Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Integrity on the "Communion Partners'" Statement on Episcopal Polity (etc.)

(Yes, this would be the "line in the sand"
I referred to a few days ago,
More to come on this one, boys and girls!)

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Integrity applauds the “outing” of both the “Bishops’ Statement on the Polity of the Episcopal Church” and the email trail between the framers and signers of a document clearly designed to continue to undermine the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church.

Though couched in ecclesiastical language, the statement is an entirely political document. It attempts to lay the foundation for an unprecedented power grab by anti-gay bishops who will assert that they are not bound by the Episcopal Church’s governing body: General Convention. These bishops seek to increase their own authority, while diminishing the role of the laity and clergy in the governance of the church.

“We have been given a look at ’the men behind the curtain’ manipulating a schism driven agenda while professing to work transparently for reconciliation”, said Integrity President Susan Russell.

“To quote one long-time ally’s response to these documents, ‘This is stunning. It is remarkable to think about the plotting that is going on. In many ways I am just too naïve.’”

“This statement – and the email trail leading up to its creation – should be required reading for all who will be making decisions in good faith at our upcoming General Convention,” said Russell. “We cannot afford to be naïve about the forces working to divide this church and distract it from its call to live out the gospel in the world. And we must not accept the false choice between unity and justice being presented by the very people working behind the scenes to create disunity and foment schism.”

The argument that dioceses are independent of the Episcopal Church is novel, and a creature of convenience. It seeks to camouflage the desire of anti-gay bishops and theologians to punish the Church for consecrating an openly gay bishop and permitting the blessing of same-sex relationships in some dioceses.

The authors of these emails profess to be loyal Episcopalians, but they openly express their hope that this statement will be used in litigation by individuals who have left the Episcopal Church to join forces with virulently anti-gay bishops in other parts of the world and are attempting to take the Church’s property with them.

A number of the bishops who have reportedly signed on to this statement are members of the "Communion Partners Bishops’ Network." When founded, this group pledged to work transparently and in cooperation with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in attempting to reconcile those of differing theological views. These emails make clear that the group instead was working surreptitiously to undermine the Bishop of Colorado, and seeking to set up a system of episcopal oversight controlled entirely by the Communion Partners.

The work of reconciliation in the Anglican Communion was thoroughly compromised by a theologian and a bishop named in this correspondence who used their positions on important Communion-wide bodies to advance the agenda of the Communion Partners network. The Rev. Ephraim Radner, who is copied on these emails and whose name appears on the statement, helped draft the proposed Anglican Covenant. Bishop Gary Lilibridge, who the emails suggest offered advice on drafting the statement, was a member of the Communion’s Windsor Continuation Group.

Both bodies produced documents that create significant impediments to the full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the Church, while the proposed covenant removed obstacles to the inclusion of anti-gay churches, dioceses and parishes in the councils of the Communion.

The emails concerning the Diocese of Colorado make clear that this group will use the proposed Anglican Covenant as a tool for moving individual congregations out from under the authority of their diocesan bishops. This strategy can be employed not only in the Episcopal Church, but across the Anglican Communion.

"It is time for The Episcopal Church to "just say no" to the forces working to divide it and get on with bringing people into the work and witness of the gospel," concluded Russell. "Our Lord promised us that the truth will set us free. Our prayer is that knowing more now about the truth of what is going on behind the scenes of the Communion Partners Network will indeed set us free to get with the work of being the church in the world for ALL God's beloved human family."

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For other background on this story see:

Thinking Anglicans: Communion Partners Forge Ahead

Mark Harris: Heads Up

Elizabeth Kaeton: Anglican Teabagging

The Washington Blade: Episcopal leaders look to enhance anti-gay schism

Times Online: Episcopal Email Conspiracy Unwrapped

Tobias Haller: BS from ACI

6 comments:

KJ said...

Let's see if I've got it.

"You will respect my authority!"

How'd I do?

viator said...

If the emails you mention are those whose contents are described by Mark Harris, then what has been "exposed" is an effort by a number of Bishops and clerics to remain in the Episcopal Church and retain their convictions that SSBs, etc, are not permitted by Scripture and Tradition. When trying to stay in the Episcopal Church is "spun" as trying to leave it or foment schism, then ideology has overwhelmed reality.

Frair John said...

When it is sold in terms of "establishing facts on the ground" to help score points in court, not so much.
This is an attempt to provide cover for GAFCON and to try and institutionalize this weird parallel structure they crave so much.

Frair John said...

I would also add that I'm irritated by the fact that they think these transparently silly arguments will impress us all.
This is a completely revisionist history.

murat11 said...

What hypocritical nonsense on the part of these bishops. No submission to any central authority on their parts, but damned if any of us should refuse to submit to their positions on full "exclusion."

It seems to me that if central authority is suspect for them, it is (and most certainly should be) suspect for us.

It's not Katharine Jefferts Schori's authority they're afraid of: it's the true and established authority of the laity, those who elected them in the first place.

Dale Matson said...

"The argument that dioceses are independent of the Episcopal Church is novel, and a creature of convenience. It seeks to camouflage the desire of anti-gay bishops and theologians to punish the Church for consecrating an openly gay bishop and permitting the blessing of same-sex relationships in some dioceses."
Susan,
I don't have a dog in this fight but how you can come to the conclusion that the effort to allow a Diocese to sign on to the Anglican Covenant is really an attempt to punish TEC for it's consecration of VGR is a mystery to me.