From the Living Church via TitusOneNine:
Posted on: March 4, 2010
The Diocese of Los Angeles has announced that the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool, bishop-elect, is within one vote of receiving consents from a majority of standing committees. The diocese elected Canon Glasspool on Dec. 5 as one of two suffragan bishops.
The canon must also receive consents from a majority of bishops. The office of the Presiding Bishop tracks bishops’ consents. By tradition, the office does not reveal bishops’ votes until sufficient consents arrive or the deadline for receiving consents has passed. May 5 is the deadline for consents to Glasspool’s election.
Some bishops and standing committees have issued public statements about their decisions.
The Rt. Rev. Herman “Holly” Hollerith IV, Bishop of Southern Virginia, wrote of his decision to deny consent.
“I believe she would make a wonderful bishop and that she is an excellent match for the Diocese of Los Angeles. Her election there was logical and appropriate,” he wrote to the clergy of his diocese on Feb. 4.
“Nevertheless, it is clear to me that the ordination of an openly Gay woman to the episcopate will — at this time — have a serious negative impact on our relationship with the wider Anglican Communion, and that it may very well strain — to the breaking point — those bonds of affection which we have come to value with others, even with those who may agree with us.”
The Rt. Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, wrote a detailed 1,400-word letter explaining his decision to grant consent.
“After prayerful discernment and various contexts of consultation, I have determined that the House of Bishops would be enriched and be represented more holistically as a symbol of unity to the Church … if Mary Glasspool were a member of that House,” Baxter wrote.
“I also believe in this time of continued discernment and definition of full inclusion, that having the witness and wisdom of persons who are unquestionably faithful in the core theology of the Church, knowledgeable and respectful of the Church’s traditions, and pastorally sensitive to all its people, will only enrich the journey to which I believe the Spirit is continuing to call us.”
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr., Bishop of Ohio, wrote that he was granting consent because Glasspool’s election was consistent with the canons of the Episcopal Church, including the prohibition of discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
Hollingsworth wrote: “Whenever it is that a majority of Standing Committees and Bishops with Jurisdiction consent to the ordination of another partnered gay or lesbian Christian as bishop (and I believe it is a matter of when), I will consider it as neither innovative nor prophetic, but an act of fidelity — to our understanding of what God is calling us to be, to all those whom God has called into The Episcopal Church, to those with whom God has called us into relationship around the world, and of course to God. It is my conviction that God will receive it as the same.”
The Rt. Rev. Gary L. Lillibridge, Bishop of West Texas, issued a statement [PDF] with his bishop Suffragan, the Rt. Rev. David M. Reed, on Dec. 8, but only Lillibridge has a vote in the process.
“We are mindful of the statement of this summer’s General Convention that acknowledged that ‘members of The Episcopal Church, as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind, and Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters’ (resolution D025),” the two bishops wrote. “We reiterate our belief that The Episcopal Church should exercise the restraint called for by the Anglican Communion and, likewise, will not consent to this election.”
The Diocese of Missouri’s standing committee granted consent, and president Jane Klieve offered brief thoughts on that decision in a message to the diocese released on March 2. The standing committee began discussing the matter in January, but postponed its decision until Feb. 23, she wrote.
“As a body, we consider both the importance of supporting/ratifying decisions made by our brothers and sisters in other dioceses and the impact of these decisions on The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion,” Klieve wrote. “While the vote was not easy, quickly taken, or unanimous, we voted to grant our consent to the election of the Rev. Mary Glasspool.”
The standing committee of Northern Indiana declined consent. In a Jan. 28 letter [PDF] to the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, the standing committee said it was not of one mind on sexuality questions, and explained its decision to deny consent.
“Our Standing Committee shares a deep concern over the myriad implications of a church cut off from the broader Body of Christ, even as we consider our church’s role in prophetic witness to the world for the inclusion of all people,” wrote the Rev. Dr. James Warnock, president of the standing committee. “We believe that Canon Glasspool’s ordination to the episcopate would exacerbate an already tenuous relationship with our Anglican Communion and ecumenical partners.”
Douglas LeBlanc
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