H/T to Treading Grain
on the letter. TG is a blog site worth
following. Here we have (Bp.) Mark
Lawrence’s letter to DSC re: TEC GC 2012 and TEC’s new “sex moves,” that is, TEC’s liturgical
authorization to bless you-know-what (sodomy, cross-dressing, and more). The letter was to be read this morning, 15
Jul 2012, in all of Mark's South Carolinian congregations. The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina represents 29,000 Episcopalians along coastal South Carolina. Midlands and upstate Episcopalians reside in the more moderate Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina with 28,000 members. Of note, in earlier actions, as per a Supreme
Court ruling in South Carolina, Mark turned over property “titles” from the
Diocese to each parish. This may be a very significant ruling. This means, if
maintained, that congregations may secede from TEC and retain their land and
buildings. Congregations, e.g. Pittsburg, Fort Worth, in other
dioceses that pulled out lost their properties and buildings, a sizeable
set-back for those congregations. Yet, 1000s
of people have fled TEC and have joined
the ACNA and AMiA, starting from scratch. As for
the TEC South Carolinians, we will have to see where this goes.
The letter below is to
be read in every Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina at their
morning services today.
Please keep the DSC in
your prayers in the days ahead as they seek to navigate the continued meltdown
of TEC.
+Lawrence writes:
July 15, 2012
7th Sunday After Pentecost
7th Sunday After Pentecost
Dear Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
Some of you have
actively followed the decisions of the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal
Church. Others have been blissfully unaware that our denomination even had a
General Convention. We have. And the actions taken mark a significant and
distressing departure from the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as
this Church has received them.
In conversations with
clergy, and from the emails I have received, I know there is much uneasiness
about the future. Some of us are experiencing the well-known stages of grief:
denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. And, of course, I must acknowledge
there are those for whom the recent decisions are a cause for celebration. For me
there are certainly things about which I was thankful at the convention in
Indianapolis. I might even have taken encouragement from the resolutions that
were passed regarding needed structural reform, and for the intentional work in
the House of Bishops on matters of collegiality and honesty. Unfortunately,
these strike me now as akin to a long overdue rearranging of the furniture when
the house is on fire. Why do I say this?
There are four
resolutions which were adopted that bring distressing changes to the doctrine,
discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church that every ordained person in
this church has vowed “to engage to conform,” and which stand in direct
conflict with the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has
received them.
First, let me mention
resolution C029. While this was amended during the debates in a more temperate
direction, it still moves the Church further down the road toward encouraging
the communion of the unbaptized which departs from two thousand years of Christian
practice. It also puts the undiscerning person in spiritual jeopardy. (I
Corinthians 11:27–32)
Plainly, the
resolution that has received the most publicity is A049 which authorizes rites
for Same-Sex Blessings. This resolution goes into effect in Advent 2012, but
only upon the authority of the bishop of each diocese. It hardly needs to be
said, but for the record let me say clearly, I will not authorize the use of
such rites in the Diocese of South Carolina. Such rites are not only contrary
to the canons of this diocese and to the judgment of your bishop, but more
importantly I believe they are contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture; to
two thousand years of Christian practice; as well as to our created nature.
Many theologians down through the centuries speak of what we are as human
beings by Creation; what we are by the Fall; what we are through Redemption
(that is in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ); and what we shall be
in our Glorification. Our marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer is
rooted in this understanding. Because of this, it is biblical, it is Christian,
and it is Anglican. I would also add, it is beautiful and it is true. Therefore
the Episcopal Church has no authority to put asunder this sacramental
understanding of marriage as established by God in creation and blessed through
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. It has no authority to do this either by
revising the marriage rite to include same sex partners or by devising some
parallel quasi-marital sacramental service. I remind you of the elegant words
of our Prayer Book which echo the teaching of our Scriptures: “The bond and
covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus
Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a
wedding in Cana of Galilee. It signifies the mystery of the union between
Christ and his Church, and Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all
people.”
This speaks of a
“given-ness” in this age that is good, and is emblematic of our Christian Hope.
It prepares us for the age to come; when God the Father summons his Church to
the marriage supper of the Lamb.
There is however an
even more incoherent departure from the teaching of Holy Scripture and from our
Episcopalian and Anglican Heritage to be found in the General Convention’s
passage of resolutions D002 and
D019. These changes to
our Church’s canons mark an even further step into incoherency. They open the
door
to innumerable self-understandings of gender identity and gender
expression within the Church; normalizing “transgender,” “bi-sexual,”
“questioning,” and still yet to be named – self-understandings of
individualized eros. I fail to see how a rector or parish leader who embraces
such a canonical change has any authority to discipline a youth minister,
Sunday school teacher, or chalice bearer who chooses to dress as a man one
Sunday and as a woman another. And this is but one among many possibilities.
Let me state my concern clearly. To embrace an understanding of our human condition
in which gender may be entirely self-defined, self-chosen is to abandon all
such norms, condemning ourselves, our children and grandchildren, as well as
future generations to sheer sexual anarchy. So long as I am bishop of this
diocese I will not abandon its people to such darkness.
Some have said to me,
“But bishop the culture is accepting this. To continue to resist these
innovations is to put ourselves on the wrong side of history.” I say to such
thinking, you cannot be on the wrong side of History if you are on the right
side of Reality. Archbishop William Temple was correct when he wrote over 70
years ago: the Church needs to be very clear in its public teaching so it can
be very pastoral in its application.
This Monday afternoon
I will be meeting with my Council of Advice. On Tuesday I will be meeting with
our Diocesan Standing Committee. Then during the remainder of July I will be
meeting with the deans and with clergy in various deaneries. Given these
changes in the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church the
question that is before us is: “What does being faithful to Jesus Christ look
like for this diocese at this time? How are we called to live and be and act?
In this present context, how do we make Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age?”
On the penultimate day
of General Convention, in a Private Session in the House of Bishops, I asked
for a point of personal privilege and expressed my heartfelt concerns about
these changes. I listened to the words of others and then departed with prayer
and charity. I left at that time because at least for me to pretend that
nothing had changed was no longer an option. Now that I have returned to South
Carolina it is still not an option. I ask that you keep me and the councils of
our diocese in your prayers as you shall be in mine. We have many God-size
challenges and, I trust, many God-given opportunities ahead.
Faithfully yours in
Christ,
The Right Reverend Mark Joseph Lawrence
You can find the .pdf here.
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