From Bishop Gene's final post at Canterbury Tales From The Fringe:
I selected two quotes from the final post to entice you click the link to read the whole post.
Scotland was exhausting, but a real joy! The welcome at the Cathedral in Glasgow (pictured above) was phenomenal, with a packed church, despite a few protesters outside. The Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace, beneath the castle that dominates the city, is a remarkable offering by St. John's Church and the Interfaith Council. It was my privilege to speak at its opening event, and then address a packed audience of 300+ on the first evening. Numerous other events and interviews filled up my time, but it was a wholly welcoming and warm atmosphere. Scotland was a wonderful place to once again celebrate the eucharist, something denied me in England for three weeks -- the same Church who gave America its first bishops, when the English bishops refused to do so. The Scots reminded me that, in doing so, THEY, not the English, created the Anglican Communion!
Those of us in the Episcopal Church owe a tremendous debt to the Scottish Church that we should never, ever forget. And hundreds of years later, the Scottish Church welcomed Bishop Gene to preach and preside at the Eucharist, and what a welcome it was!
Clearly, the value of the Conference was the sharing of stories among the bishops about how they are trying to live out the Gospel in their contexts, and how the actions of one Province affect the life and ministry of another. My diocese and I were denied that experience, and so I can only learn from the stories of those conversations from others. But this, it seems to me, is the essence of Communion. To stay independent enough to be able to follow God's will as best we can discern it, in OUR context, while staying connected and caring deeply about how that plays out across the Communion.
It's truly unfortunate that Bishop Gene (of all people!) was not permitted to share his story and the stories of his people in the Diocese of New Hampshire. Oh yes, it was. Bishop Gene's picture of the Anglican Communion is much more to my liking than the Archbishop of Canterbury's world-wide Anglican Church.
But please read the entire post.
Thanks for the link, Mimi. Not a member of the TEC, I am nonetheless interested in the current push and pull going on.
ReplyDeleteIt reflects the turmoil we are all undergoing as a universal church.
I pray for a truly Christian resolution.
One day.
Not a member of the TEC....
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter, Missy. We are all members of the Body of Christ, and that Body is truly God's church. One day.
erk - your title made me think of the weekly one of these from Stand Firm --- they use palate cleanser to get the taste of us out of their mouths
ReplyDeleteAnn, I did not know that. I hope someone from over there sees this post and thinks that I stole their line and threw it back at them. Shall I add, "Rinse and repeat"?
ReplyDeleteBishop Gene is amazing. The Holy Spirit thrust him into a very challenging place -- we know that he in fact had difficulty at first dealing with the stresses of his situation -- and he has risen to the challenge and has become a voice both for all the marginalized (not just LGBT people) and to all of us who understand the gospel as inclusive.
ReplyDeleteAllen, he is an amazing man of God.
ReplyDeleteI will miss +Gene's blog. It was one of the brightest spots of Lambeth. Shame he won't be continuing it from a space - his diocese - where he can once again focus on the whole of Christ's work rather than getting bogged down in sexuality. That would be inspirational reading indeed. I can't wait to get to his autobiography.
ReplyDelete"I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" is my favorite hymn. I wish I'd been there to sing it with them. :)
WE, I suppose he must be about his business of being the bishop of New Hampshire now.
ReplyDeleteI've read his book. It's definitely worth reading. What struck me about it (without spoiling it for you) is that Bp. Gene is steeped in the Scriptures, has had a relationship with God that goes back to his childhood, and is quite orthodox in his beliefs. Enjoy!