wfn.org | Anglican bishops address issues of

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

October 16, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-1973
Anglican bishops address issues of sexuality and international debt at
Dallas meeting
      
by James Solheim
      (ENS) Emerging from a closed meeting in Dallas, a group of 50
Anglican bishops and archbishops from 16 nations issued a strong
statement September 24 that drew direct links between the issues of
international debt and sexual morality, both likely topics at next
summer's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.
      The Dallas Statement said that "unbridled economic
individualism" has led "both to the break-up of families and the
escalation of international debt." 
And it drew a direct tie between "concern for the social good of nations"
by relieving the debt and promoting "strong healthy families through
faithful monogamous heterosexual relationships."
      The bishops, most of them from Africa, expressed gratitude for
the statement by the Second Anglican Encounter in the South, which met
at Kuala Lumpur last February, and its assertion that "the integrity of our
common witness is called into question because of new teaching and
lapses in discipline relating to human sexuality occurring in parts of the
North."    Drawing on scripture's "consistent teaching" about
marriage and the family, the bishops said, "We share in the affirmation
that the biblical sexual norm is clear" and that "the church has no
authority to set aside clear biblical teaching by ordaining non-celibate
homosexuals or authorizing the blessing of same sex relationships."

Pro-gay agenda not acceptable
      Drawing a distinction between homosexuality as an orientation
and the "gay" agenda as a socio-political identity, the statement
concluded, "It is not acceptable for a pro-gay agenda to be smuggled into
the church's program or foisted upon our people--and we will not permit
it."
      Citing the theological components of a "shared and coherent
orthodox Anglican framework," the bishops identified issues that require
"further reflection at this time in our communion." They included "the
centrality of the authority of the scriptures in our understand and
interpretation of the world" and "the ministry of the obedient Christian
community" in its "bearing witness to the power and adequacy of this
understanding and interpretation of the world."
      The four-day "Anglican Life and Witness Conference," followed
by visits to parishes in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, was jointly sponsored
by the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and the Ekklesia Society, a
member of the American Anglican Council that stresses biblical
orthodoxy. It was hosted and financially supported by the Diocese of
Dallas.

The reality of broken fellowship
      The bishops called on the Lambeth Conference to make the
meeting of primates of member churches "a place of appeal for those
Anglican bodies who are oppressed, marginalized, or denied faithful
episcopal oversight by their own bishops. In such situations," they
argued, "a way must be found to provide pastoral support, oversight and
formal ecclesiastical relationships for faithful people."
      "Those who choose beliefs and practices outside the boundaries of
the historic faith must understand they are separating themselves from
communion, and leading others astray," the statement concluded. And it
warned that the "reality of broken fellowship can extend to individuals,
congregations or even whole dioceses and provinces." 

Dialogue before action
      In an article describing the conference, the Rev. Vinay Samuel,
executive director of the Oxford Centre, said that the dozen Episcopal
Church bishops who attended "spoke in terms of near despair at their
inability to influence the course of events" in the American church. He
said that they received a surprise when "younger bishops from Africa
declared that they were not prepared to wait until the Lambeth
Conference and subsequent committees to sort out the issue of
homosexuality" because their witness was being "gravely damaged by
some of the public pronouncements concerning sexuality and the church
from some North American Episcopalians."
      While Samuel and Archbishop David Gitari of Kenya, the other
chair of the conference, were surprised at the bluntness of the statement
they agreed that the bishops had every right to express their strong
convictions. "This is a theological statement, not a political one," Samuel
said in an interview. While admitting that some may seek to use the
statement to support their own agenda, for the bishops that possibility
was "farthest from their minds."  
      Samuel said that the Kuala Lumpur statement was a "clear
warning" that parts of the Anglican Communion are seeking "dialogue
before action, as a way of mutual responsibility" while the Dallas
Statement was a "plea" to churches in the North to stop making decisions
that breed disunity. Both statements share "a common spirit saying that
we are going in the wrong direction," Samuel said. "One of the key
intentions of the Dallas conference is to enable the church in the South
and all those committed to orthodox Christian faith to contribute to the
shaping of the theological direction of the communion...."

Kenyan bishops express frustration
      During a stop in New York following the conference, two Kenyan
bishops repeated the fear and frustration that was expressed in the Dallas
Statement. 
      "It is bad biblical exegesis to accept homosexuality," said Bishop
Peter Njenga of the Diocese of Mt. Kenya South. "The church is being
squeezed into a secular mode."
      He and Bishop Stephen Kewasis of Kitale agreed that the Lambeth
Conference could be messy because of the frustration that is building in
many parts of the Anglican Communion. And they said that the decision
by the archbishop of Canterbury to establish a commission to deal with
sexuality is nothing but "a clever way to avoid the issues." Like the
Eames Commission, which dealt with maintaining communion while
some provinces were consecrating women to the episcopate, "it will end
up dealing with a reality and won't provide a fair dialogue. We will go
home with a heavy heart. It is a question of orthodoxy."
      They also expressed a fear that the "overwhelming" presence of
American bishops would make any open dialogue more difficult.

What is orthodoxy?
      For Bishop Anand Chandu Lal of the Church in North India,
seeking a definition of what is orthodox can unleash destructive forces in
the church. His diocese in Amritsar has been embroiled for 15 years in a
struggle with a group of dissenters, tied to the continuing churches in
America. "They took trust, as well as properties and money," he said.
"We have suffered a great deal of agony and pain over this issue of
orthodoxy."
      Although he came late to the Dallas conference, he noted when he
arrived that "people seemed to be very angry." Initially excited by the
opportunity to join in a pre-Lambeth discussion of the issues, and
impressed by the materials he received from the Oxford Centre, he said
that he now feels "betrayed" by the decision to criticize a partner church
in the Anglican Communion on its own turf. He said that he would
"categorically disown" the statement.
 
Clarity and commitment
      The Rev. Bill Atwood, general secretary of the Ekklesia Society,
expressed nothing but enthusiasm for the Dallas meeting and especially
the visit by the bishops to 10 local settings for worship and conversation.
"They helped give the Anglican Communion a human face," he said in
an interview.
      Atwood has spent several years establishing links with bishops
and dioceses around the world and said that he has returned very
encouraged by the "heart, life and vitality" of the churches.  He said that
he was "humbled and convicted by the clarity and commitment" they
expressed. The archbishop of Sudan, for example, told an audience that
he wanted to "help you rediscover the fire that you sent to us."
      For Atwood the Dallas Statement represents a majority opinion in
the Anglican Communion because, in his observation, most of the
churches "share a common worldview in line with the historic, biblical
faith." Unlike previous Lambeth Conferences, where the voice of Third
World bishops was muted, he is convinced that the bishops of the South
will have a significant impact on next summer's meeting.

--James Solheim is director of news and information for the Episcopal
Church.