The Rev. Stephen Smith and Meribah Mansfield (both from St. Patrick's) are deputies to this year's General Convention. Check out this web page for reflections and comments on Convention, July 6-17.
To follow the Diocesan blog visit the Diocese's website: www.diosohio.org
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Today's entry will be my last blog. We have a full day of work tomorrow and then I return to Ohio in Friday. This blog will also appear in the August newsletter.
After more than 40 years we may be finished with legislating
about sexuality.It all began over 40
years ago when we began to seriously debate women's eligibility for serving on
vestries, as delegates to Diocesan Convention and Deputies to the National
Convention.Then we moved on to talk of women’s
ordination, and finally the full inclusion of gays and lesbians.Other than a couple of conventions where we
hotly debated the revision of the prayer book, it seems as if we have talked on
nothing else but issues of gender and sexuality.
We
are done.Sure the issue will continue
to come up, but it will no longer occupy center stage.Instead, we are talking about and will talk
more and more about mission.It has
already begun with this convention.We
were told that our partnerships throughout the Anglican Communion are one of
the best, have been one of the best, and will continue as one of the best Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) for creating viable, sustainable economic development in some
of the poorest communities of the world.The leaders of Episcopal Relief
and Development shared with us how they surpassed their goal of raising $3 million
over the last three years for eliminating extreme poverty.They raised $3.5 million.
More
and more we will talk about stewardship, not just of our personal resources but
our collective ones. Bishop Steven
Charleston gave a sermon at the Eucharist July 15 that challenged the Episcopal
Church to use its vast connections throughout the world to “save the planet.”Because Anglicans represent the second largest
Christian body in the world our influence for peace, for sustainable
development, and increasing care for the environment is global
More
and more we will talk about evangelism. Ray Suarez of News Hour with Jim Lerher,
offered a sermon where he cited that old joke, “What do you get when you cross
a Jehovah’s Witness with an Episcopalian—someone who will knock on doors but
have nothing to say.”He challenged us
to have something to say—to share the love of God with a country and a world in
rapid change and in dire need of meaning.
The
future of the Episcopal Church looks bright as we increasingly devote ourselves
to mission throughout the world, to caring for the earth, and to proclaiming the
Gospel to a hurting world.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Amazing; that's the only word I can use to describe it. At the end of our morning legislative session we welcomed ecumenical and interfaith guests. There were dozens of them. The Lutheran Bishop of LA delivered a short speech. Then the singing began. A Jewish cantor began to intone the Aaronic blessing in Hebrew. A Muslim cantor began the end of the day blessing prayer that is always chanted at Sundown from the Minaret of the Mosque. An Episcopal priest chanted the blessing in English--and all at the same time! It was truly amazing. It sent chills up and down my spine to hear the joy of God's blessing sung out form the three Abrahamic faiths all at once.
The Bishops passed D025, which I mentioned earlier is somewhat of a response to B033, from the 2006 General Convention. I say "somewhat" because D025 does not even mention B033. Instead it simply states where we are as a Church. It does not call for anything to change other than that we follow our canons when it comes to the ordination process. Time will tell what spin the extreme sides of the Church place on this resolution. Monday, July 13, 2009
Today we passed new canons on disciplinary action for clergy accused of misconduct. They are extremely thorough, and are a vast improvement over the canons they will replace.
The canons we currently use are extremely punitive in nature, tend to separate the Bishop from any pastoral role in relation to the accused, fail to offer due process for the accused, and are somewhat insensitive to those bringing a complaint. The new process is much more sensitive to both the one making the complaint and the accused. It also acknowledges the possibility for reconciliation where possible, and the possibility of return to ministry for those whose transgressions are not overly egregious.
Today we finished work on the public narrative project. This process has helped us all see that the values we hold most deeply, and the calls we sense to mission in the world, are rooted in our deepest stories of self. When we share our stories, we come to know why we are called to do what we do, and find ways in which we can share in action to spread the Gospel. Sunday, July 12, 2009
For better or worse, depending on how you view it, the House of Deputies made a response today to the 2006 resolution B033; at least the portion dealing with the election of Bishops. As BO33 said, we were to show restraint in electing or consecrating a Bishop who might be in a relationship that would scandalize the wider Anglican Communion.
Today's resolution called for continuing at all levels of the Church, our relationship with the Anglican Communion. It also cited language from resolutions passed over the years that value the contributions of our gay and lesbian members in this Church, and then acknowledged that we will follow our constitution and canons when electing Bishops. Our canons are non-discriminatory, even when it comes to sexual orientation.
Where it goes from here is hard to tell. If the House of Bishops does not also ratify this resolution, it dies. If they pass it, what will the rest of the Anglican Communion say? All we said in today's resolution is that we will follow our canonical election procedures and let the best person win. Could this result in the election of someone who's life might cause scandal in the wider communion? Well, Gene Robinson's election followed canonical procedure completely, so it is possible.
Now we await the action of the House of Bishops. Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ray Suarez, co-host of News Hour with Jim Lerher preached at today's Eucharist. He is an Episcopalian. He quoted that old joke, what do you get when you cross an Episcopalian with a Southern Baptist? Some one who will knock on doors but has nothing to say.
"Nothing to say?" he asked. Then he pointed out all the great things the Episcopal Church has to say, especially through its actions: from ministry to help rebuild the Gulf Coast post Katrina, to efforts to reach young people, to efforts at envagelization among marginalized and minority groups. The Church, he proclaimed is poised for mission in a new and changing world. The white, aristocratic Episcopal Church that existed from the 18th cnetury until the 1950s is gone, but now we have something to say, a great deal to say about the love of God in Christ, to a whole new world.
That contrast between where we have been and where we are going came up in the public narrative project today as well. A priest told a story of how he put dozens of balloons in the Church for Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. One of the first people into Church was a matriarch and pillar who immediately said, "place looks like a damn circus."
Suddenly a young family came in with a small boy in tow who yelled out, "Oh boy, balloons."
His mother asked, "Do you know why they're here in Church?"
"Because Jesus is risen!" said the boy enthusiastically.
The matriarch said to the rector, "We'll have the balloons next year too, won't we?"
From Meribah--I am in a Legislative Session, sitting in the alternates section. Stephen is on the floor of the House of Deputies
this afternoon. This morning, the House heard testimony on whether to
reaffirm or move beyond resolution B033 adopted at the 2006 General
Convention, which put dealing with consecration of gay bishops and same-sex unions
on hold. I have also heard testimony at other committee hearings on
this emotional issue. I am deeply touched by the pain of all who
testify on both sides of this issue. It will be so interesting to see
what the Convention does on this important issue! Be sure to read the thoughtful daily reflections from our two bishops and all of the other communications from our diocese and the national church. They are doing a great job spreading the news about the Convention. I have been thrilled to serve as a Eucharistic minister
each day. I wish you could all be here with us--it is so exciting! I'm
looking forward to sharing the experience when we get home (July 18!).
Friday, July 10, 2009
We learned some things about money today.
First the bad news: budget projections for the next triennium 2010-2012, show a serious shortfall in revenue due to the sagging economy. We simply will not have as much money as needed to do our work as a Church.
Now the good news: Episcopal Relief and Development set a goal at the 2006 General Convention in Columbus to raise at least $3 million by the time of this year's convention to be used specifically for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. They actually raised more than $3.5 million. In addition, the Diocese that gave the most money to the MDGs fund was the Diocese of Puerto Rico. One of the poorest Diocese's in our Church gave the most money to help end poverty around the world. That can be a challenge to those of us in more affluent Dioceses.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
We did our first Public Narratives today. I helped coach a table in telling the story of self. One woman told a story of how, when she was eight years old, she organized a parade in her neighborhood. She got all the kids to pull their wagons as floats with cats and dogs lined up along the way. She even charged admission for the adults to come and watch. Years later, when her local Bishop asked her the chair the committee planning local arrangements for the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis she said she knew she could do it because of that parade when she was eight years old. It was the story of her call to mission.
Later in the day as we discussed B033 we used the techniques of Public Narrative. We were asked to tell the story of self--what effect did B033 have on you personally? We told the story of us--how did B033 impact the Church? We told the story of now--where might God be leading us? We undertook this conversation in pairs with people we did not know. I was paired with a young man, a senior in college, who hopes to start seminary in 2010 and prepare for the priesthood. We viewed B033 very differently from one another but we both hoped that the Church would no longer be overly distracted by issues of sexuality and move on to evangelism and mission.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The House of Deputies (the clergy and lay deputies of the Church) took a step toward going beyond mere legislation. It voted today to have a special rule of order for conversation about the 2006 General Convention Resolution B033.
This was the resolution passed at the very end of last convention to help us in our relationship with the wider Anglican Communion. We voted to refrain from authorizing liturgies for blessing same gender unions, and to show restraint in electing or consecrating any Bishop in a same gender relationship. Both the out-going Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, and newly elected PB Schori strongly encouraged the passage of this resolution as a means of telling the wider Anglican Communion that we were wiling to put a temporary halt to issues that caused offense in the wider Church in order to demonstrate our commitment to and desire for a continued relationship. Unfortunately, this resolution did not stop the on-going comaplaints and calls for our censure from provicnes like Nigeria. Nor did this resolution prevent four Diocesan Conventions from voting to leave the Episcopal Church.
The resolution did, however, keep us in relationship with the wider communion to ensure our participation in the once every 10 years conference of Anglican Bishops called Lambeth in 2008. There we reconnected with the wider Church in new and creative ways that Bishop Breidenthal and Bishop Price still talk about. Our reconnection with the Church at Lambeth was based in conversation, in the one-on-one and small group dialogues that helped our world-wide Bishops restore their sense of connection with one another.
Now the time has come to re-visit B033. And we will do so in conversation, not legislation. Legislation is not the way to solve our differences over issues of sexuality. It will turn the entire controversy into a win-lose debate. Conversation may help us restore a sense of connection with one another, just as the Bishops did at Lambeth. We'll keep you posted.
And from Meribah -
Today we had our first Eucharist. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached the sermon and presided over communion. There were thousands of people in the room, singing and praying together. The most moving part for me was serving as one of dozens of bread ministers! I felt full of joy and love as I gave "the body of Christ, the bread of heaven" to bishops, clergy and laypersons. I feel so fortunate to be here.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The opening of General Convention feels like a homecoming.
"Heh, Randy"
"Bill, Nancy--so good to see you!"
"Ruth--how is your new parish in Delaware?"
It's great to see old friends.
Very little public work gets accomplished the first day of Convention. Yes, we did hear an address from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. She told us our Church is in crisis, but that crisis implies a decision that can lead to opportunities. At such times we may be tempted to retreat, or we can be like Jesus and set our faces toward Jerusalem to risk the redeeming work God may lead us to undertake.
Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies introduced us to the concept of Public Narrative. This is a process whereby we tell our own stoires in three parts: the story of me, the story of us, and the story of now. Public Narrative helps us make sense of how we feel called to act (the story of me); how our actions relfect our common values (the story of us); and then inspires us to shared action together (the story of now). Meribah and I are being trained as coaches to help lead small table groups through this process. We hope to bring it back to the Diocese and St. Patrick's
Though we are not doing a lot of public work, behind the scenes life is more than busy. Like the proverbial duck on the pond, the opening of convention may look calm and stately on the surface but underneath there is a flurry of activity. Legislative committees are already meeting to see if they can consolidate a myriad of resolutions on a single topic into one overall resolution for ease of handling. They are reviewing the more controversial resolutions to consider possible hearings in order to receive feedback from the Church at large. The print shop is already humming churning out pages and pages of revised resolutions. The exhibit booths are overrun with businesses and volunteers setting up stations for advertising anything from communion wafers and vestments to computer software for churches.
Soon the homecming atmosphere will give way to the hard work of convention. We will keep you posted.
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