Thus Spake the Bishops of Los Angeles

On Saturday, March 24th, the Diocese of Los Angeles gathered for its annual Ministry Fair --this year focused on "The Anglican Communion After Tanzania" with special guest former Anglican Consultative Council Secretary General Canon John Peterson.

(+Bob Anderson, Canon Peterson, +Jon Bruno, +Chet Talton & Sergio Carranza)

The day-long gathering concluded with a "Q&A" opportunity with our own bishops about life in general and the recent House of Bishops' meeting at Camp Allen in specific. Here are some reflections on a few of their "A's" in answer to some of our "Q's":

+Jon Bruno: Asked about "what nexts" for the Diocese of Los Angeles, Bishop Bruno made it abundantly clear that our commitment to the full inclusion of ALL the baptized in all orders of ministry is not going to change. He also noted publically how "blown away" by "The Chapman Memo" ... which as been around since 2003 but he just saw last week.

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"All of a sudden I finally "get" why all that work and time and energy and money we've spent -- I'VE spent -- on trying to reach across to those on "the other side" hasn't worked," he said. "It hasn't worked because they didn't want it to -- their plan since at least 2003 and probably before has been to split this church."

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Best quote? When asked about "what next" regarding the Archbishop of Canterbury, +Jon said, "It's time for him to stop acting like Chamberlain and start acting like Churchill."

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+Chet Talton: Bishop Talton spoke at length about the shift in the "tone and timbre" of the meeting and with great appreciation for +Katharine's leadership. "She was able to bring the Communique and let the House of Bishops genuinely find its own voice in response to it" he said. "She sees her role to support the voice of the House -- not direct it." Concluding, "After many years in the House of Bishops I feel like I've finally seen how it ought to work."

+Sergio Carranza: Like the other bishops, Bishop Carranza had high praise for the Presiding Bishop and her leadership of the House. He was gratified by the strong support for a response to the demands of the Primates that makes it clear the Episcopal Church will not be blackmailed into marginalizing its gay and lesbian members. "It is time," he said, "not to be rude but to be honest." And he felt that the statements issued by the House of Bishops were significant steps forward in that regard.

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When asked by a questioner how we can be (in the questioner's words) "inclusive of the intolerant" +Sergio said bluntly, "You can't. When you think you have the whole truth you cannot listen. And those who insist they have that whole truth are the ones who have walked apart by choosing not to listen."

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+Bob Anderson: Finally, Bishop Anderson expressed some of the strongest feelings of the bunch. "Forces in the Global South are trying to push a Covenant through for the entire Anglican Communion in less time than any parish worth its salt would spend crafting a comprehensive mission statement," he said. He felt the Communion was being "railroaded" into accepting this Covenant and called efforts to have it crafted by June "ridiculous."

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Like his brother bishops, he experienced the Camp Allen meeting as the least rancor-filled meeting of his career and noted the irony that the first meeting where +Katharine presided was held at a camp named for a Presiding Bishop who was unwaveringly opposed to the ordination of women.

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+Bob also revisited the Chapman Memo issue, saying to the assembly, "I want you to go home and Google "Chapman Memo" and then print it out and put it alongside the Communique from Tanzania. You'll see the course of action charted out clear as day -- and you'll see where the responsibility rests for the divisions we face in this church today." And he applauded +Jon Bruno for hanging tough on the "property issues" that have been so contentious. "+Jon has taken a lot of flak on this one," +Bob said, "but we owe him a great debt of gratitude because this is not just about property it's about identity -- and the identity of this great church is worth fighting for."

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His final and most energetic words were saved for +Peter Akinola: "As if what he's doing to the Anglican Communion isn't bad enough -- and it's pretty bad -- he's running around his own country pushing legislation that would prosecute and arrest people just for being gay or lesbian."

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"Forget being Anglican," said Bishop Anderson. "That's behavior that isn't even Christian -- and someone needs to call him on it."

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I think someone just did.

Thanks, +Bob!