Homosexuality wasn’t the only biblical issue on the Episcopal Church’s Agenda (Associated Press)
July 14th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Kendall Harmon linked this very helpful AP story on other scriptural matters discussed at convention. It is by no means exhaustive.
Other biblical moments at the Episcopal convention:
- One resolution commissioned publications “to address anti-Jewish prejudice expressed in and stirred by portions of Christian scriptures.”
- Another said “the Bible has sometimes been used to justify oppressive institutions and practices,” without listing particulars.
- With a statement about biblical authority to reassure fellow Anglicans, delegates dropped the key language that said “Scripture is the church’s supreme authority” and “ought to be seen as a focus and means of unity.”
- The convention shelved a proposal to declare that Jesus is “the only name by which any person may be saved” on the basis of his statement that “no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
- A Communion sermon by new Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Christians are children of “our mother Jesus.” Some objected to such gender-bending, but she drew upon metaphors from the 14th-century mystic Julian of Norwich. Underlying that, Jesus compared himself to a compassionate mother hen (Luke 13:34).
9 Parishes May Go to Court (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
July 12th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Nine parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh are considering legal action to stop a plan by Bishop Robert Duncan that they say could “effectively remove the diocese from the church.”
“This is totally uncharted water,” the Rev. Harold T. Lewis, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside, said Tuesday.
Duncan and the standing committee of the diocese want to remove the diocese from its current geographical province and relocate it to a new “theologically determined” province, representatives of the nine parishes said.
Duncan has been the leading voice against movements within the national church that he and other conservatives consider to be contrary to Scripture. Duncan and like-minded Episcopalians oppose same-sex unions and the 2003 consecration of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Nine Episcopal Parishes Don’t Want New Province (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
July 12th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Nine parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday decried efforts to meld biblically conservative dioceses into a new, non-geographical province.
The Rev. Dr. Harold T. Lewis of Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside and representatives of eight other parishes said recent decisions by Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. and the diocese’s standing committee are “tantamount to leaving the Episcopal Church.”
They issued a statement at a press conference refuting the June 28 decision to seek “alternative primatial oversight” for the diocese and the formation of a boundary-less, theologically conservative province.
“We believe that the proposed formation of a Province X … is canonically and constitutionally irregular,” the statement read. “We believe the request for alternative primatial oversight constitutes a rejection of the duly elected leadership and governing structures of the Episcopal Church.”
The two issues are flashpoints in the church, both locally and nationally.
Episcopalians on the Breach: U.S. Church in Battle with the Anglican Communion (New York Daily News)
July 10th, 2006 by Peter Frank
There’s a new spin on an old joke making the rounds. It’s about a beachcomber who finds a bottle in the sand and opens it, freeing a genie who gratefully grants one wish. The beachcomber asks for peace in the Middle East.
The genie calls that an impossible task and asks for an alternative wish. “Okay,” says the beachcomber, “restore harmony to the Anglican Communion.” The genie thinks for several seconds and then says, “Let’s go back to that Middle East thing.”
But for millions of Anglicans, and especially Episcopalians - the American branch of the global Anglican community - it’s no joke. The challenge now is to restore peace and unity or to at least keep the Episcopal Church a full-fledged member of a denomination with 77 million faithful in 160 countries.
In a way, it is a dispute that pits the Episcopal Church - with its 2.3 million members divided into 111 national jurisdictions (dioceses) - against Anglicans nearly everywhere else. Of the 37 other provinces, or church territories, around the world, 22 already describe their relationship with the Episcopal Church as “broken” or “impaired.”
Archbishop of Canterbury: Address to General Synod on the Anglican Communion (ACNS)
July 7th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Note from Peter: The General Synod is the Church of England’s governing body, it functions somewhat like our General Convention, but meets twice a year. I’ve excerpted Archbishop Williams’ beginning comments on our current situation in the United States, but there is some really good stuff about what it means to be a communion in the full address. Please do read the whole thing.
“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 [John Sentamu, archbishop of York], 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 in this regard. I think that he – and his successor-elect – deserve credit and gratitude for taking the risk of focusing the debate and its implications so sharply.
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.”
Fissures remain after Episcopal Church convention (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
July 6th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Discussions almost always include Pittsburgh, the nexus of the Episcopal Church’s theological conservatives. Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. is moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, a 3-year-old group of 10 dioceses and 900 parishes formed after the church’s confirmation of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. It represents just 10 percent of the Episcopal Church’s 2.2 million members, but is buoyed by biblically orthodox Anglicans in Africa and Asia, the most populous churches in the communion.
It was not surprising that some of the network’s dioceses immediately sought alternative oversight since Bishop Jefferts Schori participated in Bishop Robinson’s consecration and approved same-sex blessings in her home diocese of Nevada. Biblically orthodox Episcopalians believe homosexuality is incompatible with Scripture.
But the move to form a new province is unprecedented, according to the Rev. J. Robert Wright, historiographer of the Episcopal Church.
“There might be a group of leaders in the Episcopal Church who might seek formation of a new province,” he said, “but not a diocese.”
Bishop Duncan has said the province would enable conservative dioceses like Pittsburgh to join together, rather than remain dispersed among the church’s nine present provinces.
The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Prichard, a professor of church history at Virginia Theological Seminary, said the Episcopal Church historically has relied on structural answers to deal with theological questions.
“Instead of figuring out how to reconcile competing theological claims, the church is trying to figure out how to adjust its structure to contain advocates of those differing views,” he said.
The geographically grouped provinces’ primary authority is to elect half of the church’s 36-member Executive Council, which governs the church between its General Conventions.
However, the Rev. Dr. Harold Lewis, rector of Shadyside’s Calvary Episcopal Church, sees something larger at work.
“This is all part of a master plan,” said Rev. Lewis, who has called a Thursday news conference for diocesan clergy opposed to Bishop Duncan.
Dallas asks for primatial oversite (Titusonenine)
July 6th, 2006 by Peter Frank
I can’t seem to find their press release on the diocesan website. Here is the text from Titusonenine:
DALLAS – Bishop James M. Stanton said Wednesday he is convening a special panel to consider the present relationship of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas to the Episcopal Church.
The action comes amid mounting concerns over controversial actions last month by the Episcopal General Convention.
The panel will report Oct. 20 to the annual convention of the diocese, which acts in concert with the bishop to set diocesan policies.
“I want to hear the voices of the leaders of the congregations as we seek a way forward,” said Stanton, bishop of Dallas since 1993. “This is what pastors do, and I, as chief pastor of the diocese want to listen to the concerns of my people.”
Stanton said, additionally, he would write to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the 70-million-strong Anglican Communion of which the Episcopal Church is a part, and pursue with him “a direct pastoral relationship.”
The diocesan Standing Committee, which acts as a council of advice to the bishop, asked July 1 that Stanton call on Williams for “a direct primatial relationship…for the purpose of mission, pastoral support, and accountability.”
Read the rest of the story.
Five Dioceses Have Now Asked for Alternative Primatial Oversight
June 29th, 2006 by Peter Frank
A number of stories I just posted identify three dioceses that have asked for alternative primatial oversight. Two more have done so today. To the best of my knowledge, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, San Joaquin, and most recently Central Florida have now made the request.
It is worth emphasizing that in doing so, none of these dioceses have claimed to be “leaving” the Episcopal Church in any way. It has been sad to see how even the national church seems to want to suggest otherwise. We have simply made a request. It is up to others to answer our request.
Episcopal Feud Over Gay Bishops Widens (AP)
June 29th, 2006 by Peter Frank
Three conservative Episcopal dioceses that oppose consecrating gay bishops voted Wednesday to reject the authority of the denomination’s presiding bishop, but stopped short of a full break with the Episcopal Church.
In separate meetings, the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, South Carolina and San Joaquin, Calif., asked the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to assign them an alternative leader.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh is home to the Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 conservative U.S. dioceses and more than 900 parishes within the Episcopal Church that are deciding whether to split from the denomination.
The decision by the three dioceses came on the same day that the liberal Diocese of Newark, N.J., tested the new Episcopal call for restraint on choosing gay bishops by naming a gay priest as one of four nominees to become its next leader.
The Episcopal Church and its fellow Anglicans worldwide are struggling to prevent differences over the Bible and sexuality from escalating into a permanent break.
On Tuesday, Williams said the divisions have become so deep that any member churches who support ordaining gays may have to accept a lesser role in the fellowship to prevent a schism.
Pittsburgh Episcopalians Seek Seperate Conservative Jurisdiction
June 29th, 2006 by Peter Frank
In a step toward creating a church within the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Pittsburgh decided yesterday to seek formation of a boundary-less, theologically conservative province, and it appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury for immediate alternative oversight and pastoral care.
Yesterday’s resolution does not change the diocese’s standing within the Episcopal Church. Nor is it likely to have immediate impact on the diocese’s 20,000 members.
It does signal, however, that biblically conservative Episcopalians are replacing talk of dissatisfaction with the national church with concrete efforts to create a separate place for themselves within the wider Anglican Communion.
Pittsburgh Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. said the diocese’s action was in keeping with its intentions of the past several years.
“We’re the Diocese of Pittsburgh,” he said. “We’re the Episcopal Church in this place. What we’re saying is there is a part of the Episcopal Church which is committed to being a constituent member of the Anglican Communion.”