It was sex day at Lambeth Conference ...

... and we had the rainbow ribbons ready to go AND The Lambeth Witness was all printed and folded and ready to go, too -- including a great reflection by Bill Countryman: "Listening to God and to each other." And so we said our prayers and headed off to the University hill to see what the day would bring.
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Here's how ENS describes the process that set the context for the conversations the bishops would have in their Indaba groups:
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Two questions were suggested to bishops for consideration during the morning's meeting. One centered on how the debate on homosexuality and the divisions it has caused in the communion affects the bishops' mission efforts in their contexts. The second asked what bishops needed from each other -- and are able to give each other -- to help each other be leaders in their dioceses' mission.

The questions posed to the bishops did not involve a reconsideration of 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10, which Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in the day's introductory video shown to bishops after the morning Eucharist is "where the vast majority of the communion still stands." Instead, he encouraged the bishops to deal with what he called "the unfinished business" of the resolution, which he described as being "about how we engaged sensitively with each other in our different readings of scripture and our pastoral approaches to people with gay and lesbian lifestyles."

(Yes, I could have lived without the "lifestyles" part but considering the source ...)

Anyway, wandering about the campus after the Indaba groups concluded for lunch (they break from 1:00 - 2:00 for lunch around here) we ran into a few of our bishops out-and-about and they ALL described their groups conversations as "difficult at times but very good." (+Steve Lane describes his group process in some detail here.)
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(Here are the bishops, etc. gathered for lunch on the Rutherford lawn ... the spec in the middle is a rainbow hang-glider ... which I decided to take a good omen.)

There was some consternation about 3:30 when there were rumors of protests about to happen somewhere on campus. We were happily ensconced in our "Lambeth Field Office" outside the Darwin Press Room ...

(AKA "at work in the fields of the Lord.")

From there we watched what turned out to be "dueling press conferences" ... the daily Episcopal Church briefing (with Bishops Smith, Knudsen and Bruno described here) ...
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... and this one called by +Keith Ackerman, which included about 1/3 press and 2/3 which I heard the BBC producer call "dissident supporters."

Frankly, I suspect there was not a single thing said by any of them that we haven't heard before. (Jim Naughton had some thoughts on this here.) I thought for a moment this afternoon if we shuffled the deck up and dealt out all the bishops at random they could probably each give their "opponents" speeches as easily as they could their own at this point!

But here's +Jon, looking pretty cute on his Lambeth scooter:

There's not a lot of "news" up yet and I'm heading to bed but I did find these:

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A BBC report: Bishops raise homosexuality issue and then this other BBC report: Lambeth Diary: Anglicans in turmoil (it didn't look a lot like "turmoil" up on the hill, but maybe from a British perspective ...)

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There are still miles to go before we rest ... both literally and figuratively ... but at the end of "sex day at Lambeth Conference" it looks like [a] there's still an Anglican Communion and [b] we're still in it.

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Stay tuned for further developments.

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"All the news that's fit to manufacture"

This Lambeth Conference has been a tough event for the press to wrap their brains ... and their deadlines ... around.

Here's the press room where the arduous task of getting the "breaking news" equivalent of blood-out-of-a-turnip out of a two-week conference designed to make as little news as possible happens.

There are the occasional pre-scheduled interview scattered about campus ... here's PBS's Kim Lawton interviewing California Bishop Marc Andrus ...

... and then the daily briefings with various bishops and conference leaders ... here a TEC briefing with Bishops Kirk Smith & Cathy Roskam.

But in between, there's a whole lot of Bible Study, Indaba Reflections and worship services that do NOT breaking news make.

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As a result, the media is sometimes reduced to finding SOMETHING to report ... even us blogging and checking our email was news for an ITN crew one afternoon ...
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In that context, it's not hard to understand the temptation to manufacture something to report.
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Yesterday, there was a great moment up on campus when I spied Riazat Butt and Jim Naughton (UK Guardian and Diocese of Washington respectively) on their cell phones gesturing about.
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I went over to see what was "up" and was told "there's going to be a confrontation and we're trying to figure out where it's going to happen!"
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Just then, a literal "pack of press" appeared up the path a bit, hurriedly bustling toward the steps in front of Rutherford College. Naturally, we scurried up there, too -- as clearly "something" was about to happen!
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Cameras and microphones poised, they waited ... and along came Quincy's Keith Ackerman, pulling a rolling briefcase behind him. "Maybe this is it!" the murmur went up ... and they all moved in closer.

+Keith, from the top of the stair case, appeared non-plussed for a moment, but -- being a prayerful guy -- suggested that perhaps since they were all gathered together at least he could pray over them.

Which he did.

And when he finished and prepared to roll on off to whatever appointment he was heading to, one of the reporters hollered out: "Can you raise up your hands again so we can get a photo???"

The story that there WAS no story was about to become a breaking news story.

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This kind of thing happens daily around here ... a basically harmless pursuit of "something" to say for those writing on deadline with editors back home in their ear on their cell phones wanting "something" to print.

What isn't so harmless is the other "MO" of manufacturing a story in order to report on it.

For example, this email from a colleague from Oasis, California who was in the press room this morning:

There's a man telling reporters that the address last night did "not go down well" and only was met with "polite support." He says the only way Rowan can avoid schism is by demanding that Gene resign -- I guess that is why some of the press keep asking people if Gene will resign.

So what we've got inside the Lambeth press corps are those busy planting the seeds of the story they've already written in their heads and trying to get others to "go and do likewise."

Pathetic.

My degree is in theology not journalism, but I'm thinking that's not what they teach you in Journalism Ethics 101 ... and -- given I've just verified the identity of the man in question -- that anybody reading anything in The Living Church should -- at this point -- be doing it with a big-old-grain-of-salt handy.

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"What word of hope ..."

"What word of hope do you have for LGBT people who are following the events of the Lambeth Conference?" was the question asked to the Bishop of New Hampshire here in Canterbury yesterday.

Click here to hear his answer in this just-posted addition to "The Gene Pool."

SRO @ VOWA

It was "Standing Room Only" at last night's screening of "Voices of Witness: Africa" ... a "back by popular demand" event sponsored by bishop of California, +Marc Andrus.

It was another opportunity to give voice to the African LGBT faithful whose very existence is not only ignored but denied by those who have been charged with their pastoral care.

Peter Toscano blogged about the event here ...and you can see VOWA online here.

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FRUITS OF GENEROUS LISTENING

I got tapped to be "the scribe" for the Inclusive Church Network response to +Rowan's Presidential Address today ... here's what went out:
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Asking the bishops gathered at Lambeth Conference, “Where is Lambeth ’08 going to speak from?” the Archbishop of Canterbury answered his own question in his second presidential address delivered Tuesday, July 29 – advocating a discipline of mutual generosity and a call to speak “from the centre,” which he defined as “from the heart of our identity as Anglicans.”

We are much encouraged by this address by the Archbishop. The Inclusive Church Network applauds the recognition that those described as “the not so traditional believers” hold a theological position faithful to both our shared Anglican identity and our Christian witness. Despite extraordinary pressure to expel or expunge our witness from the Anglican Communion, today’s acknowledgment by the Archbishop of the validity and faithfulness of that witness is a source of deep encouragement.

We recognize that there are also faithful Anglicans who hold positions in opposition to our understandings of how we live out our lives of witness to the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus made present in our lives, our vocations, and our relationships. Our witness here at Lambeth Conference has been grounded in our deep desire to build relationships with our Anglican brothers and sisters across the differences that challenge us as we come together for mission and ministry.

We remain convinced that those differences need not inevitably lead to divisions and that the bonds of mutual affection that have knit the global Anglican Communion together are strong enough to include all God’s beloved at the banquet table.

We continue to pray for our bishops as they journey through these final days of the Lambeth Conference, that their witness to the world might be one of inclusion and compassion as we proclaim together God’s justice and live God’s love. § -- The Inclusive Church Network
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ABofC Steps Up?????

The Archbishop of Canterbury made a second Presidential Address today ... it was "unscheduled" until this morning and so there was MUCH speculation about what he would say ... and what it would mean.

I'm still working to figure out what I think he meant but here is what he said:

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The Archbishop of Canterbury
Second Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference 2008
29 July 2008

‘What is Lambeth ’08 going to say?’ is the question looming larger all the time as this final week unfolds. But before trying out any thoughts on that, I want to touch on the prior question, a question that could be expressed as ‘Where is Lambeth ’08 going to speak from?’. I believe if we can answer that adequately, we shall have laid some firm foundations for whatever content there will be.

And the answer, I hope, is that we speak from the centre. I don’t mean speaking from the middle point between two extremes — that just creates another sort of political alignment. I mean that we should try to speak from the heart of our identity as Anglicans; and ultimately from that deepest centre which is our awareness of living in and as the Body of Christ.

We are here at all, surely, because we believe there is an Anglican identity and that it’s worth investing our time and energy in it. I hope that some of the experience of this Conference will have reinforced that sense. And I hope too that we all acknowledge that the only responsible and Christian way of going on engaging with those who aren’t here is by speaking from that centre in Jesus Christ where we all see our lives held and focused.

And, as I suggested in my opening address, speaking from the centre requires habits and practices and disciplines that make some demands upon everyone — not because something alien is being imposed, but because we know we shall only keep ourselves focused on the centre by attention and respect for each other — checking the natural instinct on all sides to cling to one dimension of the truth revealed. I spoke about council and covenant as the shape of the way forward as I see it. And by this I meant, first, that we needed a bit more of a structure in our international affairs to be able to give clear guidance on what would and would not be a grave and lasting divisive course of action by a local church. While at the moment the focus of this sort of question is sexual ethics, it could just as well be pressure for a new baptismal formula or the abandonment of formal reference to the Nicene Creed in a local church’s formulations; it could be a degree of variance in sacramental practice — about the elements of the Eucharist or lay presidency; it could be the regular incorporation into liturgy of non-Scriptural or even non-Christian material.

Some of these questions have a pretty clear answer, but others are open for a little more discussion; and it seems obvious that a body which commands real confidence and whose authority is recognised could help us greatly. But the key points are confidence and authority. If we do develop such a capacity in our structures, we need as a Communion to agree what sort of weight its decisions will have; hence, again, the desirability of a covenantal agreement.

Some have expressed unhappiness about the ‘legalism’ implied in a covenant. But we should be clear that good law is about guaranteeing consistence and fairness in a community; and also that in a community like the Anglican family, it can only work when there is free acceptance. Properly understood, a covenant is an expression of mutual generosity — indeed, ‘generous love’, to borrow the title of the excellent document on Inter-Faith issues which was discussed yesterday. And we might recall that powerful formulation from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks — ‘Covenant is the redemption of solitude’.

Mutual generosity : part of what this means is finding out what the other person or group really means and really needs. The process of this last ten days has been designed to help us to find out something of this — so that when we do address divisive issues, we have created enough of a community for an intelligent generosity to be born. It is by no means a full agreement, but it will, I hope, have strengthened the sense that we have at least a common language, born out of the conviction that Jesus Christ remains the one unique centre.

And within that conviction, what has been heard? I want now to engage in what might be a rather presumptuous exercise — and certainly feels like a risky one. I want to imagine what people on different sides of our most painful current debate hope others have heard or are beginning to hear in our time together. I want to imagine what the main messages would be, within an atmosphere of patience and charity, from those in our Communion who hold to a clear and traditional doctrinal and moral conviction, and also from those who, starting from the same centre, find fewer problems or none with some recent innovations. Although these voices are inevitably rooted in the experience of the developing world and of North America, the division runs through many other provinces internally as well.

So first : what might the traditional believer hope others have heard? ‘What we seek to do in our context is faithfully to pass on what you passed on to us — Holy Scripture, apostolic ministry, sacramental discipline. But what are we to think when all these things seem to be questioned and even overturned? We want to be pastorally caring to all, to be “inclusive” as you like to say. We want to welcome everyone. Yet the gospel and the faith you passed on to us tell us that some kinds of behaviour and relationship are not blessed by God. Our love and our welcome are unreal if we don’t truthfully let others know what has shaped and directed our lives — so along with welcome, we must still challenge people to change their ways. We don’t see why welcoming the gay or lesbian person with love must mean blessing what they do in the Church’s name or accepting them for ordination whatever their lifestyle. We seek to love them — and, all right, we don’t always make a good job of it : but we can’t just say that there is nothing to challenge. Isn’t it like the dilemma of the early Church — welcoming soldiers, yet seeking to get them to lay down their arms?

‘But please remember also that — while you may say that what you do needn’t affect us — your decisions make a vast difference to us. In this world of instant communication, our neighbours know what you do, and they see us as sharing the responsibility. Imagine what that means where those neighbours are passionately traditional Christians — and what it means for our own members, who will be drawn to leave us for a “safer”, more orthodox church. Imagine what it means when those neighbours are non-Christians, delighted to find a stick to beat us with. Imagine what it is to be known as the ‘gay church’ in a context where that spells real contempt and danger.

‘Don’t misunderstand us. We’re not looking for safety and comfort. Some of us know quite a lot about carrying the cross. But when that cross is laid on us by fellow-Christians, it’s quite a lot harder to bear. Don’t be too surprised if some of us want to be at a distance from you — or if we want to support minorities in your midst who seem to us to be suffering.

‘But we are here. We’ve taken a risk in coming, because many who think like us feel we’ve betrayed them just by meeting you. But we value our Communion, we want to understand you and we want you to understand us. Can you find some way of being generous that helps us believe you care about us and about the common language and belief of the Church? Can you — in plain words — step back and let us think and pray about these things without giving us the impression that the debate is over and we’ve lost and that doesn’t matter to you?’

And then : what might the not so traditional believer hope has been heard?

‘What we seek to do in our context is to bring Jesus alive in the minds and hearts of the people of our culture. Trying to speak the language of the culture and relate honestly to where people really are doesn’t have to be a betrayal of Scripture and tradition. We know we’re pushing the boundaries — but don’t some Christians always have to do that? Doesn’t the Bible itself suggest that?

‘We are often hurt, angry and bewildered at the way many others in the Communion see us and treat us these days — as if we were spiritual lepers or traitors to every aspect of Christian belief. We know that no-one is the best judge in their own case, but we see in our church life at least some marks of the Spirit’s gifts. And part of that is acknowledging the gifts we’ve seen in gay and lesbian believers. They will certainly be likely to feel that the restraint you ask for is a betrayal. Please try to see why this is such a dilemma for many of us. You may not see it, but they’re still at risk in our society, still vulnerable to murderous violence. And we have to say to some of you that we long for you to speak up for your gay and lesbian neighbours in situations where they are subject to appalling discrimination. There have been Lambeth Resolutions about that too, remember.

‘A lot of the time, we feel we’re being made scapegoats. Other provinces have acute moral and disciplinary problems, or else they more or less successfully refuse to admit the realities in their midst. But those of us who have faced the complex issues around gay relationships in what we feel to be an open and prayerful way are stigmatised and demonised.

‘Not all of us, of course, supported or took part in the actions that have caused so much trouble. Some of us remain strongly opposed, many of us want to find ways of strengthening our bonds with you. But even those who don’t stand with the majority on innovations will often feel that the life of a whole church, a life that is varied and complex but often deeply and creatively faithful to Christ and the Scriptures, is being wrongly and unjustly seen by you and some of your friends.

‘We want to be generous, and we are hurt that some throw back in our faces both the experience and the resources we long to share. Can you try and see us as fellow-believers struggling to proclaim the same Christ, and to be patient with us?’

Two sets of feelings and perceptions, two appeals for generosity. For the first speaker, the cost of generosity may be accusation of compromise : you’ve been bought, you’ve been deceived by airy talk into tolerating unscriptural and unfaithful policies. For the second speaker, the cost of generosity may be accusations of sacrificing the needs of an oppressed group for the sake of a false or delusional unity, giving up a precious Anglican principle for the sake of a dangerous centralisation. But there is the challenge. If both were able to hear and to respond generously, perhaps we could have something more like a conversation of equals — even something more like a Church.

At Dar-es-Salaam, the primates tried to find a way of inviting different groups to take a step forward simultaneously towards each other. It didn’t happen, and each group was content to blame the other. But the last 18 months don’t suggest that this was a good outcome. Can this Conference now put the same kind of challenge? To the innovator, can we say, ‘Don’t isolate yourself; don’t create facts on the ground that make the invitation to debate ring a bit hollow’? Can we say to the traditionalist, ‘Don’t invest everything in a church of pure and likeminded souls; try to understand the pastoral and human and theological issues that are urgent for those you are opposing, even if you think them deeply wrong’?

I think we perhaps can, if and only if we are captured by the vision of the true Centre, the heart of God out of which flows the impulse of an eternal generosity which creates and heals and promises. It is this generosity which sustains our mission and service in Our Lord’s name. And it is this we are called to show to each other.

At the moment, we seem often to be threatening death to each other, not offering life. What some see as confused or reckless innovation in some provinces is felt as a body-blow to the integrity of mission and a matter of literal physical risk to Christians. The reaction to this is in turn felt as an annihilating judgement on a whole local church, undermining its legitimacy and pouring scorn on its witness. We need to speak life to each other; and that means change.

I’ve made no secret of what I think that change should be — a Covenant that recognizes the need to grow towards each other (and also recognizes that not all may choose that way). I find it hard at present to see another way forward that would avoid further disintegration. But whatever your views on this, at least ask the question : ‘Having heard the other person, the other group, as fully and fairly as I can, what generous initiative can I take to break through into a new and transformed relation of communion in Christ?’

Morning has broken ...

... and in the bright light of a quite lovely day in Canterbury (it rained like crazy last night and today it's blue and clear and breezy) here are a few observations about yesterday's Lambeth Happenings: .

The 3rd section of the report of observations and recommendations from the Windsor Continuation Group -- released at a 5:30 p.m. press briefing -- was the source of much consternation here in Kent.

Its "hard-line" on moratoria on blessings and consecrations is patently unacceptable to a significant percentage of the bishops present here at Lambeth Conference [ENS has a good survey of reactions here] ... and I particularly liked that Michael Ingham "called the paper "an old-world institutional response to a new-world reality in which people are being set free from hatred and violence."

Meanwhile, it does not go far enough in "disciplining" those who differ with the Gafconistas, at least according to blogger Sarah Hey, who Ruth Gledhill reports dismissed the document as 'purple-shirted flatulence.'

Ruth makes another interesting point in her reflection in yesterday's Times:

On the Windsor group there were no bishops who approve same-sex blessings or gay ordinations of priests or bishops.

Knowing that, why would we expect anything different than what was handed out yesterday? Jenny Te Paa, a member of the original Windsor Report group, had this to say:

Te Paa said that the Windsor Continuation Group is "a curious title to give a group" that has no members of the original commission. She and the other 15 members of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, the formal name of the group that produced the Windsor Report, share an important and "unique historical memory" of the process, she said, adding that none of the WCG members have talked to her or the people with whom she was most closely aligned on the commission.

"Relationality was at the heart of the success of the Windsor Report and one would hope that there might be some recognition of that in the on-going work that needs to be done," she said.

"The spirit of Windsor was very much, I believe, an encouragement towards a respect for mutuality," Te Paa said.

Important points to note -- coming from one who helped craft the report -- that the Windsor Report was indeed intended to be a bridge and has instead been hijacked and forged into a bludgeon.

Our Inclusive Communion collective response to yesterday's document is online here ... I commend it all to you and want to highlight this important point:

The Windsor Report and draft Covenants, while in some places acknowledging the value of the more open Anglican tradition, are in their main recommendations all too heavily influenced by an intolerant demand for uniformity. The implication is that because Lambeth 1998 described homosexuality as ‘contrary to Scripture’ all Anglicans ought to consider it immoral.

Such a naive notion is contrary to the Anglican tradition. Neither Lambeth 1998 nor the sparse remarks on the matter in the Bible establish an Anglican consensus on the ethics of homosexuality.

Instead of continuing to pretend that there is one, and generating one proposal after another for policing it, what is needed is to face the fact that Anglicans disagree about it.

Instead of threatening pro-gay provinces with expulsion we should insist that differences of opinion are normal.

Today our bishops discuss the Windsor Continuation issues in their Indaba groups and at provincial meetings. Keep them in your prayers as they go about their work and witness.

More later from Lambeth ...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...

News on marriage equality in California from the L.A. Times:

Supporters of Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, said they would file suit today to block a change made by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to the language of the measure's ballot title and summary.

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Petitions circulated to qualify the initiative for the ballot said the measure would amend the state Constitution "to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

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In a move made public last week and applauded by same-sex marriage proponents, the attorney general's office changed the language to say that Proposition 8 seeks to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."

Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for the Protect Marriage coalition, called the new language "inherently argumentative" and said it could "prejudice voters against the initiative."Proponents of the measure said they want voters to see ballot language similar to what was on the petitions that began circulating last fall.

"This is a complete about-face from the ballot title that was assigned" when the measure was being circulated for signatures, Kerns said.

On the other side, Steve Smith, campaign manager for No on Proposition 8, applauded the language change.

"What Proposition 8 would do is eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, which is exactly what the attorney general put in the title of the measure," he said. "It will be very difficult for them to win the case."

Political analysts on both sides suggest that the language change will make passage of the initiative more difficult, noting that voters might be more reluctant to pass a measure that makes clear it is taking away existing rights.

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LGBT ANGLICANS BACK ON CHOPPING BLOCK

From the Press Release I just sent out responding to today's release of Part Three of the Windsor Continuation Group's Preliminary Observations:

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"LGBT Anglicans are back on the chopping block based on the work of the Windsor Continuation Group. While we recognize that this is a long-term process, sadly, what was continued today was the process of institutionalizing bigotry and marginalizing the LGBT baptized. Acceptance of these recommendations would result in de facto sacramental apartheid."

"We applaud the strong testimony in today's hearings from TEC bishops who are committed to be pastoral to all the sheep in their flock, not just the straight ones. We call on them to take that witness to their Indaba groups. We ask them to remember the 1976 commitment of the Episcopal Church to 'full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church' for the LGBT baptized."

"It is a sad thing indeed that the message today's report sends out from the Anglican Communion to the world is that homosexuals getting married in California are of more concern to the church than are homosexuals being mugged in Nigeria."

"As Integrity continues to offer our witness here at Lambeth Conference, we demonstrate our deep commitment to our ongoing relationship with the rest of the global Anglican Communion. At the same time, we will witness to our conviction that the vocations and relationships of the LGBT baptized are not for sale as bargaining chips in this game of global Anglican politics. At the end of the day, too high a price to pay for institutional unity."

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And the beat goes on.

Family Feud: The Anglican Episode

It struck me this morning that there are some who are eagerly awaiting the Lambeth Conference equivalent to that moment on the television game show "Family Feud" when the host would turn to the scoreboard and announce ... with great drama ...

AND THE SURVEY SAID ...!!! [fill in the blank]

And one family would win and go onto the bonus round and the other would slink off with a case of Rice-a-Roni amongst their consolation prizes.

But I'm thinking this morning that what made for a long running game show does NOT necessarily make for a life-giving communion of faith.

Here's the "survey" that prompted my Monday Morning Musings: Ruth Gledhill's report in today's TIMES that (a survey says) "Four in five protestants believe gay sex is a sin and that practising gays should not be ordained."

Goodness. Forgive me if I'm not shocked, surprised, horrified or otherwise convinced that what this "survey says" has any value for the work our bishops are about at this Lambeth Conference.

For one, I cannot help but imagine if such a survey was taken in 1950's Topeka, four in five residents would have believed that segregation was perfectly OK and that the Brown v. Board of Education decision to integrate public schools was in error.

For another, I do not remember "Blessed are you who have complied with the will of the majority to exclude the minority" in any of the Beatitudes.

The American Episcopal Church has never maintained that it holds anything other than a minority opinion on full inclusion of the LBGT baptized in the life and witness of the church.

If the point of the Lambeth Conference 2008 game show unfolding on the Kentian campus is to come up with a "And the survey says ..." moment on Lambeth 1.10 or +Gene Robinson or the blessing of same sex unions in order to send the Americans off with their case of Rice-a-Roni, then we might all have save ourselves a lot of time and our respective churches a lot of money and stayed home.

The focus of the work -- so far -- at Lambeth Conference has been on how we are going to work together into God's future in SPITE of our differences ... not how we're going to vote some members of the Body of Christ off the Anglican Island BECAUSE of them. (I'm mixing my game-show metaphors but I think you get my point.)

Finally, just for fun, we've done our own survey. It wasn't of 517 "Protestant Christians" like the ComRes survey in Gledhill's TIMES article ... it was of 21 random folks wandering about the streets of Cantebury.

And OUR "survey said" that three-in-four people-on-the-street did not believe being gay should be a bar to ordination AND a significant percentage believed the church would grow and benefit from being more inclusive.

So here's MY survey question for the day:

If the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, why is it that those who talk the loudest and jump up and down the most about evangelism are busier surveying those in the pews about who should be kept OUT of the church than they are getting out into the streets and taking to those who need to be gathered IN?

What does "the survey" have to say about that???? .

Sunday Morning on BBC

Sunday morning we were up early to do a series of local BBC radio interviews on what's up here at the Lambeth Conference. (Here's me in the radio studio on campus at the University of Kent.)

Here was the schedule:

• 0700 Stoke
• 0710 Oxford
• 0720 Bristol
• 0730 Sheffield
• 0740 Shropshire
• 0750 Coventry & Warwickshire
• 0810 Northamptonshire
• 0820 Derby
• 0840 Cumbria

And here was the intro that the local radio hosts read ... pretty much verbatim ... to begin our 5-6 minute segments:

There's been further signs this week that the bitter conflict in the Anglican Communion over homosexuality is dominating the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury. The Most Rev Daniel Deng Bull, Archbishop of Sudan, told the conference Bishop Gene Robinson -- the openly gay Bishop -- must go, to save the church from schism.
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Just under a quarter of bishops in the Anglican Communion have boycotted the Conference in protest of the attendance of pro-gay clergy. The absent bishops, largely conservative church leaders from the Global South, held an alternative summit in Jerusalem last month, the GAFCON conference. Well despite attempts by liberals at the conference to steer debate away from the controversy over gay clergy it still appears to be dominating the agenda.
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Well, I'm joined now by the Rev Susan Russell, President of Integrity, the organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Episcopalians. Susan is a parish priest in California, and is herself gay and was "banned" from the GAFCON conference in Jerusalem. Good morning, Reverend Russell ...

And off we went. Nine times.

It was not surprising to me that the questions started with the "schism thing" ... after all, "vast majority of Anglican bishops meet for prayer, study and reflection" doesn't have the same headline quality as "Sudanese Bishop calls for Robinson's ouster!" does.

It did, however, give me the opportunity to say that the conference I heard being reported in the media bore very little resemblance to the one I saw unfolding around me -- where bishops were working hard to hear and listen to each other and settling in to a process that called for both recognizing and respecting differences.

AND to say -- again -- that the Archbishop of the Sudan expressing his disapproval of the American Church was hardly news ... there have been calls for +Gene's resignation since before he was even CONSECRATED. What was news was the fact that on the second day of a two week conference the conservative hardliners were already re-drawing their line in the sand.

And it gave me the chance to point out -- once again -- that if sexuality is dominating anything at Lambeth Conference, it's dominating the agenda of those determined to use our differences and exploit them into divisions.

It WAS surprising to me that not ONCE in any of the nine different interviews did ANYONE ask me anything that began "And what do you say to those who say, 'But the Bible says ...'" The kind of biblical proof-text questions I'm so accustomed to answer from the U.S. media just didn't seem to part of the British lexicon of questions to ask.

Rather, the questions were about holding the communion together, did I think there WOULD be "a split," and how did it feel to be both gay AND a woman in a church where there was so much controversy about both "issues."

I had the chance to say that Jesus called us to "let our light so shine" and that's what the LGBT witness was doing here at Lambeth Conference -- letting the light of our witness to the Good News of God in Christ Jesus present in our lives our vocations and our relationships shine in our encounters with brothers and sisters from around the communion.

I had the chance to say that Jesus promised us "the truth would set us free" and we were blessed by the opportunity to witness to the Anglican Communion the truth that there were indeed LGBT Anglicans all OVER the communion serving God and the church and it was time for the church to recognize that.

Most of the segments were preceded by a musical intro and so -- given that it was a VERY eclectic repertoire -- my interview followed everything from "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," "Out of Africa," and ... (ironically) "Can't Get No Satisfaction." (I worked references to the first two into the interview ... couldn't quite manage the third!)

It was a great opportunity and well worth getting up for early on a Sunday morning.

.

Happily, the rest of the day had some GENUINE R&R as we ventured out for a drive through the English countryside ...

... for a visit to Sissinghurst Castle Garden ...

... followed by a stop at a place called "Froggies" ...

... where we had -- arguably -- one of the best dinners in the history of food.

And now, it's onward to Week Two of Lambeth Conference 2008.
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NOT so breaking news from the Lambeth Conference

As reported in The Anglican Journal:

Robinson will not be asked to resign by presiding bishop

There ... now you can all sleep tonight without worrying about THAT one!

(Stay tuned to this site for more news as it happens -- or not -- from Canterbury!)

Class Photo Day at Canterbury

Saturday was "photo op" day at the Lambeth Conference ... and at 2:00 p.m the hill was a sea of vested bishops heading to the bleachers for their portrait sitting.
As the official photographer gave instructions through a bullhorn herding the bishops into rows, the "unofficial" photographers gathered, as well, to document the scene ...

... while the Archbishop of Canterbury waited patiently.

It was interesting, after a week of being kept at a distance from the bishops by fences and stewards and Lambeth Conference staff to be so close to "the action" for a change. Here's me ... just a stone's throw from my own bishop, Jon Bruno ...

... who scored an aisle seat and seemed to be enjoying himself VERY much.

A couple of shots of the "long view" ...

... of very many bishops ...

... and yet, not all of them, is it? Sad to think of the ones who chose not to come because others were included and sadder still to remember that +Gene was excluded because of who he is.

After the "official" shot there was lots of impromptu photography going on, including this one of me with my bishop and Davis MacIyalla ... who was celebrating having just gotten word that his request for asylum in Great Britain from Nigeria had been granted.

Then there was the "other" official photo sitting ...

... of the 18 women bishops participating in Lambeth Conference 2008. (There are actually 24 women bishops in the Anglican Communion but the others are either retired or currently between jurisdictions.)

And here's was this picture of the American women ...

... and of Cynthia Black who orchestrated the "women 's photo" with extraordinary grace and efficiency. (Her official photos are online here.)

One of my favorite parts of the day ...

... were the men bishops lining up to get their own photos. And best of all were these two Korean bishops ...

... who after taking pictures of the women came over and asked if please, they would do them the honor of allowing them to be photographed together to be part of this historic occasion.

Then the opportunity for a few more shots ... this one of Richard Schori and his charming wife Katharine ...

And finally, having screwed up my courage to ask the Presiding Bishop if she was willing to have her picture taken with me, was overwhelmed when she said she'd be honored.

This is me ... being overwhelmed!

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Deepest thanks ...

... to all who've sent messages of condolence via notes, emails, "comments" and flowers.

Your prayers and good wishes from all around this "Big Fat Anglican Family" of ours have been of great comfort to me and my family in this time of loss.


For those who've inquired, services for my mother will be on August 12th at Calvary Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Minnesota.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate her life with friends and family and am VERY grateful for the ease of communication across the miles that the internet and mobile phones provide -- giving new depth and meaning to those prayers about "those whose lives are closely linked with ours!"

On a personal note

It is Friday morning in Canterbury and I'm taking some time-out from focusing on things Anglican to focus on things personal.

Yesterday my brother Bill called from California with the news of the sudden and most unexpected death of my mother -- Betty Lou (Bundy) Brown -- who died in her sleep in her Minnesota home on Wednesday, July 23rd.

She would have been 83 on August 19th and while she had a history of heart problems was well enough on her last week on earth to do one of the things she loved best: playing Bingo at the Elks Lodge.

We were blessed to have her as long as we did (she had triple bypass surgery in 1992) and I am feeling particularly grateful today that we had a good, long visit with her over the holidays last year. (Here's Betty surrounded by kids and grandkids last November on Thanksgiving Day.)

It was another particular delight to me that she and Louise had the opportunity to form a close, loving relationship ...

... and my sons will both be blessed throughout their lives to have had a Grandma who loved them and challenged them to be all they could be. Here she is with my younger son, Brian, also on Thanksgiving ...



... and here with Jamie, home on leave from the Army in 2006.


When asked how she handled my "coming out," Betty famously said that she was a lot less surprised to find out I was a lesbian than she was that I was called to be a priest. She was both proud and supportive of my work and ministry -- even when we sang those dreadful "unfamiliar hymns."

Her presence at our wedding in February 2006 was a blessing to all of us ...


... and my feelings today are that the best tribute I can pay to her life and love and support is to continue with the work we are doing here at Lambeth Conference -- to continue to challenge our Anglican family live up to the Christian Family Values my mother didn't just talk about but lived.

[The Brown family ... circa 1959]

Arrangements are, as they say, "pending" -- but we anticipate a Memorial Service in early August in her hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota. Thanks to all who have sent prayers and messages of condolence. I feel very embraced and enfolded not only by your love and care but by God's -- and by the promise we claim in our Lord Jesus Christ that life is changed, not ended.

Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord;
And let light perpetual shine upon her.

May her soul, and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

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The bishops go to London today ...

... for a march for social justice across Lambeth Bridge, etc. to draw attention to the MDGs (Millenium Development Goals). That makes it a quiet day for us here in Canterbury ... a welcome respite to the busy schedule we've been keeping.
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Trying to get some laundry caught up we've got the telly on, hoping they'll cover the bishops in London but so far SkyNews is more interested in the sex orgy scandal trial of someone named Max Mosely than they are in 690 Anglican bishops marching to end world poverty. (This would be one of the things that is NOT different on this side of the pond!)
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Last night was our Voices of Witness "Fringe Event" ... an opportunity to screen both "Voices of Witness 2006" and to preview "Voices of Witness: Africa" -- the two compelling records of the voices of LGBT Anglicans the Communion seems to keep forgetting it has committed to listen to.
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Here are a few pictures from last night. And now we're off to figure out the laundry thing. More later from Canterbury!

Photographers shoot the discussion panel following the DVD screening.

[From left to right Louise Brooks, +Christopher Senyonjo,
Davis Mac-Iyalla, Mia Nikasimo, Michael Kimindu,
Katie Sherrod and Cynthia Black.]

Our intrepid Integrity team recording the event for posterity.

(Jon Richardson and Michael Bell)

Links from Lambeth

Before I head up the hill for another wander-about the campus and a chance to get last minute details in order for our preview of "Voices of Witness: Africa" I thought I'd post up these links to some sites with interesting pieces on what's up here Canterbury.

First of all, don't miss today's "Gene Pool" video ... an interview with +Gene just before last Sunday's Changing Attitude/Integrity Eucharist.
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DO check out the ENS story on the Sudanese Primate's press conference yesterday ... which includes a video of the whole Q&A with the press. (Listen to the end where the Archbishop assures the questioner his intent is not to exclude anybody ... just to keep Gene Robinson out.)
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A few folks have emailed or commented wanting to hear the sermon from Sunday at the Changing Attitude/Integrity Eucharist. There's not a direct link (that I can figure out) but ENS has it online ... go to their Multimedia pages which are sorted by date. Our service is on 7/20/08 and entitled "Susan Russell preaches ..."

.

On the ground here in Canterbury, we've been dealing with vandalised newsstands for our Lambeth Witnesss newsletter this morning ... info on that over at Walking With Integrity.

Finally, not to be missed is Jim Naughton's reflection on Episcopal Cafe today ... TEC-Sudan Relations: What happens now?

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Speaking of the Bible ...

.

I always pay attention when I wake up with a particular text of scripture in my head first-thing-in-the-morning. When I'm working on a sermon, it's likely the gospel I'm mulling ahead of the pulpit. But this morning ... with no sermon-in-sight ... it was a story in the 15th Chapter of Matthew.

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It was the one about the Syrophoenician (or, some versions say "Canaanite") woman whose faith empowered her to "speak truth to power" and challenge Jesus himself about whether his Good News was good for some or for all.

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We know the end of the story, of course. The punchline is ...

"Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

... and the result is a Gospel which is a light not just to the people of Israel but to the nations.

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My wondering this morning is if the LGBT witness at this Lambeth Conference is not playing the same role for the Anglican Communion that the Syrophoenician woman played for Jesus.

.

They are willing to stand here in Canterbury to speak the truth of their lives, their relationships and their vocations to the Communion and plead for the church to be willing to be healed of its homophobia. There are certainly those -- like the disciples -- saying "Send them away, for they keep crying after us." (Some of them on the Lambeth Conference organizing team.)

.

But at the end of the day, it IS our faith that is the source of health and healing and wholeness.

.

May we, like the Syrophoenician woman, be given the grace to "stay the course" of our witness. And may the Anglican Communion, at it lives out its high calling to BE the Body of Christ in the world, follow the example of the Lord whose quality is always to have mercy and whose Good News IS intended to be for all people.

Brian McLaren Night in Canterbury

Readers of this blog will remember that I'm a BIG Brian McLaren fan and so I was thrilled that he was going to be one of the plenary session speakers at this Lambeth Conference.
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That session was last night and here's a report from Arizona bishop Kirk Smith, thanks to Episcopal Cafe.

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Tonight, in a plenary session, we heard Brian McLaren's presentation on the dynamics of making disciples in a rapidly changing world. His point, not a new one but one which he convincingly presented, is that the ways of the modern world, to which the Church for five hundred years has accommodated (or over-accommodated) are losing their currency.

He also suggested that in the three basic cultures in place in the current world--non-modern, modern, and whatever it is that you want to call the one after that--the Church has yet to find a voice. He pointedly challenged this Conference to work in finding one, saying that the Anglican way has within it distinct gifts to do so.

The coexistence of the three cultures, he also said, has in it the makings of many of the conflicts in a world-wide communion like ours. A long evening well spent

Evangelism and the media

The "theme of the day" at Lambeth Conference today is "Proclaiming the Good News: The Bishop and Evangelism." Here's the piece I wrote for the daily "Lambeth Witness" newsletter, suggesting that the media everyone seems so intent on avoiding around here could actually be a vehicle for the Good News message we're meant to be proclaiming.

[General Convention 2003]

Embracing the Media

In an age of sound bites and sensationalism it is easy to understand why “the media” has become, for many, a fearsome thing. At this Lambeth Conference members of the press team – identified by the tell-tale sky blue lanyards holding their credentials – tell us that their very presence is enough to send conference participants scattering like the wind.

On this day dedicated to “Proclaiming the Good News: The Bishop and Evangelism” we want to suggest that embracing the media as a tool for evangelism is an oft-missed strategy for proclaiming the good news to a culture yearning to hear it. Just as Jesus spoke in parables to proclaim the news of the Kingdom to those who gathered on the lakeside in Galilee, so we who are charged with that same good news in the 21st century can bring the message of God’s love to those who gather around the telly to watch the BBC News.

While the eyes of the world are focused on Canterbury during these two weeks, we have abundant opportunities to tell the stories of lives that have been changed by the Gospel message and to model the strengths of the Anglican comprehensiveness that is our heritage.

Being open to conversations with brother and sister Anglicans across the divides that challenge us is but one of the extraordinary opportunities we have here in Lambeth. Another is to take those conversations and those messages out into the world through the reporters who are here looking for stories to tell.

Jesus called us to go and tell the good news to all nations. There has never been a better time or better place to do that than here at the Lambeth Conference. May God give us the grace to discern how to use the media we’ve been given to do that work we have been given to do!

He wasn't banned from Gafcon*, but ...

... the security guards at the cathedral in Canterbury were on the alert for him on Sunday morning!

From Riazat Butt in this morning's Guardian:

[Bishop Robinson] was finally allowed on to site yesterday, although he was absent from the Sunday service at Canterbury cathedral. He was there in spirit, however, in the form of an A4 mugshot that was left with security guards who were presumably instructed to stop him from storming up the aisle.

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*If you missed the "Banned at Gafcon" story it's here.

Say what?

At an afternoon press briefing here in Canterbury today the Archbishop of Canterbury seems to have generated as many questions as he answered.

We're still listening to the audio of the briefing trying to figure out exactly what he did say, but here's Jim Naughton's report, just posted to Episcopal Cafe:

Asked why ecumenical visitors from churches that have significant theological differences with the Anglican Communion were invited as “full participants” in the conference while Bishop Gene Robinson was excluded, Williams offered an answer I am still trying to parse.

My own notes are readable, but incomprehensible, and even after listening to a taped recording of the press conference, I am still not sure I have it right, but Williams seems to be arguing that bishops not only represent their diocese, but participate in a worldwide “fellowship,” that Gene’s membership in that fellowship is “questionable” for reasons that Williams did not elaborate upon, and that he had been excluded for those unexpressed reasons.

I am left wondering why being a gay bishop in a monogamous relationship calls one’s role in the global fellowship into question, while being a rampaging bigot in the mold of Archbishop Akinola does not.

Maybe Jim can ask THAT question at the next press briefing!

BBC News on the Lambeth Conference

Here's a link to the BBC News report on today's "Lambeth Happenings" ... including a brief interview with +Venables of Southern Cone fame (who declined to receive communion in the cathedral with the Apostate Americans) a nice snippet of the sermon by Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a look at our VERY windy Eucharist on the Hill.

(And now I'm going to bed! :)

Hot off the presses!

Yes, it's been a long day, but we're still at it ...

... volunteers printing and folding the inaugural issue of "The Lambeth Witness" ... the newsletter we'll be distributing throughout the Lambeth Conference both in person, here in Canterbury, and online on the Integrity Lambeth Portal.

Click here for your very own copy ... and stay tuned.

Wandering Around the Blog Block

Ruth Gledhill in her TimesOnline blog gives us a great overview of "Voices of Witness Africa" (and an outsider's inside-view of the Integrity Communication Centre:)

Voices of Witness Africa, made by Integrity USA featuring gay Africans from Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda telling their stories. Integrity wanted to bring them to the Lambeth Conference but most would have lost their jobs and hence ability to get visas if they had 'come out' of Africa in this way. So instead the lobby group sent a team headed by film editor Katie Sherrod, interviewed above, to Africa for two weeks to video their stories and bring them to Lambeth.

The result is an incredibly powerful and moving film which is to be sent to every one of the 880 bishops in the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion.

I was shown an exclusive preview of the film in St Stephen's Church Hall where this excluded community, including gay Bishop Gene Robinson, is hanging out during the Lambeth Conference. The hall, with its multitude of laptops, wires everywhere, splintering wooden floors and ramshackle tables and chairs, reminded me of nothing so much as an African mission post. Some excerpts from the film, which will be launched at the conference on Wednesday, are reproduced above.

(The whole 20 minute video sample is JUST available on Walking With Integrity ... watch it and be moved and then pray for our witness when it airs here at Lambeth Conference on Wednesday evening. And kudos to Katie Sherrod & Cynthia Black for making this wonderful witness happen!)

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This most interesting tidbit from the opening press conference, as reported by Jim Naughton on Episcopal Cafe:

During the opening press conference George Conger of the Church of England Newspaper asked an extremely perceptive question about Robinson’s exclusion. The Archbishop of Canterbury, he noted, had described the ecumenical visitors to Canterbury as “full participants” in the Lambeth Conference whose differing theologies would challenge the bishops and deepen their conversations. Given that the Salvation Army does not baptize, and the Armenian church holds what Anglicans might consider an unorthodox understanding of the nature of Christ, does Bishop Robinson’s exclusion signal that the issue of homosexuality is more theologically significant than sacramental and Christological differences?

• It does make one wonder, doesn't it?

==========

Here's the sermon preached at this morning's cathedral service by Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo, Sri Lanka ... which included this quote (one I am told was met by "enthusiastic applause.")

“There is space equally for everyone and anyone regardless of color, gender, ability or sexual orientation. If we attempt some game of uprooting the unrighteous, then my sisters and brothers, none of us will remain."

Sunday in Canterbury

There's LOTS to say, but I'm trying to get something up here before I crash for the day. We had our joint Changing Attitude/Integrity Eucharist on the green not far from St. Stephen's Church -- overlooking Canterbury Cathedral.

We had a good turn out on a typical English sunny-one-minute-spitting-rain-the-next afternoon ...

... and were particularly gratified by the thirty-something bishops who came from their opening festivities at Canterbury Cathedral to join us before heading back up the hill for the first progamme session.

Including, of course, the famous Bishop of New Hampshire ...

... pictured here singing next to Vermont Bishop Tom Ely and here ...


... hugging the preacher after the service.

More pictures later over on the Lambeth Photo Blog ... for now, here's the sermon I preached ... in the wind with the occasional raindrop splotting the text:

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Mind the gap is something we've heard alot since we've been here in England … and I can’t help but wonder if minding the gap isn’t one of the ways an island people cope with the challenges of gaps that don’t have anything to do with trains! It is a mindset that says “gaps happen and we mind them and keep moving along” that is part of the DNA of not only the English people but of the English Church.

It is the essence of an Anglican comprehensiveness that has – up until now – been able to hold together a world-wide communion in spite of the gaps between theologies and polities and languages and liturgies.

As this Lambeth Conference begins, I’m wondering if “minding the gap” might not be one of the most important things those of us who love, care about and pray for this Anglican Communion can do.

In John 8:32, Jesus promised that “the truth will set you free.” To mind the gap is to commit ourselves to tell the truth about the very real gaps that exist between the experiences, worldviews, and theologies of many members of the Anglican Communion. It is equally to speak the truth that the Gospel we share is stronger than the differences we acknowledge.

Our bishops have been working during this initial retreat time to “mind the gaps” between them while they forge relationships with each other across them, recognizing that Gaps do not have to become chasms and differences do not have to become divisions – in spite of what you might have read in the Sunday blogs this morning from the Gospel According to Durham.

One of my colleagues took a great photo this week … it’s a shot down a narrow street with the cathedral looming over a shop sign for …“The Gap.” It is an icon for me that the church -- at its best -- has not only the potential but the vocation to bridge not only the gaps that separate us from each other within the communion but the gaps that separate the church from the world it has been created to serve as the Body of Christ … as Jesus’ hands and feet at work in the world.

The truth that will set us free is that Jesus spent a WHOLE lot less time talking about who was going to get to heaven than he did talking about bringing heaven to earth. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” are arguably among the most familiar words in all of Christian faith – the words our Lord Jesus “taught us to pray.”

So my wondering today – and we’ve happily got a great lot of bishops here who should be theologically trained enough to give us an answer -- is this: When did the litmus test for going to heaven become correctly guessing who else God has on the invitation list? When did the criterion for communion become doctrinal conformity?

Jesus didn’t have a single word to say about guessing the guest list … or about doctrines or dogmas or creeds -- or even about Lambeth Conferences! In the gospel from Matthew we heard this morning he quite clearly tells us that it is not our job to fuss about the weeds – or what even to decide which ones are the weeds! Jesus will deal with that at harvest time, he assures us. And it is high time the church took him at his word and -- leaving what he’s asked us to leave to him to him – to get on with the work he has given US to do.

And Jesus was VERY clear about what that work looks like. When he said “inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these” the question Jesus asked was “did you bring water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothing to the naked?” … not “did you agree on liturgical practice, come to consensus on a biblical hermeneutic, unravel the mystery of human sexuality?”

None of those things make the “power list” of the “Top 50 Most Influential Things Jesus Wants Us to Do to Bring Heaven to Earth.” And yet, if all you knew about Anglicans was what you read in the blogs, you would think they are all we care about. No wonder so many people dismiss the church as irrelevant.

Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us that the creation waits with eager longing “In hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage …” and that is as true in 21st century Canterbury as it was in 1st century Corinth.
The whole creation. Not just one part or parcel – one race or gender or orientation or identity. The WHOLE creation.

Free of poverty -- Free of violence -- Free of exploitation -- Free of oppression
Free of sexism -- Free of racism -- Free of homophobia

And what will set the creation free is the truth.

Our job is to tell the truth about the God who loved us enough to become one of us and then called us walk in love with God and with our neighbors. It is THAT truth that is core of the Gospel message of love and hope and inclusion and it is THAT truth that has the power to set the creation free.

If we will claim it. If we will proclaim it.

If we will get on with the work WE have been given to do – living out the Gospel Agenda that requires nothing less than the full inclusion of all the baptized in the Body of Christ. And this story by Robert Fulghum is my favorite illustration of what that looks like:

Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs was the game to play. Being left in charge of about 80 children while their parents were off doing parenty things, I mustered my troops in the parish hall and explained the game. It's a large-scale version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors, and involves some intellectual decision-making. But the real purpose of the game is to make a lot of noise and run around chasing people until nobody knows which side you are on or who won.

While the groups huddled in frenzied, whispered consultation, a tug came at my pant leg. A small child stands there, looking up, and asks in a small concerned voice, “Where do the Mermaids stand?”

A long pause. A very long pause. “Where do the Mermaids stand?” I say “Where do the Mermaids stand?” A long pause. A very long pause. “Where do the Mermaids stand?” I say. “Yes, you see, I am a Mermaid.” “There are no such things as Mermaids.” “Oh yes there is, I am one!”

She did not relate to being a Giant, a Wizard, or a Dwarf. She knew her category – Mermaid – and was not about to leave the game and go over and stand against the wall where the loser would stand. She intended to participate, wherever Mermaids fit into the scheme of things, without giving up dignity or identity. She took it for granted that there was a place for mermaids and that I would know just where.

Well, where DO the Mermaids stand? All the Mermaids – all those who are different, who do not fit the norm, and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes? Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation or a kingdom on it.

What was my answer at the moment? Every once in a while I say the right thing. “The Mermaid stands right here, by the King of the Sea!” So we stood there, hand in hand, while the Wizards and Dwarfs and Giants rolled by in wild disarray. It is not true, by the way, that Mermaids do not exist. I know at least one personally. I have held her hand.

A question I have answered a hundred times is “Why are you going to Lambeth Conference?”

My answer this afternoon IS this afternoon.

It is this extraordinary gathering of wizards and dwarfs and giants and mermaids – standing together as the Body of Christ – receiving together the bread and wine made holy – going out together to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ Jesus to the world.

It is the church telling the truth that will set it free – the truth that it is not true that faithful gay and lesbian Anglicans do not exist … for we know some personally. We have held their hand.

And it is the opportunity to witness to that truth that will set this church – this communion – indeed this creation – free of the fear of inclusion and open to the Holy Spirit of God calling it to move forward in faith into God’s future.

And may the God who has given us the will to do these things give us the grace and power to accomplish them. Amen.

Gafconites go for the jugular

As reported by Riazat Butt in today's Guardian

Bishops at the Lambeth conference were accused last night of promoting a "false teaching that justifies sin in the name of Christianity". Leaders of a conservative breakaway faction said the prelates' actions had led to "unbiblical" practice resulting in "impaired and broken communion".

The statement, issued by the Global Anglican Future Conference, attacked liberals and called on "all orthodox Anglicans to resist this development".
The Gafcon rebels said: "Leading bishops in the Episcopal church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and even the Church of England have denied the need to evangelise among people from other faiths, promoted and attended syncretistic events and, in some cases, refused to call Jesus Lord and Saviour." They also rejected a draft covenant designed to unify the 80 million-strong Anglican church.

Signed by the archbishops of Nigeria, West Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the Southern Cone, who between them represent half of the world's Anglicans, the document challenges the credibility and integrity of Rowan Williams, who arrived in Canterbury weakened by internal disputes over women bishops and homosexuality.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has incurred the wrath of traditionalists for his comments on sharia law and, most recently, for saying that aspects of Christianity could be seen as difficult and offensive to Muslims.

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Here's the whole response on Titusonenine ...

A few quotes over morning coffee ...

Reading over the news-I-didn't-get-to-yesterday over my morning coffee before I head off for the day, here are a few quotes that I thought worth passing on:

Giles Fraser on women's ordination:

I find it impossible to understand how a denial of women’s orders is anything other than sexism — even though I have heard the arguments many times. Perhaps the Synod did not vote for compromise because there was not really a compromise to be had.

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+Katharine Jefferts Schori in the Church Times

“Most of the people aren’t worried about sex, but about people dying, and women suffering atrocities of war.” Dr Jefferts Schori had met bishops from the Church of the Province of the Sudan in Salisbury, and found that “We can always get beyond sexuality if we’re talking about alleviating human suffering.”

She was confident about the future of the Anglican Communion, saying that it “has more and stronger relationships than it did ten years ago”. She regretted the absence of more than 200 bishops from the Conference. “We are all lessened when some stay away from the table. I know how painful it is to be excluded. . . We are diminished by their absence.”

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+George Councell at yesterday's TEC press briefing

We are staged for that in the weeks to come by the different themes that will be presented, one of which is human sexuality, and again, I think we’re laying the foundation to engage those as colleagues as part of one Communion to work together and serve together. I think we’re on the right track.

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Finally, here's a quote from Kendall Harmon in the Washington Post which, if I'm not mistaken, is the same quote he uses every time there are more than two or three bishops gathered in any one place at any one time:

"They see this as the very last chance," said the Rev. Kendall Harmon, a conservative leader from the Diocese of South Carolina. "If the [North American churches] aren't stopped, the breach won't be healed."

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OK, I'm heading "up the hill" now. More later!

Cartoon in Today's TIMES

Just for fun.

PBS "Lambeth Preview"

The "cover story" on this week's PBS's Religion & Ethics Weekly is a "Lambeth Preview" and Kim Lawton does her usual excellent job in balancing the 9-minute-plus story. I was proud to see my rector, Ed Bacon, giving such a clear and faithful apologetic for All Saints Church and the inclusive Gospel.

Do take a look ... there's a transcript as well as a video. And keep us in your prayers here in Canterbury as the bishops prepare to end their "retreat time and enter the "programme phase" of the Lambeth Conference.

More later.

Easy come, Easy go!

And then there was this little tidbit from today's Thinking Anglicans:

Highlight of the day: being given an invite to a drinks party hosted by Jack Iker tomorrow. Perhaps this really is engagement across the fault-lines. I felt touched, honoured, and minded to go listen.

Lowlight of the day: 2 minutes later being told the invites were only meant to be given to “sympathetic” bishops. But hey, I do sympathy really well, perhaps I am invited after all.

Some Lambeth Bits & Pieces

From Bishop Cathy Roskam's blog:

The planning team for this Lambeth is to be commended. It seems to me they have thought of everything down to the very last detail to make sure that we are comfortable, welcomed and well cared for.

As for what is to come, the Archbishop has been very clear that there is no expectation that all the problems of the Anglican Communion are going to be solved in two weeks. Rather the goal is, led by the Spirit, to grow prayerfully in understanding, relationship and respect for one another.

I think we made a good beginning today. But I also think the whole body is diminished by the absence of Gene Robinson, a duly elected and consecrated member of our House of Bishops, our colleague and friend. It seems like a missed opportunity.

Nevertheless we will continue to build relationships and help to build bridges of understanding, as both Gene and the Archbishop would like us to do.

.

=====
.
From +Stacy Sauls reflection in Episcopal Life:
.

I think we're off to a very good start. I have an overwhelmingly positive feeling for today. A great deal of community building occurred among my brother and sister bishops. There was an air of optimism and hope. It's not that we expect that all the problems of the Anglican Communion will be solved in the next two weeks, but an indispensable foundation for the future of the Anglican Communion will be laid.

.

=====

.

The problem for those wanting to comment on what's happening is, of course, that there actually isn't much happening ... yet. (And might not be, if conference organizers end up organzing the conference they've set out to organize!) The bishops are "on retreat" which means they're mostly praying, singing, reflecting or listening to Archbishop of Canterbury waxing spiritual.

.

All good things.

.

In the meantime, bloggers are reduced to "breaking news" about each other (such as Scott Gunn's "Dave Walker Is Up To Something") and secular journalists are reduced to writing about the fact that there is no news to write about (as noted by Jim Naughton over at Episcopal Cafe in "Can a quiet conference produce 'good stories?'"):

.

There is a difference between the public’s right to know and a reporter’s right to a compelling story. My concern for the Lambeth Conference is that a critical mass of reporters—or perhaps just a handful of influential ones—will deem the conference a failure if it does not produce the sort of stories that they want to write, that they will say so repeatedly in the pages of their papers or on their blogs, and that this perception will become reality.

.
The only inoculation against this outcome that I can perceive—outside of an unexpected outbreak of forbearance from the British press—are vivid daily media briefings that feature bishops with good gripping stories to tell about how the conference’s theme of the day figures in their lives and ministries, and the lives and ministries of their people.
.

Over the next two or three days, be wary of stories purporting to expose secret goings-on, or those that complain of conference policies that keep the media at a distance. There just isn't that much going on yet.

.

More to come ... when something happens! :) ... (But there are new photos over at the Lambeth Photo Blog.)

.

Marilyn McCord Adams on "A SAD Situation"

I promised myself an "early-to-bed-for-the-first-time" night tonight but this one is TOO good not to blog on quickly before I pack it in: Marilyn McCord Adams' quite brilliant paper on the Anglican Covenant entitled:

.
Unfit For Purpose
or, Why a pan-Anglican Covenant

at this time is a very bad idea!

.

Excerpts, thanks to Episcopal Cafe:

.

The SAD Situation
The St. Andrew’s Draft Covenant (hereafter SAD) is a very sorry document, and it comes at a very sorry time. SAD is the third in a series of official attempts to redefine the Anglican Communion in a way that would satisfy members scandalized by the events of Summer 2003. Recall (it seems ancient history now) how in July 2003, the General Covention of the Episcopal Church USA consented to the ordination of Gene Robinson, a coupled gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire.

,

About the same time, the diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada authorized rites for blessing same-sex partnerships. These events stirred a furor among sex-and-gender conservatives in the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury (hereafter ABC) responded by appointing the Windsor Commission. The (by now infamous) Windsor Report (hereafter TWR) set down the basic polity frame.

.
"TWR polity does not work."
Not only has TWR-polity been set down on paper three times. Thanks to TWR’s tone of presumptive legitimacy, it has already had ‘a trial run’! The Windsor process against TEC and New Westminster gave TWR-polity a primate-dominant interpretation. If TWR spoke of submitting novelties to the instruments of (comm)union, it was the primates who acted at Dromantine to request that TEC and New Westminster explain themselves at Nottingham and to put TEC and New Westminster on probation.

.

It was the primates who acted at Tanzania to override the report of the Joint Standing Committee and to reject 2006 General Convention’s responses to TWR.

.

It was the primates who issued ultimata that TEC impose moratoria on ordinations and blessings of coupled homosexuals by 30 September 2007.

.

It was the primates who declared foreign incursions (by one province into the turf of another) not to be on a moral par with North American breeches of faith.

.

It was the primates who moved to set up a primatial council to handle appeals from TEC’s conscientious objectors.

.

Even after the Joint Standing Committee had given TEC a passing grade for its New Orleans responses, it was the primates’ estimates that the ABC still sought. Thus interpreted in the enacting, TWR-polity seemed to mean veto power for foreign primates in no way accountable to the province in question.

.
Even as a theoretical sketch, TWR-polity raised liberal eye-brows. Pessimistic liberals believe what experience teaches: that human beings are neither smart enough nor good enough to be entrusted with very much power. Actions speak louder than words. For liberals, the ABC’s and the Primates’ behavior towards TEC demonstrated that their fears were justified. Note once again: legal authority is a red herring. All of these actions have been taken, not only without legal authority, but independently of anyone covenanting to anything.

.

To put it bluntly, the behavior of the pan-Anglican instruments towards TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada has been abusive. For liberals, recent past experience shows signing on to NDC or SAD to be a sure recipe for abuse of power!

.
For sex-and-gender conservatives, the North American saga shows the bankruptcy of TWR-polity for settling intra-communion disagreements over essentials. From their point of view, the process did not deliver the desired result: the repentance or excommunication of TEC and New Westminster. Sex-and-gender conservative primates number among the just under half who rejected TEC’s New Orleans responses as unsatisfactory. From their point of view, the ABC fudged the process, just when it should have proceeded towards excommunication.

.

In the face of division among the primates, the ABC did not call a Primates Meeting. Neither did he proceed towards excommunication on his own authority. Instead, the ABC changed the format of Lambeth from that of a resolution-passing council into a retreat with small group Bible studies and discussions, and proceeded to invite all of the TEC bishops except for Gene Robinson himself.

.

Recent past experience proves to sex-and-gender conservatives that TWR-polity --which leaves with the ABC power to determine Anglican Communion membership, power to call Primates’ meetings or not, and power to determine the composition of the Lambeth Conference--is unfit for purpose. TWR-polity simply does not work!

.
GAFCON buries SAD
In any event, the ABC’s plea for patience is not apt to be heeded. GAFCON’s manifesto, not only buries SAD. By ‘upping the ante’ for any covenant ‘confessing Anglicans’ would sign, GAFCON’s concluding statement is a recipe for ‘walking apart’. The reason is that GAFCON is insisting on conservative polity and conservative content. Conservatives can live with liberal polity so long as they have the majorities needed to dictate institutional policy. The current crisis arose, because in The Episcopal Church and New Westminster, sex-and-gender conservatives have lost such majorities.

.

Liberals can live with conservative content, if liberal polity holds out hope of working from within to change institutional policy. Liberals have lived with conservative sex-and-gender policies for centuries, but now--in TEC and New Westminster--their hour seems to have come. The trouble is conservatives cannot live with liberal polity and liberal content. Neither can liberals live with conservative polity and conservative content. GAFCON’s clear lines in the sand already count liberals out!

.

So what's going on in Canterbury so far?

We're in Canterbury, at St. Stephen's Church where our Communication Centre is set up in the "Church Hall." At the moment, it's a tangle of technicians and computers and cords and wires getting everybody set up and organized to do the work we've come here to do:

• Witness to our shared history as members of the worldwide Anglican Communion;
• Call our Anglican brothers and sisters in Christ to transcend the differences that some insist must divide us;
• Focus on the common mission and ministry that will, in the end, unite us.

The bishops are, themselves, on retreat now through Sunday morning, when they will gather at Canterbury Cathedral for worship and then head back "up the hill" to the Univesity of Kent campus for the first program session of the conference which has been creatively entitle: "Introduction to the Conference Programme "

Also on Sunday will be the Changing Attitude/Intgrity Eucharist being held just "up the corner" from St. Stephen's on a village green at 2:30 p.m. We're anticipating a number of bishops will join us for that celebration and I've already had emails from a few Lambeth Conference volunteers who are organizing their "off time" to be available to join us as well. Happily, +Gene has confirmed that he will attend so we're looking forward to a good time being had by all!

Here are some places to check out for more details du jour:

Colorado Bishop Rob O'Neill offers "A Beginning" -- reflections on the first evening/formal welcome from last night.

The emphasis during our time together, [+Rowan Williams] reflected, must be upon deepening our relationships, not imagining naively that building relationships alone will solve our problems but understanding that we dare not pretend to address the issues before us without first offering one another the kind of deep and loving attentiveness to relationship that Jesus in fact commands.

======

Ruth Gledhill has her Lambeth Diary up on her blog ... great pictures and a good "feel" for the energy around campus on Wednesday.

====

Also of note is Gledhill's London Times report on the "Lambeth Reader" described as a "paper, commissioned by Dr Williams, [that] made clear that bishops who had transgressed diocesan and provincial boundaries in search of “orthodox” primacy were considered guilty of undermining collegiality."

More from the paper, as quoted in the Times report:

An even worse sin, it suggested, was boycotting the conference ... “Given the present state of the Anglican Communion it is the special collegial responsibility of the bishop to be at prayer for and with fellow colleagues,” the paper said.

“This is particularly relevant for those bishops who are in conflict with one another. Their failure to attend fervently to this ordinal vow weakens the body of Christ for which they have responsibility. This in turn weakens the bonds that all the baptised share with one another.”

The paper, written by the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission, represents the start of the fightback by Dr Williams, who has been accused of showing inadequate leadership.

====

Thanks to Dave for the head's up on this KPCC radio interview with +Gene ... WELL worth the listen (Wednesday, July 16)

====

Finally, DO ready Jim Naughton's "Simon Sarmiento explains it all" over at Episcopal Cafe. It gives some great background/context. DO read it all but here's his MOST worthwhile conclusion:

My sense, at the moment (and from a distance) is that the Anglican Communion Office and some members of the conference design team are nervous that the attention paid to Bishop Gene Robinson, and the presence of full inclusion advocacy groups will somehow force the bishops to focus sooner than might be helpful on the issue of human sexuality—that the bishops will have to deal with divisive topics, before they have built the relationships that would allow them to discuss such issues productively. I think these fears are misplaced.

The advocates of full inclusion want the Communion to hang together every bit as much as the members of the Communion office. They aren’t in Canterbury to disrupt the conference; they are there to worship and pray at build relationships—just like the bishops.

Most of their activity leading up to Lambeth has been aimed not at influencing the conference, but at outing the English Church—making it plain that the posture of church elites, who stand apart and cluck their tongues at the activists from North America, is hypocritical because their own church does in shadow, what the North Americans want done in sunlight.

Thanks to the publicity that followed the gay blessing ceremony at St. Bartholomew’s Church here in London last month, and the tremendous outpouring of interest in (and support for) Bishop Robinson’s visit, that has been accomplished. The leaders of the English Church may continue to obfuscate, but we will all know what they are doing.

A peaceful, productive Lambeth Conference is in the best interest of inclusion advocates. It would demonstrate that theological disagreements can be borne by a Communion committed to moving forward in mission.

Amen. Amen. Amen!

"Importance" or "Impotence" ... that is the question!

From today's Telegraph, the daily dose of "News of Fresh Disaster for the Anglican Communion" is summed up in a piece entitled:

Gay clergy split is 'most perilous crisis'
.
in Church's history

Really? More perilous than Protestant v. Catholic???? Hmmm ... have to think about that one for awhile!

Anyway, here's the quote that got my attention from our friend Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream fame:

"If nothing is done at Lambeth it will underline the importance of the Gafcon movement and declaration in securing the future of orthodox Christian within the Anglican church," he said.

I would make precisely the opposite argument. (And, for the record, by "nothing is done" he's referring to Ephraim Radner's "The Anglican Sky is Falling Open Letter to Lambeth" insisting that the bishops MUST DO SOMETHING to stop the schism that the "traditionalists" are insisting is inevitable by throwing the American Church in general and LGBT Anglicans in specific under the Lambeth Bus.)

Anyway, back to my argument.

If "nothing is done" -- if the center holds and Anglicans agree to disagree and muddle along together following Jesus and breaking bread and feeding the hungry and ministering to the least of these in spite of their differences, then it will underline the impotence of the Gafcon movement in its failed effort to blackmail the Communion into bigotry and to throw the Archbishop of Canterbury out with the bathwater.

And that doesn't exactly sound like "nothing" to me.

If sounds like a very significant something!

Press Advisory -- 16 July 2008

LGBT ADVOCACY GROUPS FROM UK AND US WILL GATHER TO PRAY FOR BISHOPS OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION AT START OF LAMBETH CONFERENCE

CANTERBURY, UK—Changing Attitude UK and IntegrityUSA will co-sponsor an outdoor celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, July 20th, 2:30 pm BST, at Beverly Meadow (also known as St. Stephen’s Field) in Canterbury. A map is attached.

The Rev’d. Colin Coward, Director of Changing Attitude UK, will preside. The Rev’d. Susan Russell, President of IntegrityUSA, will preach. The Rt. Rev’d. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, will attend with several other American bishops. All are welcome.

Both Changing Attitude UK and IntegrityUSA will offer prayers that the worldwide Anglican Communion will soon fully accept, include, welcome, and offer equality to the LGBT faithful.

Members of the media must check in at the press table at the entrance to the meadow. Colin Coward, Susan Russell, and some American bishops will be made available for interviews and comments following the service.

END

Press contact in the UK:
Louise Brooks, Press Officer, +44 (0)7503 695 579, tvprod@earthlink.net

Press contact in the USA:
Jan Adams, Field Organizer, +1-415-378-2050, jan@integrityusa.org

Lambeth Photo Blog Launched

Just launched a new "photo blog" of Lambeth Conference, creatively entitled:

Susan Russell's Lambeth Conference Photo Blog

Check it out and stay tuned ... more to follow!

Bits & Pieces from Lambeth Conference

Checking out the blogs and news this morning before heading off to the Canterbury highways and byways, here are a few of the "bits and pieces" I picked up that either amuse or enlightened me:

THE GUARDIAN offers this "who's who" of "the major players:"

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Rowan Williams
One of the brainiest men in the Anglican Communion, with suitably inquisitive eyebrows, he is the 104th person to hold the post and is a poet, translator, heavyweight academic and linguist. Dismissed by the conservatives for being too liberal and harangued by liberals for pandering to conservatives, Williams has managed to retain an impressively dignified demeanour since he took office in 2003. Speaks in a rich timbre and gives a good sermon.

The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev John Sentamu
A man of the people, who chopped up his dog collar in protest at Robert Mugabe's regime and threw himself out of a plane for charity, he is outspoken, with a strong campaigning background. In October 2007, he won the title Yorkshireman of the Year and he is possibly the only Church of England bishop who will ever be asked to take part in Celebrity Big Brother. (He said no.)

The presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church, Katherine Jefferts Schori
A formidable, unflappable combination of intellect, theology and savvy, she is also a second lieutenant in the US air force and a qualified oceanographer. She is a feminist and pro-gay liberal, maddening conservatives, who regularly excoriate her for bringing about the collapse of the Anglican Communion. She tackles criticism with ease and dishes out pointed rebukes.

The Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Rev Gene Robinson
A love-him-or-loathe-him figure who has shoved homosexuality to the top of the Lambeth agenda, even though the topic is not formally mentioned in conference sessions. The bishop is a beaming, avuncular man who has proved to be divisive, acting as a tipping point for conservatives itching for a fight. He likes coconut cream pie and staying in on Friday nights with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew, and he and carries his staff in a rifle case. Although he is not officially invited to Lambeth, he will be there anyway, in an informal capacity.

Archbishop of the Southern Cone, the Right Rev Gregory Venables
Overseeing Anglican provinces in Catholic-heavy South America, he has offered oversight to dissenting parishes in the US and Canada, and his most recent adoption was the diocese of San Joaquin. He is currently in negotiations with Pittsburgh, which looks set to leave the Episcopal. He is part of the Global Anglican Future Conference, a shadow conservatives launched in Jerusalem last month, and says the disintegration of Anglicanism cannot be ignored any longer.

Walter Cardinal Kasper
Not an Anglican but a Roman Catholic, and Pope Benedict's right-hand man on ecumenical relations and Christian unity. Kasper will address Lambeth delegates on, among other things, the ordination of women as bishops, which the Vatican opposes. He is expected to make pithy yet hostile sounds about the Church of England's predilection for women clergy and the general liberal drift of Anglicanism.

============

And Thinking Anglicans has this round up

The official Lambeth Conference site is here and the official press release is here.
Lambeth Palace published this History.

It’s interesting that only 2 of the 38 provinces now have no bishops registered to attend.

Several sites have published primers about the conference:

The Guardian has this Q&A, the main players, and the absentees.

The BBC has What is the Lambeth Conference?

The Times had this history article.

Rumor Control

They're at it again.

The rumors are flying ... this time about the "non" story of who isn't celebrating at the Changing Attitude/Integrity Eucharist on Sunday, July 20th.

No, we're not going to adjust our press release schedule in response to blog-rumor-mania ... so look for the previously scheduled information release on the "everybody welcome/nobody banned" Eucharist on Wednesday when our press office opens.

In the meantime, however, I thought I might offer ... just for fun ... a new Lambeth Power List ... this one entitled:

The Top Ten

Most Influential Anglicans

NOT Celebrating

At the Changing Attitude/Integrity Eucharist

10 -- Ed Bacon
9 -- Elizabeth Kaeton
8 -- Jack Spong
7 -- Barbara Harris
6 -- Jon Bruno
5 -- Jeffrey John
4 -- Marilyn McCord Adams
3 -- Giles Fraser
2 -- Susan Russell
1 -- V. Gene Robinson

More on +Gene, Gandolf and "For the Bible Tells Me So"

So "Blogger" was having hiccups posting photos and I gave up and went to bed ... but we're in Canterbury now and all seems to be well, so here's what I couldn't get "up" last night:

Check out both Gene & Gandolf and A Late Night with Ian McKellen on Episcopal Cafe and Katie Sherrod's reflections on Walking With Integrity for more details on the great night last night in London.

Here are the snaps of me meeting Sir Ian in the lobby after the event [photo credit goes to the Reverend Dr. Cynthia Black]:

"Charmed, I'm sure!"

Comparing black & white ensembles!

Other UK press of note included:

.

Giles Fraser in today's Guardian: Here's to you, Mr. Robinson

.

Also in The Guardian a profile of Rowan Williams: "Beset by liberals, hounded by conservatives, Williams needs a miracle to keep church intact"

.

More from Canterbury soon!

.

Pre-Lambeth News Round up

Jim Naughton has been on rumor control over at Episcopal Cafe ... well done, Mr. Naughton! (Methinks this is only tip of a VERY large iceberg!)

Walking With Integrity has posted the BBC 5 Live radio show from this morning that featured the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Black ... member of our Integrity team ... doing a most excellent job of explaining the whys and wherefores of our planned witness at Lambeth Conference.

Some very interesting "reviews" of +Gene's Putney sermon in The Guardian ... and then there's Giles ... Giles Fraser, that is.

His "Here's to you, Mr. Robinson" (also in The Guardian) is a keeper:

The emails have been coming in all day. My favourite begins: "Dear sodomite supporter, you are nothing but a dirty sodomite-loving ugly stain of a man who is a disgrace to humanity." It ends "Burn in hell, Mr K."

Well, thank you for that, Mr K. I have had a fair number of letters and emails from people who think like you. One suggested that I ought to be executed at Tyburn. Another graphically described the details of fisting.

My crime had been to offer the Bishop of New Hampshire a pulpit to preach the word of God. I usually have the emotional hide of a rhino, but even I was upset by the unpleasantness of the reaction, hiding my hurt in a few too many vodkas at lunchtime.

How on earth does Gene Robinson cope with the disgusting abuse to which he is subjected most days – the protester who interrupted his sermon in my church on Sunday being a pretty mild example? Day after day, buckets of spiritual shit are thrown at him, sometimes by fellow bishops, and he just keeps going.

Spending some time with him over the last few days, I have discovered how he does it. He is the real deal. He is a believer. Responding to attacks that he had a "homosexual agenda", he insisted: "Here and now, in St Mary's Church, Putney, I want to reveal to you the homosexual agenda. The homosexual agenda is: Jesus." He went on to preach a fiery, almost revivalist, sermon, calling on Anglicans to take Jesus into their heart and to allow Him to cast out their fear.

What makes this person so interesting is that he has lost any sense that he is able to support himself spiritually through his own effort alone. His recognition of his "failure" to cope is precisely his strength. The theology is pure Luther: only when you recognise that you are unable to make yourself acceptable to God under your own steam can you collapse back upon God as the sole source of salvation. Later in the sermon, he described going from a meeting of the US House of Bishops to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and being relieved that, at this second meeting, he could at last speak about God.

Forget what you think you know about Gene Robinson – his is Gospel Christianity of a very traditional kind. This is what Christianity looks like once it has got over its obsession with respectability.

====

And now I'm off to bed with me.

Day Three: "For the Bible Tells Me So"

Tonight was the UK Premiere of "For the Bible Tells Me So" ... part of the London Literature Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre. It was billed in the program as "the provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today" and the film was to be followed by a conversation between Bishop Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen.

There had been some conversation "across the pond" about whether or not it would "play" in London ... these very personal stories of American families coming to terms with reconciling their faith and their love for their children.

It played.

It played to a nearly-full-house-audience of over 800.

It played to a standing ovation for the Bishop of New Hampshire when he took the stage to have his post-film conversation with Sir Ian McKellen.

It played to those questioners from the audience (and not a heckler in sight, let it be noted) who talked with great sincerity about their alienation from the Church-as-they-know-it because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. (And what does it say that after yesterday's failed efforts by the heckler in Putney to shout down +Gene's sermon he was willing to take the risk of an "open mike" Q&A with 800+ folks in a London theater?)

It played so well that on-the-record-as-an-"unbeliever" Ian McKellen said it was enough to make him "consider Christianity."

Pictures coming tomorrow ... for now, however, the "early reviews" are in ... and it's TOTALLY a hit!

And tomorrow we're on to Canterbury!

UK News Round-up

Stuff not to miss:

Katie Sherrod has a great blog up about her experience of being with +Gene at Putney last night and The Gene Pool has just posted a video of his sermon "Be Not Afraid."

Bishop Tutu is appealing for unity ... while Ian McKellan takes on the church on the issue of homphobia.

But maybe the biggest news was this story about John Lennon's famous "Bigger than Jesus" quote ... a follow up interview from (I think) 28 years ago:

Christians around the world had been dismayed by Lennon's boast in an article in London's Evening Standard about the popularity of the Beatles, but the singer says he was misunderstood. "It's just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ," he says. "Now I wasn't saying that was a good idea, 'cos I'm one of Christ's biggest fans. And if I can turn the focus on the Beatles on to Christ's message, then that's what we're here to do."

He blames "the hypocrites" for being too "uptight" in reacting to his comments. "If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won't be full, but there'll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls. Whatever they celebrate, God and Christ, I don't think it matters as long as they're aware of Him and His message."

He acknowledges a strong belief in the power of prayer but says he dislikes all the church trappings. "Community praying is probably very powerful … I'm just against the hypocrisy and the hat-wearing and the socialising and the tea parties."

Wonder what he would have thought of Lambeth Conference?

Our Morning on Sky News

It was a busy morning ... the car came at 7:10 and whisked us off to ...

Before we knew it, we were live on Sky News answering questions about the "Anglican Row" with Chris Roberts ...

Three minutes of fame on UK TV ...

... and then back to the hotel for an afternoon of sightseeing in London before we head over to the UK premiere of "For the Bible Tells Me So."

Day Two: Preaching @ Putney

You can watch the beginning of +Gene's sermon and the "heckler" who tried ... and failed ... to throw him off here ... and here's a Link to the BBC Report that ran this evening and a print version of the story.
.

Here's the quote that struck me from that report:

"I can't tell you my name," said one Church of England vicar, attending incognito.

"My diocese is very conservative. I might get in trouble if people found out I had come here.

"But it was wonderful to hear someone talk so openly and so humbly about what needs to be done."

Once again ... the issue isn't Homosexuality it's Honesty.
.

Rachel Zoll was here, reporting for Associated Press. She filed this report ... and Ruth Gledhill offered this piece in the Times Online.

.

It was a huge privilege to be here for today ... honestly, the feeling in the church was just electric ... and what a blessing to be able to watch +Gene "do his thing" and preach the Gospel! The most amusing moment of the day, however, was actually outside before the service when a young man on a bike with his toddler in the kid-seat on the back pulled up and asked me, "Is this the church where the gay bishop is preaching? We just saw him on the telly!"

.

"Yes," I told him. "At 6:00 ... do come back!"

.

"Might do!" he said. And then his eyes widened and he said, "Wait a minute ... aren't you the one preached out at Salisbury this morning?"

.

"No," I said. "That would be another American woman ... her name is Katharine Jefferts Schori and she's our Presiding Bishop." (Yes, there are more than one of us and we're certainly not all bishops!)

.

"Well, she was great," he said. "You lot keep up the good work!"

.

"Will do," I said, as he pedaled off.

.
Earlier ...


... +Gene appeared with Sir Ian McKellan on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show ... reported by the Guardian here.

Finally, here's a picture of me with "the boys" ...

... who did a great job of providing security in a bemused British kind of way.

There are other photos that will have to wait til tomorrow ... turns out you can't download 'em til you recharge the battery on the camera ... (who knew??) ... and I'm not willing to wait up for that to happen. A car is picking us up early for a spot on something called SkyTV News ... I'll be the one in the black shirt, white collar and bags jet-lag bags under my eyes!

More tomorrow. Cheerio!
.

In the News ...

Heading off for a busy day which concludes with a 6pm service at St. Mary's, Putney where +Gene will be the preacher. I understand +Katharine is preaching this morning at Salisbury Cathedral ... will try to get a link up to that later. In the meantime, here's a scan of the UK headlines this morning in "things Anglican":

BBC: The world's first openly gay bishop, whose ordination caused a split in the Anglican church, is to preach to a congregation in London today.

Independent: Gay bishop defies his Lambeth Conference ban Gene Robinson wasn't invited – but he's coming anyway

Associated Press: Pope prays for end to rifts in Anglican church

Telegraph: The Telegraph "Top Ten" Most Influential Anglicans

"On the Road to Lambeth Conference:" Day One

Just a few pictures from our first day here in Jolly Olde:

Here's the view from the window of our hotel in London, where we'll be for a couple of days before heading to Canterbury for "the duration."

It is perfectly situated directly across from an underground station -- which has uncooperatively been closed for repairs ... (see also: "best laid plans.")

Not to worry ... the buses still run and on a quick bus tour around the city this morning we snapped this street sign just outside Lambeth Palace. (No, we didn't stop by to "say hey" ... figured they were too busy for drop in company at this point!)

We did, however, "drop in" on the Vicar of Putney ... our friend Giles Fraser ... who gave us a tour of his fabulous parish (where +Gene will be preaching tomorrow evening).

And how seredipitous was it that as we got Giles together with Louise and Jim Naughton (of Diocese of Washington/Episcopal Cafe fame) together for a "candid shot" this spectacular rainbow arched its way right over their heads.

Make of it what you will ... we're taking it for a sign of good things to come! (The end of the deluge is in sight, perhaps?)

Finally, after a lovely supper on the Putney High Street, we did want to set the record straight: this is NOT our solution to our Underground stop being out of commission NOR is it the transportation of choice for the Bishop of New Hampshire -- but it certainly was an odd thing to spy on Putney High Street!

More later.

.

It's a lovely day in London Towne!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ... especially after a little nap to try to catch up with the jet lag. We had safe and uneventful travel ... thanks for all the prayers. And are now getting ready to see some London and get some supper. (Pictures to follow ... of London, not supper!)

But first, how pleased were we to find the following article in the Guardian when we arrived here at the hotel ... a little food for thought from none other than the Bishop of New Hampshire!

Small world, eh? More to come!

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FACE TO FAITH

I believe in the living God. Now, that may not seem like a surprising statement for a bishop of the church to make - but as we approach the Lambeth conference of bishops, it may be a crucial belief to reaffirm.

The debate raging in the Anglican communion over the place of women and gays in the life and ministry of the church, and the name-calling about who does and does not accept the authority of scripture, belies a much deeper question: did God stop revealing God's self with the closing of the canon of scripture at the end of the first century, or has God continued to be self-revelatory through history, and right into the present?

My conservative brothers and sisters seem to argue that God revealed everything to us in scripture. Ever since, it has simply been our difficult but straightforward task to conform ourselves to God's will revealed there and to repent when we are unable or unwilling to do so.

For me, there is something static and lifeless in such a view of God. Could it be that even the Bible is too small a box in which to enclose God?

In my life, God seems infinitely more engaged with humankind than that, desiring a relationship with each one of us, continually attempting to lead us closer and closer to God's will. So too with the church. Isn't God - the living God - constantly making God's self and God's will more perfectly known to the church over time?

Jesus says a remarkable thing to his disciples at his last supper with them: "There is more that I would teach you, but you cannot bear it right now. So I will send the Holy Spirit who will lead you into all truth." Could it be that God revealed in Jesus Christ everything possible in a first-century Palestine setting to a ragtag band of fishermen and working men? Could it have been God's plan all along to reveal more and more of himself and his will as the church grew and matured?

God, of course, was not and is not changing - but our ability to apprehend and comprehend God's will for us is. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the church was led to permit eating things proscribed by Leviticus, to oppose slavery (after centuries of using scripture to defend it), and to permit and bless remarriage after divorce (despite Jesus' calling it adultery).

And now, by the leading of that same Spirit, we are beginning to welcome those who have heretofore been marginalised or excluded altogether: people of colour, women, the physically challenged, and God's children who happen to be gay.

This is the God I know in my life - who loves me, interacts with me, teaches and summons me closer and closer to God's truth. This God is alive and well and active in the church - not locked up in scripture 2,000 years ago, having said everything that needed to be said, but rather still interacting with us, calling us to love one another as he loves us.


It is the brilliance of Anglicanism that we first and foremost read scripture, and then interpret it in light of church tradition and human reason. No one of us alone can be trusted to such a process because, left to our own devices, we recast God's will in our own image. But in the community of the church, together we are able to discern God's will for us - and sometimes that may mean reinterpreting and even changing old understandings of things thought settled long ago.

In the midst of all the wrangling about who should be "in" and who should be "out", who is fit to lead and what relationships are worthy of blessing, can we find the grace to thank God for loving us enough to be engaged with us? Can we find the leading of the Holy Spirit - even into painful and, for the moment, divisive places - a blessing and not a curse? Can we discern God's hand in Anglicanism's current struggles? Can we rejoice that we worship not only a God of scripture and history, but a living God, who is leading us forward toward the truth at this very moment?

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PS - Do check out the latest "ten" of the yet-to-be-fully-revealed 50 Most Influential Anglicans over at the Telegraph ... any bets on who the "Top Ten" will be?
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PS -- the time stamp on the blog says 9-ish am but it's really 6-ish pm here!

We're on the road again

Off to Canterbury via London. Prayers invited for safe travel.

To keep up with when who's going to be where, keep your eye on the Integrity Lambeth LGBT Web Portal ... and pray for the church. All of it. Even the crabby bits of it where people think bad things about us and wish us ill.

And why should we pray for "them?" Because the question is not "What Would They Do" but "What Would Jesus Do" ... and he told us ... in Matthew 5:43-48 ...

Jesus said, "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.

When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.

If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

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Here endeth the lesson.
Here beginneth the Journey to Lambeth and back!

British Press 101

OK ... if you're going to follow this Lambeth stuff, you'll have to get used to reading the British press and to get ready for that I recommend "Uncle Jim Explains It All" over at Episcopal Cafe, wherein Jim Naughton gives a tutorial on what to look for to find what actually got said:

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This Telegraph story on Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is a classic example of an ideologically-motivated newspaper writing conflict-mongering headlines that the text of the story cannot support.

The PB didn't "wade in" to anything; she was asked a question and she answered. She didn't say those who oppose having women as bishops "simply don't like them," she said that was among the issues for some opponents. And she doesn't "accuse" the English Church of going too slow, as writer Martin Beckford has it. She said that the English way of proceeding on this issue looks slow to Americans.

Strip away the T'graph's bluster. Read only the PB's quotes. Then decide if you would characterize the interview as they did.

It has begun ...

Press reports starting to roll in from across the pond ... this one from the London Telegraph:

US Anglican leader Katherine Jefferts Schori wades into women bishop row

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In a rare British interview, she accused the Church of England of taking far too long to modernise, just days after its governing body voted to ordain women as bishops with no compromise measures for traditionalists.

And she dismissed the threat of orthodox Anglicans who are planning to create a rival structure to her church because of its liberal stance on homosexuality.

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Read the rest here ... and three cheers for the PB!

#34

Someone at the London Telegraph apparently has more time on their hands than they know what to do with.

As a result, they've come up with a "Countdown to Lambeth" list of the 50 Most Influential Anglicans ... releasing numbers 41-50 yesterday and numbers 31-40 today with more to come in the days ahead. (Oh, the suspense!)

And yes, I had the high honor (or I guess it's "honour") of being named #34 on that august list.

From today's Telegraph:

Susan Russell - Integrity, USA
Always in the eye of the storm, Susan Russell, a lesbian priest, is the consummately professional spin doctor for the gay rights organisation, Integrity. As an associate cleric at the leading liberal church All Saints, Pasadena, she is pressing ahead with gay marriages after the Californian Supreme Court decision to legalise them.

And, just for the record, I consider it a high compliment to be called a "consummately professional spin doctor."

"Spin" is, these days, an interesting concept. While for some it might infer a negative connotation of twisting or turning facts on the ground, in reality, it's nothing more or less than setting the context for the message being delivered.

Brian McLaren does a particularly brilliant and accessible job of applying this concept to theological discourse in Part 3 of his book "Everything Must Change" entitled "Reframing Jesus." I can't do him justice in this short blog ... you really should get the book and put it on the top of your summer reading list ... but, in a nutshell:

When Jesus proclaimed his central message of the kingdom of God, he was proclaiming not an esoteric religious concept but an alternative to empire: "Don't let your lives be framed by the Roman Empire, but situate yourself in aother story ... the good news that God is king, and we can live in relation to God and God's love rather than Caesar and Caesar's power." [pg 90]

That said, McLaren goes on to say that he is convinced that Jesus' good news was better news that we have been led to believe by "the conventional view" he describes as "the gospel of avoiding hell" -- and he encourages us to "reframe" the message from "a gospel about Jesus" to the "gospel of Jesus."

That's the "spin" we're taking to Lambeth. And the influence we'll be exercising at Lambeth will all be in the service of our agenda -- the Gospel Agenda of the Good News of the God who loved us enough to become one of us in order to show us how to walk in love with God and with each other.
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A Woman's Place ...

Here's my very own "Women's Place ..." tea towel hanging over my very own desk on my very own bookshelf.

And here's from Joy Carroll Wallis ... her own reflection on:

A Woman's Place is in the House ... of Bishops

It was almost 16 years ago that I sat in the debating chamber of Church House in Westminster and voted as a member of the House of Clergy to ordain women to the priesthood in the Church of England. At the time I was one of the youngest members of the House of Clergy, and I was in the first group of women ordained to the priesthood.

On Monday, July 7, the general synod meeting in York, England finished the job. At long last they have approved that women may also be consecrated as bishops--jettisoning the custom of a male-only episcopacy.

When women were first admitted to the priesthood in 1994, the synod passed various "safeguards" and "provisions" that included "flying [male] bishops" to serve those opposed to ordaining women. That year, I made an impassioned speech against those "provisions." This time, the women clergy made it clear to the House of Bishops that they wanted women to be bishops, but not at any cost. In a statement issued in May 2008, the women clergy said:

The price of legal "safeguards" for those opposed is simply too high, diminishing not just the women concerned, but the catholicity, integrity and mission of the episcopate and of the Church as a whole. We cannot countenance any proposal that would, once again, enshrine and formalize discrimination against women in legislation. With great regret, we would be prepared to wait longer, rather than see further damage done to the Church of England by passing discriminatory laws. ... If it is to be episcopacy for women qualified by legal arrangements to "protect" others from our oversight, then our answer, respectfully, is thank you, but no.

This incredible and historic decision that the synod has made is all the more wonderful to me because the legislation contains no "safeguards." It has simply a compassionate "code of practice" to be worked out over the next few years.

No women will be consecrated as a bishop until the year 2014 and in the meantime, "arrangements" will be embodied in the code of practice for those who feel bereaved and betrayed by the raising of women to the episcopacy.

It is finally done! And this time I trust that the legislation will pass the test of theological integrity. I doubt that the fallout will be as bad as some have predicted. Many who threatened to leave the Church of England if this legislation passed have already decided to reconsider.

Over the past 14 years of women in priesthood, many gracious and wise women priests have gained a lot of experience in building trusting relationships with those unable to accept their priestly ministry. I have no doubt that those eventually appointed will take this experience into the episcopate. They will do their jobs as shepherds, teachers, and unifiers with prayerful compassion and generosity.

On a more personal note: Whoo hoo!

Joy Carroll Wallis was among the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in England in 1994. She's the author of The Woman Behind the Collar: The Pioneering Journey of an Episcopal Priest. Carroll Wallis lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband (Sojourners editor-in-chief Jim Wallis) and their two sons, Luke and Jack.

For the record ...

Thanks to Episcopal Women's Caucus President Elizabeth Kaeton for this:

The total number of women who are bishops in the Anglican Communion stands at 24 (20 who are active).

• Austrailia - 2
• New Zealand - 2 (one retired)
• Canada - 4
• USA - 15 (3 retired)
• Cuba - 1

At the last Lambeth Conference in 1998, there were 11 women in the Anglican Communion who were bishops.

A gain of 13 over the course of a decade is not exactly wildly galloping progress.

As Flo Kennedy once said, "If we really had come a long way, no one would still be calling us 'baby'."

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Also "for the record" is this reminder of the statement issued by CofE women clergy in May 2008:

The price of legal "safeguards" for those opposed is simply too high, diminishing not just the women concerned, but the catholicity, integrity and mission of the episcopate and of the Church as a whole. We cannot countenance any proposal that would, once again, enshrine and formalize discrimination against women in legislation. With great regret, we would be prepared to wait longer, rather than see further damage done to the Church of England by passing discriminatory laws. ... If it is to be episcopacy for women qualified by legal arrangements to "protect" others from our oversight, then our answer, respectfully, is thank you, but no.

Remember that the next time you hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth of those protesting-too-much that this long overdue move forward by the Church of England was part of a "take no prisoners" feminist agenda.

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I wrote this reflection for the Integrity "InfoLetter" a few weeks ago and now, since we're at "Proper 10" week thought I'd reprise it here:

Ode to Proper 10

It may just be my favorite prayer in the prayer book, and it doesn’t have a catchy title or zippy heading. It’s just the Collect of the Day: Proper 10.

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

It is the prayer I more-often-than-not default to when opening a meeting or a conference or an education forum because I think it offers the perfect balance of prayerfully inviting the gifts of God’s wisdom and human understanding along with the grace and power needed to put those understandings into action.

So as we move forward together into this long, green season of the Sundays After Pentecost, I invite you to join with me in making this prayer part of our common prayer.

Let us pray together for God’s wisdom to continue to inform our advocacy.

Let us pray for understanding to “choose the better portion” as we are confronted with the challenges of proclaiming God’s inclusive love.

And let us pray for grace and power to accomplish the goal we have claimed in the work we have been given to do: the full inclusion of all the baptized in all the sacraments of the church.

It is an audacious goal and we have a full plate of work ahead of us as we work toward accomplishing it. (And that plate was already full before the California Supreme Court added marriage equality to the mix on May 15th!) So let’s claim “Proper 10” as our common prayer for this season of our life and work:

• as we look toward Lambeth Conference and beyond to General Convention 2009;
• as we work to build community in our regions, our dioceses and our congregations;
• as we witness to the nation, the church and the communion the
  truth of God’s love and grace manifest in the lives, relationships and vocations of the LGBT faithful.
  

And may the God who has given us the will to do these things give us the grace and power to perform them.

In the "Hardly Breaking News" department:

Vatican Regret at Anglican Vote to Ordain Female Bishops

The Vatican Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity issued a Statement Tuesday regarding recent events within the Anglican Communion. The Council is headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The statement reads: “We have regretfully learned of the Church of England vote to pave the way for the introduction of legislation which will lead to the ordaining of women to the Episcopacy.


Read the rest here ...

Episcopal Women's Caucus Weighs In

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Episcopal Women’s Caucus (EWC) Board applauds the Church of England Synod’s vote on July 7 to “affirm that the wish of its majority is for women to be admitted to the episcopate” and to prepare by February 2009 a first draft of a “national code of practice” outlining how this will be accomplished.

“The Caucus is celebrating this great news,” said EWC President Elizabeth Kaeton. “The Church of England ‘allows’ women to be ordained to the diaconate, and for the past 15 years the C of E has ‘allowed’ us be ordained to the priesthood. But women have not been ‘allowed’ to be appointed bishops, keeping the stained glass ceiling firmly in place.”Bishops are appointed in the Church of England, not elected in a diocese by clergy and laity as they are in The Episcopal Church.

Kaeton and EWC board members are cautiously optimistic as the Church of England moves forward, including discerning how to “accommodate” those who will not support the episcopacy of women. “While it is important to make room for the multitude of voices in the Church, it is vital to maintain the authority of the office without regard to the person holding the office,” Kaeton said. “Any accommodation must not be used to legislate sexism.”

The EWC will continue to work for the Gospel values of equality and liberation and committed to the incarnation of God's unconditional love --- including and especially in the Church, said Kaeton.“Women and men who have heard the liberation promised in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and who understand ourselves worthy, through Christ, to stand before God as children of God, will work together to continue to crumble the ideology of patriarchy and the system of sexism,” she said.

Whattya think?

An ENS release yesterday announced the unveiling of a new look for the Episcopal Church website ... and here it is!

Check it out and see what you think! The goals for the redesign were, according to ENS: "Easier navigation, better search functionality, and a more modern style"

I haven't had time to "explore" -- and don't expect to get time today -- but my initial reaction is "I like it." Stay tuned for further reviews as they come in!

C of E moves from "if" to "when" ...

... on Women Bishops!

In 1998, I was the Associate Rector at St. Peter's, San Pedro where Art and Fran Bartlett, were members. Art was a retired priest assisting at St. Peter's, Fran ran our DOK Chapter and in the summer of '98 they both made the trek over to the Lambeth Conference of Bishops.

Fran brought me back a tea towel, which hung in my office at St. Peter's and still hangs behind my desk here at All Saints on this very day:


Fran left us a few years ago, but her dogged determination to keep the church moving toward full inclusion is still alive and well. She was absolutely convinced that women "in the house of bishops" was not an "if" thing but a "when" thing and I can just feel her, today, smiling through that glass-less-darkly down on those in the Church of England who have finally managed to drag "Mother Church" to the right side of history on this one.


Here ... live in captivity ... are some actual Women Bishops posing in Canterbury at that 1998 Lambeth Conference. There were only 11 of them then ... I've got an APB out for updated stats on women bishops in the Communion but I DO know there are more than 11 now. And more to come! (And the response to that versicle is: Thanks be to God!)

There is, of course, the requisite wailing and gnashing of teeth going on in the "we're excluded by your inclusion" camp. Here's a bit from a blogger named David Ould:

So it's happened. The Church of England has voted for the single clause option on women bishops with a code of practice to look after dissenters, but no legal provision. The decision not to have legal provision was taken in order to defend the validity of women bishops - to legislate provision for those who dissent would be, it was argued, to undermine the authority of the women bishops. It must be granted that this makes logical sense, nevertheless it finally puts to rest the oft-repeated liberal lie that we are a broad church with room for everyone. I have to say, I feel like an unwelcome stranger in my own church. I am now, in a way, a criminal and my crime is the outrageously henious act of not moving at all.

After all these years, I just still can't wrap my brain around the rot-gut-entitlement that creates this kind of worldview where feeling excluded because you're disagreed with is -- in your mind -- the equivalent of other folks being excluded because of who they are. Never mind that even by their own admission it makes "logical sense" ... they now "feel" unwelcome because women have been admitted into the Boys Club.

Meanwhile, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams walked a fine line, declaring himself "in favour of 'a more rather than a less robust' " form of accommodating traditionalists;" while "opposed to any scheme or any solution to this which ends up, as it were, structurally humiliating women who might be nominated to the episcopate."

I'll take fewer words, and declare myself "thrilled."

Here are some links to news reports of note:
On the BBC News
Thinking Anglicans
Ruth Gledhill's TimesOnline Blog
Riazat Butt in the Guardian
Church Times

And some blogs du jour:
Telling Secrets
PRELUDIUM

"To Affirm the Revolution"

On the Sunday closest to the 4th of July we always use the Lessons for Independence Day at All Saints Church.

We start with this Proclamation (between the Prelude and Opening Hymn:)

Minister: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

People: For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

We pray this Collect of the Day:

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

And then we have an "extra-canonical reading" ... which this year was:

An excerpt from “What we love about America,”

by James Carroll, The Boston Globe, July 3, 2006

America began… as a half-formed and rough idea, but that idea became the meaning against which all life in this country has been measured ever since. And what is that idea? It comes to us by now as the brilliant cliché of the Fourth of July, but with stark simplicity it still defines the ground of our being: “All men are created equal.” That the idea is dynamic, propelling a permanent social transformation, is evident even in the way that word “men” strikes the ear as anachronistic now.

That Jefferson and the others were not thinking of women matters less than the fact that they established a principle that made the full inclusion of women inevitable. And so with those who owned no property, and those who were themselves owned property.

How new is this idea today? Its transforming work continues all around us. The US Supreme Court has faulted the Bush administration for its treatment of detainees in Guantanamo, implicitly affirming that one need not be a citizen of this nation to claim basic rights.

The foundational principle extends to enemy combatants. They, too, are created equal.

And so in other areas. US politics is obsessed with the question of the place of immigrants, legal and illegal. The mainstream argument takes for granted that even here liberalizing change is underway. Confronted with an “illegal” person, the law must still give primacy to personhood.

And, on another front, is it an accident that American Episcopalians are the ones challenging the world Anglican body on the question of equality for gays and lesbians?…

After all, to be an American traditionalist -- and isn’t this what we universally celebrate on the 4th of July? -- is to affirm the revolution.

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Why yes, yes we do, don't we? Affirm the revolution, that is. And what a great reminder it is ... what a gift it is ... to have those words ringing in one's ears as one packs to head across the pond and participate in the ongoing process of proclaiming the Good News of the Creator whose truths we hold to be self-evident.

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Long Live the Revolution!!

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Lions and Tigers and Women Bishops ... Oh MY!

The Church of England moved another "inch" closer to an inclusive episcopate at their General Synod. Thinking Anglicans has a summary of the debate and Ruth Gledhill describes the conclusion thusly:

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So that's it! Unless the laity throw the whole thing out in the final vote at 10.30, admittedly a possibility, the rest of the amendments concern merely the code of practice.

What this means is that the Church is going to move towards the ordination of women bishops with a code of practice, with the draft legislation now to be drawn up to be considered in February next year.

It's not over long-term of course. The legislation will have to get a two-thirds majority in each house when it reaches the final vote in two or three years time. The narrowness of the vote on this motion shows just how close it could be and of course the women priests vote in 1992 only went through when one lay traditionalist woman crossed the house and voted for woman priests instead of against at the very last minute.

More debate after dinner with the final amendments, but women are going to be bishops and there will be a national code of practice for the trads. Christina Rees welcomed it as the 'lesser of two evils' and said the women would accept and work with the code of practice.

The former Archdeacon of York, Ven George Austin, who was watching the debate, has just left, almost in tears. He will stay in the CofE, as long as he has somewhere to worship. 'If I had been a serving priest, I couldn't have stayed.'

I hear rumours of a protest walk-out planned by 100-or so trads at the end of the sessions this evening. And of course there will be more meetings in Rome, more plotting.

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So stay tuned for the latest plot developments in "As the Anglican World Turns" ... meanwhile, back to our regularly schedule Monday.

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The flowers for the altar today ...

... were given to the Glory of God ...

... and in thanksgiving for the life of Donald Lowers.
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So why are you going to Lambeth?

It's the question I just answered in the Weekly Integrity Witness and figued I'd answer here while I was at it.

It's "the question of the week" because -- finally -- after planning and fundraising and organizing and praying and networking this is the week we start leaving for the 20-day Lambeth Conference of bishops of the Anglican Communion, to be held on the campus of the University of Kent in Canterbury.

The conference is designed to create "better bishops for the sake of a better church" -- at least according to this interview with Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
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Hard to argue with that being a good idea -- better bishops, that is -- but it's increasingly easy to argue that schlepping them all to a 20-day conference in England is not necessarily the most cost effective way to meet that goal. Nevertheless, Lambeth 2008 is about to unfold and Integrity will be there.

Which brings me back to the "why?" question.

Here's an answer from our Canterbury Campaign letter:

The historic ties of mutual affection and common history that have bound the diverse, global Anglican family of faith together for generations are under assault by those who would replace communion with conformity as the criterion for a place at the Anglican table. It is critical that, at Lambeth 2008, those committed to the historic ethos of Anglican comprehensiveness stand together to…

• Witness to our shared history;


• Call our Anglican brothers and sisters in Christ to transcend the differences that some insist must divide us;


• Focus on the common mission and ministry that will, in the end, unite us.

It is critical that the LGBT faithful, who have seen their lives and vocations reduced to bargaining chips in a decade-long game of Anglican politics, speak out together and give voice to the hope and the faith their witness to the Anglican Communion represents.

So ... we are going to witness to the Good News of God in Christ Jesus present in our lives, our relationships and our vocations.
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We are going to guarantee that, as the Bishop of New Hampshire puts it, the bishops of the communion will not "gather once again as if there are no LGBT members of this Church and as if their lives, ministries, and relationships don't matter."
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And we are going because we will have the opportunity to live out these words from the Gospel According to Matthew -- words many of us heard in church as we celebrated Independence Day ... this translation from "The Message:"

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
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When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.
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If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

In his sermon yesterday at York Minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury put it this way: "What would Jesus do is a good question to ask," he said. "Where would Jesus be is just as good."
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And we believe where Jesus not only would be but will be with us -- in our prayers and in our witness, in our worship and in our fellowship, in our opportunities and in our challenges.
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Jesus will be in the formal celebration of Eucharist in the Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday morning, July 20th. And Jesus will be in the Eucharist al fresco Integrity and Changing Attitudes will offer on Beverley Meadow that afternoon. (Everybody welcome, BTW -- nobody "banned" from this one! :)
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So keep us in your prayers. Stay tuned to our Lambeth Portal for updates from the front. And remember,

No good thing will God withhold from those who walk with integrity. Psalm 84:11

Report from the front:

AKA "News from Across the Pond"

We're gearing up to "head over" at the end of the week: the UK cell phones have arrived and are charging away, the packing is partly accomplished and I've "messaged" our UK Facebook friends with "what's the weather going to be like" questions (thanks to Ruth Gledhill for the helpful hints!)

But we're also watching the OTHER news across the pond and it's been a busy week. For example:

Giles Fraser tells it like it is in the Sunday Independent:


The conservatives have decided that they can exploit the deep homophobia of many African Christians in order to stage a coup for the soul of the church. Suddenly, we are once again fighting the unresolved battles of the Reformation, with narrow-minded puritans seeking to impose their joyless and claustrophobic world-view on the rest of the church.

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+Rowan Williams steps up in a sermon at the York Minister, according to this piece in the Telegraph:


In a sermon charged with emotion and feeling, but delivered with poise and unflinching stoicism, he set out his inclusive, all embracing vision for the Church. What would Jesus do is a good question to ask," he said. "Where would Jesus be is just as good.

He was reassuring the traditionalists opposed to women bishops that they would not be isolated and offering his support to those who feel threatened by fundamentalism on both sides of the different debates.

But he went further: "He will be with the gay clergy who wonder what their future is in a Church so anxious and tormented about this issue."

It is a shame that extending support to homosexuals in the Church should be a bold move, but it was and the Minster's congregation knew that; particularly considering that conservative Anglicans have just formed a rival church in response to the liberal attitude of the Western churches on the issue.

However, Dr Williams is not going to be cowed anymore into trying to appease everyone. That was what came across from his sermon.

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Meanwhile, the Church of England is gearing up for a knock-down, drag-out over the issue of women bishops (yes, that's still an issue "over there") when it meets in Syod this week. Here's a report from today's Telegraph focusing on efforts of some "senior bishops" to cut a deal with Rome "just in case":

Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops. They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church. Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.

And on and on it goes ...

Playing Catch up ...

So the laundry's humming away, the ironing is done and I'm taking a break from the details-of-life to get some pictures and links posted up from +Gene's visit to All Saints last weekend.

Here we are at the Friday night dinner ... a "not so candid shot" with Serigo Carranza, the Bishop Assistant of Los Angeles and Jim White, the chair of our diocesan GC deputation.

Getting "prayed in" to worship on Sunday morning ...

... and shaking hands after a great sermon: "What I did for love" .

Speaking in the Rector's Forum ... "In the Eye of the Storm" ...

... to a packed house ...

... and signing books after.

Finally, since there was so much "energy" about the shoes +Gene wore for his civil union, I thought folks might like this peek at his socks, too:

And now, back to laundryland!

A Saturday morning stroll around the blog block

First of all, thanks to Jeff for updating the Voices of Witness site with information about the "in production" "Voices of Witness: Africa" project.

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Walking With Integrity has some fun-facts-to-know-and-tell about post-GAFCON Anglicanism in Kenya: NO GAYS ALLOWED. (From the Nairobi Star article: The Anglican Church of Kenya now wants to stop gays attending church.Gays and lesbians will not join the Anglican congregations anymore...unless they renounce their sexuality.)

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Over at Titusonenine, Kendall is having some fun with headlines. The Dar Es Salaam Citizen ran a piece on the Tanzanian church entitled "Church rejects ordination of homosexuals as bishops." Kendall added his own editorial comment to the headline as posted this morning on T-19 "Anglican Church in Tanzania rejects ordination of active homosexuals as bishops." Interesting (to me) that the first sentence of the article reads, "The Anglican Church of Tanzania has reiterated its opposition to the consecration of homosexuals and women as bishops." I'm guessing [a] women bishops are no longer "headline news" and I'm wondering [b] if the rejected women are of the active or the inactive sort.

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Mark Harris offers some typically excellent reflections on Anglican Life After Gafcon.in his piece "Now that the dance is over ..." over at PREDLUDIUM.

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And finally, Episcopal Cafe notes some accolades for inclusion at -- of all places -- the Huffington Post, where blogger Verena von Pfetten had this to say about Holy Trinity NYC ... a parish that drew her attention because of its explicit welcome to canine congregants:

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In checking out the Church of the Holy Trinity's website, I found one little gem that seemed far more worthy of our attention.

Whoever you are, parishioner, friend, neighbor, or seeker, we are honored that you are visiting this website. We invite you to become part of the ministry and spiritual growth happening at Holy Trinity, a community embracing all people, across the spectrum of cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class diversity, as full members of the household of God.

Now, I don't know if this is common, or if this is an episcopalian thing (because, to be honest, I'm not even sure what sort of Christianity episcopalian is), but I'm a lot more excited about this than I am about the chapel being Cheeseburger-friendly. Dogs don't care if they can go to church -- dogs are just as happy sneakily curled up on the sofa chewing a Nylabone while their owners are off saving their souls. And I'm also pretty sure it's not possible to make any sort of cogent argument about the history of discrimination against dogs. Humans, on the other hand, have a sordid and sickening history with prejudice in many and most churches.

So, let's turn our attention and our applause not to the inclusion of our canine companions who, let's be honest, could not care a less, but to the understanding and compassion this church has shown towards its human companions.

It's long overdue.

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It IS long overdue ... and just because it's a long way from coming in -- oh, say Kenya or Tanzania ... doesn't mean we should rejoice and be glad any less in the fact that there are places where God's love is being proclaimed and God's justice is being not just talked about but done!

So here endeth the stroll around the blog block and I'm off to do the ONLY thing on my "to do" list today: PACK FOR LAMBETH. (Oye vey!)

Later, alligators!

Happy 4th!

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Amen.

Thus Spake the Bishop of Durham

OK, OK, OK ... I'll blog about it, already!

Geeze ... The BBC News story has only been UP there about a minute and a half and I've already gotten three emails and a phone call wanting to know why I'm not "on" the N.T. Wright "take down" of the Gafconite Schismatics.

Silly me ... I was getting liturgies organized for Sunday and getting ready to go make a hospital visit as soon as I preside at Noon Eucharist. (See also: The Gay Priest Lifestyle)

ANYWAY, here's the deal ... hot off the BBC presses:

The Bishop of Durham has attacked the Anglican traditionalists

Dr Tom Wright, a traditionalist himself, said Gafcon's plans to let parishes break from liberal bishops were ridiculous and "deeply offensive."

"The idea they have a monopoly on Biblical truth won't do," he said.

[And let the people say: AMEN!]

DO read it all here ... but here's a closing quote from the Bishop of Durham:

I spend 90 to 100 hours a week doing the work of the gospel and the kingdom of God in my diocese and around the place. "And to be told that I now need to be authorised or validated by a group of primates somewhere else who come in and tell me which doctrines I should sign up to is not only ridiculous It's deeply offensive. "The idea that they have a monopoly on Biblical truth simply won't do and we must stand up to this, it's a kind of bullying.

And again I say: AMEN! (And now off to set the table in the chapel ... more later!)

Doing the math

Jim Naughton does the "Lambeth Math" over at Episcopal Cafe:

According to conference planners, more than 650 bishops have registered for the Lambeth Conference. That's slightly more than three-quarters of the invitees. A small number of sees are vacant, and some bishops have scheduling conflicts or simply cannot attend. It is difficult to learn which absentees are part of the Nigerian-led boycott, and which simply aren't coming, but the boycott may account for some 20 percent of potential attendees.

The leaders of GAFCON claimed that some 280 bishops attended their gathering in Jerusalem, but in a telephone press conference on Monday, Bishop Martyn Minns was unable to say how many of that number were diocesan bishops currently in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the figure included signficant numbers of retired bishops, assisting bishops and bishops of groups that have never been part of the Anglican Communion, it is highly misleading. Daniel Burke of Religion News Service was the only member of the media who thought to question it, and it was his question that elicited Minns' response.

According to a recent paper by the Rev. Gregory Cameron, deputy secretary general of the Anglican Communion, some 140 of the bishops who were at GAFCON (and, one assumes, won't be at Lambeth) are Nigerians. If his numbers are right, Nigerians account for not quite two-thirds of the bishops who, for whatever reason, won't be at Lambeth.

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Turn out the light, the party's over ...

... at Jake's Place.

Our friend and brother blogger, Fr. Jake, is hanging it up.

The blog, that is. For now.

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In a post entitled "Last Words" "Jake" explains his decision to turn out the lights at Jake's Place, in summary: We've got some great conversations just waiting to happen beyond the walls of the Church. For me, at least, I think it is time to end this focus on internal squabbles, and begin to look outward.

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But before the lights go out, here are a few more of Jake's parting words of wisdom ...

The Gafconites represent a desperate last gasp of a dying world view. It is difficult to find anyone under the age of forty who have any interest in their peculiar reading of scripture or the tradition, which they then use to justify bigotry in the name of God.

This is much ado about nothing, it seems to me. Fifty years from now, our descendents will look back on all of this and shake their heads in disbelief. The debate about women and gays as equals to everyone else in the kingdom of God will be a footnote along with earlier debates about racial equality.

This current debate is drawing to a close, it seems to me. Thanks be to God. I find little energy left to continue it. It is past time that we cease our inward focus. Our audience should be those outside the walls of the Church, who could care less about these debates. We've allowed ourselves to be distracted for too long. And our witness to the world has suffered as a result.

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We'll miss you, Jake! Go in peace ... and keep in touch!

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Integrity Responds to GAFCON

Integrity joins with leaders from all around the Anglican Communion rising to reject the GAFCON premise that the differences that challenge us as 21st century Anglicans must necessarily lead to division. Rather we claim the historic gifts of our Anglican heritage that give us grace to celebrate diversity and to listen for the voice of the holy in the “other.”

We reject the assertion that seeking to fully include all of the baptized in the Body of Christ is a “false gospel.” Rather we believe it to be a core value of the Good News of the One who became one of us in order to show us how to love one another as he loved us.

And we share the concern that those who “do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury” are abandoning the historic bonds of affection that have knit us together as members of this worldwide Anglican family of God. Replacing those bonds of affection with a straight jacket knit out of doctrinal conformity is not only antithetical to the ethos of Anglican Comprehensiveness, it abandons historic catholicity in its effort to reinvent Anglicanism as a “confessional” church.

Integrity is committed to continuing to work with those with whom we differ as we live into a Global Anglican Future drawing more people to God’s table – not drawing circles to keep them out. We look forward to the opportunities we will have for our own “constructive conversations, inspired prayers, and relational encounters” as we offer our witness to the Good News of God in Christ Jesus made present in our lives, our relationships and our vocations in Canterbury later this month.

(The Reverend) Susan Russell, President
president@integrityusa.org

And the beat goes on ...

Responses to the GAFCON Statement

Lambeth Palace: Archbishop of Canterbury Responds to GAFCON Statement

I believe that it is wrong to assume we are now so far apart that all those outside the GAFCON network are simply proclaiming another gospel. This is not the case; it is not the experience of millions of faithful and biblically focused Anglicans in every province. What is true is that, on all sides of our controversies, slogans, misrepresentations and caricatures abound. And they need to be challenged in the name of the respect and patience we owe to each other in Jesus Christ.

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New York: Presiding Bishop

Much of the Anglican world must be lamenting the latest emission from GAFCON. Anglicanism has always been broader than some find comfortable. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers. Anglicans will continue to worship God in their churches, serve the hungry and needy in their communities, and build missional relationships with others across the globe, despite the desire of a few leaders to narrow the influence of the gospel. We look forward to the opportunities of the Lambeth Conference for constructive conversation, inspired prayer, and relational encounters.

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Canada: Gospel continues to be faithfully proclaimed

Archbishop Hiltz said the GAFCON statement “is based on a premise that there is ‘acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different gospel which is contrary to the apostolic gospel.” He added: “The statement specifically accuses Anglican churches in Canada and the United States of proclaiming this ‘false gospel that has paralyzed the Communion.’ I challenge and repudiate this charge.”

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Washington: Bishop John Chane

... There are primates, bishops, and others in the Communion who are actively seeking to undermine his office. He says that we should not "input selfish or malicious motives to those who have offered pastoral oversight to congregations in other provinces." But there is no doubt that extending such oversight is an effort to foment discord, and punish those who argue on behalf of the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life of our Communion.

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Southwark: Bishop lashes militants for splitting the church

It would seem that some of the authors of the statement from the conference and the founders of the new organisation are coming to Britain to recruit from amongst our parishes and clergy ...What is proposed goes against the spirit of Anglicanism and Archbishop Dr Williams is right to challenge them to think carefully before going on down this path.

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London: Inclusive Church

We regret the stumbling blocks which are created by the insistence on a narrow understanding of scriptural authority, especially for members of Anglican Churches in provinces whose leaders support the ideas of GAFCON. And those who break away from the Anglican Communion will still have the challenge of celebrating the diversity in God's universe, and acknowledging the divine gifts bestowed on people who may be marginalised in some provinces - especially women and lesbian and gay people.

The Chicago Consultation website ...

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... as noted last week on this blog, is now up and running and I have [a] added it to the web links on the right hand nav bar and [b] commend to you particularly the "Making the Case" page as something to bookmark and have "at the ready" to send the next time someone tells you we "haven't done the theology."

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Bravo Jim Naughton, et al, for making this happen!

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With friends like this ...

... who's got time to worry about your enemies?

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Mugabe condemns Williams and sides with anti-gay Anglicans

President Robert Mugabe has condemned Archbishop Rowan Williams as lacking a "moral compass" and said that gays in the church are a sign of "moral degeneracy."

Read the rest here ... curiouser and curiouser!

Out of Africa

Don't miss Katie Sherrod's reflection "Getting voices of witness out of Africa" over at Desert's Child.

Here's but one of those "voices of witness" out of Africa:

"These are people especially the Church leaders who are supposed to be preaching love, tolerance, and acceptance and instead they are the ones trying to preach the opposite of that. Like in today’s newspaper the whole head of Church in Uganda, Orombi, is busy wasting time about gay marriages in UK instead of concentrating on pressing issues that affect the people of Uganda like the war in Northern Uganda. They are busy talking about people married in UK. They are wasting time on issues which are not really a big deal."
-- A lesbian Ugandan

Speaking of marriage equality ...

I just posted this over at Walking With Integrity and think it's worth posting here as well: a reminder that B033 was not the ONLY resolution passed by General Convention 2006:

Resolution A095
Title: Gay and Lesbian Affirmation
Topic: Civil Rights
Committee: Social and Urban Affairs
House of Initial Action: Bishops
Proposer: National Concerns

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention reaffirm The Episcopal Church’s historical support of gay and lesbian persons as children of God and entitled to full civil rights; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention reaffirm the 71st General Convention’s action calling upon “municipal council, state legislatures and the United States Congress to approve measures giving gay and lesbian couples protection[s] such as: bereavement and family leave policies; health benefits; pension benefits; real-estate transfer tax benefits; and commitments to mutual support enjoyed by non-gay married couples;” and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention oppose any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriage or civil unions.


EXPLANATION-- For at least thirty years, and even as debate about the role of gay and lesbian people within the Church has continued, successive General Conventions have recognized the equal claim of gay and lesbian persons to the civil rights enjoyed by all other persons.

In 1994, General Convention (1994-D006) called on all levels of government to support legislation giving same-sex couples the same legal protections as non-same-sex married couples. In light of recent legislative actions in several states, and a proposed federal constitutional amendment, an affirmation of the Episcopal Church's support for equal rights is warranted.