wfn.org | [ENS] Episcopal bishops begin 'new day' of collegiality

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Episcopal bishops begin 'new day' of collegiality

By Bob Williams

ENS 031705-2

[ENS, Navasota, Texas] -- The bishops of the Episcopal Church say a "new
day" of collegiality has begun among them as an outcome of their annual
spring meeting devoted to private consultation and spiritual reflection.

Their Covenant Statement adopted March 15 "represents continued growth
in
new and healthier behavior," Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
said
following the six-day meeting at the Camp Allen conference center in
rural
eastern Texas.

In a unanimously adopted "Word to the Church," the House of Bishops
together
called the Covenant Statement a "reflection of a fresh spirit of mutual
forbearance and reconciliation among us" and "the beginning of a new day
in
our life together."

[Full texts of both documents are posted online at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_60016_ENG_HTM.htm and
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_60048_ENG_HTM.htm]

The Covenant Statement responds to the Anglican Communion's Windsor
Report
and Primates' Meeting February communiqué. Both documents call for
ways
forward amid divided opinion created by the General Convention's 2003
approval of the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire, and
the
Anglican Church of Canada's Diocese of New Westminster's adoption of
rites
for the blessing of same-gender unions.

In their Covenant Statement -- which drew praise March 16 from the
Archbishop of Canterbury as a "constructive response" showing "a real
willingness to engage with the challenges posed" -- the bishops pledge
themselves to withhold consent to all elections of bishops until the
General
Convention meets in 2006 in Columbus, Ohio.

Five dioceses -- South Carolina, Southern Ohio, Southwest Florida,
Tennessee, and West Texas (suffragan) -- have all agreed to reschedule
their
elections from 2005 to 2006 so that consents will be addressed by
General
Convention, according to Bishop Clay Matthews of the Office of Pastoral
Development within the Office of the Presiding Bishop.

Three additional dioceses -- California (San Francisco Bay Area),
Eastern
Michigan, and Northern California -- have already scheduled elections
for
2006, and consents will therefore come to General Convention, Matthews
said.

An additional three elections are pending and have not yet been publicly
announced, Matthews said. He added that consents to the election earlier
this year of a new bishop of the Virgin Islands are not impacted by the
Covenant Statement.

The process of General Convention consenting, during its 2006
proceedings,
to potentially 11 elections is not unlike the Convention's work in 2003
to
achieve consent to a total of 10 elections, Matthews noted.

Bishops note resilience, honesty

Arriving at the Covenant Statement was not an easy process, Bishop Tom
Ely
of Vermont said after the House of Bishops' meeting adjourned. "I found
myself working very hard to get myself to a place of support for the
Covenant," he said, reflecting his commitment to full inclusion of gay
and
lesbian persons in the life of the church. His own wrestling with the
Covenant "put me in mind of a lot of the bishops who voted no to the
election of Gene Robinson and worked to stay in the church. I'm grateful
for
that.."

The Covenant Statement was adopted by a strong-majority show of hands
among
the 130 bishops assembled in the House on the afternoon of March 15. One
account places the number of bishops dissenting at six, another at nine.
No
minority report emerged as it might have otherwise from dissenting
bishops
who affirmed the election of the Bishop of New Hampshire and favor the
blessing of same-gender unions.

New York Bishop Mark Sisk, also speaking after the meeting adjourned,
said
it was significant that the Covenant Statement was adopted after the
House
heard an exchange of viewpoints expressed during a Monday-night session
by
Robinson and Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, leader of the Network of
Anglican Communion Dioceses and Congregations.

"A direct encounter from the people who represent different dimensions
provided an opportunity for us to work toward a deeper level of
honesty,"
Sisk said.

Bishop Victor Scantlebury, suffragan of Chicago, said after the meeting
that
the exchange should be "kept in perspective," noting that the House is
resilient and fully competent in meeting conflict as it arises.

Bishop Jon Bruno of Los Angeles said the ways in which conflicts were
addressed represented "catalysts for positive change." Bruno joined
Bishop
John Lipscomb of Southwest Florida, among other bishops, in sitting down
with Duncan and Robinson in conversations touching on "what unites them"
in
addition to ways in which they differ.

Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana said, reflecting on the
meeting,
that he "experienced a remarkable generosity of spirit that I had not
experienced before in the House." He agreed "that some hopeful bridges
have
been built."

Texas Bishop Suffragan Rayford High concurred: "I experienced
corporately
and individually the Holy Spirit moving us from a beginning time to when
there was certain suspicion and concern and anger, to a point of coming
to
learn to live together."

'Sabbath space' will aid education

New York's Bishop Sisk, who chairs the planning committee for the House
of
Bishops, added that the space created by the Covenant Statement will
enhance
the church's further learning around human sexuality, an educational
process
called for by the Windsor Report.

"I'm hopeful that the theology statement called for in the Windsor
Report
will be the foundation for further conversations in the House and for
the
whole church," said Matthews of the Pastoral Development Office.

"One of the main purposes of this sort of Sabbath time is to get into a
process of study," Sisk said. "There are a number of parts of the church
that will be working to help us to do that."

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold agreed: "There are times when something
occurs and then the community has to reflect more deeply -- I think that
Sabbath space provides just such an opportunity to reflect, and also to
recognize that we are part of a larger conversation."

Throughout the meeting, Griswold called for a "realignment of energy
that
allows us to ask what is the mission, what are we asked to do for the
sake
of our world."

Mission underscored

Bishop Nigel McCullough of Manchester, England, who had been invited by
the
Presiding Bishop to attend the meeting, said he "picked up a great sense
of
the bishops seeing beyond the issue of sexuality to Christ's mission in
its
broadest sense to which we are all called."

McCullough said he sensed among the bishops "a deep sense of belonging
to
the Anglican Communion," adding that adoption of the Covenant Statement
was
"costly to all sides." He said he was impressed by "the sight of the
drafting group" of "people encompassing every range of opinion, and the
very
diverse culture that shapes the Anglican Communion."

The bishops shared in celebrating the Eucharist daily with Lenten
reflections on the nearing Paschal mysteries of Holy Week and Easter.
They
voiced appreciation for a variety of sermons and meditations offered by
priests Michael Battle and Mark McIntosh, chaplains to the House of
Bishops,
and for two homilies preached by the Presiding Bishop.

The bishops also commended the increasing use of Spanish-language
communication in the House sessions, where two translators assisted.

In other business, the bishops reviewed proposed revisions to Title IV
of
Episcopal Church canons addressing "fitness for ministry, accountability
and
ecclesiastical ministry," and changes to Title III proposed by the
Standing
Commission on Ministry Development. Consideration was also given to role
of
Christian formation.

Environmental concerns were addressed in a resolution calling on the
U.S.
Senate not to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for fossil fuel
drilling (see related story at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_59990_ENG_HTM.htm).

Important 'meta-narrative'

Reflecting on the meeting, Bishop Chilton Knudsen of Maine said there is
a
compelling "meta-narrative" behind the story of how the Covenant
Statement
was drafted.

She cited the work of a grass-roots group of at least 18 bishops -- many
of
whom are known to have differing theological points of view -- whose
work
began with informal Sunday-afternoon discussion around patio tables. The
conversation led to 19 bishops standing before House colleagues with a
proposed plan of action.

"When I saw the group at work on Sunday, I stood back and prayed for
them,"
Knudsen said. "The Holy Spirit was clearly moving among them."

The Presiding Bishop said the same, pointing to the group's
"self-organizing" initiative.

Of the whole meeting, Griswold said: "Our discourse has been a blessing
to
me, to us, and to the entire Episcopal Church. I am deeply appreciative
of
the diversity of voices among this House of Bishops.

"We very carefully sorted out the energies among us and dealt with them
in a
deliberate and respectful way," Griswold said.

Rhode Island Bishop Geralyn Wolf said the Covenant Statement "revealed
to us
a way in which we can live together without winners and losers."

Retired Bishop Robert Johnson of Western North Carolina said he
appreciated
Indianapolis Bishop Catherine Waynick's observation that the Covenant
Statement represents "a significant moment in terms of turning the other
cheek and going the extra mile."

Kansas Bishop Dean Wolfe praised the bishops' ability "to work together
and
come to a compromise position" reflected in their Covenant Statement.
"It
indicates a real desire to give us all some time to reflect and pray,
and to
be sensitive to the Primates' Communiqué and last fall's Windsor
Report. I
look forward very much to seeing where this opening door may lead us as
we
go forward."

-- Robert Williams is director of communication for the Episcopal
Church.

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