With Bishop Smith In New Orleans

Since the weather forecast and the weather here in Thibodaux was less than encouraging until the latter part of the morning, I started and arrived late at the School for Ministry session at Christ Church Cathedral, led by Bishop Michael Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. Bishop Smith is one of the candidates for the office of bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. For background on how Bishop Smith and I "met" online and then in person, here's my original post on the bishop's candidacy.

Bishop Smith was kind and patient with me about being late and about talking far too much. Oh dear! Pity the poor bishop and the others in the class having to listen to me rattle on at length. Since I missed the session last night and was two hours late this morning, I will surely not do justice in what I write of the sessions.

The Ridley-Cambridge Draft Covenant was the main topic of discussion during my time there, with diversions into other subjects, such as sections of Archbishop Rowan Williams' 2006 reflection and his recent reflection on General Convention 2009. Bishop Smith advocates that the Episcopal Church sign the Covenant, but only with serious intent to adhere to the terms of the Covenant. Of course, I agree that a vote by TEC in favor of the Covenant implies a willingness to live up to its terms. The bishop foresees the possibility that the House of Bishops may vote in favor of the Covenant, and the House of Deputies may vote it down.

I made it clear that I oppose the Covenant, that I see no need for it, that, as I've said before, I think it's a cockamamie idea. From its inception, I believe that the purpose of the Covenant was to discipline and punish those who stray from "the mind of the Communion". However, I don't believe that there is a mind of the Communion, but that the Communion is of many minds, that it always was, and that we can stay in Communion despite a diversity of opinions and practices, so long as we adhere to the essentials of the faith that held us together for so many years, namely the Scriptures, the Creeds, common worship, and the bonds of affection.

Since certain members feel that the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson created a crisis and tore the fabric of the Communion, Bishop Smith believes that the Covenant will be a means to help ease the crisis, repair the tear, and bring the members of the Communion together again.

(If I unintentionally misrepresent Bishop Smith's words or views in this post, I hope that he will weigh in and correct me.)

I said that Bishop Gene is not the first non-celibate gay bishop and added that the Church of England had non-celibate gay bishops and priests. "Can you name names?"

"No, I cannot." I'm not in the business of outing people, even if I could name names. I said, "It's don't ask, don't tell in the English Church, and that seems hypocritical to me." And then, the ABC locked Bishop Gene out of Lambeth, which I thought was ungracious and rude, and still 200 bishops stayed away. Who more than Bishop Gene should have been present to speak and listen in the indaba groups at Lambeth?

I see little hope that very many of those who left will return because of the Covenant, nor do I think that the Covenant will repair the tear in the fabric of the Communion. (Why does Humpty-Dumpty come to mind?) How would the controversy of Bishop Gene Robinson be settled? By his being stripped of his office? By a promise not to consecrate another partnered gay or lesbian bishop until the entire membership agrees? It seems to me that certain members will be satisfied with nothing less than the removal of the Episcopal Church from the Communion. As I see it, those who left tore the fabric of the Communion.

In my opinion, the seven bishops who met with the Archbishop of Canterbury showed disrespect to Bishop Katharine by circumventing her and going over her head to talk to the ABC, despite the fact that, as a courtesy, they informed her of the meeting. Was he seen as a "higher authority", in spite of the fact that he has no authority in the governance of TEC? When I said that to Bishop Smith, he said, "But he has moral authority". I didn't answer at the time, but later I realized that a person can only have moral authority by earning it. I respect the office of the primus inter pares, but by his words and by his actions, the ABC has been a disappointment to me. I asked the bishop what was the purpose of their visit, and he said that it was to consult with the Archbishop.

When I told Bishop Smith that I realize that, unlike many, I have a certain freedom to speak out that others may not have, because I don't have an official position in the church, other than a not-so-humble pew warmer, he replied, "But you are a Christian, and you must keep in mind your responsibility to build up the Body of Christ." That is true, and I try to do that, but that does not mean that I can't express my opinion about words and actions of fallible humans in the church, especially those in positions of authority.

That the ABC seems to keep one eye on Rome is puzzling to me, but Bishop Smith said that it was necessary for him to have one eye on Rome if we want to be any sort of church Catholic, and the Covenant is the way to achieve that. In discussions with Rome, Rome wants to know who speaks for the Anglican Communion. My suggestion would be to say that Anglicanism speaks not with one voice, but with many voices. Besides, the voices in the pope's own church are quite diverse, much more so than he would ever admit. If I wanted to be like Rome, I'd still be in the Roman church.

I've said already that I am troubled by parts of the statement from the seven bishops who visited the ABC, and Bishop Smith said that I could ask any him any questions at all about the statement or anything else that I didn't understand or that troubled me. Again, Bishop Smith is quite personable, and he could not have been more gracious and pleasant to me. I thank him for his patience with me and for answering my question. I may have questions for him in the future.

I thank Harriet Murrell of Christ Church Cathedral for her kindness and help in making last minute arrangements for me to attend the sessions.