Only early this morning did I learn of the passage of Resolution D025 by the House of Bishops. I join in rejoicing with all of you who believe that the bishops did the right thing, and I thank those bishops who voted to concur. I left Anaheim on the wrong day and missed sharing the joy of those present at GC2009, but I share the joy of all of us in the Episcopal Church who are pleased "that the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church which call is tested through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church...."
From what I heard in conversations with the members of the House of Deputies and others of us who were present at the convention, there was no consensus that the House of Bishops would concur in the resolution passed by the HOD or do so without introducing amendments that would not pass muster in the HOD. Maybe I was talking to the wrong people, but the mood of the HOB was not clear to many of us there before the discussion and vote, at least up until Sunday evening.
My heart is full, and I pray for all of those who are distressed by the passage of the resolution, that God give them the peace that passes understanding, and that they come to realize that its passage is a matter of justice for all the baptized in the Episcopal Church and that no one in the church has, as Bishop Barbara Harris said, "a half-assed baptism". As Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire stated, "it's time for us to stand up and be the church God is calling us to be," to which I can only respond, "Amen, amen, and amen!
Pace, Archbishop Rowan Williams.
UPDATE: From an editorial in the Times Online:
But Dr Williams’s appeal for restraint is ultimately untenable. It cannot override a simple and direct acknowledgment that homosexual clergy, including bishops, belong in the Church.
Dr Williams should state that principle, even aware of its divisiveness.
Yes. It's way past time for Dr Williams to do just that.
H/T to The Lead.
Thank you for praying for God's peace to those who are distressed. It is so easy in rejoicing to forget those who cannot rejoice with you. Bless you, Mimi. And divine peace for them, yes, yes.
ReplyDeleteWilliams has consistently attempted to hold TEC to the Gay & Lesbian ordination moratorium, while giving a free hand to the African and South American provinces active in the border-crossing industry. That Williams' personal convictions supposedly favor, or once favored, greater tolerance of gays by the Church but suppressed these beliefs in the interest of being ABC, does nothing to help his case.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is good news indeed.
ReplyDelete"a half-assed baptism"
ReplyDeleteBoy that says it! I am celebrating and rejoicing with you all today! What great news!
John, c'mon y'all. Presbyterians next!
ReplyDeletePoor Rowan has indeed painted himself into a corner...
ReplyDeleteIf Dr Williams stated the principle that all baptized persons have a right to consideration for all the orders of the church, that would go a long way toward bridging the breaches in TEC and in the Anglican Communion. That's what he really thinks, unless he's truly changed his mind. He does not have the power to make it happen, but why not state his true convictions?
ReplyDeleteThose who will never go along, have already taken steps to head out the door, or they have already left.
Perhaps after he retires he will do a Robert McNamara and admit his regret for what he's done.
ReplyDeleteBTW, do I see Susan Russell in this picture?
ReplyDeleteSusan, yes. That's Susan Russell in the center-right in the blue shirt.
ReplyDeleteI can pray for God's peace for conservatives--although I also pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten them, while I'm at it.
ReplyDeleteI have a MUCH harder time praying for +Rowan, who began this ugliness by stabbing his close friend in the back and, at EVERY turn, has failed to speak what he knows to be the truth about LGBT clergy and lay people. To the point that he can't even condemn attempts in Nigeria by the Anglican Church to criminalize simply ADVOCATING for equality under the law for LGBTs.
You don't even want to know what I think about his meddling in TEC affairs or his attempts to disenfranchise the laity in the governance of our church.
[Deep breath] Kyrie eleison....
Pax,
Doxy
Doxy, I know. But, in the end, God turned his meddling into good.
ReplyDeleteI really do think, Doxy, that Williams' clumsy attempted interference this past week may have put some backbone into bishops who had been wavering until then. I also imagine that there must be deep resentment among the bishops of his ongoing meddling with TEC, combined with the blind eye he has consistently turned towards the border crossings. I still remember Jack Iker being shepherded to a prime space, immediately behind Williams, for last year's Lambeth group photograph. The Devil is in the details.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you who think Archbishop Rowan ended up being a force in passing DO25. You would think that a Brit, of all people, would understand how poorly we like take to what we perceive as meddling.
ReplyDelete