This morning after breakfast we drove to the Haverford station and then took the commuter train into Philadelphia. We got off at East Market and made our way to Church House, the offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Most of our group took cabs, but four of us walked to the corner of 4th and Locust where the Church House is located. That probably doesn't tell you a whole lot until I tell you that we walked past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Yes, we were in the heart of historic Philadelphia.
We spent the morning at Church House learning about new resources from Church Publishing and then had lunch. After lunch Henry Carnes, the formation and education person for the diocese (his job description, as with many of ours, seems to be a moving target) arranged for us to tour the Bishop White house. The house isn't open on Tuesdays, but he arranged for a private tour, which was led not by a regular National Park Service guide but by the curator of the historic homes in the National Park Service District. It made for a much richer tour than we might otherwise have had.
Bishop White was the second bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church, after Samuel Seabury of Connecticut. However, White was the first bishop consecrated by English bishops after an act of Parliament allowed him to be consecrated without swearing an oath of allegiance to the king of England. Bishop Seabury was always a little leery of his own consecration, which took place in Scotland at the hands of non-juror bishops (those who hadn't sworn allegiance to the English crown). Bishop White was also the first Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church while also serving as the Bishop of Pennsylvania AND as the rector of Christ Church Philadelphia.
Which is where we visited next. Founded in 1695, the current building, only the second on the site, was completed in the 1750's. We learned about the history of the church and more about Bishop White. We also learned about the renovations taking place at their 1911 Neighborhood Hall building--the first since the building had been built. Once the renovations are completed, it will once again serve as a vital resource to the community at large.
We stopped at the Bleu Martini for a drink before dinner at the City Tavern. The Bleu Martini wasn't historic, but it was fun. The City Tavern is historic, and the food was pretty good.
We were back to the St. Raphaela Center by 9:00 this evening. We did a lot of walking, and the weather was perfect for it.
Tomorrow we have a couple of workshops and our annual meeting. There are also other things on the agenda, but I'll be leaving for my brother's around 4:00 or so in the afternoon.
Peace,
Jeff
Showing posts with label Diocese of Connecticut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diocese of Connecticut. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A Wedding In New Haven
Paul Woodrum's account of the marriage of his friends that took place in New Haven. Shared with permission.
Peace,
Jeff
Tuesday: This morning Victor and I accompanied fellow Brooklynites and friends Fr. Howard Blunt (D of NY) and Donald Beckman to New Haven, CT, to formalize with civil marriage their union of over twenty years. The drive was about two hours under a gray sky.
We arrived at the Department of Public Health, Vital Records Section, at 11:10 a.m. and they completed the paper work, ceremony, and issuance of two certified copes of the marriage certificate by noon. It helped that before arrival Don and Howard had filled in information forms downloaded from the internet.
After the application process, a justice of the peace was called and we went to a large, second floor stair hall in the beautifully restored Victorian portion of New Haven's City Hall. Our justice of the peace, a lovely West Indian woman, offered use of a white, metal arbor covered with artificial greens and flowers as a prop to frame the ceremony and kindly granted me permission to bless the rings and the marriage at which she officiated and witnessed.
For the blessing of the rings, titanium and enamel bands, I used the BCP form on p. 427 changing only the words "this man and this woman," to "these two men." No changes were required in the gender-neutral blessing of a marriage, BCP, p. 431.
(How simple it can be! In the interest of full disclosure and as evidence for my deposition that will no doubt follow this wild disregard for church order, I am resident in the Diocese of Newark, live and am licensed in the Diocese of Long Island, and did not ask permission of the Bishop of Connecticut to say a couple prayers in that diocese.)
We all noticed the JP cross herself as I blessed Howard and Donald in the name of the Trinity. As we chatted, she mentioned being an acolyte and involved in the Girls Friendly Society. When I asked what church, she replied, "St. Luke's Episcopal." Kisses all around. Then the JP who had officiated for Victor and I came through and more greetings.
As we were leaving City Hall under a now bright sky, a woman carrying rolls of architectural drawings asked if we were heading across the green to be married at the UCC church that stands in the center flanked by Trinity Episcopal to the its right and another UCC church to its left, saying many gay marriages were performed there. (Trinity Church, take note.) I guess our suits and ties gave us away. We confessed to being Episcopalians who had just done the deed. Profuse congratulations and good wishes.
New Haven is centered on an 18th century town green. City Hall on Church St. is to the south, Yale University to the north and the three aforementioned churches in the center of the green. We cut diagonally across the green and proceeded up Chapel Street to Scoozi's, next to the Yale Repertory Theater, the restaurant where Victor and I had our wedding breakfast back in June.
Scoozi's is a chic, modern restaurant/wine bar with white tablecloths, heavy hotel plate silver, fresh flowers on every table and discretely attentive, very friendly, eye-candy wait-staff. The Italian menu embraces local produce. This being October, pumpkin and squash from the Brown farm were highlighted. It being Tuesday, all bottles of wine were half price. It being a wedding celebration, desert -- moist pumpkin cake topped with pumpkin puree and a side scoop of whipped cream -- was on the house.
Afterwards we sauntered through a collegiate-Gothic corner of Yale and back across the green to the modern parking garage next to the brick and stone striated, high Victorian Gothic City Hall. Victor and I caught the Metro-North commuter train back to Grand Central Terminal and Donald and Howard began their week-long honeymoon touring central Connecticut.
I highly recommend New Haven as a place for gay couples getting married. The folks are friendly, the process simple, the setting beautiful and the price (not counting Scoozi's) under $100.00 including the JP's fee and the documents.
Peace,
Jeff
Tuesday: This morning Victor and I accompanied fellow Brooklynites and friends Fr. Howard Blunt (D of NY) and Donald Beckman to New Haven, CT, to formalize with civil marriage their union of over twenty years. The drive was about two hours under a gray sky.
We arrived at the Department of Public Health, Vital Records Section, at 11:10 a.m. and they completed the paper work, ceremony, and issuance of two certified copes of the marriage certificate by noon. It helped that before arrival Don and Howard had filled in information forms downloaded from the internet.
After the application process, a justice of the peace was called and we went to a large, second floor stair hall in the beautifully restored Victorian portion of New Haven's City Hall. Our justice of the peace, a lovely West Indian woman, offered use of a white, metal arbor covered with artificial greens and flowers as a prop to frame the ceremony and kindly granted me permission to bless the rings and the marriage at which she officiated and witnessed.
For the blessing of the rings, titanium and enamel bands, I used the BCP form on p. 427 changing only the words "this man and this woman," to "these two men." No changes were required in the gender-neutral blessing of a marriage, BCP, p. 431.
(How simple it can be! In the interest of full disclosure and as evidence for my deposition that will no doubt follow this wild disregard for church order, I am resident in the Diocese of Newark, live and am licensed in the Diocese of Long Island, and did not ask permission of the Bishop of Connecticut to say a couple prayers in that diocese.)
We all noticed the JP cross herself as I blessed Howard and Donald in the name of the Trinity. As we chatted, she mentioned being an acolyte and involved in the Girls Friendly Society. When I asked what church, she replied, "St. Luke's Episcopal." Kisses all around. Then the JP who had officiated for Victor and I came through and more greetings.
As we were leaving City Hall under a now bright sky, a woman carrying rolls of architectural drawings asked if we were heading across the green to be married at the UCC church that stands in the center flanked by Trinity Episcopal to the its right and another UCC church to its left, saying many gay marriages were performed there. (Trinity Church, take note.) I guess our suits and ties gave us away. We confessed to being Episcopalians who had just done the deed. Profuse congratulations and good wishes.
New Haven is centered on an 18th century town green. City Hall on Church St. is to the south, Yale University to the north and the three aforementioned churches in the center of the green. We cut diagonally across the green and proceeded up Chapel Street to Scoozi's, next to the Yale Repertory Theater, the restaurant where Victor and I had our wedding breakfast back in June.
Scoozi's is a chic, modern restaurant/wine bar with white tablecloths, heavy hotel plate silver, fresh flowers on every table and discretely attentive, very friendly, eye-candy wait-staff. The Italian menu embraces local produce. This being October, pumpkin and squash from the Brown farm were highlighted. It being Tuesday, all bottles of wine were half price. It being a wedding celebration, desert -- moist pumpkin cake topped with pumpkin puree and a side scoop of whipped cream -- was on the house.
Afterwards we sauntered through a collegiate-Gothic corner of Yale and back across the green to the modern parking garage next to the brick and stone striated, high Victorian Gothic City Hall. Victor and I caught the Metro-North commuter train back to Grand Central Terminal and Donald and Howard began their week-long honeymoon touring central Connecticut.
I highly recommend New Haven as a place for gay couples getting married. The folks are friendly, the process simple, the setting beautiful and the price (not counting Scoozi's) under $100.00 including the JP's fee and the documents.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Where Am I?
After a week of waiting, having had a hint but not wanting to say anything until I received official word, my discernment committee let me know that they were recommending me for postulancy. The committee filled out the required form, which I had to read and sign the statement at the end:
I approached this discernment committee differently than the previous two. I went in assuming it would be a safe place. I went in prepared to speak what I felt without censoring or editing my thoughts before they left my mouth. I went in knowing that I had to be totally open with these five people. Yet I have to wonder if they listened and heard all that I shared with them. Where is the sense of my ministry among them? In the congregation? In the community?
Some of this I can respond to by attaching the "get thee to a nunnery" letter from Bishop Coleridge and outlining my conversations with Bishop Smith. Some will be expanded upon in the spiritual autobiography I must write to go with the application. And some of it I can respond to directly, as outlined in the statement I signed. It may be that someone (Me? Lois?) needs to request that they provide more in-depth responses. And prayer will be involved.
In the meantime, I have financial information to document, transcripts to request, a spiritual autobiography to write, and some theoretical projections to make. Not to mention coming up with $600 as my third of the application fee.
Prayer will be involved.
Peace,
Jeff
(14)
I have read and understood the response. If the Nominee wishes to respond to this statement please attach a separate sheet.Well, I did read it. And I did understand it. I'm just not sure it ought to go forward in its present form with my application to the Diocese. Mom's initial reaction was, "Where's Jeffri in this?" My concern is that they seem to say that I should be admitted to postulancy because I've persevered through a rather tortuous process--some 16 years of it. Maybe the long process has colored how I see their responses. They still concern me.
I approached this discernment committee differently than the previous two. I went in assuming it would be a safe place. I went in prepared to speak what I felt without censoring or editing my thoughts before they left my mouth. I went in knowing that I had to be totally open with these five people. Yet I have to wonder if they listened and heard all that I shared with them. Where is the sense of my ministry among them? In the congregation? In the community?
Some of this I can respond to by attaching the "get thee to a nunnery" letter from Bishop Coleridge and outlining my conversations with Bishop Smith. Some will be expanded upon in the spiritual autobiography I must write to go with the application. And some of it I can respond to directly, as outlined in the statement I signed. It may be that someone (Me? Lois?) needs to request that they provide more in-depth responses. And prayer will be involved.
In the meantime, I have financial information to document, transcripts to request, a spiritual autobiography to write, and some theoretical projections to make. Not to mention coming up with $600 as my third of the application fee.
Prayer will be involved.
Peace,
Jeff
(14)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The State Of The Church
There has not been much, if any, angst coming out of the Primates' meeting in Alexandria, Egypt. Of course, I haven't gone to read David Virtue's site, or that place I refuse to read. I will not go read those blogs. I will not go read those blogs. I will NOT go read THOSE blogs! I won't even provide links. Colin Coward of Changing Attitude has been blogging from Alexandria. I recommend you go and read his reports.
Meanwhile, back here in the States, we at the denominational headquarters of the Episcopal Church are once again mired in the budget process as we deal with follow up from last week's Executive Council meeting. We've been at this for six months, and we probably will not be finished until the first Executive Council meeting after July's General Convention. As with churches across the country, declining revenue is taking its toll on our budget. More on that when I have something I can say publicly.
Grace will probably be closing its doors in two years.
The diocese wants $1,800 for an application for the Nominee Application Process for Holy Orders. $600 from the Nominee, $600 from the parish, and $600 from itself. And that's just the tip of the iceberg should I be put forward. The church seriously needs to rethink its system for educating clergy.
Prayer. That's about all I can do right now.
Peace,
Jeff
Meanwhile, back here in the States, we at the denominational headquarters of the Episcopal Church are once again mired in the budget process as we deal with follow up from last week's Executive Council meeting. We've been at this for six months, and we probably will not be finished until the first Executive Council meeting after July's General Convention. As with churches across the country, declining revenue is taking its toll on our budget. More on that when I have something I can say publicly.
Grace will probably be closing its doors in two years.
The diocese wants $1,800 for an application for the Nominee Application Process for Holy Orders. $600 from the Nominee, $600 from the parish, and $600 from itself. And that's just the tip of the iceberg should I be put forward. The church seriously needs to rethink its system for educating clergy.
Prayer. That's about all I can do right now.
Peace,
Jeff
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Connecticut Bishops Report On The House Of Bishops Meeting
This email was sitting in my in box when I arrived home tonight:
March 14, 2008
To the People of God in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut:
Grace to you and peace in Christ Jesus our Lord. May God bless each of you in the pilgrimage of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.
We have just returned from the Spring Meeting of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. Over 120 bishops from across our church met in Camp Allen, Texas. We especially bring you greetings from Bishop Wilfrido Ramos, who sends his love and asks for continuing prayers for the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Ecuador Central.
We met within the rhythm of the daily offices and daily Holy Eucharist. We worshiped in Spanish and in English. Most of our time together was spent in continuing education and briefings on the ongoing ministries of the Episcopal Church. A highlight for us was working with Nomfondo Walaza of the Tutu Center for Peace Studies in Capetown, South Africa, who led a session on Millennium Development Goal #3 - Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Over the weekend we participated in a Reconciliation Training Initiative of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.
Monday we received word that a full invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury to include Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as a participant in this summer's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops is "not possible". Bishop Robinson told the House that he respectfully declined an invitation to be present in the conference's "Marketplace" exhibit section. But he also did urge other bishops to attend the Lambeth Conference to represent the Episcopal Church and tell the stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. The bishops of Province I will be the lead organizers of two evening gatherings during the Lambeth Conference to introduce Bishop Robinson to other bishops of the Anglican Communion and create a forum for dialogue.
On Wednesday, in business session and prayer, the House of Bishops voted to depose Bishop John-David Schofield, formerly the Bishop of San Joaquin, and Bishop William J. Cox, resigned Bishop Suffragan of Maryland, for repudiating the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Episcopal Church and for abandoning the Communion of the Church. These actions were taken according to Title IV of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
We give thanks for our ordination as bishops and the trust you have given us as bishops in the Diocese of Connecticut. The mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. The church does this as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 855). All of us, lay persons, deacons, priests, and bishops are called to work together under the lordship of Jesus. May God bless us and strengthen us in this ministry.
Faithfully,
Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan
James E. Curry, Bishop Suffragan
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church
Meeting at the Camp Allen Conference Center, Navasota, Texas
March 12, 2008
Give to your Church, O God, a bold vision and a daring charity,
a refreshed wisdom and a courteous understanding,
that the eternal message of your Son
may be acclaimed as the good news of the age;
through him who makes all things new,even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, approaching the forthcoming Lambeth Conference, are mindful of the hurt that is being experienced by so many in our own Episcopal Church, in other Provinces of our global communion, and in the world around us. While the focus of this hurt seems centered on issues of human sexuality, beneath it we believe there is a feeling of marginalization by people of differing points of view. Entering into Holy Week, our response is to name this hurt and to claim our hope that is in Christ.
As the Lambeth Conference approaches, we believe we have an enormous opportunity, in the midst of struggle, to be proud of our heritage, and to use this particular time in a holy way by affirming our rich diversity. The health of such diversity is that we are dealing openly with issues that affect the entire global community. Thus, even as we acknowledge the pain felt by many, we also affirm its holiness as we seek to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though we did not all support the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire, we acknowledge that he is a canonically elected and consecrated bishop in this church. We regret that he alone among bishops ministering within the territorial boundaries of their dioceses and provinces, did not receive an invitation to attend the Lambeth Conference.
We appeal to the faithful of the Episcopal Church and the faithful in the wider, global Anglican family, to focus and celebrate our unity in the comprehensiveness of diversity. In union with Christian tradition through the centuries, we are willing to face challenges that precipitate struggle as a means towards reconciliation.
During our meeting we have been praying for a "daring charity and courteous understanding." With this intent and guided by the Holy Spirit, we go to the Lambeth Conference spiritually united and praying that God will sanctify our struggles and unify us for Christ's mission to a hurting world.
March 14, 2008
To the People of God in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut:
Grace to you and peace in Christ Jesus our Lord. May God bless each of you in the pilgrimage of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.
We have just returned from the Spring Meeting of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. Over 120 bishops from across our church met in Camp Allen, Texas. We especially bring you greetings from Bishop Wilfrido Ramos, who sends his love and asks for continuing prayers for the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Ecuador Central.
We met within the rhythm of the daily offices and daily Holy Eucharist. We worshiped in Spanish and in English. Most of our time together was spent in continuing education and briefings on the ongoing ministries of the Episcopal Church. A highlight for us was working with Nomfondo Walaza of the Tutu Center for Peace Studies in Capetown, South Africa, who led a session on Millennium Development Goal #3 - Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Over the weekend we participated in a Reconciliation Training Initiative of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.
Monday we received word that a full invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury to include Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as a participant in this summer's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops is "not possible". Bishop Robinson told the House that he respectfully declined an invitation to be present in the conference's "Marketplace" exhibit section. But he also did urge other bishops to attend the Lambeth Conference to represent the Episcopal Church and tell the stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. The bishops of Province I will be the lead organizers of two evening gatherings during the Lambeth Conference to introduce Bishop Robinson to other bishops of the Anglican Communion and create a forum for dialogue.
On Wednesday, in business session and prayer, the House of Bishops voted to depose Bishop John-David Schofield, formerly the Bishop of San Joaquin, and Bishop William J. Cox, resigned Bishop Suffragan of Maryland, for repudiating the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Episcopal Church and for abandoning the Communion of the Church. These actions were taken according to Title IV of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
We give thanks for our ordination as bishops and the trust you have given us as bishops in the Diocese of Connecticut. The mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. The church does this as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 855). All of us, lay persons, deacons, priests, and bishops are called to work together under the lordship of Jesus. May God bless us and strengthen us in this ministry.
Faithfully,
Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan
James E. Curry, Bishop Suffragan
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church
Meeting at the Camp Allen Conference Center, Navasota, Texas
March 12, 2008
Give to your Church, O God, a bold vision and a daring charity,
a refreshed wisdom and a courteous understanding,
that the eternal message of your Son
may be acclaimed as the good news of the age;
through him who makes all things new,even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, approaching the forthcoming Lambeth Conference, are mindful of the hurt that is being experienced by so many in our own Episcopal Church, in other Provinces of our global communion, and in the world around us. While the focus of this hurt seems centered on issues of human sexuality, beneath it we believe there is a feeling of marginalization by people of differing points of view. Entering into Holy Week, our response is to name this hurt and to claim our hope that is in Christ.
As the Lambeth Conference approaches, we believe we have an enormous opportunity, in the midst of struggle, to be proud of our heritage, and to use this particular time in a holy way by affirming our rich diversity. The health of such diversity is that we are dealing openly with issues that affect the entire global community. Thus, even as we acknowledge the pain felt by many, we also affirm its holiness as we seek to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though we did not all support the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire, we acknowledge that he is a canonically elected and consecrated bishop in this church. We regret that he alone among bishops ministering within the territorial boundaries of their dioceses and provinces, did not receive an invitation to attend the Lambeth Conference.
We appeal to the faithful of the Episcopal Church and the faithful in the wider, global Anglican family, to focus and celebrate our unity in the comprehensiveness of diversity. In union with Christian tradition through the centuries, we are willing to face challenges that precipitate struggle as a means towards reconciliation.
During our meeting we have been praying for a "daring charity and courteous understanding." With this intent and guided by the Holy Spirit, we go to the Lambeth Conference spiritually united and praying that God will sanctify our struggles and unify us for Christ's mission to a hurting world.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Pass The Earplugs
Last week the Anglican Communion New Service announced the preparation of a study guide on “The Process of Listening to Gay and Lesbian People and Mutual Listening on Human Sexuality” for use by the bishops of the Anglican Communion at the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Mind you, the bishops called for the listening process at their 1998 gathering (Resolution 1.10). It took seven years before the Primates asked the Anglican Consultative Council to appoint a facilitator, and they appointed the Rev. Canon Phil Groves in January 2006. Fourteen months later, just 16 months before the bishops again gather for their decennial meeting at Lambeth, we get the first “call for papers.” I suspect that after years of trouncing the Episcopal Church for consecrating an openly gay bishop and the Anglican Church in Canada for studying objectively the issue blessing same-sex unions, the Primates figure they ought to at least give lip service to the other parts of their 1998 resolution.
Should the Study Guide be completed in time, and I have no doubt that Canon Groves can pull it off, it still represents only the beginning of the Listening Process as laid out nearly nine years ago. If the experience of the Episcopal Church and its “dialogue” of the early 1990’s are any indication, then the Lambeth Listening Process will drag on for years and will never take place in most of the provinces.
Dialogue? How many people remember Resolution A104, titled “Affirm the Church's Teaching on Sexual Expression, Commission Congregational Dialogue, and Direct Bishops to Prepare a Pastoral Teaching” passed by General Convention back in 1991? Before that it was study (1976-A068), education programs (1979-D107), and local dialogue (1988-D120). We were urged to continue the dialogue in 1994 (B101), 1997 (A071), 2000 (C008), and 2003 (A029), when the issue of sexual orientation joined a list of “challenging, contemporary issues.”
Many dioceses never engaged in the dialogue process. In others, the process stalled. In my diocese, for example, the process was shut down during the pilot stage by members of conservative parishes who made the first sessions so intolerable that diocesan consultants saw no way to move the process forward and abandoned it.
The bishops of the Anglican Communion have been putting off the issue for almost as long, beginning with study in 1978 (Resolution 10), and more study in 1988 (Resolution 64). At the Primates’ February 2005 meeting in Dromantine Ireland, they requested that the Anglican Consultative Council to "take positive steps to initiate the listening and study process which has been the subject of resolutions not only at the Lambeth Conference in 1998, but in earlier Conferences as well." (Primates 2005 Communique #17) The Anglican Consultative Council put out a request at their meeting in June 2005 (Resolution 12). The result so far has been the appointment of Canon Groves and reports from 34 of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion (these can be found here).
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s response to all of this? He says that “the churches of the Anglican Communion must be safe places for gay and lesbian people.” (March 28th ACNS Release) Rowan Williams’ statement echoes our General Convention’s “Move to Identify ‘Safe Spaces’ for Lesbians and Gays” in 2000 (A009). Based on a quick review of those reports, it appears that there is a lot of work to be done before our churches are “safe places.”
Given everything I have seen so far, the Lambeth Listening Process will proceed in much the same way as the dialogue process here in the Episcopal Church: We have mandated a listening process and belatedly begun the implementation of that listening process. Praise the Lord and pass the earplugs!
Peace,
Jeffri
Should the Study Guide be completed in time, and I have no doubt that Canon Groves can pull it off, it still represents only the beginning of the Listening Process as laid out nearly nine years ago. If the experience of the Episcopal Church and its “dialogue” of the early 1990’s are any indication, then the Lambeth Listening Process will drag on for years and will never take place in most of the provinces.
Dialogue? How many people remember Resolution A104, titled “Affirm the Church's Teaching on Sexual Expression, Commission Congregational Dialogue, and Direct Bishops to Prepare a Pastoral Teaching” passed by General Convention back in 1991? Before that it was study (1976-A068), education programs (1979-D107), and local dialogue (1988-D120). We were urged to continue the dialogue in 1994 (B101), 1997 (A071), 2000 (C008), and 2003 (A029), when the issue of sexual orientation joined a list of “challenging, contemporary issues.”
Many dioceses never engaged in the dialogue process. In others, the process stalled. In my diocese, for example, the process was shut down during the pilot stage by members of conservative parishes who made the first sessions so intolerable that diocesan consultants saw no way to move the process forward and abandoned it.
The bishops of the Anglican Communion have been putting off the issue for almost as long, beginning with study in 1978 (Resolution 10), and more study in 1988 (Resolution 64). At the Primates’ February 2005 meeting in Dromantine Ireland, they requested that the Anglican Consultative Council to "take positive steps to initiate the listening and study process which has been the subject of resolutions not only at the Lambeth Conference in 1998, but in earlier Conferences as well." (Primates 2005 Communique #17) The Anglican Consultative Council put out a request at their meeting in June 2005 (Resolution 12). The result so far has been the appointment of Canon Groves and reports from 34 of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion (these can be found here).
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s response to all of this? He says that “the churches of the Anglican Communion must be safe places for gay and lesbian people.” (March 28th ACNS Release) Rowan Williams’ statement echoes our General Convention’s “Move to Identify ‘Safe Spaces’ for Lesbians and Gays” in 2000 (A009). Based on a quick review of those reports, it appears that there is a lot of work to be done before our churches are “safe places.”
Given everything I have seen so far, the Lambeth Listening Process will proceed in much the same way as the dialogue process here in the Episcopal Church: We have mandated a listening process and belatedly begun the implementation of that listening process. Praise the Lord and pass the earplugs!
Peace,
Jeffri
Thursday, March 22, 2007
A Statement from The Bishops of The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
The Spring Meeting of the House of Bishops has been filled with a readiness, an eagerness, to further the mission which God has entrusted to us, to proclaim the gospel in our life and our witness. As we have prayed and met, we have been aware of our relationships within the Anglican Communion and we have debated especially the implications of the communiqué which the primates of the provinces of the Communion released from their February meeting in Dar es Salaam.
On March 20 in our Business Meeting, the bishops of The Episcopal Church passed three resolutions which address the relationship of this Church with the Anglican Communion. We your bishops participated in the preparation of the first and third resolutions listed below, and we both voted to approve all three.
The foundation for all three resolutions is the clear and deep desire of the bishops as chief pastors of the Church to conserve the nature and spirit of the Anglican Communion, and to ensure the integrity of this Church.
The February 2007 Communiqué from the meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion in Dar es Salaam prescribes a method for international intervention to settle differences within The Episcopal Church. We your bishops in Connecticut believe their scheme would fundamentally change our historic Anglican fellowship. Their prescription for the Communion, and especially what they set forth for The Episcopal Church, would override our Constitutional responsibility for our life and governance. And it would change the Communion into an international church with a supreme council of archbishops who could intervene in and regulate the internal life of individual geographical provinces.
The first resolution of the House asks the Executive Council of our Church to join us in declining to accept the imposition of a “Pastoral Council” comprised mostly of persons outside the Episcopal Church who would oversee an appointed “primatial vicar” who in consultation with our Presiding Bishop would care for dissident dioceses and congregations.
A second resolution asks the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Standing Committee of the Council of Primates to meet with the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church as soon as possible. This resolution was passed unanimously by the bishops.
The third resolution, more lengthy than the other two, is addressed to the members of The Episcopal Church. It describes the situation before us and the theological and ecclesial reasons for our decisions.
A fourth statement, a much fuller report of the meeting, including the many other concerns which we engaged, was adopted in our last session and will be circulated to the Church. We commend this report to every one of our members.
The meeting of the House has been marked by widespread shared concern on all sides for the innovations from the primates. We spent a day listening to and questioning our Church’s two representatives to the international Anglican Covenant Design Committee, and we were newly enlightened by their very different perspectives. Our debate has been thoughtful, measured, respectful.
The attempts of the council of primates to intervene in the struggles and life of The Episcopal Church by demanding either that we agree to repudiate the presence and ministry of gay and lesbian persons in this Church, or, in the alternative by imposing an alternative authority and so settle our conflict essentially by dividing us, has an all too familiar ring for us in Connecticut.
We your bishops believe the time had come for us to stand as Episcopalians, Anglicans, people of Jesus Christ, and to draw a line. To accept the terms set down by the primates would compromise for all time the nature of the Anglican Communion by setting us on a slippery slope, granting permission for others to shape and govern this Church and other provinces as well. Episcopalians embrace a polity which is built on the participation of all the baptized, and we your bishops will resist every attempt to allow authority to be placed in the hands of foreign primates, many of whom have not been chosen by the people they govern.
We want Connecticut to continue and grow as a diocese that respects and welcomes all persons seeking Jesus, with no distinction, as Saint Paul wrote, based on heritage, race, or sex. Nor do we seek to discriminate theologically; we seek to honor and embrace the wide spectrum of Christian belief which exists among us. Further, we know that our ties with Anglicans throughout the world are a sign of Christ’s supremacy over us, and are indispensable for our common mission and spiritual health. Both of us rejoice in our diocesan and parish fellowship and mission work with Anglican partners in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. We remind the diocese that we have committed ourselves to others in mutual support for mission, and to help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
What we see at stake is our Anglican heritage as brothers and sisters in Christ, and our particular mission and ministry which we discern through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is that our Anglican Communion will continue to bring Christ to all persons, in all places. Please do pray for Christ’s Church Universal, the Anglican Communion, for The Episcopal Church, and our diocese, that in our day, as in every age, we may seek to be an effective witness of Christ’s love and invitation into new life for the whole world.
The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry
From the House of Bishops, Camp Allen, Texas
On March 20 in our Business Meeting, the bishops of The Episcopal Church passed three resolutions which address the relationship of this Church with the Anglican Communion. We your bishops participated in the preparation of the first and third resolutions listed below, and we both voted to approve all three.
The foundation for all three resolutions is the clear and deep desire of the bishops as chief pastors of the Church to conserve the nature and spirit of the Anglican Communion, and to ensure the integrity of this Church.
The February 2007 Communiqué from the meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion in Dar es Salaam prescribes a method for international intervention to settle differences within The Episcopal Church. We your bishops in Connecticut believe their scheme would fundamentally change our historic Anglican fellowship. Their prescription for the Communion, and especially what they set forth for The Episcopal Church, would override our Constitutional responsibility for our life and governance. And it would change the Communion into an international church with a supreme council of archbishops who could intervene in and regulate the internal life of individual geographical provinces.
The first resolution of the House asks the Executive Council of our Church to join us in declining to accept the imposition of a “Pastoral Council” comprised mostly of persons outside the Episcopal Church who would oversee an appointed “primatial vicar” who in consultation with our Presiding Bishop would care for dissident dioceses and congregations.
A second resolution asks the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Standing Committee of the Council of Primates to meet with the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church as soon as possible. This resolution was passed unanimously by the bishops.
The third resolution, more lengthy than the other two, is addressed to the members of The Episcopal Church. It describes the situation before us and the theological and ecclesial reasons for our decisions.
A fourth statement, a much fuller report of the meeting, including the many other concerns which we engaged, was adopted in our last session and will be circulated to the Church. We commend this report to every one of our members.
The meeting of the House has been marked by widespread shared concern on all sides for the innovations from the primates. We spent a day listening to and questioning our Church’s two representatives to the international Anglican Covenant Design Committee, and we were newly enlightened by their very different perspectives. Our debate has been thoughtful, measured, respectful.
The attempts of the council of primates to intervene in the struggles and life of The Episcopal Church by demanding either that we agree to repudiate the presence and ministry of gay and lesbian persons in this Church, or, in the alternative by imposing an alternative authority and so settle our conflict essentially by dividing us, has an all too familiar ring for us in Connecticut.
We your bishops believe the time had come for us to stand as Episcopalians, Anglicans, people of Jesus Christ, and to draw a line. To accept the terms set down by the primates would compromise for all time the nature of the Anglican Communion by setting us on a slippery slope, granting permission for others to shape and govern this Church and other provinces as well. Episcopalians embrace a polity which is built on the participation of all the baptized, and we your bishops will resist every attempt to allow authority to be placed in the hands of foreign primates, many of whom have not been chosen by the people they govern.
We want Connecticut to continue and grow as a diocese that respects and welcomes all persons seeking Jesus, with no distinction, as Saint Paul wrote, based on heritage, race, or sex. Nor do we seek to discriminate theologically; we seek to honor and embrace the wide spectrum of Christian belief which exists among us. Further, we know that our ties with Anglicans throughout the world are a sign of Christ’s supremacy over us, and are indispensable for our common mission and spiritual health. Both of us rejoice in our diocesan and parish fellowship and mission work with Anglican partners in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. We remind the diocese that we have committed ourselves to others in mutual support for mission, and to help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
What we see at stake is our Anglican heritage as brothers and sisters in Christ, and our particular mission and ministry which we discern through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is that our Anglican Communion will continue to bring Christ to all persons, in all places. Please do pray for Christ’s Church Universal, the Anglican Communion, for The Episcopal Church, and our diocese, that in our day, as in every age, we may seek to be an effective witness of Christ’s love and invitation into new life for the whole world.
The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry
From the House of Bishops, Camp Allen, Texas
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