A = B = C?

This summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held a convention similar to our General Convention. The major news was consent to gay relationships, which has the effect of bolstering our own progressive position on that issue.

Less prominently reported was the ELCA's recognition of ministers in the United Methodist Church as interchangeable with Lutheran pastors. To me, a convert from the Methodist Church, this is perplexing and troubling. If Methodist ministers can lead Lutheran churches and Lutheran pastors can be rectors of Episcopal parishes, can Methodists take charge of our churches--even though they have a very different concept of ordination, the sacraments, the apostolic succession and many other traditional doctrines?

To me, this is a far more substantial issue than the private behavior of a tiny minority of Christian adults. --J. Douglas Ousley

The Good Old C of E

I am just back from a trip to London and Cambridge, and I am happy to report that there are still many signs of life in our mother Church of England.

For example, I was invited to attend a majestic service for the new Lord Mayor of the City of London, and the fine choral music, enthusiastically-sung hymns, and perfect ceremonial reflected the harmony between church and state there. I also preached at our link parish of St. Vedast, which is thriving and which mirrors the random diversity of small urban congregations in New York.

Perhaps most important, I asked many people whether they thought the American position on homosexuality would lead to our expulsion from the Anglican Communion. No one I talked to thought it would, and most members of my (admittedly small and liberal) group of churchgoers were surprised that I was even worried about schism. --J. Douglas Ousley

Quo vadis TEC?

As I prepare for a trip to England this week, I look forward to some first-hand observation of our Mother Church. According to a recent article in the Church Times, a soon-to-be-published history of Christianity by the brilliant English historian Diarmaid MacCulloch apparently will argue that change is inevitable in Christianity, that no orthodoxy remains so for long, and that developments tend inexorably in the progressive direction. I look forward to reading the book; it may take the full 1,200 pages to convince me that new ideas are always right.

Meanwhile, the President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church (TEC), Bonnie Anderson continues to expand her job-description, as she plans to convene a committee to evaluate the "governance" of the church.

How that will jibe with the Presiding Bishop's actual governance is not clear to me. And having spent many miserable hours serving on various governance committees for non-profit boards, I find it difficult to be optimistic that Mrs. Anderson's project will bear fruit. --J. Douglas Ousley

Second Class Citizens?

I am just back from vacation and haven't caught up on my professional reading, but the Anglican media seem most interested right now in the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent proposal of two-tier status for provinces in the Anglican Communion. One tier would be for those who accept the idea of a common "covenant;" the other for those who wish to be part of the communion but, in effect, make their own rules.

Admittedly, if this characterization is accurate, it would only formalize current reality. The U.S. church and Canada have been making their own rules for some time. On the other hand, some African and South American bishops have been making their own rules about interfering in North American provinces, and this hasn't been regarded with the same opprobrium attached to pro-gay resolutions of General Convention.

Moreover, there are indications that liberals in the Church of England will push for greater recognition of gay relationships. That might change the scene entirely. As the Pope is Catholic, so the head of the Church of England is most certainly Anglican. --J. Douglas Ousley

Convention Winds Down

It is not clear what the repercussions will be to resolution opening ordination in the Episcopal Church to partnered homosexuals. Those in favor of the resolution say it reflects that the church has "moved on." Some also see the controversy to come as a by-product of adventurous faith.

I myself am of two minds. Since 1970, I have been in favor of full canonical and civil rights for lesbians and gays; I don't see how I could have voted against the resolution. On the other hand, I see myself as an Anglican under the Archbishop of Canterbury and I don't know what I would do if the Church of England breaks off relations with the Episcopal Church.

Yesterday, extensive canon law revisions were passed affecting clergy discipline. I have not seen the final version that was passed but according to one article I read--non-partisan, by a canon law historian--that was published before the Convention, these canons deprive accused clergy of the right to remain silent or to have any civil defense or attorney. The conduct requirements are quite detailed and strict. For example, if a retired widower priest living but not serving in a retirement home ("congregation") took a widow from the home out for dinner and held hands with her walking back to the home, he could be defrocked!

One can safely predict that the Church has not yet reached a coherent understanding of the ethics of sex! --J. Douglas Ousley
This has got to be the worst convention since the '70's.

Most Important Vote of the Convention?

The General Convention has just voted to remove any gender-preference barriers to ordination within the Episcopal Church. The resolution is somewhat nuanced but it does beyond both previous Convention proposals and the wish for restraint expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and many other Anglican leaders and governing bodies. Whether this will mean the end of the Episcopal Church as part of the Anglican Communion under the Archbishop of Canterbury remains to be seen. But schism is closer than it has ever been. --J. Douglas Ousley

General Convention Continues

So far, so predictable. The Episcopal News Service reports indicate that the progressive agenda is moving along and that the Convention will choose to be "prophetic" rather than conciliatory toward the rest of the Anglican Communion with regard to its rules on gay relationships. A bewildering number of new lesser feasts have been authorized despite much previous criticism that many of the honored figures are irrelevant to our church or of deserved obscurity. It is not clear yet what impact the budget crisis will have on other aspects of the church's ministry but the national church leadership seems firmly in charge of the Convention. --J. Douglas Ousley