Robert Lundy
The following is an excerpt of an interview with the Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, Mark Lawrence. Further portions of the interview will be included in the AAC's next edition of Encompass. If you do not currently receive Encompass and would like to get the free mailing click here. The linked form will allow you to join the AAC as a member and receive Encompass American Anglican Council: What was your opinion of the HOB Meeting? + Lawrence: Actually, not that much of the 6 days, or however long it was, was taken up with business. I think that’s probably a misunderstanding that many people have about the House of Bishops gathering. Much of the time is spent in small groups listening at small tables to presentations. In fact there was only one morning and a little bit of the afternoon that was actually spent in any parliamentary /legislative/ business portion of the meeting. Much of it was what I would call relationship building and at least at this point, presentations in preparation for Lambeth. While it was new, it was very similar to experiences at General Convention at the table groups. Every morning you’re at the same table group. It had a similar feel. I can’t really say it’s serious Bible study. There are various reflections on Biblical passages. You don’t have any time to go into much depth on anything. So it’s basically, I would say, surface level about the scriptures. But you know there is opportunity to talk about substantive things. It’s just that somebody has to be the one that wades into the deep water. AAC: Were you that one? +Lawrence: Yeah I did, sure. Other people did it other times. It’s just a matter of who wants to wade in and what happens after that. AAC: Was any progress toward reconciliation made at this House of Bishops’ meeting? +Lawrence: We spent a day and a half on what was called a reconciliation retreat. What makes it difficult to answer that question is that, based at our table discussion, the table I was at, I thought we began to talk about the difficulties that are connected with that whole area of reconciliation. So in that sense, on a table level, I would say, yes, we made some progress. But once we got to the legislative portion of the meeting…reconciliation is always costly and the question is, who it’s going to cost and who wants to sacrifice in order to reconcile. Once we got to the legislative portion of the meeting and the deposition for Bishop Schofield and Bishop Cox, I wouldn’t describe the mood of the house as conciliatory to those who, for issues of faith, don’t feel like they can conform to order of the church. What we have in The Episcopal Church (TEC) today is that many people feel like the faith of the church has been compromised or violated and in order to deal with what they feel is a profound compromise or denial of the faith of the church historically and biblically, they feel like they have to do things contrary to the order of the church. At that point, many in the House of Bishops and in various other formats of the church desire to impose the order of the church upon them. That is, if Bishop Schofield believes the faith of the church has been denied, he has to go beyond the order of the church as in the canons and constitution of TEC, and those who are in the forefront who are quite comfortable with the new faith of the church, so to speak, feel like they have to impose the order upon him or upon Bishop Cox. The difficulty we have, then, is the very way we went about imposing the order of the church. That is, after the House of Bishops’ meeting, after the voting on the canonical depositions of Bishop Cox and Bishop Schofield, it seemed to be revealed that those depositions were done in a way that was contrary to the order of the church... AAC: What is your next step? +Lawrence: I know that Bishop Howe has recently called for a re-examination of this. The Standing committee and Bishop of South Carolina, myself, have issued a letter of protest that the canons were not followed. I don’t know where we will end up with all of that. AAC: How much room is there in TEC for the Diocese of South Carolina to be the Diocese of South Carolina? +Lawrence: It’s not a matter of new rules. The challenge that we face is that the vast majority of people and clergy in South Carolina, at least as far as I have come across in my three months here in South Carolina, hold to the orthodox faith of historic Christianity. When that seems to be up for grabs, then it creates an atmosphere in which people become restless about what we are and who and what we are joined to. Now that is not a matter of canonical struggle, it is a matter of fellowship. The question seems to mingle this whole fuzzy area of faith and order. Some issues that we struggle with are issues of faith; others that we struggle with are the way the church is ordered. According to the constitutions and canons there’s all kind of space for us to exist as of now. However, if the General Convention of TEC becomes the means by which every constitutional article and every canon is interpreted and can be changed, and if those canons are not just matters of governance but also matters that seem to be integral to the faith, then it creates a very precarious environment for someone who at one stage feels quite comfortable within the Episcopal Church. A subsequent General Convention could change that. An example would be the way those bishops who do not feel by conscience that they can ordain women have been increasingly marginalized by successive statements, resolutions, or canons of General Convention. The question is, ‘yes we can function now, but will we be able to function in 2009, 2012, 2015?’ That remains to be seen. AAC: In what ways does the situation that TEC is in harm the diocese of South Carolina? +Lawrence: I think that in some ways this question is a little premature because I’ve only been here three months. For me to make grand pronouncements about that is at the least premature. But I think I can say this, if one recognizes that the body that one is connected with has waded into very muddy waters and some don’t seem to perceive how deep and muddy the water is, though we do, we can begin to look around and say, ‘ah, where does the future lie in this? Where is the path that we should be going?’ And in that case, if you’re waist deep in the big muddy, then the one who climbs up the tree and sees the furthest can lead. AAC: If they’re willing to follow your lead. +Lawrence: If they’re willing to follow your lead. AAC: Describe your first few months as Bishop of South Carolina. +Lawrence: Total immersion… immersion within the diocese of South Carolina, immersion within the life of TEC, and in ministry. Some of it is delightful; some of it is hard work. It is a lot of wonderful ministry and a lot of wonderful people. It is a wonderful opportunity to bear witness to the faith that is within me. AAC: What would you say to those outside TEC who ask why you don’t just get out? +Lawrence: Those who have left for CANA, or AMiA, or Uganda, or the Southern Cone, we share many of the same fundamental beliefs about the nature of Christ, the nature of human need for redemption. We know the leading of the Holy Spirit because it is consistent with the teaching of Holy Scripture, those fundamental things in terms of morality. We may have differences in ecclesiology. We may have differences on how we deal with the challenges that lie before us. But the last thing we need to do is turn on one another because we believe that we are called to take a different tack with dealing with the challenges of the Anglican Communion. I’m personally committed to network with people as best I can and not find myself at odds with people that are theologically on the same page as I am. AAC: Do you have any thoughts on Lambeth or GAFCON? +Lawrence: I will be attending Lambeth. I’m weighing at this point whether I’ll attend GAFCON or not, whether I can fit it into my schedule. AAC: Do you think anything will come out of Lambeth or be resolved? +Lawrence: I think the issues that we are dealing with today are going to take 40 years to resolve. But I think they will be resolved and that the Anglican Communion will come out on the far side of it stronger than it is at the present. And all of this controversy will be used by God to move the Anglican Communion more fully and completely into the global age, and so what we are faced with in the church today is having an ecclesiology and structure and polity that is sufficient for the age of globalism. Date: 4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM
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