This blog is designed to encourage conversation among the people of the Diocese of Southern Ohio before, during and after General Convention 2006. We've asked deputies and members of the local arrangements committee to post items here as we prepare to host the Episcopal Church in Columbus. We've used this prayer to guide our preparations:
By your eternal word, O God, you call all things into being and fill them with your goodness. Be with your church gathering in convention by your calling in the coming days; fill it with your wisdom and your love, empower it with abiding courage and patience, sustain it through your spirit to carry out the decisions made in council; and in all things, grant that we in Southern Ohio may greet the sojourner and the stranger at General Convention in a manner worthy of your son Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
We encourage respectful conversation and faithful reflection about General Convention. The site will be regularly monitored and edited, if necessary.
Learn more about the Diocese of Southern Ohio
Read more about General Convention
Volunteer to work at General Convention
posted by Richelle Thompson at 1:01 PM
28 Comments:
I'm glad to join this. I believe all of us in the current SOLLI group will be volunteering at Convention. This has the potential to be a great place to keep up with what's going on. I'll put a link to it on my blog.
10:53 AM
It's easy to forget that conducting the business of the church involves a lot of business. A huge number of activities--official, semi-official, and unofficial--will occur in Columbus during June, and none of them will happen smoothly without much work done ahead of time. In meeting with the Planning Committee here in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, I've been amazed at the details we have to deal with. And as we go through the days of the convention, all of us should take the opportunity to thank a volunteer!
9:38 AM
Is this where we initiate the conversations?
I just came across a news story on the Cof E web page re: a report with resolutions from a special committee appointed by the Presiding Bishop. The report details some responses to the Windsor Report and resolutions to be debated at General convention. Like the Windsor Report this one is long and not easily digested. I have not read all of it.
It does clearly call on the Episcopal church to apologize for upsetting other Anglicans by approving the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire. It calls on us to refrain from consecrating any new gay Bishops, but says nothing about gay priests. It calls on us not to approve of blessings of same sex unions, except in Dioceses where they are already approved. Oddly, one of the resolutions says we continue to support gay people in their life in the church.
I saw nothing which, of course I did not yet read it all, which gets us to talking among each other and with the angry Bishops of Africa about the theological and Biblical issues that are at the base of this set of issues.
Clearly, the Convention has its work set out for us.
Is this 'blog' the place where we can discuss these issues?
9:08 AM
Has anyone received a volunteer schedule? I got a notice yesterday but no schedule was attached.
2:17 PM
Thank you for setting up this blog. I joined the Episcopal church not long after the last General Convention, but before I knew that the next one would be right here in Columbus. So that was some good timing.
I will be sure to add a link to this blog at my own blog, Faithful Ohio.
8:10 AM
There are two fundamental questions upon which important discussions will turn at GC'06: (1) Is Scripture a record of God's revelation to humans, over very different times and in very different settings, or is Scripture God's revelation itself? In other words, when we read the Bible, do we learn the truth about how ancient peoples genuinely experienced God, or are we reading God's own words to us? (2) What is the nature of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church we profess? Is our unity the unity of a hierarchy of clergy and lay people, with authority concentrated at the top, or is it the unity of a comprehensive set of beliefs and doctrines which people hold in very different cultures and times, to which one must subscribe to be a Christian, or it it the unity of purpose and work in serving the poor and vulnerable of the world whom Jesus called us to serve? These are the two questions we must answer. Whether we can continue to walk together as Christians may turn on whether we can agree on the second and agree to disagree on the first.
4:50 AM
There are two fundamental quesitons upon which important discussions will turn at GC'06: (1) Is Scripture a record of God's revelation to humans, over very different times and in very different settings, or is Scripture God's revelation itself? In other words, when we read the Bible, do we learn the truth about how ancient peoples genuinely experienced God, or are we reading God's own words to us? (2) What is the nature of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church we profess? Is our unity the unity of a hierarchy of clergy and lay people, with authority concentrated at the top, or is it the unity of a comprehensive set of beliefs and doctrines which people hold in very different cultures and times, to which one must subscribe to be a Christian, or is it the unity of purpose and work in serving the poor and vulnerable of the world whom Jesus called us to serve? These are the two questions we must answer. Whether we can continue to walk together as Christians may turn on whether we can agree on the second and agree to disagree on the first.
4:52 AM
After reading the news about the blessing of the Women's Wall (celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the ordination of women) a vision occurred to me: The blessing of another wall in 2033 celebrating openly gay clergy and bishops...the "Pink Wall" the "Gay Wall?" The name will remain unimportant to me, but the wall is significant as we stand united in our inclusion of all people. This move signifies that God's love does not divide, but provides us with the stability of strength, solace, endurance, comfort...just as we gather at a common table.
BTW, love the BLOG!
Thanks for the other great, thought provoking posts. Thanks.
ar
4:56 AM
Looking for some guidance-
Is it possible to go to convention just to see the exhibits? I have not been able to find details on this, so any help will be appreciated.
10:18 AM
Lisa K said...
Lisa's not the only one wondering. I've been trying to find out the same thing, and can't seem to find it anywhere.
2:17 PM
Sure. Folks can come just to see the exhibits. You have to pay a visitor's fee -- I think a day pass runs $10-$12. That would also get you in all the Houses and legislative meetings for a day too. Hope that's helpful! Richelle Thompson
3:38 PM
Thanks, Richelle. I was hoping to stop by after work to check out the exhibits so that I would have something firsthand to blog about here, but I can't justify spending that on a day that I can only come for a couple hours. Guess I'll watch for the events that are held "off campus", like a Trinity.
4:05 PM
Friends: I am following the work at General Convention of the Special Legislative Committee which is dealing with all the resolutions pertaining to the Windsor Report and issues of human sexuality. They are meeting at every opportunity the Convention schedule allows. This is a well constituted group, and my initial anxiety about how Convention would deal with these issues has been relieved a great deal by their work.
This morning this Committee approved final language of Resolution A159 concerning the commitment to interdependence in the Anglican Communion. It will come to the floor of the House of Deputies as early as this afternoon, though we Deputies may not get to it until tomorrow. The resolution reaffirms our abiding commitment to our Communion.
The Committee also decided this morning to group the remaining resolutions into two batches, dealing (1) with the listening process and the proposal in the Windsor Report for the formation of an Anglican Covenant and (2) with all concrete actions which are invited as a response to the Windsor Report, such as expressions of regret. The Committee will send the second and third batches of resolutions to the House of Deputies in that order.
There is a special hearing this evening to listen to witnesses at Convention on this third of the three batches of resolutions, at 7:30 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt.
10:51 AM
I find it ironic that we, as a church initially founded to circumvent a prohibition (remarriage after divorce) that was explicitly addressed by our Lord (Mark 10:11 etc.), should be convulsing ourselves over an issue that is addressed neither in the Ten Commandments nor in the words of Jesus.
8:26 AM
Just wanted to share that I've posted the text of Bishop Michael Curry's inspiring and entertaining sermon (given at the "U2Charist" on Tuesday night) here.
5:38 PM
As you see coverage on TV and in newspapers about General Convention, keep in mind that we are not actually talking about human sexuality per se. That is a or the background issue. The foreground issue is “ecclesiology,” or the nature of our worldwide church. How can we continue to consider each other as members of the same church if we disagree fundamentally about human sexuality? The disagreement might be and has been about other things as well. We disagree about divorce, about how to fulfill our obligations to the poor, about abortion, about physician assisted suicide, about the proper circumstances for “just war,” and other things.
In our worldwide Anglican Communion, even within our very diverse Episcopal Church, we disagree intensely about such matters. How can we continue to regard each other with Christian love as brothers and sisters in Christ when we see each other as in error on such basic moral questions?
The Special Legislative Committee charged to bring resolutions to the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies has begun to discuss the most difficult questions we must face, and their success so far at reaching consensus is being strained. The major tension with which they are now dealing is this: How do we make clear statements about where we stand and also make statements that do not emphasize our divisions but help us remain together? Given intense disagreements, how do we provide a clear response to the specific requests that we *not* authorize official blessings of same-gender unions and *not* choose partnered gay and lesbian priests to be bishops AND YET ALSO express this response in ways that will not be divisive? An up-or-down vote will be divisive, with winners and losers. Anything else might not provide a clear response.
This is a significant challenge, and it is not yet clear how the Special Legislative Committee and the Convention will resolve it.
3:00 AM
Thank you delegates for faithfully posting your observations. I had been signed up as a volunteer, but I lost my job the first of May and couldn't justify the cost of gas and meals when things are tough at home. It just didn't seem like good stewardship. So it has been a blessed experience to be able to read your thoughts and observations and thus attend the convention by proxy. Please keep it up until convention is over. Rev. Jackson, say hello to John for me. I'm the one who brought him back to Cincinnati after the Genesis weekend in Dayton.
10:18 AM
I wanted to say thank you to those who have posted comments here - I can feel the spirit moving, and hope you will continue to offer your insights for us to share.
3:02 PM
Praise the Lord - she was my favorite all along -
Welcome and Hooray
Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Fran Malone - DSO - Church of the Good Samaritan
3:41 PM
Tuesday morning, June 20
The Special Legislative Committee dealing with resolutions concerning the Windsor Report has concluded the principal part of its work. They voted three times on Sunday, in split votes each time, between, on the one hand, language that was clearly supportive of a traditionalist position on human sexuality and, on the other, language that would be less divisive but not as clearly taking a position on the permissibility of same-sex unions.
The Committee ended up sending out resolutions with language that was more firmly traditionalist than the language with which they began, arrived at by the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, but which also acknowledged the pain caused to gay and lesbian people by such language.
One of the lessons from this experience for me has been seeing this diverse, balanced group of 19 on the Committee work very hard and also intelligently through their disagreements. They have ended up sending out each of the resolutions they are recommending with unanimous or nearly unanimous support. Their tedious and intense face-to-face work has yielded a kind of friendship and consensus which the House of Deputies does not have a chance to develop in discussion of these issues.
The 19 people on this Special Committee have not changed their various positions on human sexuality, but they have come to a consensus about how to go forward as a church within our Communion. The House of Deputies regularly comes into each legislative session with around 840 deputies present for debate in a room so large you need binoculars to see from one end to the other.
The House of Deputies yesterday adopted an amended version of the resolution on expressing regret for the strains caused in relationships across the worldwide Anglican Communion, including within The Episcopal Church, by the actions surrounding the 2003 General Convention. The vote was approximately 2 to 1 in favor of the resolution.
The House of Deputies proceeded then to discuss a resolution (a) urging against the nomination, election, consent to, and consecration of persons whose “manner of life” would cause further strain within the Communion and (b) pledging not to authorize the development of rites for official blessings of same-sex unions. Debate on this resolution will continue this morning. My hunch is that the vote will be different this time. For one thing, it will be “a vote by orders,” on which it is much more difficult to obtain a majority in favor. But I also sense a different “mood of the House” on this matter.
6:24 AM
Does anyone know how I can reach Fr. Ronald Baird ?
It's very urgent !!!
5:30 PM
You can reach Fr. Ron Baird at rbaird@saintmatthewsonline.org
1:35 PM
`SADDENED AND OUTRAGED:
one Episcopalian’s response to General Convention’s late action on the Windsor Report
The Church came so close! The House of Deputies had rejected a resolution (A161) which would have called on Bishops and Standing Committees to “refrain” from consecrating bishops “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church.”
But then, at the last minute the Convention passed Resolution B033, calling on Bishops and Standing Committees not to consent “to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.” The language ‘manner of life’ is obviously code for ‘partnered persons of homosexual orientation’; ‘will lead to further strains’ is code for ‘offending those who would exclude such persons’.
In adopting this resolution, the Church in convention has chosen an illusory “place at the [Anglican] table” for the incoming Presiding Bishop, instead of standing clearly for justice and inclusiveness. The Church has tacitly sanctioned bigotry and discrimination against a whole category of people.
Many bishops and delegates of good will are asking us for patience, having created what they see as opportunity for conversation within the Anglican communion. There are at least two problems with this:
Appeasement is never effective. There are those in the Anglican Communion who would have us permanently block gay and lesbian persons from positions of leadership in the Church. Such Anglicans do not want conversation. They want compliance. To appease them only encourages them to continue to dominate.
Justice delayed is justice denied. In the public sphere, after centuries of racism, there were still voices counseling patience from the civil rights movement. Now with homophobic bigotry, as then with racism, how long must we wait? How long must we wait for justice? Is it not long past time?
I find myself crying out, How long, O Lord, how long!!
At my age (80), having tried for 30 years to educate my little corner of the church about the normalcy of homosexual orientation, and having battled a witless biblical literalism much longer than that, I am unwilling for my Church any longer to choose false unity instead of elementary justice.
The “unity,” on whose altar our Church’s latest equivocation is laid, is false and paper thin. There can be no unity with bigots, unless we settle for an unequal relationship of dominance and appeasement. Theologically, the case can be made that God has already made the human family one. Human institutions can build barriers that deny that reality, but can neither create nor destroy it.
General Convention took some actions for which I thank God: most notably the election of Bishop Jefferts Schori and the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals. We can proceed constructively on those fronts, despite distracting ourselves by attending to the ‘strains’ which some experience as a result of their uninformed homophobia. I trust that some time as a Church we’ll stop that distraction altogether simply by ending discrimination of all kinds.
I am renouncing my ordination, since I no longer in conscience can honor my vow as a priest to be subject to the authority of a church which persists in sanctioning bigotry and exclusion. Priesthood has been a great blessing, and to relinquish it is a very costly action for me. As a member of the laity, I intend to continue to proclaim the faith of Jesus and the prophets, and to work for peace and justice and love.
-- Paul Nicely
7:08 AM
I am grateful to Paul Nicely to walk the talk and find the courage to act on his own convictions. What a loss for our church!
2:21 PM
Interesting comments all.
This was the first GC that I have attended, and I have to say that I was truly impressed with what I saw.
This way of "doing church" that we are following is messy, and exhausting, and sometimes really frustrating...but in the end, it can also be breathtaking to see the Spirit move through women and men, clergy and lay, veteran and rookie. Sometimes it looks like one step back for every two steps forward...that is, I think, a natural result of God working with such flawed instruments (us!), but I am confident that in the end, God's hope and purpose is being worked out in our Church. Thanks be to God!
Last week we had an open discussion on GC06 at our parish, and it was really interesting. One of the big questions that came up that I would like to put to a larger audience is:
"So what? What impact does the decisions of GC really have on our parish life? Do most people really pay attention? Why should I follow the decisions of GC when several Bishops don't even seem willing to adhere to them?"
I would appreciate any thoughts...
Grace and Peace,
Joe Snavely
7:26 AM
I am saddened and disappointed that Paul Nicely has renounced his ordination. Acting on his convictions has been his way of life, and I know he has not done this lightly. Our church (both local and national) is much the poorer for his action.
12:23 PM
I just wanted Paul to know that I've posted his letter on my blog. (Click my name). There are some messages for him in the comments.
7:54 AM
Paul Nicely is owed a debt of great gratitude for his gift of prophetic utterance and action. As compliant Christians -Paul seems to be saying we are all enslaved if we consent to any part of our corporate body having less than full and inclusive access. Equality, not in the Kingdom to come, but the Kindom now.
Pickerington OH
8:31 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home