Diocese of Southern Ohio And Liberia Appear To Be Having Difficulty Living Into The Tension

from Stand Firm by Jackie

Uh-oh, looks like things are not all roses and butterflies in the Diocese of Southern Ohio:

R2010-03: Establishing a companion relationship with the Episcopal Church of Liberia

Bishop Breidenthal alerted delegates that the sponsors of this resolution will introduce an amendment delaying the start of a companion relationship for a year. This is necessary to allow the time to accomplish two things:

• for the bishops of Liberia and Southern Ohio to build the basis of mutual trust to allow the two dioceses to go forward even if their theology of human sexuality differs.

• to give this diocese the time to identify and appoint an appropriate delegation to visit Liberia in response to the visit of the Liberian delegation to Southern Ohio in September.

Delegates asked several questions about previous companion relationships that Southern Ohio has had with other dioceses including Nigeria, Windward Islands and New Zealand. Jon Boss explained that most such companionships are meant to be time-limited even though collaborative projects may continue for many years longer.

Be sure to check out what Elder Oyster has to say on the subject.