Conforming to the spirit of the age?

By Steve Banner
Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Given Fort Worth's long history as a home for independent thinkers, it probably comes as no surprise to most readers that the city is close to the center of a national debate with international ramifications: the future of the Episcopal Church.

That denomination is the American branch (or province) of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in Canterbury, England. More than 80 million Anglicans are spread over 160 countries, according to the church's Web site, including some 2.3 million in the United States.

As a lifelong Anglican who has traveled extensively on business during my adult years, I have been a member of congregations in Australia, Canada, Sweden, Florida and Fort Worth. I also have attended worship services in a number of other countries I visited, but in each case I found a common thread of liturgy and theology that could be traced back well beyond my ancestors William Connor Magee (bishop of Peterborough, 1868-1891, and archbishop of York, 1891) and his grandfather William Magee (archbishop of Dublin, 1822-1831).

I have felt that sense of consistency begin to wane during the past few years as the teachings of the Episcopal Church have drifted away from the traditions of the past centuries.

The American church has de-emphasized the role of Jesus as the Savior who offers the faithful the only path to salvation and eternal life, relegating him instead to the role of a bit player who is but one of the means employed by God (according to U.S. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori in a CNN interview).

Meanwhile, the issue of homosexuality -- debated for some time within the Anglican Communion -- was brought to the fore in 2003, when an openly gay and noncelibate priest was made bishop of New Hampshire.

These and other matters too many to mention have caused numerous parishes and several dioceses (including Fort Worth) during the past few years to seek to separate from the Episcopal Church and realign their organizational reporting structure with other provinces of the communion.

In Fort Worth's case, association has been sought with the Province of the Southern Cone, which covers most of South America. It is led by Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables, who preached in Fort Worth a few weeks ago, saying in part: "Make no mistake -- the battle going on amongst Anglicans is not about gay bishops or homosexuals getting married, but rather it's about the fundamental truths written in the Bible that [the Episcopal Church] is trying water down and revise."

Schori is quoted as saying: "Our heritage and context shape our theology. The ways in which we understand Scripture and appropriate gospel response to social realities are shaped both by our roots and our current circumstances."

This is in direct contrast to the warning from William Connor Magee, who said to his assembled clergy in 1872: "Once let [the church] regard it as her main duty to 'conform herself to the spirit of the age' and the prophetic spirit will have died out of her. She will no longer 'cry aloud and spare not', she will no longer dare to speak the word of the Lord, 'whether men will hear or whether they will forbear.'"

Rather than addressing the theological issues that threaten to divide the church, the denomination has tried to maintain order through intimidation: filing lawsuits against parishes that would seek realignment; attempting to depose bishops who hold to the traditional views of the church; and issuing a series of strongly worded letters from Schori to bishops across the country.

It seems increasingly evident that the only sensible outcome should be the eventual creation of a second Anglican province within the United States comprising those parishes and dioceses that have chosen to "walk apart" from the Episcopal Church.

Petty disputes about property should be put aside, as is the stated intention of the Fort Worth Diocese, which would allow each of its 55 congregations to vote on whether or not to separate from the national church. Parishes that choose to remain would retain their church property, as would the parishes that choose to realign.

Surely this is the Christian path to follow.

Steve Banner is a member of the Star-Telegram Community Columnist Panel. He attends St. Laurence Episcopal Church in Southlake.