000-04:00

"The new leader of the Episcopal Church in America, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, says she does not believe homosexuality is a sin and that homosexuals were created by God to love people of the same gender."

"As the Episcopal leadership continues to huff and puff to catch up with the world, it would be helpful if it could tell its members what it regards as sinful behavior, or will the concept of sin soon be up for negotiation in order to avoid giving offense to anyone?"

Read the rest of the article.

Christopher Caldwell: A Church Whose Day is Done

2006-06-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

"The Republican party at prayer" is the way Americans used to snicker at the Episcopal Church, the snobby, worldly US branch of the Anglican communion. Recently, though, the church has taken on a new identity in the eyes of the world: as the gay-rights movement at prayer.

Church leaders met in Columbus, Ohio, last week to vote on dozens of pressing internal matters. They elected the church's first-ever female presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, to lead it for the next nine years. But all of that won public notice only in relation to the leaders' deliberations over gay ordinations, gay bishops and gay marriages.

"Such questions disturb all churches nowadays but gay issues are a particularly big problem for Episcopalianism. One reason is that the church is dying.

"Through decades in which Americans have moved to more conservative denominations, Episcopalians swam with the social tide and against the religious one, trying to anticipate rather than adapt to new movements that speak in the name of liberation. This won the church political kudos particularly during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa but it never drew spiritually hungry people into the pews."

"With just over 2m worshippers, the Episcopal Church is smaller than in generations. Its influence comes from the inertia of the era when it was the church of the few, the rich and the well-born.

"The US church has another problem: it is at odds with the practices of the global Anglican communion, whose 75m members make up the world's third largest church body. Most of Anglicanism's 38 "provinces" do not ordain women, as the US church has done since 1976, and only three Canada and New Zealand are the others elect women bishops. But it was the elevation of an outspoken homosexual, Gene Robinson, to be the bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 that led the thriving African churches, along with several traditional dioceses in the US, to threaten to break communion with the Episcopal Church. Going into last week's conclave, a schism in Anglicanism looked possible. Now it looks probable."

Read the rest of this article in the Financial Times (subscription required)

A Look Back: The 2003 Annual Convention of the Diocese of Nevada

2006-06-23T22:15:00.000-04:00

The PB-elect of the Episcopal Church, ++Katharine Jefferts Schori, attended her first General Convention as Bishop of Nevada in July of 2003 in Minneapolis. At GC2003, she voted for the confirmation of Gene Robinson as Bishop-elect of New Hampshire. In October of the same year, Bp. Jefferts Schori presided over the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Nevada where a resolution authorizing the blessing of same-sex partnerships was passed.

Below are, in part, the opening remarks of the Bishop of Nevada, along with the text of the resolution.

"I have come to understand that sexual orientation is primarily a given characteristic, rather than one that is chosen. I have come to this conclusion after reading the results of scientific studies, and hearing the stories of those who know themselves to have a same-sex orientation."

"...At the same time, I recognize that there are many good and faithful Christians who hold a view that is very different from my own...I am very much aware that there is a fair bit of anxiety in this room about the resolution we will debate this afternoon.

"Before we get there, I want to say that part of our difficulty lies in not having a fully developed and uniformly held theology of marriage, let alone what is being asked for in blessing same-sex relationships. That is largely the result of the way in which Anglicans do theology. We are not a people who figure everything out and then develop a liturgical rite that spells that out in great detail."

"...Our theology continues to develop...We understand marriage far differently today than we did in 1549. We have discovered new things about the centrality of baptism in using the Prayer Book of 1979.

"What gay and lesbian people are asking of the church is a prayer form, a liturgical container, in which partners may make promises to each other that their unions be faithful and lifelong. If we are going to contemplate moving in that direction, I want to make several things clear. No priest can be forced to preside at any service of the church...The nature of blessing a relationship, whether a marriage or a same-sex partnership, means that the community who stand with the couple also promise to bless them. Not every community can bless every relationship.

"Let me summarize my expectations by saying that in any request for the church's blessing on either a marriage or a same-sex union in this diocese I expect the parish to have a policy in place, I expect that counseling has taken place to determine the soundness of the relationship, and I expect that the Christian community who will gather with the couple can also bless their relationship.

"...One of the learnings for me since General Convention has been that Nevada never participated in the church-wide dialogues about human sexuality which the larger church asked of us about ten years ago...I am going to ask every congregation to engage in study, prayer, and dialogue about these issues in the coming year.

And after members of the convention committed themselves to study and dialogue on issues of human sexuality, they passed the following resolution:

Recognize Ceremonies to Celebrate Relationships of Mutuality and Fidelity

“Whereas, the Episcopal Church professes that at its best, a Christian community lifts up its members, freeing their gifts and supporting their life;

"THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the 33rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, desiring to support relationships of mutuality and fidelity which mediate the grace of God between those persons for whom the celebration and blessing of a marriage is not available, does hereby recognize that ceremonies to celebrate the relationships of such persons who are baptized members in good standing in this diocese may be conducted by clergy in the diocese, with the approval of the bishop, respecting their pastoral discretion.”

[passed by a 113-58 margin]

October 2003

Neither this commission, nor the ABC, nor the Primates...

2006-06-23T21:47:00.000-04:00

"Matters of church doctrine or discipline in the Episcopal Church are not decided by bishops, or by individual dioceses, but only by the church gathered in General Convention. That form of governance is quite different from other parts of the Anglican Communion...

All of which is a very long way of saying that neither this commission, nor the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor the gathering of primates, can make rules or laws that bind the Episcopal Church."

The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Episcopal Diocese of Nevada
Convention Address
October 18, 2004

Always Have a Contingency Plan

2006-06-23T20:08:00.000-04:00

TitusOneNine is experiencing site problems today. If you find it down, please check out Kendall's backup site here.

There you'll find the latest encyclical from the Theology Department of the Los Angeles Times (huh?), along with a new statement from the Anglican Communion Network.

For those regular readers of Stand Firm, in the event that their site is down, go to the backup site.

Goodbye, Columbus

2006-06-22T17:08:00.000-04:00

I’m on the plane enroute from Columbus to Charleston with a connection in Atlanta. (Haven’t we heard it said that you can’t even get to heaven without going through Atlanta?) On the way to the gate this morning, I bumped into +Hayes Junkin, lay deputy #1 from the Diocese of New Hampshire who sat directly behind me for the entire convention. Also on the C concourse were +Susan Crane and +Freddy Richardson from Tennessee.

I’ve been listening to Michael Frye’s Be the Centre on my IPod. That’s probably a great way to begin my prayers this morning. Here are the words: Jesus, be the centre, be my source, be my light, Jesus. Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails, be the reason that I live, Jesus.

Good morning, Lord. Thank you for this day. Thank you for bringing me into this world, for giving me life, both on this earth and in the life to come.

Thank you for my family, especially my husband, Don, an incredible support to me for these 25 years and an amazing father to our three children. Thank you for his faithfulness, to me, to our marriage, and to You, Lord. Thank you for Henslee who has been a great companion on this road for the last four days. She is a constant reminder that the official Youth Presence at GC2006 does not represent every Episcopalian under the age of 25. She is a prophetic voice when she says of the House of Deputies, “Y’all need to get your act together.” Lord, please don’t let what she has seen at this convention muddle her view of the body of Christ.

Thank you for Coakey and his child-like love of You and your creation. I know he will welcome me home with a cry of Mommmmy! Thank you for Rivers. I know he has been a great help to his dad, and a tremendous comfort to my Mom while I was away.

I am so blessed to have my brother, Michael, who has been praying for all of us, as well as the deputation from his diocese in Mississippi. We’ve all needed prayers as we navigated the web of church polity and parliamentary procedure. My sister-in-law made it possible for both Henslee and I to be away during this last week, and I thank you for her, Lord.

Thank you also, Lord, for my Mother. She was given the incredible gift of this uninterrupted time with her daughter-in-law, Dawn, and we took great comfort in knowing that she was so well cared for. Thank you for a successful surgery on Tuesday as Mother received a porta-cath in order to continue her chemotherapy. I know you were there guiding the hands of Dr. Baird as he performed this procedure.

Thank you for all who were with us in Columbus from the Diocese of South Carolina. We were grateful for the prayers and encouragement of Annie Belser and Eunice Logan, who reminded us to eat and sleep, and for Lynn Skilton and Louise Salmon, who paid particular attention to our wonderful bishops. Let us not forget how blessed we are to have the strong and steady leadership of these two men.

We have been so encouraged by the faithful witness of the Episcopal Church Women from our diocese: Margie, Catherine, Sue, Nancy, and Katherine. Thank you for their presence in Columbus. I am grateful also for Kay Meyer who has accepted the call to lead the National ECW. Let her hear your voice, Lord, and give her Your vision for the women of the Episcopal Church.

Lord, I have been blessed by the company of +John, +Kendall, +Mark, +Rick, +Peter, Lonnie, Bobby, Wade, and Bob. Thank you for the sacrifices made by the deputation from South Carolina, for the time they’ve taken from families, parishes, and work in order to make this trip to what has seemed at times to be the world’s largest vestry meeting. Lord, let us spend more time in the councils of our church focusing on You, and less time debating the issues. Let us worship You as the Creator of all things, let us remember that You are the judge of all men, that You are our Redeemer, and that You are risen and alive and in our midst.

Thank you for Binky, Elfgirl, and all of the webelves who kept TitusOneNine and all of the sites hosted by CaNN up and running. Thank you for live-blogger Matt Kennedy, Sarah Hey, Kevin and the rest of the orthodox entourage with us in Columbus.

Thank you for Mary, Dana, +Martyn, Angela, Rachel, (especially Rachel!) +Tony, +Sharon, +Ellen, +Karola, +Lorne, +Don, Brad, Michael, Maria, +Freddy, Christopher, +Rob, Greg, and +Robert. We’ve been richly blessed by the support of +Richard Crocker and +Mark Eldredge as we rose to the microphones in hearings and on the floor of the HOD.

We couldn’t have survived the week without the noontime encouragement and reflections of +Ellis Brust. +David Anderson has reminded us of the continuum of events in ECUSA. Thank you for giving Cynthia Brust the words to adequately describe the events of GC2006 and the energy to keep up with the frenetic pace. During these past ten days, you have provided water in the desert and peace in the midst of the storm, and for your provision we say, ‘thank you.’

Be with us as we return home to the part of the vineyard where You have planted us. Make us faithful witnesses that we may carefully and accurately share the events of the General Convention, focusing not on those with whom we disagree, but on our assurance of your continued provision for us. Remind us that we are not properties and structures, but we are the ekklesia, the Church, ‘a people called out’ to know You and make You known to a hurting world. Illumine our hearts that we may see where we have gone astray. And Lord, give us the chance to tell one person today about the Good News we have found in You.

In the Name of Jesus,
Amen.

We Have Heard Their Cries

2006-06-22T15:28:00.000-04:00

"We assure all those Scripturally faithful dioceses and congregations alienated and marginalised within your Provincial structure that we have heard their cries."

The Most Rev. Peter Akinola on behalf of CAPA in response to the Episcopal Church's General Convention

Clarity from CAPA

2006-06-22T14:52:00.001-04:00

Note from Lydia: I saw this first on TitusOneNine. As of 3 o'clock Thursday, this statement had generated more than 110 comments. Read them all.

CAPA Primates Statement in Response to The Episcopal Church’s General Convention: An Open Letter to the Episcopal Church USA

We, the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), meeting in Kampala on 21st – 22nd June, have followed with great interest your meeting of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA in Columbus. We have been especially concerned by the development of your response to The Windsor Report, which has been reported to us quite extensively. This is something for which we have earnestly prayed. We are, however, saddened that the reports to date of your elections and actions suggest that you are unable to embrace the essential recommendations of the Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué necessary for the healing of our divisions. At the same time, we welcome the various expressions of affection for the life and work of the Anglican Communion.

We have been moved by your generosity as you have rededicated yourselves to meet the needs of the poor throughout the world, especially through your commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

We have observed the commitment shown by your church to the full participation of people in same gender sexual relationships in civic life, church life and leadership. We have noted the many affirmations of this throughout the Convention. As you know, our Churches cannot reconcile this with the teaching on marriage set out in the Holy Scriptures and repeatedly affirmed throughout the Anglican Communion. All four Instruments of Unity in the Anglican Communion advised you against taking and continuing these commitments and actions prior to your General Convention in 2003.

At our meeting in Kampala we have committed ourselves to study very carefully all of your various actions and statements. When we meet with other Primates from the Global South in September, we shall present our concerted pastoral and structural response.

We assure all those Scripturally faithful dioceses and congregations alienated and marginalised within your Provincial structure that we have heard their cries.

In Christ,

The Most Rev. Peter Akinola, on behalf of CAPA
Chairman, CAPA

From the "Don't Trust Anyone Over 30" Department:

2006-06-22T06:38:00.000-04:00

General Convention is over. The first female primate in the Anglican Communion has been elected. And Katie Sherrod is still paranoid.

"Covenants developed and adopted by only a few privileged people have no legitimacy.

"The question of whether the Anglican Communion should even have a covenant is still very much in the air. The adoption of any covenant will change the very nature of Anglicanism in deep fundamental ways."

Read this article.

Note that the resolution passed at convention said that The Episcopal Church would "support, follow, and report." The train has most certainly not left the station.

An Understatement from the PB-elect

2006-06-22T00:30:00.000-04:00

"Yesterday the bishop of LA spoke eloquently of living in a church with two minds and as he was speaking an image arose in my mind, the image of conjoined twins. Two bodies in one being. And when they wrestle with separating the twins, doctors recognize it is wrong unless both can live full lives. We are in a church like that."

Network Bishops: "We therefore disassociate ourselves from those acts of this Convention that do not fully comply with the Windsor Report."

2006-06-22T00:24:00.000-04:00

Looking for the statement of the Network Bishops following the passage of B033 at the General Convention today? Read it here.

On The Record

2006-06-21T23:56:00.000-04:00

One thing is for sure. The 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal Church provided clarity on the actions on the previous convention in confirming the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and opening the door for local option of same-sex blessings.

“I regret the pain, but I do not regret the action…I affirm it.”

The Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner of the Diocese of Olympia at Wednesday night’s hearing on the Windsor Report resolutions

'Thirty liberal bishops issued a statement of dissent, saying that they could not abide by the new resolution. Bishop John Chane of Washington, a prominent church liberal who officiates at the National Cathedral in American capital, said that he would not agree to block the ordination of any gay bishop.

“I will defy the resolution by consenting after prayer and careful consideration to any person duly elected by a diocese in this church,” he said.

'On the other side, five conservative bishops accused the General Convention of “misleading the rest of the Communion by giving a false perception that they intend actually to comply with the recommendations of the Windsor Report”.'

For more reaction on the events of GC2006, read the entire piece from Ruth Gledhill.

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

2006-06-21T23:46:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, in the middle of the report of Committee #10, Social and Urban Affairs, following the passage of various resolutions, a member of the House rose to move that, from this point forward, resolutions only be introduced by the committee chair, thereby eliminating discussion of the resolution entirely. Resolutions brought before the House by #26, the Special Committee, are an exception to this. The motion failed.

The timing of this motion was very interesting, given that the next order of business was to consider A0167: Full and Equal Claim for All the Baptized. Remember, this is the resolution to which the Social and Urban Affairs Committee reintroduced the notion that we were in a position to dictate committee structure to other provinces in the Anglican Communion.

When it appeared that we might actually discuss this piece of legislation (a dangerous idea), Deputy Seitz of West Virginia moved the previous question. So we moved onto the vote on the resolution, rather than talking about what I believe will be a controversial 4th resolve. Here it is.

“Resolved, That, in evidence of that apology, The Episcopal Church pledge to include openly gay and lesbian persons on every committee, commission or task force developed for the specific purpose of discussing issues about sexuality and request the same of our sister churches in the Anglican Communion and Anglican Communion bodies.”

Of course, it should come as no surprise that this is one of the only SCECAC resolutions which passed with no lengthy debate.

Finally, here’s another doozie from today’s business, D069/Bible: Supreme Authority of Scripture. The original resolution acknowledged that “the Bible has always been at the centre of Anglican belief and life, and declares its belief that Scripture is the Church’s supreme authority…”

Here’s how it came to us. “…General Convention acknowledges the authority of the triune God, exercised through Scripture.” +Ellen Neufield of the Diocese of Albany rose to add the words ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ after the ‘triune God.’ She supported this amendment with the observation that Hinduism recognized a triune God in Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. Good point, but of course they voted it down.

The Fudge continued until 6 p.m. when we adjourned until sine die, or a time certain–which in this case means Anaheim in 2009.

We’ll see.

Let’s give the rest of the Anglican Communion time to read, mark and inwardly digest the actions of the General Convention.

2006-06-21T23:37:00.001-04:00

It’s Wednesday morning, and we’re sitting in an unprecedented Joint Session of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops.

++Frank Griswold addresses the Joint House, and says,

“When I became your Presiding Bishop eight and a half years ago, I called the church to the costly discipline of conversation…As part of our response to the Windsor Report, we have passed Resolution A159 which reaffirms ‘the abiding commitment of the Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion and to seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible.’ We have also passed Resolution A166 supporting the process of developing an Anglican Covenant…We have thus indicated our desire for continuing conversation.”

“However, unless there is a clear perception on the part of our Anglican brothers and sisters that they have been taken seriously in their concerns it will be impossible to have any genuine conversation. Therefore there will be no deep exchange and the bonds of affection which undergird communion will be further strained.”

“For our voices to be heard there needs to be a clear sense that we are not ignoring the sensibilities of those who are genuinely unable to understand what we have done…Humility is not an easy virtue, but it is very much required in this season. Humility requires at times a stance of restraint in order that something larger can happen. There are times when what may appear to be a step backward may be called for in order to go forward.”

“As your Presiding Bishop and chief pastor, I now ask both houses to consider the following resolution.”

We were then given a copy of this new resolution.

Resolution B033: On Election of Bishops

Proposer: The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson (Upper South Carolina), Endorsers: The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little II (Northern Indiana), The Rt. Rev. Robert J. O’Neill (Colorado), The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf (Rhode Island)

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, that the 75th General Convention receive and embrace The Windsor Report’s invitation to engage in a process of healing and reconciliation; and be it further

Resolved, that the Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.

We began to discuss the resolution, and it was announced that the PB-elect would like to address the HOD. We took a vote on the question of inviting ++KJS to speak to us, and her message was to the point. Here is some of what she had to say.

“This resolution…is far from adequate. I find the language exceedingly challenging.

"I am fully committed to the full inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in our church.

"I certainly don’t see this resolution as slamming the door. But you’re going to have to continue to work…I think this is the best we’re going to manage at this point in our church’s history.”

+Philip Linder, dean of Trinity Cathedral in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina said, “Our Presiding Bishop has spoken with great clarity about what it will take for us to remain at the table of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.” +Tony Clark of Central Florida called for a vote by orders on the perfected motion.

And then it happened. Members of the House of Deputies began to debate the motion, and +Ruth Meyers from the Diocese of Chicago rose to amend the motion. To amend the motion which the Presiding Bishop, and the Presiding Bishop-elect, urged us to pass intact.

It was proposed that the last resolve be amended to add ‘until General Convention 2009’ following the words ‘wider church.’ This amendment was defeated, and we voted on the resolution which had come to us from the House of Bishops for concurrence.

In the lay order, with 104 dioceses voting, there were 72 affirmative votes, 21 negative votes, and 11 divided votes. It passed in the lay order with more than 77% in favor. In the clerical order, with 109 dioceses voting, there were 75 votes in the affirmative, 24 negative votes, and 10 divided votes. It passed in the clerical order with more than 75% in favor.

PB-elect Preaches on Mother Jesus

2006-06-21T23:31:00.000-04:00

Preaching at the morning worship was the Presiding Bishop-elect, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Here’s a bit of what she had to say (from Anglican Mainstream via the TitusOneNine backup site).

“Our mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation and we are his children. We are going to have to give up fear. Do not be afraid. God is with you. You are God’s beloved and God is well pleased with you.

"When we know ourselves as beloved, we can recognize another beloved in a homeless man, a rhetorical opponent. We can reach beyond the defenses of others.

"Our invitation in the last work of the convention is to lay down our fear and love the world. Lay down our shield and sword, lay down our narrow self interest. Lay down our need for power and control, and bow to God’s image in the weakest, poorest, and most excluded.”

--The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori at the final morning worship of General Convention, June 21, 2006

Here's the Plan!

2006-06-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

A Note on Today's Coverage from Greg Griffith:

For those of you seeking information on today's specially-called Joint Session of the HOB/HOD, read this. Every effort is being made to spread out traffic so that hopefully the sites will not crash. Note back-up addresses for Stand Firm and TitusOneNine. Visit and bookmark these sites so that you can still access them in the event of a crash.

Matt Kennedy will be live-blogging from the House of Deputies floor, not from the press room where he has been doing most of his coverage. Sarah Hey will also be on the floor doing running commentary. I will be taking both streams of information and posting them in one thread. Check back frequently at Stand Firm.

PLEASE NOTE: To the extent that both sites are available to me, I will posting the same commentary to this site and to the backup site.

I am expecting the biggest traffic day of all today, so my suggestion is this:

If you were born in an even-numbered year, go to the Blogspot site for your coverage of the joint session.

If you were born in an odd-numbered year, stay on this site. That will distribute the load among the two sites and perhaps keep them both going.

Having everyone on the same site - whether here or at Blogspot - will likely bring it down, and we'll spend all day bouncing from site to site, bringing them both down. PLEASE take this suggestion seriously! Thank you all for being here. We are humbled by your support.

Another note: T1:9 crashed hard just a moment ago. please check out Kendall's backup site here.

Language Necessary to Move Forward?

2006-06-21T08:27:00.000-04:00

There's thunder in the air this morning as we prepare for worship. There's also a major change in our agenda.

At the beginning of last night's specially called session at 7:30 pm, George Werner announced that there would be, immediately following Eucharist this morning, a special joint session of the Houses in order to discuss language necessary to move forward. Very interesting. And the extreme progressives seem a bit anxious about this development.

The 'middle way' mush definitely knows they are in trouble, having not been able to pass simple resolutions as they were recommended from the committee.

Then, last night, Frank Wade painstakingly introduced A0159, noting that it had been amended several times. Amendment means that it must return to the HOB for concurrence, and not only are we running out of time, but everyone is testy. Then, just as soon as the floor was opened up, one of the progressives rose to make an amendment. Are they listening? This has been like trying to ride a bicycle which has been oiled with molasses.

"Let's Kill It."

2006-06-20T23:51:00.000-04:00

On Monday morning, I appeared before the Canons committee to speak to D067, the resolution which stated that “no person shall be ordained to the office of deacon or priest, or consecrated to the office of bishop, unless such person lives faithfully within the convenant of marriage between one man and one woman or in a single and celibate life.”

I began by saying that I appreciated the Presiding Bishop’s reference the previous Monday to a part of the ordination service, the Veni Creator Spiritus – ‘enable with perpetual light, the dullness of our blinded sight.’

I told the committee that I have enjoyed my involvement with committees in our diocese which have allowed me to work with aspirants, postulants and candidates for holy orders, and recently, nominees in our Episcopal Election process.

I read portions of the 1979 Ordinal from the BCP.

“Do you believe his manner of life to be suitable to the exercise of this ministry?”

“Every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ…God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood…You are to study the Scriptures…and t model your life upon them.”

“Will you do your best to pattern your life in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that you may be a wholesome example to all people?”

I reminded them that in every resolution dealing with human sexuality in the last several conventions, we have seen language acknowledging faithful, monogamous relationships as the standard.

In fact, in the GC2006 Blue Book, the SCLM has proposed a rite for the Celebration of an Engagement which contains gender specific language identifying the participants as a man and a woman.

Finally, I pointed out that paragraph 53 of ‘One Hope, One Call’ stated that there were no authorized rites for same-sex blessings in the Episcopal Church.

I urged the committee to amend Canon III.1 to add this section requiring either faithful, monogamous marriage (between a man and a woman) or a single, celibate state as a condition for ordination in all three orders.

Members of the committee asked a number of questions, including whether passage of this resolution would preclude a divorced person from ordination (now that’s a different question, isn’t it?), or whether I might be open to replacing the word ‘celibate’ with ‘chaste.’

After I answered all of their questions, I had to return to my committee, Social and Urban Affairs, where we were hearing testimony on a number of resolutions.

I understand that after I left the room, Bishop Rowley suggested that Canons reject this resolution. He said, “Let’s kill it.” And so they did.

This was the action I expected on D067, and it’s just further evidence that The Episcopal Church is unable to set limits on anyone’s behavior, particularly that of its priests, bishops, and deacons.

Faith, Hope and Clarity

2006-06-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

"She's going to bring into sharp relief the difference between the Episcopal Church and the rest of the Anglican Communion," Harmon said. "Everything that Bishop Schori is for, the Windsor Report is against."

Here's the link to the article in Monday's Post and Courier following the election of the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop.

Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry (Huh?)

2006-06-20T08:59:00.000-04:00

If you've spent some time in the blogosphere since yesterday afternoon, you know that we passed one resolution, A0160, and had a lot of discussion on another, A0161. Sara McGinley, a lay deputy from Minnesota sits right in front of our clergy deputation table, and she rose to speak at one point in opposition to this resolution. She said, in part, "I came to this General Convention, bringing my 4 1/2 month old baby with me, and leaving my toddler at home...because I think the Episcopal Church can save the world."

Stunning! Now we are our own saviour. I understand her exuberance, her idealism, but come on...we can't even get the world to attend our churches.

Note: South Carolina was one of the only dioceses which has actually grown in these last years, with average Sunday attendance-ASA-in our parishes having increased over 34% between 1992 and 2003. For more information, see these ECUSA statistics.)

But, wait...it gets worse. This deputy from Minnesota then said, clutching her baby to her chest, [when I tell my daughter about this convention], "I don't want to tell her that if she falls in love with a woman, she can't be a bishop." That pretty much sums it up.

Another deputy, a member of the clergy from Louisiana, in speaking about this resolution which would mean that openly gay bishops would not be consecrated, pointed out that A0161 is only addressing "this one order, notice it doesn't say anything about the other." Oh, my! What she means is that ECUSA will have the latitude to continue ordaining actively gay and lesbian priests. Thanks for pointing out this work-around in the legislation!

Kendall summed up the language in A0161 when he said, "The water of this resolution is murky, mucky, turgid, and I can't see...obliged to urge to refrain from...what do you mean?"

Well, I'm off to the floor again this morning. My daughter, Henslee, arrived in Columbus on Sunday evening, and this afternoon, we are leading a workshop on behalf of the National ECW. It's called 'I Love to Tell the Story: The Gospel in Art.' And how I do love to tell this story...

And right after lunch, I will be leading one focusing on 'Acts 2:42: A Long-range Plan for Today's ECW.'

Keep us in your prayers. This morning's floor debate will not be the best preparation for my workshop this afternoon.

Minority Report on D038

2006-06-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

Here, in part, is the Minority Report filed on the resolution to consent to the Episcopal election in the Diocese of Northern California. D038 is out of committee and on the Calendar for the House of Deputies to hear.

Scroll down for a link to the entire report.

"Believing that the work of Legislative Committee 07: Consecration of Bishops is more than merely a verification of correct procedure, but is equally concerned with the appropriateness of the candidate’s wholesomeness of life; and that this wholesomeness of life is not merely a model for an individual diocese, but also for The Episcopal Church, there are some troubling impediments to granting consent for this election.

"Therefore, we the undersigned are constrained to bring this matter before the House of Deputies at this 75th General Convention. All of these impediments are concerned with the fact that the Reverend Canon Barry L. Beisner is twice divorced and presently in his third marriage.

It is likely that the anomaly of a twice-divorced and thrice-married bishop may be broadly interpreted by the larger body of Christ, individual Christians, and even by peoples of goodwill in various non-Christian religions, that we in the Episcopal Church have weakened our teaching and commitment to the lifelong sanctity of marriage.
It is likely in a time when so many in our nation are suffering because of the widespread fracturing of families, the approval of this election will send a confusing message to the members of our Church and to the unchurched in our communities. As the great Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple once stated, “The Church must be very clear in its public pronouncements so that she may be very pastoral in her application.” The consecration of a bishop is by its very nature a public teaching. Frankly, it is difficult to fully anticipate how the many divorced spouses within our church, as well as the traumatized children shuttled between one home and another, may interpret our consent to such a consecration.
It is likely that it may further strain “the bonds of affection” within the Provinces of the Anglican Communion, causing them to question our commitment to the teaching of Holy Scripture, our marriage rite, our Canons and the resolutions of prior General Conventions regarding the sanctity of marriage (i.e., that we believe marriage to be “a lifelong commitment”).
We are concerned that since the duties of a bishop require him or her to pass consent to those applying for permission to remarry after divorce, the bishop-elect’s prior marriages and divorces may hinder his ability to function in this capacity. It may also hinder his ability to exercise proper discipline and pastoral care for those priests or deacons and their spouses and families who are experiencing marital difficulties, estrangement, and divorce proceedings to say nothing of possible clergy persons’ applications for re-marriage.
It needs to be considered that these prior marriages and divorces may provide far too much room for his conscience to be compromised by his prior failures and thus hindering the exercising of godly judgment towards those under his pastoral care. There is also the remote possibility of remaining woundedness from these failed marriages and that the stresses of the episcopacy are far too great and the risks far too significant.

The text of the final resolution, including the minority report, can be found here.

Don't Ever Change...

2006-06-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

The Worldwide Episcopal Communion Welcomes You
(to stay just as you are)

All week long, we've been hearing that ECUSA is no longer.
Call us The Episcopal Church from now on, thank you. It's a name which takes into account the true identity of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society as an international Church.

The backdrop to the dais in the House of Deputies includes, for the first time ever, sixteen flags -- one for each of the nations represented in the WEC, oops! I mean, The Episcopal Church.

We've gone global. To borrow a line from the Lone Star State, don't mess with TEC.

Counting the Cost

2006-06-18T20:03:00.000-04:00

It is hard to know at this point what the ripple effect of this afternoon's election will be. It will, no doubt, have an impact on the passage of legislation addressing the concerns of the Windsor Report. The spin is just beginning. Scroll to the bottom of this post for Susan Russell's first comments on behalf of Integrity.

This afternoon in the House of Deputies, it was announced that there had been an election. The House of Bishops, sequestered at nearby Trinity Church, had elected the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori (Bishop of Nevada) as the 26th Presiding Bishop on the fifth ballot. Schori was ordained to the priesthood in 1994, and she became Bishop of Nevada in 2001.

First I'll post the vote count in the House of Bishops, and then I'll post the final tally which confirmed the election in a vote by orders in the House of Deputies.

In the HOB, 188 bishops were voting, and 95 votes were needed to elect.

House of Bishops

First Ballot
26 Alexander
18 Gomez
15 Gulick
44 Schori
29 Jenkins
36 Parsley
20 Sauls

Second Ballot
26 Alexander
10 Gomez
7 Gulick
49 Schori
30 Jenkins
49 Parsley
17 Sauls

Third Ballot
22 Alexander
4 Gomez
1 Gulick
68 Schori
24 Jenkins
63 Parsley
6 Sauls

Fourth Ballot
12 Alexander
2 Gomez
0 Gulick
88 Schori
5 Jenkins
79 Parsley
2 Sauls

Fifth Ballot
2 Alexander
6 Gomez
0 Gulick
95 Schori
3 Jenkins
82 Parsley
0 Sauls

Note: Schori and Parsley were tied in the second ballot and very close in the third. While Schori received 95 votes on the fifth ballot, 93 of the 188 bishops did not vote for her.

House of Deputies

109 Voting in the Lay Order

94 Yes
8 No
7 Divided

111 Voting in the Clerical Order

98 Yes
9 No
4 Divided

Note: A deputation whose votes are divided is counted as a 'no.'

The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori will be installed as the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church on November 4th at Washington National Cathedral.

There is lots of information circulating about this story. Check TitusOneNine for a list of press links. Also, note the quote below from the Rev. Susan Russell of Integrity from this Reuters story.

"We look forward to continuing the process of working closely with the presiding bishop toward the full inclusion of the gay and lesbian faithful in the Body of Christ," said the Rev. Susan Russell, head of the group. "The historic election … is something for us and the whole church to celebrate."

A Productivity Update from the House of Deputies

2006-06-18T17:43:00.000-04:00

This cartoon from Cartoon Church reminds me of the tremendous amount of paperwork we have been able to expeditiously wade through in the House of Deputies this week (not!)

The Peace of the Lord Be Always With You

2006-06-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

Good morning!

I'm off to the Canons Committee. They are meeting at 9 a.m, and one of the resolutions they will be discussing is D067: On the Life of the Ordained. I am the proposer on this one, and as far as I'm concerned,it's a no-brainer that "no person shall be ordained to the office of deacon or priest, or consecrated to the office of bishop, unless such person lives faithfully within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman or in a single and celibate life."

But then, what do I know? I am ONLY relying on Holy Scripture (which informs the Ordinal in the BCP, p. 510-555).

Also up for consideration is Brad Drell's resolution, D068: Amend Abandonment Canon IV.10. This one doesn't sound very juicy, but it addresses the process of inhibition of priests, and as it currently reads, it has the potential for widespread abuse.

The committee will not be hearing testimony, as we understand it, but we want these resolutions to at least have an open hearing before the committee.

I'll be posting the outcome of this meeting, and more, at mid-day, so check back. It's feels a good bit like the calm before the storm around here. Living in Charleston, I'm a little familiar with that eerie feeling. But the Lord is the One Who can calm the storm. He is our Peace in the midst of the tumult.

We would do well to remember that in the next few days -- to remember the times in our lives when He has done just that.

Read Psalm 121 today. Rather than waves of doubt, fear, and confusion, pray for strength, guidance, and "the peace that passes all understanding" to wash over us.

Lord, thank you for this day and every day that you have made. I love You, and I know that You love me. I know that You live and reign. May your awesome power be made manifest in the thoughts, words, and actions of your servants today. Amen.

Can Anything Good Come Out of Columbus?

2006-06-18T01:19:00.000-04:00

B008/The Church Calendar: The Dorchester Chaplains

This is an excellent resolution, proposed by the Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop Suffragan of the Armed Forces, and which came up on Friday afternoon. This resolution directs “the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to consider the commemoration of the Dorchester Chaplains as an addition to the Calendar of the Church Year, with appropriate biographical material and propers for inclusion in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.”

This is a great resolution and here’s why.

“On February 3, 1943, the U. S. Army Transport Dorchester, a troopship with 902 soldiers on board, set course across the North Atlantic as part of a convoy en route to Greenland.

Four Army chaplains were assigned to the ship: Lieutenant George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi; Lt. Clark V. Poling, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church; and Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest.

Unknown to them all, a German U-boat followed the ship.

“At 12:55 a.m., the submarine fired three torpedoes instantly killing 100 men in the hull of the ship. Others were flung wounded to the decks. Power was knocked out by the explosion, and darkness engulfed the frightened men below deck as ocean water rushed through gaping wounds in the hull.

"The ship began to sink quickly. Above the chaos, the four chaplains could be heard calming the men, comforting them, urging them to be brave and directing them where to go.

“When there were no more life jackets to be handed out, the four chaplains took off their own life jackets and gave them to waiting soldiers. The chaplains continued to minister to the men in the moments before they died.

"As the ship sank, the chaplains were seen to link arms and pray together in English, Hebrew and Latin. A total of 672 soldiers perished on that night with the four chaplains – all of different faiths died with arms clasped in common prayer.”

The Dorchester Chaplains are held up as “ecumenical and interfaith models of sacrificial love and visible reminders of the presence of God in the midst of peril.” This resolution came to the House of Deputies after having passed in the House of Bishops. It passed in the HOD, so this group will be included in the Calendar of Saints and commemorated in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.

Along with all of the other hot-button issues which come up at General Convention, there are some really good things that happen, too.

Just the Thing for Father's Day

2006-06-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

Honey, you're going to love this.

I'm sorry I can't be with you this Father's Day. I know you understand. And I know that you'd rather spend your big day in Charleston with the kids, instead of awaiting the election of the Presiding Bishop at the General Convention. But I just wanted to show you what I thought we'd get you for Father's Day.

For those of you who haven't done your shopping, there are more great gift ideas for Dad in today's Columbus Dispatch.

You are an incredible father to our three children, and I thank God for you. Love you. Happy Father's Day!

The Diverse Center is in my Shower

2006-06-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

The shower in my hotel room has chosen to ‘walk the middle way.’ In true Anglican fashion, the water is lukewarm.

This reminds me of the letter to the church in Laodicea in the third chapter of Revelation. "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

It is inconceivable to me that the Marriott Courtyard hotel here in Columbus could be out of hot water at 5:30 on a Saturday morning. I reminded the front desk manager that this was the second morning in a row, and he promised that he would remedy the situation. We'll see.

I have a 7:00 a.m. meeting of the Human Sexuality Subcommittee of Social and Urban Affairs, and when I arrive, they are still rearranging the deck chairs, but now they are out of cucumber sandwiches…

This morning, the resolution under consideration is A167: “Full and Equal Claim” for All the Baptized. This is one of the Windsor Report resolutions from the Report of the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion (SCECAC), which has been referred to Social and Urban Affairs. Reaffirming that “gay and lesbian persons are by Baptism full members of the Body of Christ and of the Episcopal Church,” A167 asks that this Convention apologize once again for “years of rejection and maltreatment” of lesbians and gays, and commit ourselves to communion with one another.

The proposal before the subcommittee this morning is to insert as a third resolve pledging “to include openly gay and lesbian persons on every appointed committee, commission or task force developed for the specific purpose of discussing issues about sexuality.” In addition, the amendment requests the same of “our sister churches in the Anglican Communion and Anglican communion bodies,” and herein lies the problem.

It’s one thing to require this of ourselves, and it’s quite another to mandate this sort of inclusion throughout the Communion. The subcommittee ends up striking that last bit about telling the Anglican Communion what to do. Probably a good idea in light of the pickle we find ourselves in.

When we discussed this in the full committee, Bishop "Bud" Cedarholm of Massachusetts said that, while he had no problem with making this request of other parts of the Communion, rather than deleting this portion, we might consider ‘urging’ this inclusion. Committee member, Michael Barlowe, a priest from the Diocese of California, noted that, as the Windsor Report requested specific things of the Episcopal Church, he has no problem asking the same of them. In the end, we decide to retain that portion of the resolve, and “request the same of our sister churches in the Anglican Communion and Anglican communion bodies.”

The floor debate on this resolution will be interesting. (I'll leave it up to you to interpret what I mean by that!)

We hear testimony on a few other resolutions, and adjourn at 9:30 a.m. On Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., we will hear testimony on D063: Membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and a related resolution, C048: Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).

Included in this hearing will be Resolution B026 proposed by the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy, which would “develop a policy governing [the] procedure for affiliation with organizations outside the Episcopal Church. This resolution is a direct result of Executive Council’s decision earlier this year to officially partner with RCRC.

But that’s another story.

Beisner Gets Nod, with Reservations

2006-06-17T00:29:00.000-04:00

From the Episcopal News Service:

"Deputy members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Consecration of Bishops on June 16 voted to recommend that the House of Deputies consent to the ordination and consecration of the Rev. Barry Beisner as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Northern California. The vote was not unanimous and a minority report will be attached to that recommendation. Matthew Chew, deputy chair of the committee, said the recommendation and the minority report may be filed with the House of Deputies Secretariat as early as Saturday."

"Bishop members of the committee did not make a recommendation on Beisner's election, a departure from their earlier approval of the other five bishop nominees considered by the committee at this General Convention. Bishop Chester Talton, suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and bishop chair of the committee, said that only a vote by deputy committee members is required, since the resolution to consent to Beisner's election will go first to the House of Deputies."

"When asked why the bishops had offered consent to the other nominees, Talton said, "We clarified for ourselves this morning how this voting really goes. Deputy votes get counted, so we decided to record it that way. When the resolution comes to the House of Bishops, I may be called upon to make a report. If I am, I will." Questions about Beisner have arisen since his election, focused on the facts surrounding his two divorces and third marriage."

See my earlier post for ECUSA's prediction of how this would go.

Can you guess who said this?

2006-06-16T23:36:00.000-04:00

"More than ever we must now claim our Anglican way of coming at things from a both/and perspective rooted in common prayer.”

Here's the answer.

Both/And

2006-06-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

If you ask Canon David Anderson about the recent decline in numbers in the Episcopal Church, he will tell you that 144 congregations have sprung up outside of the denomination. The ECUSA Press Office would deny that they have lost some 12 dozen parishes. And both would be right.

Here's why. The Rev. Dr. Foley Beach, the former rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Monroe, GA, along with 80% of his parishioners, left the Episcopal Church behind and began holding services in a rented space in Loganville. Approximately 20% of the parish remained and the Episcopal Church continues to number St. Alban's among its 7,000+ parishes.

But the church is a shadow of its former self, and Holy Cross Anglican Church, under the leadership of +Foley Beach, is thriving, having recently occupied a new campus on some 17 acres.

The Episcopal Church has both lost 80% of St. Alban's, Monroe, and retained 1/5 of the members. Seems that every so often the conservatives and the liberals can find something to agree on.

How did Matt spend his summer? Live-blogging

2006-06-16T23:03:00.000-04:00

If Matt Kennedy was live-blogging the World Cup, it would look like this.

Fortunately, he's in Columbus, Ohio live-blogging the General Convention. Here's his play-by-play account of this evening's hearing on the SCECAC resolutions.

As I had a dinner date with our deputation and ECW delegates, I was not planning to attend this hearing, and it is very helpful to know that D064 will be sent to my committee, Social and Urban Affairs. Because it calls "upon all states to provide same-sex couples equal access to civil marriage," it will be assigned to my subcommittee, Human Sexuality.

D064 is one of a number of resolutions dealing with the rights of same-gender couples. They believe that "the freedom or the right to marry, if a couple so chooses, is a matter of justice, basic fairness, civil rights and love."

It all begins again in the morning at 7 a.m. As John Burwell would say, 'Mercy!'

Good morning, Lord!

2006-06-16T06:33:00.000-04:00

TGIF?

The leadership of the Episcopal Church wanted very much, at the end of this legislative day, to be able to say THANK GOD IT'S FINISHED.

It was their desire to wrap up most of the substantive business before the Election of the Presiding Bishop this weekend. However, with the passage yesterday of A159, the first of the SCECAC Resolutions addressing the Windsor Report recommendations, we have only just begun. Read Bishop Stanton's report.

I'm off and running early once again, but first a few prayers, and Scriptures. The first prayer is one that my son, Coakey, and I like to say in the morning.

(I've been attempting to upload a photo of my special child at his confirmation in January with his friend, Bishop Salmon, but Blogger is not cooperating this morning for some reason. I'll try later.)

In the morning, Coakey and I raise our arms high in the air and say:

Good morning, Lord!
Thank you for this day
Thank you for our family
Thank you for our friends
Thank you for making me
But, most of all, Lord,
thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus
Who went to the cross and died for me
So that I could be with you forever.
Amen.

'Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12

Psalm 15

Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
whom may abide upon your holy hill?

Whoever leads a blameless life
and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.

There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the Lord.

He has sworn to do not wrong
and does not take back his word.

He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:11

O God, the source of eternal light: Shed forth your unending day upon us who watch for you, that our lips may praise you, our lives may bless you, and our worship give you glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a wonderful day! Rejoice in the Lord on this glorious Friday. 'Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.'

Give it all to Him, and rest in His peace. And then share this peace with someone you meet today. Tell them that Jesus loves them. Tell them the reason for your hope. Let them know how your life has been changed by the Lord. Someone will need to hear this story today, and you are the one to tell it.

This morning, I've been listening to Casting Crowns' Love Them Like Jesus.

Just love them like Jesus
Carry them to Him
His yoke is easy, His burden is light
You don't need the answers
to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves them
And stay by their side
And love them like Jesus

Listen to a bit of it here

Did ECUSA Authorize This?

2006-06-15T23:05:00.000-04:00

From Paragraph 53 of the SCECAC Report,
One Baptism, One Hope in God's Call

"We wish to reiterate what did and did not take place at General Convention 2003, and regret the misunderstanding which has ensued from our adoption of Resolution 2003–C051.

"In acting to recognize that “local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions,” we expressly deny that such rites were authorized.

"Our polity defines authorized rites as those set forth in the Book of Common Prayer (1979), the Book of Occasional Services (2003), and Enriching Our Worship 1 and 2 (1997, 2000). The Episcopal Church has authorized no other rites."

If this is true, then what is this?

The New Episcopal Trinity: Gender, Economic Class, and Race

2006-06-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

"The Episcopal Church's fight over gay marriage and its strained relations with a sizeable swath of the Anglican Communion will dominate the headlines for yet another General Convention.

"That, I'm afraid, is old news. The battle's been decided, only a matter of when, not if, same-sex ceremonies receive the national church's imprimatur.

"For the meantime, American bishops will continue to offer bafflegab (pluriform truth, I believe the Presiding Bishop calls it) and expressions of "regret" to the outraged Anglicans of Africa and Asia."

Note that this article gives us yet another new word for pluriform truth: bafflegab.

Andrew Newman files this special report from the General Convention in Columbus. Read The Other is Never Wrong.