Fr. Eric Dudley Responds to General Convention, 2006
June 25, 2006
Dear Members of St. Peter’s:
While I am sorry that I cannot be with you this morning in worship, I am very happy to have some time with my family relaxing and unwinding from the busyness of the past year.
Because the decisions that led to the creation of St. Peter’s Church were tied to the previous actions of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and because so much of the future of the Anglican Communion will be decided by the actions of the most recent General Convention, I thought it important that I speak to these actions.
As you know, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church wrapped up its meetings in Columbus, Ohio last Wednesday. While I had imagined that the Convention would offer only a very muddled response to the current controversies, my prayer has been for clarity. Thankfully, there has been clarity both in the election of the new Presiding Bishop and in the action taken regarding the requirements of the Windsor Report.
The 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church has elected as its Presiding Bishop the Reverend Katherine Jefferts Schori, bishop of Nevada. Bishop Schori voted in favor of Gene Robinson in 2003, supported the blessing of same-sex unions, and voted against Resolution B001 which affirmed the authority of Scripture. She has made clear in these recent days her continued support for full inclusion of gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgendered persons in the leadership of the Church, and in her first sermon as Presiding Bishop-Elect referred to our “Mother Jesus” who is giving birth to a new creation. Interestingly, the entire delegation from the Diocese of Florida unanimously voted in support of Bishop Schori.
The House of Deputies, after brief debate, defeated soundly Resolution 161 which would have complied with the Windsor Report’s requirement for a moratorium on same-sex unions, ordinations of priests and consecrations of bishops who are living in same-sex relationships. As a result, in a frantic effort to remain a part of the Anglican Communion, Presiding Bishop Griswold called a special legislative session in the final hours of the convention pleading with the Convention to give “. . .some clear sense that we are not ignoring the sensibilities of the larger Communion.” A resolution was passed calling on standing committees and bishops to “. . .show restraint by not consenting to consecrations of candidates whose manner of life may challenge the larger church.” While this resolution passed, it fell far short of the repentance expected by the Windsor Report, and did not address at all the issue of the ordination of practicing homosexuals or the blessing of same-sex unions. Further, according to National Public Radio, thirty bishops led by Bishop Chane of Washington, have already stated that they would not refrain from participating in consecrations of men and women who are gay.
While I am deeply sorry for what has occurred in the Episcopal Church, I am thankful for this clarity, because it will allow those who have anxiously struggled for some sign of hope from this Convention to move on with their lives. I do not wish ill for the Episcopal Church, but continue to pray for their repentance and reconciliation to the larger Communion.
I ask you to be very gentle and kind with our brothers and sisters who remain in the Episcopal Church, knowing that for many of them this is a hard blow to take. May God grant us humility and light as we continue to seek to follow Him in the fullness of Holy Word.
God’s Blessings,
Eric D. Dudley,
Rector