The work of any Convention is resolutions. Forming them, debating them and then voting on them. And this Convention is finally in high gear. The House of Bishops is chugging through resolutions like a well-oiled machine. The House of Deputies, which only meets once and then everyone is re-elected, is a much slower body. They argue over punctuation and syntax, construction and content. And then have to contend with their electronic voting devices, which are still problematic. Here is a little snippet of what has already taken place today.
At 7:30 AM, I arrived (with about 200 others) for the meeting of the Special Committee on the Anglican Communion. Yesterday, the first of 6 planned resolutions made it to the floor:
A159: Commitment to Interdependence in the Anglican Communion: …reaffirm the abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion, and seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible; passed the house of Deputies with minor modification and is expected to pass today in the HOB
And A166 Anglican Covenant Development Process …as a demonstration of our commitment to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Anglican Communion, support the process of the development of an Anglican Covenant…passed in the HOB and is headed for the HOD today.
Are these folks basking in their success? No. They are trying desperately to figure out how to schedule enough meeting time to deal with their other 12 resolutions they have been given. Please pray for these folks!
Passed HOB 6-15-06 and is scheduled for today in the House of Deputies.
A020 Amend Article 1.2 House of Bishops
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution be amended as follows:
All Bishops of this Church, except any excluded by canon or under the Rules of the House, shall have seat and voice in the House of Bishops. Each Bishop of this Church having jurisdiction, Bishop Coadjutor, Bishop Suffragan, Assistant Bishop, and every bishop holding an office created by General Convention shall have a vote in the House of Bishops. A majority of all Bishops entitled to vote shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for transaction of business.
This amendment to Article 1, Section 2, shall take effect immediately upon passage.
And, indeed, it did take place immediately. This morning the 5 bishops-elect, who were approved by the House of Deputies yesterday came to the House of Bishops for consent. They include: Bill Love, of Albany; David Reed, Suffragan, West Texas; Dena Harrison, Suffragan, Texas; Todd Ousley, Eastern MI and Marc Andrus, California.
The only discussion on these bishops-elect was to ask the Committee that approved them if after election and consecration, will they participate with us in this House, receive communion and come to our meetings. The committee did ask and received confirmation of the same from each of the candidates. So, although the orthodox bishops refrain from full participation in these meetings because they are treated rudely and with disdain, the House wants assurance that the new ones will at least attempt to find a way to participate.
This House does not have electronic voting devises. They still vote by hand, by acclamation and today, by written ballot. So they have a 10-minute “break” now to get their ballots, mark them and turn them in. Much wandering about, chatting and some apparent signs of signing paper ballots.
Yesterday, the House of Bishops approved the second reading to a Constitutional Amendment in their House about who may vote. As of this morning, when the amendment was affirmed in the House of Deputies, only bishops with jurisdiction may vote. That means you have to be the bishop of a diocese, a Suffragan bishop, an Assistant bishop or hold an office created by General Convention to have a vote. All retired bishops just lost their vote. They are given seat and voice, but no ability to amend or vote. Many have come to this convention to vote on the new PB, thinking that this will not take effect for 4 months. Now they will not have a vote. Some grumbling. Not a lot.
Vote was just suspended. A majority of bishops requested “private time at their tables to discuss the nominees prior to vote.” I would guess – and this is a guess – that the question is about Bill Love from Albany. He is replacing Bp. Herzog, who has not been a fan of this House. So, this will come up again much later today. The 6th bishop-elect was not released with the rest of the pack. He has been divorced twice and is married for the 3rd time. The Committee on the Election of Bishops requested a second interview. This morning, that committee released his nomination to the floor. I remember less than 20 years ago when your first divorce meant you resigned your priesthood. Now we are approving a bishop with 2 divorces. Is nothing sacred?
On Tuesday, I told you about a particularly vicious resolution –CO40 - submitted by the Diocese of Vermont. It supports “activities and programs that will further our knowledge of and love for Holy Scripture and at the same time, counter ways of interpreting the Bible which oppresses/marginalizes certain groups: persons of color, different faith traditions and (at this time especially) gay and lesbian persons.”
The Scripture committee of the House of Bishops has modified this resolution and it now states:
“The Bible has sometimes been used to justify oppressive institutions and practices, supports efforts to foster methods of biblical interpretation which do not lend support to oppressive systems…” This passed the HOB 6-15.
This morning, just before noon, The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Chief Executive Officer of the Anglican Consultative Council, Lambeth Palace, London, addressed the House of Bishops this morning. This is a verbatim copy of his text.
“I have been in this position for 18 months. I was raised in the Anglican Church in Ireland and am here as a visitor. [No seat; no vote] I do report my findings to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The debate I am interested is very clear. And that is how you respond to Windsor report. This whole process has taken up a huge amount of your time, and indeed many people’s time around the Communion. I am confidant that a clear process is in place. [for evaluating and adopting the Windsor Report]
“Several strands at work in the Communion:
1. The Panel of Reference. This panel is very much up and running. It has met twice in past year, most recently in February. Most of the work of this panel is done in small groups between these general meetings. Work must be done painstakingly slow and carefully. Progress is made but with careful and painstaking work. [This is the panel that hears disputes between parishes that don’t get along with their bishop, some of which lead to requests for alternative Episcopal oversight. The Connecticut 6 and Florida 8 are examples of this.]
2. Joint Standing Committee of Primates and ACC met in March, set up a small group to assist ABC in assessing your response to WR here. They will report to meeting of primates early next year. [Several of the authors of Windsor are on this panel and will meet later this summer.]
3. The Listening Process. Canon Phil Groves has become the full time officer to see this process moves forward. This process was first agreed to at Lambeth Conference 1978. Remember they have been ask to monitor and share information about local listening processes throughout the communion. Canon Grove monitors what is happening in each province. The Listening process is a nuclear listening process, not one group being listened to by another. All must listen to each other.
4. The Anglican Covenant. There is widespread approval for a covenant, but no interest in the text of covenant appended to WR. The Joint Standing Committee will set up a covenant-working group, which will begin shortly. Could take 6-8 years because of extensive consultation process needed during the development. [This means the Covenant will be adopted at Lambeth 2018, not 2008, as earlier speculated.]
“My work also centers on ecumenical relations, mission and evangelism. Plus we need to hire a new observer at UN. Much of my time is spent patching up the tapestry, this fabric God has woven. Look at the wonder of our Anglican Communion and celebrate the diversity of fabrics that make it up. Thank you for your welcome and support of our work at the Anglican Communion.”
While those around me thought this address was a waste of time, I felt that the Canon made three things very clear:
1. Officials at the Anglican Communion are watching what we are doing and how we are doing it.
2. There will be a response to what we do by a panel that has already been chosen, dates set for meeting, and with the Archbishop of Canterbury
3. Other aspects mentioned in the Windsor Report, especially the listening process, does not mean that groups of ECUSA gays will be sent to other provinces to speak to them about homosexuality and the audience will be forced to listen. This is the common notion promoted by advocates of the listening process in this country, rather like a lecture process. Many homosexuals demonstrating at Lambeth 98 were deeply angered/offended when African bishops prayed for their deliverance from this affliction. The listening process will be a local event with each side expected to listen to the other.
So, there is much to pray about. While we revel in the 70-degree weather here, our friends in Texas are still in the high 90’s and low 100’s. I continue to be surprised by the tiny outbreaks of joy that happen here. This morning, after a very short night, and a frustrating Special Committee meeting, I was trudging to the Press Briefing when I rounded a corner and was surrounded by about 100 people singing “Alabare” in Spanish. There was a small band of musicians and four bishops from Honduras, Puerto Rico and Guatemala leading the crowd in the song. They continued for about 20 minutes. The joy in the music was infectious. It lifted my spirits and footsteps as I began another 12-hour day. The picture of the bishops leading the singing where all the shuttle busses arrive is in a following email. I pray that each of you will find unexpected joy today, too. More tomorrow. Cherie Wetzel for Anglicans United
