California Dreamin’

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church affects me in a similar way that our liturgy does. Both are at once a celebration of who we are, of our life and labor together, of shared ministry and mission; but they are also imaginative speculations as to what we might become, or perhaps more rightly said, what we are in truth becoming.

Our liturgy is an enacted dream, an intentional speculation of what our world is intended to be, prophetic utterance speaking the future into being. At General Convention we imagined how the world would be healed via the millennium development goals, by tearing down the wall between Israel and the West Bank, by advocating steps to environmental sustainability, by addressing global warming, demanding just wages and worker justice, by decrying racism. We left California
dreaming of a world intended by our God as best we could discern it: a just world of mutuality and compassionate interdependence.

Our liturgy is the way from week to week we Episcopal Christians imagine, dream of God’s promised future. We recount who we are in the word of God. We remember that God acts among us, calling us forever into relationship. We remind ourselves that it is God’s intention to heal and clothe and feed and dignify. We gather at God’s table as equals who are all made in God’s image, reminding ourselves that life begins at table together. We are reminded that it is our common life that feeds us and empowers us for this future dream that trembles into being as we speak; and then we are sent into the world as waking dream acting as if it were true.

Dreams are not fantasy, but artifacts from the future, grounded in profound reality. If we but look we will see evidence of their already becoming, taking root in our world and in our lives. The dawn is coming, perhaps sooner than we know, when we will awake and find our dream, which is God’s dream, to be true.

The Rev. Jim Flowers

Letter to the Church from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

My brothers and sisters in Christ:

The 76th General Convention is now history, though it will likely take some time before we are all reasonably clear about what the results are.

We gathered in Anaheim, as guests of the Diocese of Los Angeles, for eleven full days of worship, learning, and policy-making. The worship was stunning visually, musically, and liturgically, with provocative preaching and lively singing.

Our learning included training in Public Narrative, as well as news about the emergent church, in the LA Night presentation.

We welcomed a number of visitors from other parts of the Anglican Communion, including 15 of the primates (archbishops or presiding bishops), other bishops, clergy, and laity.

You can see and hear all this and more at the Media Hub: http://gchub.episcopalchurch.org/

The budget adopted represents a significant curtailment of church-wide ministry efforts, in recognition of the economic realities of many dioceses and church endowments, which will result in the loss of a number of Church Center staff who have given long and laudable service. Yet we will continue to serve God’s mission, throughout The Episcopal Church and beyond. This budget expects that more mission work will continue or begin to take place at diocesan or congregational levels. Religious pilgrims, from the Israelites in the desert to Episcopalians in Alaska or Haiti, have always learned that times of leanness are opportunities for strengthened faith and creativity.

As a Church, we have deepened our commitments to mission and ministry with “the least of these” (Matthew 25). We included a budgetary commitment of 0.7% to the Millennium Development Goals, through the NetsforLife® program partnership of Episcopal Relief & Development. That is in addition to approximately 15% of the budget already committed to international development work.

We have committed to a domestic poverty initiative, meant to explore coherent and constructive responses to some of the worst poverty statistics in the Americas: Native American reservations and indigenous communities.

Justice is the goal, as we revised our canons (church rules) having to do with clergy discipline, both as an act of solidarity with those who may suffer at the hands of clergy and an act of pastoral concern for clergy charged with misconduct.

The General Convention adopted a health plan to serve all clergy and lay employees, which is expected to be a cost-savings across the whole of the United States portion of the Church. Work continues to ensure adequate health coverage in the non-U.S. parts of this Church. The Convention also mandated pension coverage for lay employees.

Liturgical additions were also included in the Convention’s work, from more saints on the calendar to prayers around reproductive loss.

What captured the headlines across the secular media, however, had to do with two resolutions, the consequences of which were often misinterpreted or exaggerated. One, identified as D025, is titled “Anglican Communion: Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion.” It

* reaffirms our commitment to and desire to pursue mission with the Anglican Communion;
* reiterates our commitment to Listening Process urged by Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998;
* notes that our own participation in the listening process led General Convention in 2000 to “recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships ‘characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God’”;
* recognizes that ministry, both lay and ordained is being exercised by such persons in response to God’s call;
* notes that the call to ordained ministry is God’s call, is a mystery, and that the Church participates in that mystery through the process of discernment;
* acknowledges that the members of The Episcopal Church, and of the Anglican Communion, are not of one mind, and that faithful Christians disagree about some of these matters.

The other resolution that received a lot of press is C056, titled “Liturgies for Blessings.” The text adopted was a substitute for the original, yet the title remains unchanged. It

* acknowledges changing circumstances in the U.S. and elsewhere, in that civil jurisdictions in some places permit marriage, civil unions, and/or domestic partnerships involving same-sex couples, that call for a pastoral response from this Church;
* asks the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, and the House of Bishops, to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for such pastoral response, and report to the next General Convention;
* asks those bodies to invite comment and participation from other parts of this Church and the Anglican Communion;
* notes that bishops may provide generous pastoral responses to the needs of members of this Church;
* asks the Convention to honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality.

The full text of both resolutions is available here: http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation/

I urge you to read them for yourself. Some have insisted that these resolutions repudiate our relationships with other members of the Anglican Communion. My sense is that we have been very clear that we value our relationships within and around the Communion, and seek to deepen them. My sense as well is that we cannot do that without being honest about who and where we are. We are obviously not of one mind, and likely will not be until Jesus returns in all his glory. We are called by God to continue to wrestle with the circumstances in which we live and move and have our being, and to do it as carefully and faithfully as we are able, in companionship with those who disagree vehemently and agree wholeheartedly. It is only in that wrestling that we, like Jacob, will begin to discern the leading of the Spirit and the blessing of relationship with God.

Above all else, this Convention claimed God’s mission as the heartbeat of The Episcopal Church. I encourage every member of this Church to enter into conversation in your own congregation or diocese about God’s mission, and where you and your faith community are being invited to enter more deeply into caring for your neighbors, the “least of these” whom Jesus befriends.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

In retrospect

This was my first time to experience the Episcopal Church at work in its triennial General Convention, and I quickly realized that you simply have to jump in and let the experience wash over you. I could register on a daily basis where I sensed we were going, but I knew that I would not have a clear perspective until our work was done and we all headed home. Back now on the shores of Mobile Bay for a few days, I still don’t have a fully developed picture of the 76^th General Convention, although I do have a more complete take on what was accomplished.

One of the top priorities of House of Deputies President Dr. Bonnie Anderson was to educate us all on the role of deputies and their functioning as a body in the “senior” house (the Bishops being the “junior” house.) For first-time deputies, who comprised some 40% of the present House of Deputies (HOD), this meant not serving on legislative committees but rather attending working sessions and hearings of many committees as well as attending forums on various matters of particular importance—the lay pension plan; denominational health care; Program, Budget, and Finance (P. B. & F.); responses to B033, etc. It also meant meeting people, building relationships, learning organically about how the Church “works” through the working relationships of many groups and individuals.

Here are my impressions. I was very favorably impressed with the leadership of Dr. Bonnie Anderson. Her style is gentle but very firm, with an emphasis on maintaining the decorum of the House and operating strictly according to the rules of order as set out in Roberts’ Rules of Order and the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. As a result of this, the quality of debate on the floor of the House was in general quite high: it was vigorous, attentive to detail, and—above all—civil. While at times I felt that we were moving at a snail’s pace and micro-editing the language of some resolutions, the result was the handling of a tremendous amount of work, much of which had been attended to in detail by hundreds of people. I was also impressed by the sheer volume of the work involved: a tremendous amount of work was done beforehand in the preparation of the “Blue Book” and supplemental materials; then these materials are revised and reproduced on an ongoing basis throughout the convention as the process of listening and incorporating various viewpoints into resolutions goes on in committees; resolutions are then presented in both houses and may be amended in both, the re-presented in both for action. An interesting example of this process at work was C061, a resolution proposing changes in Title III of the canons, pertaining to access to the ordination process. After considerable debate, the HOD approved a revised version of this section, which the HOB then revised even more substantially. Finally, on the last day of convention, the HOD rejected the Bishops’ revision, the result of which is to leave this section of Title III unchanged.

The deepest impression that I have carried away from General Convention is the sense of responsibility to the trust given to deputies. I sensed this most strongly in the moments the House prayed together before difficult votes, and in our offering of prayers at the end of each session. Our congregations and dioceses send us as deputies not only to decide in their best interest on difficult matters facing the Church but also to provide for the working of the Church over the next three-year period. More than commitment to particular agendas or personal desires for grandstanding, this is what I believe undergirds the lengthy debate and detailed wordsmithing over language in resolutions. The sound-bite representations in the media of “hot-button” resolutions such as D025 (addressing our relationship with the Anglican Communion) and C056 (calling for the collection of resources for liturgies blessing same-sex unions) do not do justice to the details of the resolutions themselves, nor to the complex range of views aired in debate about these matters. The “divided mind” of the Church on these issues is reflected in the resolutions themselves, and I would encourage those who are concerned to read the resolutions and information about them on the website of the Episcopal News Service (not on any individual’s blog, of whatever stripe.) Along with our deputation and our Bishop, I did vote “no” on these resolutions and others like them, which I believe only divide us further at this point in time. Still, I am clear that these resolutions do not change the policies established by our Bishop in this diocese: we will not be consenting to the consecration of bishops whose manner of life challenges our communion, nor will we be blessing same-sex unions.

As I look back over the whole of what was accomplished at the 76^th General Convention, I am thankful for the great deal of good work that was done—and I am frustrated that this is overshadowed by the attention to resolutions that don’t actually “do” anything in the day-to-day life of ministry in our Church. Among the big things accomplished were the following. A triennial budget was crafted and enacted that will cut $23 million from our expenses; it reduces the diocesan “asking” (the amount dioceses pay to the Episcopal Church for funding mission) over three years and calls for the reduction of staffing and programming at the Church Center, pushing mission “down” to the diocesan and congregational levels; it also calls for a shorter and more efficient General Convention process in 2012. A denominational health insurance plan was approved, which will result in considerable cost savings for participants and for the Church Pension Fund. A pension plan for lay employees of the Church was approved. Title IV of the canons (which provides for clergy discipline) was substantially revised to emphasize reconciliation, fairness, and transparency in disciplinary proceedings, including the resolution of conflicts between clergy and congregations. A program for Life-Long Christian Formation was approved for development, following a model that will emphasize networking and the sharing of resources among dioceses and congregations. The tithe was affirmed as the standard for stewardship in the Church, to be upheld by leadership; every deputy signed an agreement to work toward the tithe. Numerous mission partnership agreements were established or reaffirmed. Each diocese (and every congregation) was challenged to begin some new mission work outside its own immediate community or to strengthen an existing mission program. These are just a few of the 130+  resolutions adopted in Anaheim.

All of this occurred within the context of prayer and relationship, of a community worshipping and working together. In addition to a daily Eucharist for the whole convention, each House prayed and meditated throughout each day. The Reverend Frank Wade was the chaplain for the HOD, and his offerings were masterful and pastoral. On the plane home I read his newest book, entitled Transforming Scripture, in which I was struck by several passages that seemed to speak to our shared life in the Church and to where we find ourselves at this point in time. Wade writes: “What we do not have [as Episcopalians] is a central authoritative person or persons to tell us the right answers […]. The closest we have ever come to defining our faith is known as the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, written in the 19^th century […]. It reminds us that the Bible, the traditional creeds, the major sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, and the role of bishops are central to our tradition. It is remarkable for its lack of dogmatic clarity. The point is that our church has a process but not a product.”  Because of this, he says, “the Anglican way places the final decision-making power not in a church hierarchy but in individuals in community, which leads to complications of its own. It leaves us vulnerable to serious misunderstandings and understandable discomfort.” The nature of our reality frustrates our human desire for certainty in times of challenge. Pointing out that “certainty in faith is a contradiction in terms,” Wade offers instead the more subtle value of confidence. “Certainty is rooted in the individual,” while “confidence is rooted in someone else.” Confidence gives us “courage to act on our beliefs without requiring the world around us to conform to those beliefs.” Confidence can trust “in the ongoing leading of the Spirit.”

The polity of the Episcopal Church in America, as it was developed in our beginnings by Bishop William White, is a (sometimes messy) process involving vulnerable human beings. General Conventions reveal that process to us and to the world, but we can be confident in the Holy Spirit’s presence with us and in our life as the Body of Christ. When things are going along just fine for us, we are apt not to be listening closely for God’s speaking to us. When things get challenging, we are called to listen closely. I pray that we are listening closely to each other and that we are placing our confidence in Christ.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

It has been a privilege to be in Anaheim at the General Convention and I’ve been blessed by beautiful worship, by the faithfulness and dedication of everyone involved, and by the 800 deputies, 300 bishops, and 2000 volunteers who made everything go smoothly; not to mention the ECW, youth presence, DOK, and Altar Guild.  Paul and I enjoyed an emerging church worship experience sponsored by the Diocese of Los Angeles, which included rock music, lights painting, poetry reading, and Christian rap music, a cross made of computer screens, and a constantly changing background of contemplative photographs and provocative words.  We also went to an U2charist featuring a Bono double who was excellent.

I spent most of my spare time working on a resolution concerning domestic violence prevention.  I was pleased when this resolution passed unanimously and ratified the outpouring of support that I received.  

The controversial issues took up a very small portion of our time.  The sixteen resolutions originally presented to the convention were far more radical in calling for an outright rejection of the moratoria, which The Episcopal Church has kept since 2003, and which moratoria have been continuously violated by a minority of Primates from the Global South over the same period.  In my opinion, this violation is more about politics and money than about theology or morality.  

I voted against resolution D025, as did our deputation, but I can live with it, because there is much in it to commend.  We are a messy church because democracy is a messy process at best!  But to continue in the tension of differing opinions on many issues, without turning our backs on relationships with those who disagree, is one of the things I value most about our Anglican Tradition.  I believe that, as one speaker put it, it is not in the certainty of the right or the left, but in that humble tension that the Holy Spirit operates. Our key strength is that we pray what we believe.  That is Biblical and faithful, and we are enriched by hearing the Gospel & living it, and going to a Lord’s table that is open to all.  Everything else is small stuff.   Don’t sweat the small stuff.  God is good, all the time.
 
 In Christ,
Martha+

Back from Anaheim

As I reflect back on the 76 General th Convention of The Episcopal Church (July 2009), I see one of the best experiences of my 33 years attending this triennial event (my 12th General Convention!). It could have been the weather in Anaheim…it was beautiful every day! It could have been the facilities…they were world class in every way! It could have been the leadership…currently the best I’ve seen (in both Houses)! It could have been our Central Gulf Coast deputation…attentive, informed, punctual, friendly, well-mannered, well-dressed and well-respected! Or, just maybe, and including all the ingredients listed above, it might have been the presence and work of the Holy Spirit!!! Win, lose, draw, or rained out…at the end of the day, the Holy Spirit was/is always present!

You really have to go and be there to know it’s not “church” as many of us knows it! There is a mystery about The Episcopal Church that is indeed unique. Lines are drawn all throughout the sand to form a mosaic not unlike a difficult picture puzzle. After all, that’s what makes us Anglican. The tension we share, the calling we share, is to all be one in the sight of God. As one of the longest-serving deputies in the House of Deputies, I had several special assignments which were personal highs for me. I and three others of the President of the House of Deputies Council of Advice met privately with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to share with him our understanding of the polity of The Episcopal Church (different in a lot of ways from most Provinces of the Anglican Communion), and how that polity affects the decisions and positions of The Episcopal Church. He clearly understands; but wanted us to be sure we understand the tension and frustration the Anglican Communion feels at the same time. The Archbishop of Canterbury was cordial and friendly, but very forthright!   He has a tough job.

Later in the Convention, I was one of four (two lay deputies and two bishops) chosen to draft a “sense of The Episcopal Church” letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury trying to explain the process and implications of the two “hot-button” resolutions, D-025 and C-056. D-025 – Commitment and witness to the Anglican Communion, reaffirms the continued participation of The Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion, giving thanks for the work of the Bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008, and encourages dioceses, congregations and all members of the Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion. It also affirms the value of “listening to the experience of homosexual persons” as called for by Lambeth Conferences of 1978, ‘88 and ‘98 and recognizes that the baptized membership of the Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in life-long, committed relationships. It also recognized the various ministries exercised by gay and lesbian persons and affirms that God may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church…”acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church”. It acknowledges that the Episcopal Church as well as the Anglican Communion are not of one mind but as Christians of good conscience, disagree about some of these matters. Our message to the Archbishop of Canterbury was simply that the discernment and the listening process will continue and that in the meantime, call to service to the Episcopal Church will be tested through a discernment process in accordance with the Constitutions and Canons of The Episcopal Church. These have historically been very inclusive.

C-056 – Liturgy for blessings, the General Convention acknowledged the changing circumstances of the United States and other nations around legalization of civil unions, domestic partnerships, and the need for pastoral response from The Episcopal Church. There was no call in the resolution to design any liturgy! The resolution asked that liturgical resources be collected and developed and reported to the next General Convention. It calls for involvement from the whole Episcopal church, as well as fellow members of the Anglican Communion. In the meanwhile, it resolves that Bishops, particularly those in diocese, within civil jurisdiction with same-gender marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church. The generous pastoral response is a discretionary term to be used by bishops to fit their particular needs. It does not call for any universal constitution or canonical change within the Episcopal Church, but calls on the church to continue study, and at the same time afford some pastoral response where that is necessarily appropriate. Again, in our communication to the Archbishop of Canterbury, our committee stressed the continued discernment and listening process, and asked for the patience of the Anglican Communion while we work through these delicate matters together. As mentioned above, the mosaic of The Episcopal Church is much like a picture puzzle. It is unlikely that the two “hot-button” resolutions will be overriding or divisive in the Central Gulf Coast. Bishop Duncan and the majority of the Central Gulf Coast deputation voted against both. That’s where we think we are in the puzzle. “Generous pastoral care” is always a good thing; but it not need bring controversy!

I served on the Church Pension Fund Committee of General Convention. We were successful in bringing two major pieces of legislation to reality: a Denominational Health Plan for The Episcopal Church and a mandatory lay pension plan (by canon). These initiatives will be managed by the Church Pension Fund, and will be fully implemented by 2012. The budget of The Episcopal Church is desperately bleak! The budget for 2010-2012 is $24 million less than 2007-2009. The General Convention adopted this budget with as much emphasis on program and mission as possible, at the expense of “business as usual”. General Convention, interim committees, Church Center staff are in for major cuts. Latino ministries, Millennium Development Goals, and communications are prominent in the new budget.

On a personal note, I want to thank Kathy Duncan and Paul Kreamer for their oversight of our deputation meeting room — keeping it well-stocked with timely treats to calm our weary thirsts at the end of each day. I also want to thank my bishop, deputy and ECW colleagues for their concern and comfort for me as I struggled until the last day with what turned out to be slight pneumonia! Dr. Capalito at the Golden Key Medical Center became my private physician (three visits and two phone calls!) in Anaheim.
Thanks to him too!

Let us not forget…the Holy Spirit was/is always present!!!

Vince