wfn.org | Jubilee General Convention draws variety of reactions

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The Rev. Jan Nunley
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Episcopal News Service
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2000-123

Jubilee General Convention draws variety of reactions

by Jan Nunley and James Solheim 

     (ENS) If early returns in the form of commentaries and 
columns are an accurate measure, what some have called a "Jubilee 
strategy"--focusing the attention of General Convention 2000 on 
what unites rather than what divides Episcopalians--was a 
successful one.

     Many praised Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold's use of the 
Jubilee theme and credited him with "exceptional leadership." 
Bishop Kenneth Price of Southern Ohio wrote, "In 2000, there was 
a new spirit overflowing the entire convention." Through 
Griswold's daily meditations at the Eucharist, he "challenged us 
to set our work for that day on a spiritual level that was a cut 
above where the world often is…I came away from convention this 
year more hopeful than ever before."

     Bishop John Howe of Central Florida called the Denver 
gathering "by far the most prayerful, the most spiritual, the 
most gracious General Convention I've ever been to." In Arkansas, 
Bishop Larry Maze wrote that he had "never been a part of a 
General Convention that tried harder to find workable solutions 
over 'party line' statements … Bishop Griswold is to be commended 
for his non-anxious presence at the helm of this great church. 
His was a consistent voice of confidence that we would find our 
way faithfully and courageously." 

Down from the mountain

     Griswold himself, in his column for Episcopal Life, said 
that "both figuratively and literally" it had been a "mountaintop 
experience" for many.

     During several days at a monastery following the convention, 
Griswold adopted the role of listener, praying that God would 
help him discover "the deeper word being addressed to us as a 
household of faith." He pointed to the visual metaphor, "a large 
banner depicting the face of Christ" hanging near the entrance to 
the worship area.

     "What made the banner unusual is that Christ was composed of 
many faces--faces of people like and unlike you and me who, 
together through baptism, form the body of Christ." He added that 
he was convinced that "bishops and deputies gathered in Denver 
understood at some deep level that, despite our different 
perspectives and experiences, we are members of one another 
called to live the costly mystery of reconciliation."

     The Jubilee theme woven into the convention also led to a 
question: What does it mean to live with one another in the 
communion of the Holy Spirit? "Our convention was searching after 
truth in a context of communion," Griswold said, requiring "a 
disciplined willingness to listen to one another" with what he 
called "compassionate and loving attention."

     Griswold said that what stands out most clearly for him is a 
conviction that "we have moved into a greatly expanded and 
deepened sense of the Episcopal Church as truly a eucharistic 
community," resulting in a change, a difference as a result of 
the shared experience in Denver. 

Now playing at a church near you

     Several "marquee issues," as Virginia's Bishop Peter James 
Lee dubbed them, were the focus of most of the post-convention 
analyses: full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America (A040); full implementation of the canon on women's 
ordination (A045); acknowledgment of sexual relationships outside 
Holy Matrimony (D039); and a commitment to double the church's 
baptized membership by 2020 (A033, A034).

     For some diocesan bishops, the Lutheran agreement was the 
most significant news coming out of Denver. Assisting Bishop 
Donald Hart of Southern Virginia called it "a momentous decision, 
overcoming five hundred years of Christian separation in the Body 
of Christ." 

     Southern Virginia's website 
[www.southernvirginia.anglican.org] also featured a letter to 
Bishop David Bane from the Lutheran bishop of ELCA's Virginia 
Synod. Bishop Larry Maze of Arkansas reported that he and ELCA's 
bishop in Arkansas and Oklahoma are already in discussion about 
how to implement the agreement. Bishop James Folts of West Texas 
declared that full communion with the Lutherans "opens up a lot 
of possibilities for us in South Texas," and in Northern 
California, Bishop Jerry Lamb looked forward to strengthening 
already-existing partnerships with ELCA clergy.

     The "20/20: Clear Vision" plan to double the number of 
baptized Episcopalians in 20 years received enthusiastic 
endorsement from other bishops. "I accept this as my personal 
goal and highest priority for as long as I am blessed to serve as 
your bishop," wrote Bane, who called the Denver gathering "a 
life-changing event…a time of revelation and conversion."

Jubilee--but for whom?

     By contrast, others left Denver quite dissatisfied with the 
results. "I want to share all of my optimism with all of you," 
wrote Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy. "That's what I want to 
do…but I can't." He maintained that there were "three General 
Conventions" in Denver: the youth gathering in Boulder, a 
"subterranean Convention…well orchestrated by the 'left'," and a 
"shadow" convention conducted on the floor of the two houses. 

     "For Anglo-Catholics/traditionalists/conservatives there 
were few 'victories,'" Ackerman wrote. "Lutheran pastors are 
Catholic priests. Co-habitation that is monogamous is good. The 
Boy Scouts are on notice. Bishops who don't ordain women will 
soon have regulatory commissions visit them, and the Executive 
Council will have Episcopal Women's Caucus and Integrity leaders 
as active members. I guess you could say there weren't too many 
Jubilee moments for some of us."

     A pastoral letter released by Bishop John-David Schofield of 
San Joaquin decried the Denver convention for recognizing 
relationships outside of marriage and not prohibiting same-gender 
blessings and the ordination of lesbians and gay men. Instead of 
freedom, he said that "a false and deceitful standard of morality 
has been thrust upon us." And he said, "We have to ask 'Jubilee 
for whom'?" 

     He charged that the legislative process was "being used to 
coerce persons of conscience into the acceptance of things that 
are clearly irreconcilable with Holy Scripture..." He said that 
he would meet with his clergy "to discuss how we as a diocese can 
make the strongest possible statement in response to Denver."

     The letter stated that Schofield would send a representative 
to an August meeting in Nassau between traditionalist American 
bishops and Anglican archbishops from other parts of the world 
who have been critical of developments in the American church.

     In his monthly column in the diocesan newspaper, Schofield 
expressed relief that Griswold promised him in a telephone call 
that there would be "no team coming to San Joaquin" to 
investigate diocesan compliance with the canons regarding women's 
ordination.

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director and James Solheim is 
director of the Office of News and Information of the Episcopal 
Church.