wfn.org | Episcopalians find obstacles in church unity plan

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

99-2287
Episcopalians still find obstacles in plan for church unity 

by James Solheim
(ENS) A 39-year-old dream for a new form of unity among nine 
churches has taken a step into the future in a commitment to be 
"visibly intertwined as never before"-but without the Episcopal 
Church, at least for the time being.

At the closing session of the 18th plenary of the Consultation on 
Church Union (COCU) on January 24, leaders of the churches
stepped forward to endorse a plan for the formation of a 
covenant communion that will be known as Churches Uniting in 
Christ. They also set a public celebration of the new relationship 
during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2002.

The celebration is not likely to include the Episcopal 
Church. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold told the plenary, "The 
Episcopal delegation votes yes but will not be able to commend it 
to our General Convention for consideration until agreement has 
been reached with regard to the reconciliation of ministries.." 

Earlier in the meeting, Pamela Chinnis, president of the 
House of Deputies, pointed out that the church's 1994 General 
Convention said that it was "not ready" to enter into covenant 
communion and expressed "reservations" about the documents 
outlining consensus among the participants. "As a founding member 
of COCU we have for many years committed ourselves to a deeper 
communion with this group of major American denominations," she 
said, admitting that "during the last decade our church has been 
perceived as sounding a rather uncertain trumpet in this important 
dialogue," leaving "our partners in the dialogue both frustrated 
and confused."

In an effort to explain why the attitude towards COCU seems 
to have changed, Chinnis pointed to a changing ecumenical climate, 
including Vatican II, a more catholic Prayer Book, and bi-lateral 
dialogues with the Lutherans that "has made us aware that solid 
progress can happen as we have conversations over time with one 
denomination that we grow to know very well." The result is the 
emergence of "a more consistent ecumenical stance on our part," 
subject to further decisions by the General Convention.

Despite its reservations, Chinnis said that the Episcopal 
Church supports COCU's "consistent commitment to combat the sin 
of racism and to strive for justice." And it wants to "continue 
the journey with you. even if to many of you we seem to be forever 
walking in last place, and even though we ourselves are in 
conscience not yet able to see or affirm everything that most of 
the rest of you do."

Historic episcopate is obstacle
As representatives to the plenary struggled with the draft 
of an agreement, it was clear that the reconciliation of 
ministries was still an obstacle. The first draft included a 
commitment to the ministry of bishops in historic succession and 
"a common and fully interchangeable threefold ministry," to be 
accomplished by 2007.
That created problems for the Presbyterians for whom 
oversight is a shared ministry and bishops would not be 
acceptable. The final draft admitted the impasse and passed an 
amendment calling for a meeting "to clarify the meaning of 
reconciliation of ministry."

During discussion Griswold said that Episcopalians had 
"great difficulty" with deletion of the section on the historic 
episcopate in the final draft, pointing out that the vast majority 
of Christians in the world maintain the threefold ministry of 
bishops, priests and deacons. In its determination to be 
"consistent" in its relations with other ecumenical partners, the 
Episcopal Church has been very clear how crucial that 
understanding of ministry is to its self-understanding.

Prof. J. Robert Wright of the General Seminary in New York, 
an ecumenical consultant who was a member of the drafting 
committee, said that COCU may be able to find a way "to include 
our position in the emerging vision" but he admitted that the 
shift "raises questions for us whether we can continue." Over his 
objections, the committee ignored its own earlier consensus 
document, endorsed by seven of the nine COCU members, on the issue 
of ministry when it deleted the section on the historic 
episcopate.

Bishop Ted Gulick of Kentucky, who chairs the dialogue with 
Roman Catholics in this country and was a member of the Episcopal 
delegation, said that "we recognize ministries when the road to 
reconciliation of ministries is clear. We need to see the path 
before we can embrace the signs." He added, "The plenary moved to 
a different place. We didn't." Yet he expressed hopes that 
continuing dialogue can overcome the obstacles and give the 
Episcopalians a proposal they can take to General Convention in 
the future.

The Rev. Paul Crow of the Christian Church (Disciples of 
Christ) said that the issue of episcopal oversight has been "part 
of our future" in previous COCU documents. He said that it is 
"essential" because it is still a central issue, "one of the 
causes of division."

The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick of Louisville said that the 
Presbyterian General Assembly endorsed the covenanting agreements 
but changes in the church's constitution necessary to implement 
the plan had failed in a vote among the presbyteries on the local 
level. The documents don't acknowledge the lay office of ruling 
elder, he said, and Presbyterians doubted the need for 
"covenanting councils" at the local level to implement the plan.

Whose baby is this?
The Rev. Cynthia Campbell, president of McCormick Seminary 
(Presbyterian) in Chicago, said in a report from COCU's theology 
commission that it was important "to affirm what we can affirm 
now." That would include recognition of a common baptism, 
acceptance of each other as churches with authentic ministries and 
sacraments. Even though its efforts over the decades have produced 
"a certain sense of fatigue," she said layers of relationships, 
trust and friendship are gifts that "the Holy Spirit has managed 
to foist upon us, sometimes against our better judgment."

In his keynote address, Bishop Thomas Hoyt of the Christian 
Methodist Episcopal Church used the metaphor of pregnancy and 
birth to argue that the COCU baby is "caught between movement and 
structure." The parent churches have struggled to determine "what 
this baby should be, how the parent body should associate with the 
baby, whether the baby should be aborted or allowed to grow to 
full term." And each church has its own understanding of what is 
good for the baby. Instead they should hope that the baby would 
have "some features of each of us without being an exact replica 
of any of us," he said.

Common efforts on racism
"Racism is the greatest church-dividing issue in America-
if not the world," said Dr. Vivian Robinson, who has served as 
president of COCU since the last plenary in 1988. And the Rev. 
Lewis Lancaster, a Presbyterian who is interim director of COCU, 
said that COCU is the place to discuss the issue since it is the 
only place where predominantly white and predominantly black 
churches can discuss the issue. (In addition to the Episcopal 
Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ 
the Christian Church [Disciples of Christ,] the International 
Council of Community Churches and the United Methodist Church, 
COCU includes the African Methodist Episcopal, the African 
Methodist Episcopal Zion and the Christian Methodist Episcopal 
churches.)

Under the leadership of the Rev. Ed Rodman, canon missioner 
in the Diocese of Massachusetts, the consultation small groups 
discussed a proposed "Call to Christian Commitment and Action to 
Combat Racism." The document drew "an irrefutable link between 
the churches' search for unity in faith, sacraments and ministry 
and the struggle to overcome racism in the churches and the human 
community." It also asserted that "our prophetic witness against 
racism and all the powers of oppression is a primary test of the 
faithfulness of these churches."

Unless the church takes action, racism "will continue to 
corrupt our national and ecclesiastical aspirations for a society 
that truly incarnates `liberty and justice for all,'" the 
document said. "The moral integrity and credibility of both our 
nation and our churches are at stake in this struggle. For the 
churches in COCU particularly, our quest for visible unity is 
irrelevant-in fact, fraudulent-unless that unity embodies racial 
solidarity and produces a vital public witness for racial equality 
and fairness."

A plan of action
The plenary appealed to member churches to:
* continue to make a compelling theological case against 
racism
* identify, name and share information with each other 
regarding programs and initiatives
* claim Martin Luther King Jr. Day and similar appropriate 
occasions for dialogue leading to systemic change
* Use the discipline of social ethics to encourage effective 
advocacy
* insure that worship is an intentional witness against racism
* maintain a strong program of Christian education on the 
dynamics of racism and the demands of racial justice
* search for racism embedded in the structures, politics and 
programs of churches
* renew the commitment to the struggle for equal human rights 
through advocacy
* develop resources to address the issue of racism in the 
response of churches to new immigrant groups.

Crow said that the racism document "has radical 
implications for COCU-and our churches," and he asked if it was 
realistic to continue individual programs and efforts on the 
issue. In response Rodman issued a broad warning, "If you are not 
willing to give up anything, nothing will happen."

In a later interview, Rodman said that "the statement is 
great but its implementation will depend on resources." Support 
for COCU by its member churches has diminished, making it 
necessary to deplete reserves to support an annual budget of about 
$200,000.

Rodman is convinced that the struggle against racism "is one thing
that we can do together" and he sees that struggle as a "bellwether
on how serious the church is." Connecting the King Day and the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is "a natural sign, one that could
work at all levels of the church," he added.

--James Solheim is director of the Office of News and Information 
of the Episcopal Church.

Episcopal News Service
Kathryn McCormick
(212) 922-5383
kmccormick@dfms.org
www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens