The Rev. Cal Calhoun, ET Deputation Chair
We have had a few very busy legislative days as the pace necessarily heats up. In the House of Deputies, we dealt with D025 again. The House of Bishops passed the resolution with amendment so we had to pass it again.
D025 states that we will not discriminate on the basis of race, color … sexual orientation in terms of access to discernment for ordination (at all levels) and it points out that this does nothing more than restate what is already in our Constitution.
It does effectively end the moratorium on consenting to the election of a gay or lesbian person as a bishop. Such a moratorium was asked for in the Windsor Report after 2003. In our church the moratorium took the form of B033 from the 2006 General Convention in which we were asked to “use restraint” in elevating a gay or lesbian to the office of bishop. This was in violation of our Constitution and it required our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to take a place of second class Episcopalian by not allowing them access to all the sacraments of the church. B033 was passed to ensure that ++Katherine Jefferts Schori, as the first woman Primate in the Anglican Communion, was not denied a seat at the table at the Primates’ Meeting, and to show our commitment to the Anglican Communion by making this unilateral moratorium.
There were three moratoriums asked for in the Windsor Report. The first I just mentioned, the second was not to approve the blessing of same gender unions and the third was an end to crossing geographical borders by foreign bishops. The Episcopal Church has followed the two moratoria that apply us, but other churches in the communion have continued to enter the United States and make affiliations with Episcopal churches here. I think the sentiment in the House of Deputies was that we will not continue to ask our gay and lesbian Episcopalians to sacrifice for a moratorium that is not honored by much of the rest of the Communion. This resolution does clearly state the importance to us of our membership in the Anglican Communion and our intent to fully participate in the life of the Communion, but that we can no longer take a stance in opposition to our Constitution.
I took yesterday morning off (alternate Kay Reynolds stood in) and visited the House of Bishops. One difference that I noticed immediately was the decorum was much more personal and personable. Of course it is a much smaller body and they meet twice a year and further develop their relationships. The House of Deputies is 830 (this year) and meets only once every three years. While I was in the House of Bishops they were debating a resolution on the blessing of same gender unions. I believe (it still can be changed) that this resolution will ask the Standing Committee on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music to develop rites for same gender blessings. As a result, this would technically fall short of approving the blessing of same gender unions but take a step in that direction. Of course, it should be mentioned that there are dioceses that are presently performing same gender unions.
I write the above because that is what people really seem to want to know about. There is a huge amount of legislation you will likely never hear about: our commitment to the MDGs, our support for the Episcopal Church in the Sudan, our concern for the mentally ill, for universal healthcare, our continued commitment to mission and ministry even if it means shrinking the church “structure,” our move to full communion with the Moravian church, and our continued dialogue with the Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church USA. I really look forward to the time in our Church when what we concentrate on and what we hear about are all these other great things and not about human sexuality.
Three more full days to go!