I wonder what Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum, Micah, John the Baptist, Jesus, the Apostles, St. Paul and the English Reformers might might say to Kati, a so-called Bishop-in-Apostolic-Succession? But wait, none of those men receive a voice here with Kati. Oh, wait, Jesus strenuously warned about false teachers in Matthew 16.1-12, inter alia.
Presiding
Bishop’s message to the church on General Convention
August 3, 2012
[Episcopal
Church Office of Public Affairs] We emerge with abundant hope, better discipline for working
together and with partners beyond this Church, for our fundamental reason for
being – engagement with God’s mission,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop
Katharine Jefferts Schori states in her Aug. 3 message to the church about the
77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, held in July in Indianapolis,
Indianapolis.
Message to
the Church
The
General Convention which took place in Indianapolis in July offered new and
creative responses to the call of the gospel in our day. We saw gracious and
pastoral responses to polarizing issues, as well as a new honesty about the
need for change.
General
Convention addressed a number of significant issues that will impact the life
and witness of this Church for years into the future – and they include many
more things beyond what you’ve heard about in the news. The way we worked
together also represented a new reality, working to adapt more creatively to
our diverse nature as a Church.
It is that
way of creative engagement that ultimately will be most transformative for The
Episcopal Church and the world beyond it. On issue after issue, the resolutions
addressed by General Convention emerged in creative responses that considered,
but did not end in, the polarized positions expected as we went into
Convention. People listened to the movement of the spirit and discerned a way
forward that was mutually upbuilding, rather than creating greater divisiveness
or win-lose outcomes.
The
hot-button issues of the last decade have not been eternally resolved, but we
have as a body found creative and pastoral ways to live with the differences of
opinion, rather than resorting to old patterns of conflict. There is a certain
expansive grace in how these decisions are being made and in the responses to
them, a grace that is reminiscent of the Elizabeth settlement. We’ve said as a
Church that there is no bar to the participation of minorities of all sorts,
and we are finding pastoral ways to ensure that potential offense at the
behavior or position of another is minimized, with the hope that we may grow
toward celebrating that diversity as a gift from God. If we are all sinners,
then each of us may be wrong about where we stand. Human beings, made from
humus, become Christlike when they know humility.
Major
issues addressed at General Convention included approval of a trial rite for
blessing same-sex unions. It may be used in congregations beginning in Advent,
with the approval of the diocesan bishop. Bishops are making varied responses
to the rite – a prime example of this emerging reality of local adaptation
based on context – something which is profoundly Anglican.
The
decision to provide a trial rite for same-sex blessings was anticipated by many
across the Church – some with fear and trepidation, others with rejoicing, and
yet others with frustration that more would not be offered. The decision of
General Convention may not have fully satisfied anyone, yet it has provided
more space for difference than most expected. The rite must be authorized by a
diocesan bishop, which permits bishops who believe it inappropriate to
safeguard their own theological position. Some of the responses by bishops with
questions about the appropriateness of such rites in their dioceses show
creativity and enormous pastoral respect for those who support such blessings.
The use of this rite is open to local option, in the same way we often think
about private confession: “all may, some should, none must.”
General
Convention also produced creative responses to a number of other challenging
issues – in particular, peacemaking in Israel-Palestine, the Anglican Covenant,
and the call to restructure The Episcopal Church. The resolutions adopted
reflect a higher level of investment in the health of diverse opinions and
positions in the Church than we have seen for a long time. We can celebrate a
bit of “growing up into the full stature of Christ” and the kind of welcome we
claim to exemplify: “The Episcopal Church welcomes you,” whoever you are and
wherever you stand. As a Church, when we’re at our best, we earnestly believe
that that diversity helps to lead us toward the mind of Christ.
The call
to restructure the Church is a response to growing grassroots awareness that we
must change or die. I’ve heard it put this way, “It’s not a matter of tradition
or change – tradition IS change!” We live in an age of rapid change, and if we
are going to be faithful to our baptismal work of going into the world and
proclaiming the gospel, our methods and support systems also need to change. We
need to be more responsive and able to engage opportunities, more nimble.
Nimble is
not a word usually associated with Episcopal churches, but the passion and
energy at our General Convention was certainly moving in that direction. Most
of us probably associate that word with Mother Goose and Jack who is nimble
enough to jump over the candlestick. But there is a character to Jesus’ own
ministry that has something to do with a flexible and creative responsiveness
that might be called nimble. It certainly characterized the explosion of his
followers across the Mediterranean world and then to India, Africa, and Europe.
Nimbleness has something to do with creative risk-taking; it may have a playful
character that is also profoundly creative, and it partakes of joy.
We’re
looking for a 21st century Episcopal Church that can adapt and respond to a
myriad of varied local contexts and missional opportunities. We’ve begun to
realize, pretty widely across the Church, that the way we’ve “done church” for
the last century or more no longer fits many of our contexts. We haven’t been
terribly effective at evangelism with unchurched populations; we haven’t been terribly
effective at retaining the children born to Episcopal parents; family
structures are changing and our ability to address the needs of those families
has not kept pace, whether we’re talking about ECWs and women in the workforce,
or single-parent families, or special needs children.
The
General Convention decided to address needs for structural change, by looking
at the ways in which we live and move and have our being as a Church. A task
force will be appointed to listen broadly within the Church and offer a
proposal by late 2014.
General
Convention adopted a budget for the coming triennium based on the Five Anglican
Marks of Mission, which includes some creative initiatives in partnership with
dioceses, other parts of the Anglican Communion, or those churches with whom we
are in full communion or other relationships. One notable example: “Mission
Enterprise Zones” will facilitate creative initiatives at the diocesan level,
funded in partnership with the broader Church.
General
Convention asked for a task force to study our theology of marriage.
Remarkably, this happened only a few days after the Anglican province of
Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia did the same thing. This may offer some
very creative opportunities for study across provincial boundaries in the
Anglican Communion.
The
General Convention affirmed the implementation of the Denominational Health
Plan, and offered some greater flexibility and more time to address health care
parity issues for lay and clergy employees at the diocesan level.
All of
this creative work means that we emerge with abundant hope, better discipline
for working together and with partners beyond this Church, for our fundamental
reason for being – engagement with God’s mission. We have moved beyond the
entrenched conflict of recent years. I pray that our growing confidence is a
sign of new humility, knowing that we are finite creatures who can always be
wrong, that we can do God’s work only as part of the Body, and that
disagreement is a mark of possibility.
God still
seems to have a use for this Church, if we can remember our central focus – to
love God and our neighbors as ourselves, wherever we go, and wherever we find
ourselves. May God bless the journey, and may we learn to travel light.
The Most
Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
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