A Church Out Of Control

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2007

Anyone who lives in the Episcopal Church these days has probably already
recognized himself (or herself) to be a victim of the (purported) old
Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times!" However, the last two
weeks have seen the times get even more interesting than usual.

First, there was the news item: "Presiding Bishop reaches out to bishops
attempting to withdraw dioceses"-such a compassionate sounding title for an
article conveying that the PB had sent letters threatening disciplinary
action against the bishops in question! As one commentator put it, "The
Episcopal Church is probably the only place where 'being reached out to'
means being threatened, deposed, and sued." These threats against bishops of
dioceses come on top of the numerous places around the country where the
Episcopal Church is involved in legal action against departing parishes.

A concurrent development with the escalating legal tensions over the past
year has been the repudiation of the General Convention 2006 resolution
(B033) urging restraint in giving consent to the election of a bishop "whose
manner of life might present a challenge to the larger Communion"-in other
words, a gay bishop. This call for restraint has now been repudiated by
various dioceses, a partial list of which includes: Los Angeles, New Jersey,
California, Rochester, and (just this past weekend) Chicago.

Chicago held its election for a new bishop this past weekend also. While,
Tracey Lind, the partnered lesbian candidate (and Dean of the cathedral in
Cleveland) was not elected, the Chicago Tribune reported the successful
candidate, Jeff Lee, from the Seattle area, as saying:
"I am overwhelmed and grateful to God for the opportunity to come to such a
great diocese," Lee said by telephone. "In many ways, I believe Chicago
reflects the face of the Episcopal Church in all its diversity. Rich and
poor, urban and suburban, black and white, gay and straight ... and I
believe I've been called to be a bridge-builder and a reconciler."

The election marked the most recent flash point in the conflict over
homosexuality in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly
gay bishop, began a shift in the church and some thought there would be
further divisions if Lind were elected bishop.

When asked about his stance on gays in the church, Lee said he supported
full inclusion.

"I believe God is calling us to full inclusion of gays and lesbians in
ministry of this church. ... There is a place for everyone in the church,
and the church has to catch up with God's vision," he said.

In case anyone doesn't remember, this is simply a repeat of the Diocese of
California's election of a bishop, where they also did not elect the lesbian
candidate, but elected a "straight, white, male" bishop who was just as
strongly committed to advancing the blessing of same-sex unions and the
ordination of non-celibate homosexuals.

This past weekend also brought news that the Diocese of Northern California
has voted to support gay couples.

All of this means that, despite the Windsor Report and the Dar Es Salaam
Communique, despite the General Convention's passage of B033, and regardless
of what the House of Bishops said at its meeting in New Orleans, the
blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals
will continue unhindered.

There was also this rather bizarre news item that the Episcopal Church is
taking disciplinary action against three retired bishops. The three retired
bishops: Fairfield, Bena, and Cox have, since their retirement, been
received into, respectively, the Anglican provinces of Uganda, Nigeria, and
the Southern Cone. Their "crime" is, apparently, that they have, under the
direction of their new provinces, ministered to Anglicans in North America
who are also affiliated with those overseas provinces. The substance of the
complaint is that the bishops failed to "resign" in a way that was approved
by the House of Bishops. I am sure the bishops thought their resignation was
taken care of when they retired. To all but the most bellicose among us,
pursuing these bishops in retirement must seem like an egregious example of
legal overkill. But, hey, welcome to the Episcopal Church!

Then there is the news that the Province of the Southern Cone has passed a
resolution opening its doors to any US diocese that desired to transfer into
that province. This is a move obviously aimed at the bishops and dioceses
who are "being reached out to" by the Episcopal Church's litigious Presiding
Bishop. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

In all this, the silence from Lambeth Palace has been deafening!

Ealier in the week, there was a report from London Times religion writer,
Ruth Gledhill, that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, "described
the plan of [Southern Cone] Archishop Greg Venables [to take dissenting US
dioceses under his wing] as a 'sensible way forward.'" I am willing to bet
that this is the last talk of that sort anyone hears from the ABC.

There seems to be a pattern emerging here. This isn't the first time Rowan
Williams has made a comment that seemed to support orthodox Anglicans in the
US, only to have the comment nullified several days later in an official
"clarification" issued from Lambeth Palace.

It appears that, if someone can actually talk with Rowan Williams, the
fellow isn't really a bad chap. But then his Wormtongue managers at Lambeth
Palace and the heavily US-funded Anglican Communion Office regain their
control over him, and he becomes once again entranced to do nothing while
evil prospers.

Actually, the ABC seems to be acting under the assumption that the best way
to keep the Anglican Communion together is to keep the Episcopal Church
together. Thus, he is remaining silent while the litigious (did I mention
that already?) Presiding Bishop crushes all dissent. American Conservatives
are apparently supposed to reconcile themselves to being casualties in a war
Rowan would like to pretend doesn't exist.

In reality, the only way to save the Anglican Communion is to discipline the
Episcopal Church for its departure from Anglican Communion norms. The
Archbishop of Canterbury can accomplish this discipline through his
prerogative of invitations to the Lambeth Conference. The Primates can
accomplish this discipline by censuring the American Church and limiting
TEC's participation in the instruments of unity. If this does not happen,
not only the Episcopal Church, but the Anglican Communion will fly apart
under the centrifugal forces of the orbit into which the anarchic deviations
of the American Church have cast it-and it will happen sooner rather than
later.

Are you listening, Rowan?

Robert S. Munday
Dean and President, Nashotah House