{"id":182,"date":"2003-07-24T13:40:46","date_gmt":"2003-07-24T13:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/?p=182"},"modified":"2003-07-24T13:40:46","modified_gmt":"2003-07-24T13:40:46","slug":"lots_of_stuff_has_been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/?p=182","title":{"rendered":"Lots of stuff has been"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lots of stuff has been going on, but no time to deal with them all. I am writing more and more in my paper journal – I just like it better. Coming next week, we have the triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA. This is a defining moment for the Episcopal Church with larger implications for the entire worldwide Anglican Communion. The Rev. Dr. Jeffries John was appointed Suffragan Bishop in Reading, England. Because of the outrage and stated intent to no longer be in communion with the Church of England by conservative Provinces in Africa\/Asian\/Third World in the Communion, he resigned stating he did not want to be the center of schism and disunity. Now, the conservative Bishops\/Provinces are saying the same about ending communion with the Episcopal Church USA because of the new Bishop-elect of New Hampshire, who is gay and in an open long-term same-sex relationship. There are many elements with the Episcopal Church itself who will not stand for the election of an openly gay bishop in a relationship, despite the fact that the national Church can do nothing in and of itself to stop the election of a diocesan bishop.
\nSchism, I’m sure, will come if the House of Bishops votes to affirm the decision of the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire. This isn’t an appointment, as in England. This is a situation of members within a diocese electing their new bishop. Many people will leave the Episcopal Church if the new bishop is affirmed. This is the line in the sand for many. Of course, there have been many lines-in-the-sand over the last millennia.
\nHere is the latest letter sent by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA to the other Anglican Primates around the world. I think it is a very good letter! One consideration that those who are threatening schism will not acknowledge is that if they chose to no longer be a part of the Episcopal Church USA or if their province will no longer be in communion with the Episcopal Church USA, that changes nothing, absolutely nothing, with regards to who is a member of the Body of Christ, the one true, Holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Members of the Body of Christ are determined by Christ, not the councils of “man.” So, they say they will no longer be members or in communion with us – it is a meaningless statement because we are all still part of the one Body, whether any of us like it or not. We do not have a chose of who is in and who is out of that Body, even though we can determine with whom we associate. However, the association of like-minded people does not make the Body exclusively theirs or ours, no matter what we say or want.
\nHere is the letter. It is rather long, but good.
\n”
\nJuly 22, 2003
\n2003-163
\nFor the Primates of the Anglican Communion
\nMy dear brothers in Christ:
\nI write you on the eve of the General Convention of the
\nEpiscopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to let you know some
\nof what is on my mind and heart during these days of prayer and
\npreparation.
\nI am aware that earlier this month a letter was sent to
\n“concerned primates” from a number of bishops of the Episcopal
\nChurch, USA outlining what they called a “deteriorating
\nsituation within the Episcopal Church and elsewhere.” They
\nparticularly pointed to two matters that will be before our
\nGeneral Convention: one pertaining to the confirmation of the
\nbishop-elect of the Diocese of New Hampshire and the other
\ndealing with the authorization of the development of rites for
\nthe blessing of same sex unions which would then be brought to
\nthe General Convention of 2006 for debate.
\nThe polity of our church places the election of a bishop and the
\nnomination process which precedes it entirely in the hands of
\nthe electing diocese. The election then must be confirmed by a
\nmajority of the diocesan standing committees (made up of clergy
\nand laity) and by bishops with jurisdiction, each voting
\nseparately. When an election occurs within 120 days of a
\nGeneral Convention, the General Convention becomes the
\nconsenting body. Each bishop-elect must first gain the consent
\nof a majority of the dioceses in the House of Deputies, which is
\ncomprised of elected clergy and lay members from each diocese.
\nNext, ballots will be received from bishops with jurisdiction
\nand the bishop-elect must receive a majority of those votes, as
\nwell.
\nAt this General Convention ten dioceses will present
\nbishops-elect for consent. The Diocese of New Hampshire and
\ntheir bishop-elect are the focus of attention, not because of
\nthe competency and gifts of the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson, or
\nbecause he was elected overwhelmingly by the clergy and laity of
\na diocese in which he has served for 28 years, but because he
\nshares his life with a partner of the same sex. As Presiding
\nBishop and chief pastor, my concern, as I said in a letter to
\nour bishops, is “how we move with grace through this time.” I
\nam including a copy of this letter for your information.
\nThis election, though profoundly disturbing to a number of
\nEpiscopalians, is not surprising given that increasingly in our
\npart of the world there is an acknowledgment that some men and
\nwomen find that their deepest affections are ordered to members
\nof the same sex. Our church has a number of lay persons and
\nclergy for whom this is true. Some have chosen the path of
\ncelibacy and others live within the context of a sustained
\nrelationship. In this latter case we are not talking primarily
\nabout sexual behavior which in both its heterosexual and
\nhomosexual manifestations can be profoundly sinful and little
\nmore than the compulsive pattern of lust so soundly condemned by
\nSt. Paul. What we are talking about is the core of the personal
\nidentity of men and women who share with us in the risen life of
\nChrist.
\nI, perhaps more than anyone else, realize how very problematic
\nthis election is for some of you, as well as for some members of
\nmy own church, including the bishops who wrote to you. I am
\nalso aware of the efforts that have been made to draw you into
\nthis impending debate. Because we are members one of another in
\nthe body of Christ through baptism and are called to share each
\nother’s burdens, your concern is appropriate and welcome. And
\nmay I say that I am always grateful when one of you contacts me
\ndirectly to express your concerns.
\nOver these last five years I have continually reminded our
\nchurch that we are part of a larger reality called the Anglican
\nCommunion, and that what we do locally has ramifications both
\npositive and negative in other parts of the world. At the same
\ntime I am mindful that each of us has to interpret the gospel in
\nour own context and within the particular reality of our own
\nProvince; there is no such thing as a neutral reading of
\nScripture. While we all accept the authority of Scripture, we
\ninterpret various passages in different ways.
\nI believe that the report of the House of Bishops Theology
\nCommittee, which was shared with you, can be helpful here. In a
\nsection entitled Living In Disagreement it states: “Our present
\nconclusion is that equally sincere Christians, equally committed
\nto an orthodox understanding of the Faith we share, equally
\nlooking to Scripture for guidance on this issue, are deeply
\ndivided regarding questions with respect to homosexuality. It
\nwill be crucial for all parties in this debate to ask God’s
\nblessing on their ever-deepening conversion in Christ, and to
\npray for God’s love and forgiveness to be granted to all.
\nFaithfulness and the courage to offer love and acceptance to
\nthose with whom we disagree is the great need of the moment.”
\nAs Professor David Ford told us several years ago during one of
\nour primates meetings, we are in the process of becoming a
\ncommunion. I have reflected often upon his words and come to
\nsee more and more that communion is not a human construction but
\na gift from God. Communion involves not only our relationships
\nto one another on earth but our being drawn by the Holy Spirit
\ninto the eternal life of communion which belongs to the Holy
\nTrinity. Communion on this earth is always in some way
\nimpaired, both because of our limited understanding of God’s
\nways and our own human sinfulness. Because we have been
\nbaptized into one body through the death and resurrection of
\nChrist, we cannot say to one another “I have no need of you.”(1
\nCorinthians 12:21) This means that maintaining communion is a
\nsacred obligation. It is not easy and involves patience with
\none another, ongoing conversion, and a genuine desire to
\nunderstand the different ways in which we seek to be faithful to
\nthe gospel. Declarations of being “in” or “out” of communion
\nwith one another may assuage our anger or our fear, but they can
\ndo little to show our broken and divided world that at the heart
\nof the gospel is to be found a reconciling love that can embrace
\nour passionately held opinions and transcend them all.
\nPlease know how deeply I value each one of you as fellow
\npilgrims on a continuing journey into the ever unfolding truth
\nof Christ. Grounded in Scripture, the historic creeds, the
\ncouncils of the church and the sacraments of the new covenant,
\nit is my prayer and deepest hope that our General Convention
\nwill reflect the mind of Christ such that our church can be an
\nauthentic sign of God’s reconciling love.
\nYours sincerely in Christ’s love,
\nThe Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
\nPresiding Bishop and Primate
\nThe Episcopal Church, USA”
\ncomments? e-mail me<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lots of stuff has been going on, but no time to deal with them all. I am writing more and more in my paper journal – I just like it better. Coming next week, we have the triennial General Convention … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hypersync.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}