Here's what the Bishop of Upper South Carolina had to say about the actions of the 77th General Convention in adopting transgender inclusive resolutions D002 and D019:
I spoke against this on the floor of the House of Bishops because of the confusion in church and culture about just what “transgender” and “gender identity” mean. Further, we haven’t even begun a conversion about this in the wider church. I was surprised and dismayed by this vote.So here's the deal: I totally get that good people of deep faith read the same scriptures, love the same Jesus and come to different conclusions about a whole variety of issues.
What I do NOT get is how a bishop of this church can say we "haven't begun a conversation" in the wider church when [a] we passed several transinclusive resolutions at the LAST General Convention in 2009 and [b] "Voices of Witness: Out of the Box" -- the video documentary of the voices of witness of transgender Episcopalians was snail-mailed to every bishop and deputy ahead of our meeting in Indianapolis -- was a topic of conversation and reflection at convention -- and has nearly 8000 views on YouTube and [c] members of TransEpiscopal did a brilliant, thorough and faithful job of speaking to both the resolutions in quesiton and to transgender issues in general in legislative hearings.
Seriously. If the conversation hasn't "begun" in Upper South Carolina then I guess I'm the one who is surprised and dismayed that their bishop hasn't stepped up and helped make that happen. I guess you could say it "makes the heart sad."
3 comments:
Ayup. Tis easy to be dismayed by our Bishop. And yes sadness is the right word. I feel so enriched to have found your blog some time ago. Reading it lets me know that the love I KNOW is in the church is indeed in the church, just elsewhere. It hurts to know that if only I lived in another part of the country my partner and I could have full inclusion in our church. What a kicker to have geography play such a role. But rest assured, my partner and I continue to work within the church to help Upper SC move closer to the vision of the inclusive church Jesus imagined. My time in the other diocese of SC is almost unimaginable with the current status of their Bishop. Tomorrow we will hear what Bishop Waldo has to offer in person as to what GC77 means to Upper SC.
And some people sit with their hands covering their ears and say, "Lalalalalalalala, I can't hear you."
I wonder if that Bishop will Ever have that conversation with his flock. And I wonder what that conversation will sound like.
Post a Comment