Posted on 09/14/2003 9:32:03 PM PDT by secret garden
Report from Today's Meeting in Winchester Tennessee
I arrived 30 minutes early at Trinity Church in Winchester, TN, a small town not far from the University of the South, an Episcopal liberal arts school and seminary. I drove down from outside of Nashville as a member of a fairly orthodox parish, established about 8 years ago in an area that has seen phenomenal growth. While average attendance in Episcopal churches is around 37, ours is over 200 each week, when all services are added together. I was eager to hear the points of view from the deputies that attended and voted at the recent general convention. The room in the parish hall was packed with people. I'd estimate there were 150-200 in attendance, mostly older folks. The chair of the deputies announced the rules for the meeting - no clapping, name-calling or disruptive actions. He described his role of leading this group to convention as the gift that keeps on giving and gave no doubt as to his exhaustion with the task. The deputies were to present short explanations of their voting and then we would be allowed 2 minutes each(strongly enforced) to ask questions or give remarks, taking turns between the traditional viewpoint(we weren't called the anti's this time) and the other side.
The first deputy arose and announced she was a deputy and not a representative. She claimed to have engaged in research and prayer to make her decision to support the NH diocese. She said she felt her vote was based on God's will in her life.
The next speaker was a priest who apologized for having to leave early to conduct a service at his church that evening. He said his church has many faithful, gay couples with some of the same problems that heterosexual marriages have as far as longevity. He said these gay relationships were a type of ministry that were holy and life-giving and no threat to traditional marriage. He also said the Episcopal church has never used the Bible literally, since it was just a collection of books to be used as a guide and not a rule book. Then he threw in the same nonsense about no instruction in the Bible regarding nuclear waste or SUVs. He compared the recent decisions at convention to the changes made to accommodate divorce. He also told us his roommate in college was gay, although according to him, neither of them knew it at the time. After he became aware of his friend's lifestyle, he selected him to be his daughter's godfather. There were audible gasps around me during his comments.
The next deputy, a woman from the university, said after prayer and conversation she felt voting for him was the right thing to do after deciding that is what Jesus would do. She said she was proud her vote was not as one instructed. She said she was pleased with the spirit of tolerance at the convention.
The next speaker has an interesting history which may indicate her positions on many issues. Her husband is a songwriter who has written for the Dixie Chicks, a lucrative career. She claimed to have spent a lot of time with the poor and downtrodden of Nashville and said she was not a good politician but a good pastor. However, the hand of a higher power may have played a role in her late arrival since she received a speeding ticket on her way to this meeting.
A deputy from the Cathedral said he was influenced by the vows of the Baptismal covenant - respecting the dignity of every human being (he seemed to have skipped the earlier part where all are asked to persevere in resisting evil and whenever we fall into sin to repent and return to the Lord). He also said we should allow the decision of NH to stand and move forward to be more inclusive. Lots of heads shaking side to side.
Then, one of the deputies who had missed the last meeting while performing a wedding in Hawaii, stood up, quite tanned, and complained that this issue was taking him 3 hours to explain to his congregation and he resented being limited to a few minutes. (IMHO, he could've summed it up by saying he voted against him because it was the right thing to do and been done within seconds. But no.) He claims to love the church because of its careful theological foundations and said it was 'part of the genius of being Anglican'. Note he did not say Episcopalian. He said our church is based on Scripture, tradition and reason and defined reason as the critical application of intellect which ultimately allows freedom of conscience. His emphasis on reason led those listening to believe he saw this part of the 3-legged stool as the most substantial. He said no bishop has authority in any other dioceses so we should honor non-interference. He said sexuality was a form of idolatry and should not be the litmus test or it is a failure of our theology. He believes in 'a progressive illumination of Scripture' and said proof testing has no place in our church. Jaws dropped throughout his talk, while loud sighs were heard several times.
Finally, a deputy opposed to the election spoke, but said he missed that vote to be with his wife on their 45th wedding anniversary, had an alternate vote in his place and returned to vote no for the 'blessing'. The chair of the deputies then spoke, telling us that for years standing committees(used when a vote is not within 120 days of a convention) have gone from supporting the diocese to questioning the persons chosen. He has spent over 23 years working in this area and had no intention of dropping Romans or any other inconvenient parts of the Bible. He said they have scrapped 2000 years in one vote and they have made a mistake. He added that Church changes occur over a period of years, with things evolving over time but this was 'a shot out of the dark'.
The bishop was the last to speak and said he appreciated the candor and that although all were welcome in the church, we should not sanctify all behaviors or personalize this issue. As a parent, we should love the child but not the behavior. He said he spoke from conviction that this departure from Biblically-based teaching has resulted in chaos. Ecumenical relationships have been damaged by these extra-canonical actions. He reminded all that the vote in the House of Bishops reflected a difference of only 9 votes, hardly overwhelming but a very close vote. He stated that in a bishop's ordination, one is called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church. He said faith must be significant for without it unity means nothing. He said he was angry about the arrogance and that in this diocese, Robinson would not even be a priest, much less elevated to a bishop.
Striking comments from both sides follow.
Traditional side: gradualism compromises the faith and evil happens when good people do nothing. There was a call for a congregational referendum to see what the people in the pews believed. One said their deputy told him he would vote no and then voted yes at convention and felt angry and betrayed.
The other side(7 speakers total, greatly outnumbered) They don't believe homosexuality is a sin(at least two people stated this position), said reading the Bible is not the same as understanding it, didn't consider the Bible to be a moral rule book.
The meeting was called to a close(said to be in the interest of time) while eight people waited on the traditional side, unable to relay their concerns. Overall, the great majority were very unhappy with the decisions of the convention and dissatisified with the responses from the deputies. I left deeply troubled and hoping that God is in control and will guide us.
Could you ping the list please?
The bishop was the last to speak and said he appreciated the candor and that although all were welcome in the church, we should not sanctify all behaviors or personalize this issue. As a parent, we should love the child but not the behavior. He said he spoke from conviction that this departure from Biblically-based teaching has resulted in chaos. Ecumenical relationships have been damaged by these extra-canonical actions. He reminded all that the vote in the House of Bishops reflected a difference of only 9 votes, hardly overwhelming but a very close vote. He stated that in a bishop's ordination, one is called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church. He said faith must be significant for without it unity means nothing. He said he was angry about the arrogance and that in this diocese, Robinson would not even be a priest, much less elevated to a bishop.
This is the first time that I have read about how narrow the vote was for blessing Gay predators as Bishops and priests. 9 votes is very slim.
Your diligence is really helping me keep tabs on the discussions of this issue.
My family are also long-time Episcopalians, I'm either 3rd generation (on my dad's mother's side) or 6th (on my dad's father's side - ggg grandfather baptized at St. Giles Cripplegate (London), where Cromwell was married & Milton buried. But he became a freethinker later in life and his kids went to the Methodist church with their mom.)
At the moment we are waiting to see what sort of orthodox Anglican church emerges from the rubble of the Diocese of Atlanta. There is no hope for ECUSA in this diocese - the leadership are screaming radical heretics.
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