That We All May Be One

As I see it, the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church:

1. Worked hard to try and stay focused on mission – to the poor and to our overseas dioceses and beyond – even while continuing to struggle with internal issues which tend to divide us.

2. Reaffirmed that the canons of this church make it clear that access to the ordination process (though not ordination itself necessarily — there is no “right” to ordination) is open to all the baptized.

3. Did not repeal B033 (last Convention’s resolution which asks bishops and standing committees to exercize “restraint” in consenting to the election of any bishop whose “manner of life” would cause additional strains on the Anglican Communion.)

4. Welcomed and enagaged scores of Anglican, ecumenical, and interfaith guests to participate in the Convention, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. 

5. Authorized the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to work on designing rites for the blessing of same gender unions which would need to be brought back to the next General Convention for possible authorization in “trial use.”

6. Did not authorize any “public rites” for such blessings at the present time. The point of working on these for the future is so that we can get our theology right on these to know what we are actually doing as a church. This is crucial because the society is moving so quickly toward “gay marriage” and the church needs to be clear about what we think we are going when, and if, we bless such civil unions.

7. Passed a drastically reduced budget, due primarily to the global and national economic meltdown, in which 37 staff members will lose their jobs and program dollars will be reduced by approximately 25%. This was very painful, but probably inevitable.

8. Celebrated together in daily Eucharists, led by a rich diversity of all the ministers of the church — lay persons, bishops, deacons, and priests. The music was stunning!

9. Passed a full communion proposal for the Moravian Church (they must vote on it in 2010), a modest missional proposal with the Presbyterian Church, USA, commended ongoing dialogue with the United Methodist Church and encouraged involving the three historic Black Methodist churches in that, authorized opening a dialogue with the Church of Sweden, and accepted a theological statement/rationale for interreligious dialogue.

10. Got all its business done for the first time in many, many years. No resolutions died because there was not time to get to them. This was, in part, due to the skill of our two Presiding offiicers, Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bonnie Anderson.

It’s time to go home!

An emotionally exhausting day here at General Convention yesterday. The House of Bishops approved study of liturgical rites for same sex blessings to be presented at the 2012 General Convention in Indianapolis. We also encouraged a generous pastoral response to those gay and lesbian couples especially in states where legal marriage is now possible for them.

This stops short of authorizing official rites of blessing and, in my opinion, remains within the Windsor guidelines of “pastoral responses” to such persons.

Hard decsions were made with respect to the $24 million triennial budget deficit due to the economic meltdown in this country and around the world. Some 30 of the 180 Church Center staff (including my Associate) will be let go, and program dollars have been cut by about 25%.

We did not expect to be spared the kind of financial impacts felt by other churches and the society at large. Nonetheless, yesterday was a painful day, and we grieve over the loss of our colleagues and the curtailment of such important work.  

One bit of good news in all of this is that we maintained much of our commitment to the poor and to mission, both domestic and foreign. By and large we denied ourselves, but tried to keep faith with those so much less fortunate. For that good faith effort, I give thanks.

What a joy it was to attend The Episcopal Peace Fellowships reception honoring Ed and Patti Browning last night! Not only did the then Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning ordain me as Bishop of Iowa in 1988, but I served under his leadership on Executive Council for six years during some very difficult times at the Church Center and in the Church at large.

Ed and Pam Chinnis, then the President of the House of Deputies, used to give fairly formal addresses at the beginning of each Executive Council meeting. I always looked forward to them and came away, particularly from Ed’s, more inspired and more committed to this church and to our common mission to spread the Gospel and work for justice and peace in the world.

Patti and Ed are known most in EPF circles for their work for peace in the Middle East and their passionate commitment to the Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, many if not most of which are Anglicans. But Ed worked for peace in the Church as well as in the world and was always willing to listen, and take seriously, those persons and opinions different from his and to seek to make a place at the table for all people.

His biography is being completed, not quite ready for publication at this Convention. It will be entitled “The Heart of a Pastor.” As his old comrade, Canon Brian Grieves said last night, “It could equally have been called ‘The Heart of a Prophet’ but Ed’s prophetic perspectives always originated out of his deep compassion and from his pastor’s heart.”

I could not agree more, and was so happy to be able to join in honoring the Brownings at this 76th General Convention!

Wonderful day for ecumenism yesterday! The House of Bishops of the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Churh passed “Finding Our Delight In The Lord,” a full communion proposal with the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church. The House of Deputies now must rule on this.

This has been in the works for nearly a decade and builds both on local dialogue in North Carolina (where Moravians are strong) and theological dialogue on the national level. This 15th century “pre Reformation” reformed community is a liturgical church with a three-fold ministry, once described by the Church of England as “an ancient Protestant episcopal church.”

They are a gentle, spiritual people whose faith is as informed by their beautiful hymnody as ours is by the Prayer Book. They are missionally minded and ecumenically committed, already in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

There had been some opposition voiced, particularly by the way their bishops function (pastorally and sacramentally, but not much administratively) and by the fact that their transitional deacons can preside at the Eucharist (the dialogue team solved that one by deciding that, sadly, deacons will not be interchangeable under this agreement).

However, we must have been able to answer the objections because the House of Bishops passed it without a dissenting vote!

Earlier in the day, Moravian Bishop Hopeton Clennon of the Moravian Theological Seminary co-presided at the Eucharist with Bishop Steven Miller of Milwaukee (who is co-chair of the Moravian dialogue). This was done under the terms of our interim Eucharistic sharing arrangement with the Moravians on the way to full communion.

We have much to learn from each other and, yesterday, one small step was taking on the road to Christian unity.

Preliminary indications are that the House of Deputies at the General Convention will vote overwhelmingly to repeal B033, the resolution from the 2006 Convention asking bishops and standing committees to basically to withhold consent to the election of any bishop whose “manner of life” would prove divisive in the wider Anglican Communion.

This has been widely interpreted as applying mainly to gay and lesbian persons (although they are not specifically referenced) and therefore singling them out for unfair treatment. (The likely withholding of consent for Kevin Thew Forrester in the Diocese of Northern Michigan for other reasons challenges this notion, but nonetheless, it is widespread).

It will be interesting, eventually, to see if the House of Bishops will refuse to concur with the Deputies likely vote because, however many of us are sympathetic to the plight of gay and lesbian persons and the unfair burden they are being asked to carry, our role is all about unity — within the Communion and ecumenically — and this brings a different perspective.

There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit in the Church…and in this Convention. We need all perspectives and the balance of the two Houses sometimes provides this.

We shall see.