Blog on Daily Office

I probably won't be sending any more remarks through my General Convention blog, but if you've been following this blog, I'd love to invite you to my regular blog

Nearly each weekday morning I write a reflection based on the readings from the Daily Office of Morning Prayer. Here's the address: http://lowellsblog.blogspot.com/

If you'd like to receive these Morning Reflections via email, give your address to Kathy at secretary@stpaulsfay.org

Thanks,
Lowell

Post-Convention Follow-Up

Here's a follow-up note about some things I think may be of interest to some who follow General Convention.

First, a note to my congregation. Kathy has just arrived in Anaheim. She has a conference at UCLA starting Sunday afternoon, so we're spending the time together between now and then. I'll fly back to Fayetteville Sunday afternoon.

My "Friends Talking" class on Sunday, July 26 will feature conversation about the General Convention at 10:00 in the Parish Hall.
________

As I reflect on General Convention, with particular attention to our relationship with the Anglican Communion I've had a thought.

From the perspective of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church is now the position St. Paul found himself in Acts 15. Paul had recognized the gifts of the Spirit in Gentiles -- despite the teaching of scripture and the tradition requiring circumcision and adherence to Torah -- and Paul had baptized and laid hands on those Gentiles nonetheless. Paul came to Jerusalem to the Apostolic Council to give witness about the presence of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit in the lives and ministries of Gentiles. The Apostolic Council listened to his witness, blessed his work, and sent him forth as the Apostle to the Gentiles. I hope the Anglican Communion will do likewise.

At the least, the Communion might want to take the advice of Gamaliel, the first century rabbi who appealed to the Sadhedrin not to act punitively against the Christians. His argument: if their movement is not of God, it will die of its own weight; but if it is of God, you could find yourself fighting futilely against God's Spirit.

Let's stay together; talk; listen; agree to disagree; go to communion together; and go out into the world in mission to serve the world in Christ's name.
________

I had the opportunity to be on a telephone interview with BBC Radio 4 along with Bishop Ed Little. Bishop Little is a gracious spokesman for conservative Episcopalians and someone I have admired from a distance for a long time. (He sits at the same table with Larry Benfield in the House, and I know how fond Larry is of him.) I thought we had a constructive conversation, and I hope it will be edited for the British audience in a constructive way.
________

When the House of Bishops took up debate about D025 concerning the Episcopal Church's relationship with the Anglican Communion and our policies on ordination, our Bishop Larry Benfield was the first, or among the first to speak. I've heard from several other bishops how much they appreciated his words and his leadership.

Here is the text of Bishop Benfield's address to the House of Bishops during that debate.

Statement by Larry Benfield, bishop of Arkansas, on the floor of the House of Bishops regarding Resolution D 025
July 13, 2009

I speak in favor of D 025.

One thing of which I stand in awe is how the early church was able to put into words God’s revelation of the Trinity and develop a creedal language 1600 years ago that has lasted down to the current age.

The revelation and the creedal language tell us of a Trinity that is mysteriously and intimately intertwined, with an unbounded reciprocal love. We do not understand its complexity, but we do see the results of that love; it is an outpouring of love for all of creation, especially an outpouring of love toward humanity, a love whose ultimate expression is in the love of Christ for humankind.

Likewise, the love of one human being for another, as creatures created in the image of God, is a complex and mysterious thing. Such love can take the form of friendship, or of what the New Testament calls agape, or of sexual love, to name but a few examples. Just as with the reciprocal love of the Trinity, we rarely understand human love, and sometimes are even frightened by it, as in the case of sexual love, because it is so personal, indeed, so intimate.

But we do see the results of such human love, as when the love of two people for one another causes them to reach out in love and concern for others. By saying that we will limit that love and concern for one another and, by extension, to others, simply on the basis of chromosomal make-up is fearful at best, and at worst a human obfuscation of the very mystery of the outpouring love of the Trinity.

I contend that we already have a theological rationale for moving forward in areas of human sexuality. In fact, we have had it for 1600 years, but only in this generation have the scales begun falling from our eyes. In ways that we frequently do not understand, we have a tangible glimpse of the divine love of the Trinity.

We need to witness to this generation, bringing good news now. Proclaiming the good news is never a future event; it is always a present honor and responsibility. If we as bishops always want to wait for a more opportune time, I fear that we are forgetful of our ordination vow to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of our people.
_____________

The General Convention spoke on some other issues that are of interest to many. Here are some that caught my attention.

B006 – Immigration
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention recognize that all people living in the United States are entitled to protection provided by due process of law and that all immigrants and their families are entitled to receive protection granted by our laws and Constitution; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention call for a moratorium on roadside checkpoints and raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at work sites, transportation systems, community gatherings, places of worship, lawful assemblies and private residences leaving families torn apart and children parentless and negatively affecting businesses, workers, and communities; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention advocate for a return of congressional consideration and implementation of comprehensive immigration reform which will allow millions of undocumented immigrants who have established roots in the United States and are often parents and spouses of U.S. Citizens to have a pathway to legalization and to full social and economic integration in to the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention deplore conditions found in immigration detention centers and the over-reliance on a costly prison-like detention system for immigrants, and urge the uses of alternatives to detention, and calls for accountability and oversight to ensure detainees are provided with humanitarian treatment, adequate food and medical care and sanitary conditions; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention call for termination of any program which allows or funds local enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law, and return that enforcement to Federal Immigration Agents, leaving local law enforcement agencies the work of keeping communities safe and dedicating their resources to that end, and provide for a sense of safety for immigrant victims of crimes to come forward and report without fear of detention and deportation, and be it further

Resolved, That in as much as youth are a priority of the Episcopal Church, the 76th General Convention support the provision of conditional legal status for undocumented youth who arrived as infants and/or children and have grown up as members of our communities and schools, providing for them the opportunity to pursue higher education and/or serve the United States so they can become full contributing members of our communities and could eventually become U.S. Citizens.
________________

The convention also passed the following resolution about health care.

C071
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention call on its congregations to undertake discussions within the parish of the issue of health care coverage in the United States, including:

a) recognition that health is multi-dimensional, with spiritual, social, environmental, and mental elements as well as physical,

b) reminder of personal responsibility for healthy life choices and concern for maintaining one's own health,

c) proclaiming the Gospel message of concern for others which extends to concern for their physical health as well as spiritual well-being,

d) responsibility as a parish to attend to the needs (including health-related needs) of others, both other members of the parish family and those of the wider community, the nation, and the world,

e) recognition that there are limits to what the healthcare system can and should provide and thus that some uncomfortable and difficult choices may have to be made if we are to limit healthcare costs; and be it further

Resolved, That, The Episcopal Church urge its members to contact elected federal, state and territorial officials encouraging them to:

a) create, with the assistance of experts in related fields, a comprehensive definition of "basic healthcare" to which our nation's citizens have a right,

b) establish a system to provide basic healthcare to all,

c) create an oversight mechanism, separate from the immediate political arena, to audit the delivery of that "basic healthcare,"

d) educate our citizens in the need for limitations on what each person can be expected to receive in the way of medical care under a universal coverage program in order to make the program sustainable financially,

e) educate our citizens in the role of personal responsibility in promoting good health; and be it further,

Resolved, That this resolution be distributed to all Provinces and dioceses of The Episcopal Church for their consideration and support.
_______

D048 – Health Care: Single Payer Universal Health Care Program

passed very narrowly in the House of Deputies – 404/396

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th Convention of the Episcopal Church urge passage of federal legislation establishing a "single payer" universal health care program which would provide health care coverage for all of the people of the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention direct the Office of Government Relations to assess, negotiate, and deliberate the range of proposed federal health care policy options in the effort to reach the goal of universal health care coverage, and to pursue short-term, incremental, innovative, and creative approaches to universal health care until a "single payer" universal health care program is established; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church shall work with other people of good will to finally and concretely realize the goal of universal health care coverage; and be it further

Resolved, That church members and the Office of Government Relations communicate the position of the Episcopal Church on this issue to the President and Members of Congress, and advocate passage of legislation consistent with this resolution.
______

We'll be getting the deputation together to visit around the state for Q & A and further conversation about General Convention.

Lowell

General Convention, Last Day, July 17

General Convention, Friday, July 17 – The Final Day

Legislative Committee meetings are through, except for an occasional quick called meeting to respond to any changes that the bishops might make to our committee's bills. The committee has to vote on any changes before referring them to the floor for the deputies consideration whether or not to concur.

I am a Media Briefing Officer this morning. I'll "Meet the Press" at 8:15.
_______

Not so many reporters here today. Each of the briefers reviewed what we thought were highlights of the convention. Finished a few minutes early.
_______

9:00 a.m. Legislative Session

Chaplain Frank Wade's opening meditation today:

It is appropriate that this final day of General Convention is the feast of William White. In 1782, seeing what he thought we would need as new structures for this emerging church, he wrote "The Case of the Episcopal Church Considered." In that document, White planted the seeds that would create what would become the Anglican Communion, the Constitution of the Episcopal Church, and this institution, the General Convention. Every element of the church's polity was embodied by White's genius.

His vision fits the Gospel story and the vision of the Kingdom of God – from that first Convention in 1785 through this the 76th time of meeting.

In the creation story of Genesis, God spent the first six days establishing the natural order, which runs solely on God's energy.

After a Sabbath rest, God developed the moral universe. Unlike the physical universe, the moral universe runs on hybrid energy – divine action and human reaction. It has been our struggle since then to make God's energy and human energy compatible. In human history, that does not always go well.

William White was a revolutionary – a revolutionary in support of the founding of the nation and a revolutionary in the founding of this church. White dared to imagine God's energy passing through deacons, priests and laity, and not just bishops, and he helped create this House of Deputies, giving it equal power with the House of Bishops. That is not a universal characteristic in our communion.

We've been trying to prove William White's thesis. We've been trying to connect God's energy with ours, to dance with the Spirit, to follow Jesus. We've been trying to exercise hybrid energy.

Did we do it? Did we combine God's energy with ours in a morally satisfying way? Did we apply God's energy to decisions made and not made, to our stewardship of money and resources. Did we do it? Did we get our energy from God?

How would William White answer? How would you answer? How would God answer?

Yes, and yes, and yes.
_______

Our special order of business this final morning is to deal with the substitute amendment that the bishops passed about same-gender blessings.

C056 –
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge the changing circumstances in the United State and in other nations, as legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions that call forth a renewed pastoral response from this Church, and for an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, collect and develop theological, and liturgical resources and report to the 77th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, devise an open process for the conduct of its work inviting participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations, and individuals who are engaged in such theological work, and inviting theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion, and be it further

Resolved, That bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality; and be it further

Resolved, That the members of this Church be encouraged to engage in this effort.

This will be a vote by orders.

Some notes from the debate: (we took turns between pro and con)

A young woman said, "My mother is a lesbian." She said that she is an Episcopalian because this church welcomed her family.

This is a day of shame. The earlier legislation was ambiguous. This isn't.

A priest talking very fast listed members of his congregation that this affects – many gay couples in leadership, parents of gay children, etc.

Ian Douglas who has been intimately involved in our Anglican Communion conversations recognized the pain and complication that this resolution will provoke in the Communion, and he nevertheless urged its passage.

A deputy quoted George Will about the Episcopal Church's "trying to be more and more inclusive with fewer and fewer people."

The bishops have crafted a theological and pastoral plan – gently crafted. It is supported by liberal, middle and some conservative bishops, and passed by a 2/3rd majority.

This is the nail in the coffin for compliance with Windsor.

This will kill evangelism. I'll lose half of my congregation.

This will energize evangelism, especially among youth and young adults who aren't hung up about these issues.

Both sides invoked Ubuntu community. The "for's" with an eye for inclusion of all the baptized; the "against's" with an eye for our relationships in the Anglican Communion.

A priest from Sacramento said his phone rang off the wall when California opened marriage to gay couples. "Can you bless my relationship?" "I had to answer, 'No.'" He said there were tears, and much hurt. Many were people who had given up on church and now wished to return. Many won't be back. Yet, last November his church attendance grew by 75.

My comments on the floor(based on the essay I wrote the other day): "As Lyndon Johnson worked to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he heard dire warnings – If you pass this you will spilt the party; you will alienate the southern half of our communion; you'll be thrown out of office. Today we look back at the decision in 1964, and we know they chose well. Be proud today to vote for this gentle, balanced resolution which extends the reach of compassion, equality, justice and above all, love. It's all about love. Choose love. One day you can look back on this day and be proud that you were here."

I noticed the dramatic contrasts tended to be defined by diocesan boundaries. Not so regional as might be imagined. Sometimes dioceses sharing borders voted opposite one another. Each diocese tends to have a spirituality.

Virginia likes to characterize itself as the broad middle. Their daily publication "The Center Aisle" endorsed both of the resolutions dealing with issues of sexuality, saying, "what the convention did is to reaffirm that the ordination process is under the control of local bishops and dioceses, while stressing that access to that process is open to all baptized persons. The Convention also invited local churches and dioceses (as well as churches elsewhere in the communion) to collect liturgical and theological resources regarding same-gender blessings."

Today's editorial in the "Center Aisle" asserts, "The bonds between our Church and Canterbury are still strong. ...Discussions will continue. Compromises will be struck. Bonds of affection will be strengthened. The focus on the foundational beliefs that unite us will return. The Church, in all its glorious messiness, will move forward."

Although the vote results were not announced before the lunch break, I'll post them here at the end of our conversation.

Reminder about a Vote by Orders – each diocese has 4 clergy and 4 lay deputies. We vote in each house, with each diocese getting one vote in the clergy order and one vote in the lay order. A tie vote 2-2, is divided and counts as a "no." Any resolution must have a majority of dioceses vote "yes" in both the clergy and lay order. (I repeat, it is a very conservative voting mechanism, requiring something much larger than a simple majority.)

Arkansas Voted "Yes" in both clergy and lay order.

Vote by Orders of C056 – Blessing of Same-Gender blessings
Needed to pass: Lay - 55; Clergy 55

Vote: Lay – 78 yes // 23 no // 7 divided (counts as "no") – 72% of dioceses voted "yes"
Clergy - 74 yes // 27 no // 7 divided – 68.5% of dioceses voted "yes"
The motion carried by more than a 2/3rds vote in both orders.

_________

Break for Eucharist and Lunch
_________

The Presiding Bishop presided, praying in French through most of the service.

Notes from her sermon:
We've heard lots of words. Words about policy, our missionary heartbeat, and solidarity. Some of us have had to eat our words. We have all eaten the sacramental Word, so our work can be closer to the Word.

We heard the reading of Jeremiah's call. Like Jeremiah, we have enacted words to build up and plant – supporting ministries of compassion around the world; we have plucked up and pulled down structures of injustice, and we have acted in opposition to racism and discrimination. Some of our words have been reconciling; we have crafted words to draw in, not to leave out.

William White, whose feast we celebrate today, lived in a time of conflict between northern and southern Anglicans, motivated largely by the fear of monarchical power exercised by kings and bishops. The conflict in White's day is not too dissimilar to some of the conflict today in the Anglican communion between those who seek more centralized authority and those who prefer more local focus. Our budget for this church now becomes less centralized and sends impetus for mission more to local initiatives. We ask, how do our structures serve God's mission? The collect for William White commends him as a man of patience and of reconciling temper.

We need a reconciling temper that holds the polarities together. It is interesting to note that White changed his mind over time on some significant issues. He models for us "both-and" thinking, so central to our identity. We recognize that most polarities are false choices, as if we could choose between justice and mercy or between inclusion and orthodoxy. The both/and tension is what Jesus invites us into.

Jesus draws near to Peter to ask him, "Do you love me more than these?" What are these lesser loves? Disciples? Fish? Fishing? All of these go into the background. In this Convention, are we more in love with being right or with Jesus? Tend the sheep. All the sheep, not just the flock in front of us. We are called to share the shepherd's work.

Go home and help this work this week to become food. Take this work home and interpret it. Bring digestible food home. It must be digestible if it is to be eaten. Will you love Jesus more in the telling? Digestible attractive food is Good News. If we bring home anger and feed others with it, we will produce indigestion. Healthy sheep avoid noxious weeds. Let us be led into good pasture. Let the Word be our substance. How does the Word become hope? The word of peace and healing to the world.

Become what you eat. Tend all of God's sheep.
__________

2:00 – Afternoon session

We passed a first reading for a feast for Thurgood Marshall

We passed the series of new commons that the Prayer Book and Liturgy Committee worked so hard on.

We authorized a Sunday in Lent for recognizing and supporting Episcopal Relief and Development.

We changed the canons so that episcopal elections 120 days prior to General Convention will no longer go to General Convention for consent but will follow the same procedure as all other elections.

We endorsed the "80-cent-solution" – if each Episcopalian gave 80 cents per year we could double our number of missionaries.

We passed a resolution to have a process for the members of the House of Deputies to indicate that they either are tithing or are firmly committed to tithing within five years.

We passed a resolution responding to the Archbishop of Canterbury's presentation about the world wide economic crisis. It commends the Bishops' March 2009 "Pastoral Letter" and seeks to devise a teaching resource. It also commends the 2010 Trinity Institute publication "Building an Ethical Economy."

The Bishops amended a canon change that deputies sent. Our deputies committee recommended that we not concur with the change. There were reservations from conservative and liberal voices with what the bishops did, which was to take all particular protections out of the canons and say simply, "All baptized persons shall have full access to the discernment process..." Some objected that this would be poorly received in the Anglican Communion. Others said classes of people who have experienced discrimination need particular protection. The deputies voted not to concur, so the canon reverts to its current language: "No person shall be denied access or have his or her discernment process terminated because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age, except as otherwise provided by these Canons."

We are just about finished, but House of Bishops have one matter they want us to receive from them. The Bishops voted to defer the resolution about the Defense of Marriage Act to the Executive Committee of the Church. Our house resoundingly concurred. I think there was a good feeling about this as a compromise, so that the church doesn't speak with a singular voice about an issue which we have various opinions about. The earlier House of Deputies vote speaks in one way to the issue, but the Executive Committee can offer a more nuanced approach.

As we closed, the President of the House invoked William White again, and his strange idea of including the voices of all people in the polity of the church – laity, clergy and bishops – the ministry of all the baptized. We find our work and identity grounded in the baptismal covenant.

She reminded us that we are all still deputies as we leave, until replaced. Today's paper left at the door of each hotel room had a large headline: "What's Our Next Step?" (The newspaper story was about space exploration.) She posed that question to us. We are to meet with our deputation and make a report about the Convention to our dioceses. We are to go home and do mission – start something or strengthen something.

It's time to end chapter 76 in the book of the life of General Convention. We have breathed the air that has been in our neighbors' lungs. We have lived Ubuntu.

A final announcement from the secretary told us that we had received a total of 419 resolutions; we completed work on 361 resolutions; the 95 incomplete resolutions which had been perfected by their committees will now be referred by the secretary to one of the standing committees.

We closed with many expressions of thanksgiving, including to those senior deputies who will voluntarily step down from service with this convention.

We adjourned at 4:55 p.m.

(I've got a follow-up email posting some resolutions that I think are of particular interest but that I haven't commented on earlier.)

Thanks for following my reports. It's been an honor to serve.

Lowell

General Convention, Day 9, Thursday, July 16

General Convention, Thursday, July 16, Day 9 of 10

I slept until the alarm clock went off. Finally, my body has adjusted to the Pacific time zone. We finish General Convention's work tomorrow.

7:30 a.m. – Final Committee Meetings
We acted on all of the legislation before the Prayer Book and Liturgy Committee. The committee had a total of 63 resolutions to consider for the Convention. Everything from our committee goes first to the House of Bishops.

We sent the resolution about prayers for animal companions to the Consent Calendar.
We recommended rejecting some proposed alterations to Eucharistic Prayer C and continued authorization of the BCP Eucharistic lessons, reconfirming the RCL. (Note: According to Bishop Smith, the Canadian Church has done a good job of editing Prayer C. Alleged quote from ancient liturgical scholar: "If Prayer C sounds like it was written in a laundromat in New York City on the evening of the moon landing, it is because it was!"

Some things that leave the committee today may not have time to get through the House of Bishops and back to the House of Deputies for action.

We are also at the time when amendments are likely to kill legislation because there is not enough time for amendments to get through a committee and the other house.

Our chair Sam Candler said that the collegiality of this committee with deputies and bishops working together so well is a model of how the church should work. It has been an effective group, listening carefully to one another and working to find language that will create likely support in both houses.
_____________

9:30 a.m. – House of Deputies Legislative Session

Chaplain Frank Wade's Meditation (notes)
Things that go without saying, usually do. In marriage we sometimes stop saying "I love you." Sometimes nations and churches fail to continue to tell their founding story. Saying our truth is a way of keeping our truth.

Paul said, "woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." Paul is saying that in order keep the gospel he must preach it, he must continue to tell the story.

The word evangelism has largely been stolen from the Episcopal Church, Frank said. Evangelism is not my trying to talk you into something, it is about sharing my story. T.S. Eliot said, "Take no thought for the harvest, just for the proper sowing."

I need to tell my story. If I don't tell it, I'm in danger of losing it. Because that which goes without saying, tends to go, without saying.

According to Frank, we're not that good at reflecting on and sharing our ongoing relationship with God. We Episcopalians can be woefully inarticulate. Suppose we as a church have assumed that our ongoing experience of God is something that goes without saying. Suppose for want of saying our story, we might lose our story. If the living God is only a remembrance of our ancestors, it doesn't matter what we say, for we will be adrift, cut off from the ongoing story that gives us life and validity. Without the story to tell, The Episcopal Church is an ancient service organization that meets weekly for a meal, listens to a speaker, and talks about how we give money to others to do good work elsewhere.

Keep first the Kingdom of God and live into gospel truth. We must begin to consider the importance of Evangelism in whole new light. We are part of a story worth telling. Let us tell our story and the story of what God is doing in our lives.
______

Our first business is a special order to discuss and vote on the budget for the next three years of the Episcopal Church. Our deputy Pan Adams-McCaslin is the chair of the appropriations committee, Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F). It is a $140 million budget. Lots of people are lined up at microphones. There will be an emphasis on reducing costs of meetings – less money for travel. It is expected that more of the work will be done electronically and digitally.

The Black Caucus initiated the conversation with resounding endorsement of the budget, even though their interests would lose significant funding in the proposed budget. They offered the church a model of sacrifice and community as we began our debate.

We had several proposed amendments to the budget. The most dramatic vote was a proposal to add funding for the President of the House of Deputies support staff (she works for the House as a volunteer). The amendment failed 394 to 400.

I'm pretty pleased about something that I urged as the Convention debates our budget. I suggested that as each deputy speaks, the speaker identify what percentage of asking their diocese gives to the church budget. Asking is 21%. Arkansas gives 12%. Since we do not give our full asking, I believe people should know that and be able to take that into account as they listen to any suggestions or amendments I might offer with regard to our budget. So whenever I've spoken to a revenue issue, I've introduced myself as "Grisham, Arkansas, 12 percent." That's something I'd like to know about others speaking to the budget.

Many of the deputies are taking up my suggestion. As they introduce themselves, they are identifying what percentage their diocese gives in support of the budget. I've noticed that it is more frequent for deputies to claim their 21% giving than to self-identify at lesser amounts. (I noticed that one deputy from a diocese that gives no money from its diocesan budget, but only contributes through congregations and individual contributions to the national budget, did not offer that percentage in his introduction.)

We adjourned for church with about ten minutes left in our budget debate.
_________

Well known author an commentator on the emergent church movement Brian McLaren gave the sermon today. Some notes from his address:

For many Episcopalians, the "E-word" is an ugly word. Evangelism. It carries hints of colonialism, religious supremacy and bad televangelists. Imagine what the religious landscape would be if Evangelism were only the purview of Pentecostals and Southern Baptists, ignored and surrendered by Episcopalians. It is time to get away from our your reactionary prejudices, McLaren said to us. We need to link together E-piscopal and E-vangelism. It is a holy union. Religious moderates and mainline Christians need to rediscover a commitment to evangelism.

The reading from the epistle visions a new creation. We live in a new creation and invite other into that new creation. Paul and the other early adapters invited everyone into the new beginning. The new beginning includes dying to the old paradigms of dominion and religious shame and entering into the new politics of service for the common good, the new economics of sustainability, the new sociology of ubuntu, and the new religion of grace and compassion. This is a new way.

For Paul the E-word is the R-word – Reconciling. He saw a vibrant new identity. No longer insiders speaking from stained glass ghettos. An identity of peace, pleading with others – "Be reconciled to God." Pleading. Re-think everything. In Christ, God offers amnesty to all.

In John's gospel (1:35-42 – the call of the first disciples, including Peter). We see intelligent, earnest people in respectful conversation. Jesus asks, "What are you seeking?" Asking the right question. Important. Then, "Come and see." See what kind of adventure will unfold. That's exciting evangelism. That is happening in the Episcopal Church, McLaren said. At this convention, you have turned a corner, a page, and hearts – from the inside, outward.

For continued health, he said there are three distractions that we need to overcome.

1. Institutional Conflicts. McLaren told us: Your denomination has been offering a valuable service for the whole church in your brave and open work to extend full grace to all the baptized, and in many parts of the church you have been met with mockery and criticism. But you do not want to win that debate and lose your balance. Do not let it deform your fundamental incarnational identity.

2. Institutional Identity. We are tempted to lodge in our identity of trying to save our institutions, but the best way to save the institution is not to focus on self-preservation. He urged us to leverage our institution for saving the world. The MDG's and evangelism are both related aspects of our outward missional focus. It is all one piece. Resist a focus on institutional maintenance; make disciples; go into the world; do the will of God for the good of the world.

3. Institutional Rigidity. From McLaren's perspective, one of the most troubling issues facing the Episcopal Church is the complex way we have for our ministry candidates to go through discernment for ordination. He says that it would scare away anyone with a gift of evangelism. McLaurin says that he's one of those. Many years ago he was drawn to a calling and drawn by an attraction to the Episcopal Church. He felt call to church ministry, but found that call to be at odds with his call to evangelism. "Help people like me," he said, and tell those with a gift and call for evangelism that indeed, "The Episcopal Church welcomes you." McLaren closed with an energetic affirmation of the ethos and vitality of the Episcopal Church.
________

We finished debate on the budget and passed it in the form that PB&F proposed. Congratulations to Pan Adams-McCaslin for her good leadership. (Later this afternoon we got word that the House of Bishops had passed the budget, and Pan released an audible sigh of relief.)

At our passage in the House of Deputies, we paused for prayer for those who will lose their jobs because to the cut-backs authorized in this budget.

Returning to legislation.

We passed by a handful of votes an endorsement of a "single-payer" health care system for all – 404 yes / 398 no

A resolution opposing the "Defense of Marriage" acts raised some civil rights questions. I spoke in favor of the resolution, saying, "My wife Kathy and I celebrated our 34th anniversary last month. Our marriage is not threatened by the loving relationships of gay couples. I know gay couples who have been together longer than Kathy and I have. Those loving families are denied over 1,000 federal rights that I possess because I am married. That's discrimination, and it is wrong and un-American. I support this resolution to oppose the wrongly-named "Defense of Marriage" acts." We had a vote by orders.
Vote by orders:
Needed to pass: Lay 55; Clergy 56
Lay: 70 yes; 28 no; 11 divided 64%
Clergy: 60 yes; 35 no; 14 divided 55%
It passed.

A resolution condemning torture passed without audible opposition.

We had a resolution addressing the situation in Honduras. The resolution, largely informed by the bishop and deputies from that country, passed.

We had compelling witness from a lovely deputy who told the story of her 27 year old daughter's murder when a man proposed marriage to her and would not take "no" for an answer. In her grief, this mother set herself to learn about the pandemic of domestic violence. She said that clergy do not know how to respond when victims of domestic violence come to us. We tend to recommend anger management, or couples counseling, or restraining orders, which simply step up the abuse. Thirteen hundred women are killed annually. This is a hate crime. In the last five years, more women in the US have been killed by the men they live with, or used to live with, than American soldiers have been killed in war.

We need a change of culture, she said. The mover of this legislation recommends a training program by the Alabama Council Against Domestic Violence which that group offers to share at no cost.

We passed a courtesy resolution commending the continuing dioceses of Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy and San Joaquin. The rules of the house were suspended, and the four deputations stood to robust applause that rose into a standing ovation. There were tears of joy among many deputies.

We are doing well enough with our legislatvie calendar that we will not have to have an optional evening session. Hallelujah!


Lowell

General Convention, Day 8, Wednesday, July 15

NOTE: I was so sleepy last night, that I forgot to send my report to this blog after I sent it to the Arkansas Clergy and to the Parish Constant Contact list.

I just posted yesterday (Tuesday) a few minutes ago in the blog entry just below this one. Sorry.

General Convention, Wednesday, July 15
Day 8 of 10

7:30 a.m. Committee meetings
The committee discussed our hope that both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies will be able to have an opportunity to discuss legislation around same gender blessings. It is expected that the House of Bishops will take up C056 this afternoon – that is the resolution that our committee passed earlier.

The Liturgy and Prayer Book Committee recommended referring all resolutions dealing with commemorations or additions to the calendar to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.

We passed out of committee a recommendation to have a Sunday during Lent for support of the work of Episcopal Relief and Development.

We recommended sending a proposed alternative form of the Baptismal Covenant to the Standing Commission.

We passed a resolution for rites of thanksgiving and loss for a companion animal.

All of these will go to the House of Bishops for first consideration.
___________

9:30 a.m. Legislative Session

Frank Wade's Meditation:
Hezekiah – He's not that well known. Not many children are named for him. But he was a remarkably successful ruler of Israel. He was a builder. Hezekiah built the conduit that allowed for water to enter Jerusalem during a seige, and created the pool of Siloam where Jesus famously healed. Hezekiah also got along well with the prophet Isaiah, no mean feat. Hezekiah was a strong and good ruler.

And yet we have a record of a remarkable act of selfishness from Hezekiah. Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah – after your death, the kingdom and the city will fall to Babylon and your sons and daughters will be carried away into captivity.

Hezekiah's response: "The Word of the Lord is good. Why not? There will be peace and security in my day."

Wow!! (Frank went on for a while. Did you hear that? ...etc) Can you imagine such selfishness? Who would be capable of such selfishness.

Someone like Hezekiah would go on polluting the environment, not worrying about the effects on later generations as long as his own convenience is not troubled, would not be bothered by endangering species or dying ozone or contaminated skies. Hezekiah ethics could incur debt beyond imagination, spending of endowments, acting with policies that ignored relevance to the younger generation and could let the education system rot, knowing the bad fruit won't rot until I'm gone. Such selfishness is almost beyond imagining.

And yet, many of us are living by Hezekiah's standards. What sets him apart from us is his candor.

Ubuntu links us not only with those who live now but also those who will live after us.

Are we trapped by our Hezekiah lifestyle? What will our church's "I am" be for our children when we have done with our "we are"?
_________

The House of Deputies passed a major piece of legislation by concurring with the Bishops to extend health care to our lay employees.

Things moved pretty slowly otherwise in the house this morning. When we stopped for Eucharist, I gave in to my deep tiredness and went back to my room to sleep for a while. I missed Steven Charleston's sermon, which I heard was outstanding. He's one of the finest preachers in the church today. Here's a link to an article about his sermon:
http://ecusa.anglican.org/79901_112609_ENG_HTM.htm
You can view the sermon online at http://ecusa.anglican.org/78650_87111_ENG_HTM.htm

Cheryl Clark sat in the house for me this afternoon, and I caught up on a lot of needed rest. I feel much better now.
_________

The afternoon was highlighted by a joint session of both houses meeting to receive the draft budget proposal. Arkansas' own Pan Adams-McCaslin is the co-chair of the Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) Committee that prepared the budget. It calls for a decrease of $23 million and for lowering the asking from dioceses by 1% per year. For more about the budget presentation go to http://ecusa.anglican.org/79901_112611_ENG_HTM.htm

The House of Bishops took out language in the canon listing groups who would not be excluded from the discernment process – "race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age" and other proposed categories of gender identity and expression – and they replaced that with the words "all baptized persons" have access to the ordination process.

A lot of legislation moved through the House of Deputies today, including the final passage of a lay pension plan for employees who work 1000 hours a year or more. The deputies passed the statement. The deputies passed a resolution encouraging study of the current and any future draft covenant plans for the Anglican Communion. I was disappointed to miss the debate about the approval of a theological statement that will guide our interreligious dialogs. It was one of the most interesting offerings in the Blue Book.

The big news this evening is that the House of Bishops overwhelmingly passed an amended version of C056 that our Prayer Book and Liturgy committee sent to them. It will need to come to the House of Deputies next. We hope to see it tomorrow.

Here is the text that the Bishops passed, 104 Yes; 30 No; 2 Abstained:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge the changing circumstances in the United States and in other nations, as legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions that call forth a renewed pastoral response from this Church, and for an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, collect and develop theological, and liturgical resources and report to the 77th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, devise an open process for the conduct of its work inviting participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations, and individuals who are engaged in such theological work, and inviting theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved, That bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality; and be it further

Resolved, That the members of this Church be encouraged to engage in this effort.

I plan to go to bed early tonight. I should be rested for the final sprint to the end of Convention.

Lowell

General convention, Day 7, Tuesday, July 14

APOLOGIES!!

I was so tired last night. I sent my email to the Arkansas Clergy and to my congregation's list, but I forgot to post in this blog. VERY SORRY.

Tuesday, July 14, Day Seven of Ten

Last Night
We had a Liturgy and Prayer Book Committee meeting last night starting at 7:00 p.m. We finished editing a major contribution to our pastoral and liturgical resources – "Rachel's Tears, Hannah's Hopes" – Liturgies and Prayers for Healing from Loss Related to Childbearing and Childbirth. Throughout the past three years the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music has worked with "Anglicans for Life" and with the women of the church and others in chaplaincy ministry to craft a pastoral resource. The work has been profound, carefully bridging the fault lines of abortion. It has been endorsed by leaders on both sides of the abortion debate.

In this work, the Episcopal Church has been able to have constructive conversation and prayer over one of the most emotional and divisive issues in our day. It has been a delight to work on the final steps of this fine composition.
_________

I meant to mention it in my Sunday report, but at the main Convention Eucharist on Sunday our own Archdeacon Joyce Hardy read the gospel and served as the deacon for the service. A proud Arkansas moment.
_________

7:30 a.m. – Committee Work
Liturgy and Prayer Book undertook a major editing project working with a series of new Commons – sets of prayers, readings and proper prefaces. Thanks to the sleepless work of Susan Williams of our committee, we have revised texts to consider. We worked through them, praying the Rite 1 versions out loud in order to perfect the language. Remarkable work.

It always impresses and encourages me how carefully, skillfully, and seriously the Church takes its work of creating prayer and liturgy. There is great wisdom and passion for this work. There is no way to exaggerate the passion and scholarship that is brought into this process. It makes me proud to be an Episcopalian and a person of "the Book" of Common Prayer and its other resources.

8:45 a.m. – Media Briefing
I left early from the committee in order to be a member of the Media Briefing Team for the morning press conference. Most of the questions were directed to the Bishops on our briefing team asking about their work in yesterday's passage of D025. We did talk about financing and the mission of the MDG's.

9:30 – Legislative Session
Morning Meditation by Chaplain Frank Wade: notes
Refugees, sojourners, immigrants, sojourners. Each seems different from the other, but taken together, there is a common point to consider. As Michael Battle writes in his book "Ubuntu," it is communities that teach us to be individuals. The community in which we grow up gives us its ethos as raw material from which we fashion our reality. We know we are beautiful because of the reference points of beauty we have learned from our environment.

Frank says, "I think of community as a gathered thing, with homogeneity." People who look a lot like us. But communities don't always hold together. Sometimes they leak, break off, rupture, spewing the parts in distant domains, creating refugees, sojourners, immigrants, sojourners.

These ruptured communities also form us. The mere fact of them, requires us to define ourselves. When a homeless person asks me for spare change, when I see a refugee on TV,
I know that they will get some of my money or some of my soul. Either I will empty my pockets a bit, or I will demean my spirit by turning away from their claim on me.

Amos warned those who lived well – people like us. We are in danger before God, not because we enjoyed good things, but because we were not grieved over the ruin of others. Jesus' story about Dives and Lazarus condemned Dives not because he was rich, but because he failed to see the hurting person at his doorstep. The very fact of their hurting requires us to respond. These broken pieces of community require us to behave one way or another. There is no formula of how we should respond, no guidelines. Except God's expectation that our humanity will emerge as we respond.

There is the call to hospitality. There is God's preoccupation with the little, the lost, and the least. The prerequisite is that we actually see them. No good is possible until we do; every good is possible when we do.
____________

The vote-by-orders on C061 that was not announced before we adjourned yesterday was announced. It passed overwhelmingly.
Total number of Votes: 109.
Needed to pass: 55 Yes
Lay: 82 yes // 21 no // 6 divided
Clergy: 72 yes // 28 no // 9 divided

The next order of business will deal with the new proposed church calendar of feasts and the principles for adding commemorations. I'm excited about this offering. We are adding more than 100 new commemorations for trial use. We'll be able to pray them and use them during the next three years, and then report back on our experience. We'll edit the feasts, prayers and readings for the next General Convention. If approved, it will become an updated version of "Lesser Feasts and Fasts," titled "Holy Women: Celebrating the Saints."

On a Vote by Orders, the calendar was passed overwhelmingly.
Needed to pass: 55
The Vote
Lay: 102 Yes // 5 No // 6 Divided
Clergy: 103 Yes // 3 No /// 6 Divided

Before the break for the Eucharist:
An enormous group of guests came into the hall as Ecumenical Visitors and Interfaith Guests. Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians lined up across the front of the hall.

Following the introduction of Christian Ecumenical Visitors, we had introductions of our Interfaith Guests. To close the visit, three cantors from the three Abrahamic faiths chanted the Aaronic Blessing. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A Jewish cantor began, with flowing, melodic prayers in Hebrew. It was gloriously haunting. As he ended his last note, a Muslim cantor sang a ringing sound of prayer like a clarion, and sang the same blessing in Arabic, clear and resounding in the echoing hall. His tones morphed into a gentle hymn from a Methodist singing blessings in an English style that sounded like a folk chant. As he finished his round, the Muslim singer joined and then the Jewish cantor – all three singing in their dramatically contrasting styles, yet flowing together with such complementarity that tears welled in my eyes and the Spirit rose palpably in the room. They finished one a single note and a holy silence descended upon us. It was an unforgettable experience. Jew, Muslim, Christian – each blessing us with our shared tradition. Incredibly beautiful.
________

Eucharist: Theme – MDG's – Millennium Development Goals
Preacher: Abagail Newlson of Episcopal Relief and Development
Notes from sermon: Jeffrey Sachs told this convention six years ago that ending poverty is not a matter of resources, it is a matter of will. Last year Episcopal Relief and Development touched the lives of 2.5 million people. We have a great hope.

She spoke of meetings among the CEO's of major food companies and another meeting among some of the dozen wealthiest individuals – all wanting to step up to alleviate poverty and suffering. Everything is connected; it's all one system.

Bishop Mark Hollingsworth of Ohio is biking 4000 miles immediately following this Convention in a significant fund raiser for the MDG's. "We can do this," she said.

"I am a daughter of many injustices," she said. Her mother is the descendent of slaves and of Cherokees who had hidden with slaves when being evicted from North Carolina. Her father's family fled England on explorer ships and established tobacco farms in South Carolina where they owned slaves for the labor for their business. One of her ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence in order to gain freedom from England. Her aunt was a Black Panther. In 1967 her father and mother met and fell in love. It was illegal for them to be married in her father's home state. His bishop refused to ordain him a priest. The family rejected them. They created a new family, a new nation. "I stand on their shoulders," she said. "How will my daughter stand on our shoulders?"

Working lunch. (Also, I had to retrieve my credit card from lost and found, having left it earlier in the quickie continental breakfast line.)
________

2:00 – Legislative Session

The first legislative work for the afternoon was for the House to respond to the Bishop's amended version of D025 concerning our witness to the Anglican Communion. The text that the deputies passed is in a previous report that I've already sent.

The bishops added the following language and passed the resolution by more than 2/3rds: "...that God's call to the ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church is a mystery which the Church attempts to discern for all people through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church;" and, "...the 76th General Convention acknowledge that members of The Episcopal Church as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind, and Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters."

After debate, we again had a vote by orders and D025 passed
Lay: 78 yes // 21 no // 9 divided (72% yes)
Clergy: 77 yes // 19 no // 11 divided (72% yes)

The Church has reaffirmed its commitment to following its Constitutions and Canons in its discernment processes.
________

In his capacity with the Education Committee, Chris Keller made that committee's presentation in support of establishing a committee to examine the theological dimensions of marriage. In his statement, Chris quoted nicely from Bishop Charles Gore:
"The Church, standing firm in her old truths, enters into the apprehension of the new social and intellectual movements of each age: and because 'the truth makes her free,' is able to assimilate all new material, to welcome and give its place to all new knowledge, to throw herself into the sanctification of each new social order, bring forth out her treasures things new and old, showing again and again her power of witnessing under changed conditions to the catholic capacity of her faith and life."

As we adjourned, I went to the Media Briefing room to meet with the press to talk about the day. It was a significant day. We had questions about many of the resolutions that occupied the houses. One questioner seemed to be railing at us about numbers and the decline in the church. The Episcopal Church statistics mirror those of the other "mainline" churches and the Roman Catholic Church, when you take out the increase due to Hispanic growth. In other words, our demographics track the demographics of white Americans, particularly those who go to college. That's our base, and the base is not growing demographically. Two things that bode well for this "too white - too elitist" denomination. One is a new strategic plan intended to attract Hispanic members to the church, and the other is all of the resolutions that intend to honor the full participation of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. Every survey of young adults shows that they accept the full equality of gay people. The biggest negative factor in surveys about young adults' attitudes toward church is that they believe Christians to be prejudiced, bigoted and anti-gay. Our welcome and full inclusion of gay people is one of our evangelism strengths, especially for the next generation.
________

As we closed the day, there seems to be some stuckness or controversy in the House of Bishops. They have not yet reported out the resolution D056 on same-gender blessings that my committee sent to them. It is to my mind a very good statement. I hope they can come to some resolution tomorrow. The convention clock is ticking, and there is only so much that can be done and ratified in the time remaining.

Lowell

General Convention, Day 6, Monday, July 13

Monday, July 13 – Day 6

Conversation following yesterday's vote confirms the sense that D025 had strong support from the center of the Convention. The Diocese of Virginia publishes "The Center Aisle" as a forum for those who intentionally identify themselves as neither liberal nor conservative. "The Center Aisle" endorsed the resolution.

Although it is impossible in a vote-by-orders to get an accurate count of what the vote would be if it were a one-deputy-one-vote process, guesses that I've heard estimate the level of support somewhere around 75%.

7:30 a.m. – Committees Meet

Our task is to craft a resolution about same-gender blessings that will offer the Convention the opportunity to deliberate. We were especially focused on drafting something that will have a good likelihood passing the House of Bishops. The six bishops on our committee met together over the weekend and crafted for our consideration a document based on our earlier work with D056.

After considerable discussion and several amendments, we passed out of committee the resolution D056. (passed 6-0 by bishops and 26-1 by deputies on the committee; Bishop Parsley will write a minority report concerning one amendment that he hopes the House of Bishop will adopt).

As reported out of Prayer Book and Liturgy Committee, D056 would ask the Standing Comission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops Theology Committee, to "collect and develop theological resources and liturgies of blessing for same gender holy unions to be presented to the 77th General Convention for formal consideration" and to devise an open process that includes participation throughout the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The resolution would allow bishops to provide "generous pastoral response" to meet the needs of our members, particularly those in civil jurisdictions where same gender marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships are legal. No bishop or other clergy would be compelled to authorize or officiate at such liturgies, and the Anglican Consultative Council would be invited into conversation about the resolution as well as other churches in the Anglican Communion. The resolution will go to the House of Bishops, where it is likely to be amended.
_________

9:30 – Legislative Session

Opening Meditation by Chaplain Frank Wade:
We will be having elections today. There are many fine nominees. They are qualified. They will be called to serve whether chosen or not. More are not chosen than are chosen. Those not chosen have an important role. They have as much to say as those chosen.

There is a temptation for all not-chosen. They have done what was necessary to qualify, they have good ideas, they stand vulnerable. But those not chosen are subject to the temptation to resentment. Resentment, according to Carrie Fisher, is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. Resentment is human.

Eleazar of Damascus was Abraham's servant, whom Abraham expected would inherit his estate, until the birth of Isaac. Isaac's name means "laughter." (Eleazar probably had another name for the baby, a name thankfully lost to us in history.)

Hagar and her son were driven out from Abraham's family. Justus was a qualified apostle and witness to the resurrection. He was not chosen as the successor to Judas. By a role of the dice Matthias joined the 12.

Those not chosen have a unique opportunity to be the heart of Christian witness. Their attitude and spirit will reflect Christ as they resist temptation and continue to serve. They witness to something larger than their own individual interests. They show themselves to be a servant community, who follow the one who is a foot washer. Those who are not chosen show what kind of church we really are.
_____

We began our deliberations with a very delicate matter dealing with conflicts emerging out of a challenged episcopal election in the Diocese of Ecuador Central.
_____

Eucharist. Preacher was Courtney Cowart, Director of Disaster Response, Diocese of Louisiana.
The Gospel lesson was the story of the Good Samaritan.
From her sermon: The Jericho Road was notorious and dangerous. Along that road, the chance for help was nil. People would hurry along, out of fear and caution. It would be unlikely for anyone to find a neighbor along this road, known as "The Bloody Way."

But all God needs is one catalyst. A Samaritan came across his social enemy, looked at him face to face, and all of the angels held their breath. Eyes met. A Samaritan chose to transcend the history of his people. He had a choice, to help a stranger or to collude with the norm of the road. By grace, this Samaritan chose mercy. It was a revolutionary act.

2000 years later, during a hurricane, 100,000 people were thrown into a toxic ditch and left in the road to die. All God needs is one catalyst, one true neighbor. A descendant of slave owners, a man in a purple shirt, sees a woman on the television; she is abandoned, rotting, holding a sign saying, "I am an American too." In the background an Army truck passes by.

Looking into eyes, that man chooses to transcend history. He assumes, as a cleansing honor, this stranger's plight. To mobilize is to risk defections from his diocese. It is a revolutionary moment; solidarity; compassion. These are our people, he says. A new communion. And a zillion Samaritan acts – the most powerful acts in the world – take place on the whole Jericho Road.

There is poverty and racism in the U.S. 37.3 million Americans are thrown into the ditch of poverty. So much of it is racial. Children. The 2006 poverty rate for children was the highest rate in the developed world. 58% of all children who grow up in the U.S. will spend at least one year living below the poverty line. We need to make choices about being neighbors. Ubuntu? Yes or No. All God needs is one neighbor. What if we all committed? I've seen the empathy of the world come to us, she said. It changed my view of humanity forever. 3 million people have engaged in a sustained pilgrimage to the Gulf Coast to glorify God on every Jericho Road.
__________

Meeting during lunch.
__________

2:00 p.m. – Legislative Session

Elections.

After extensive presentations and debate, the House confirmed the election of the Rev. Luis Fernando Ruiz Restrepo, bishop of Ecuador Central.

To speed our deliberations debate has been shortened to two minutes per speaker, total time 20 minutes.

Making good progress. One major piece of work was passed this afternoon – a major rewrite of the Title IV disciplinary canons. This is the culmination of 10 years of work. Thank God for good lawyers. A bunch of them worked hard to make this successful.

Some other items.

Program, Budget and Finance is going to recommend that the asking for diocesan assessments be reduced in the next three years.

The House of Bishops earlier passed a resolution establishing interim eucharistic sharing with the Northern Province and the Southern Province of the Moravian Church. The House of Deputies will receive that resolution sometime in the near future. With our growing relationships with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Church of Sweden – we are experiencing something of a reversal of the Reformation.

The Bishops also have passed a major proposal to expand health insurance coverage for all church employees working a minimum of 1,500 hours annually. The proposal will be coming to the House of Deputies.

C061 was introduced on the floor of the House of Deputies. It proposes to add the words "gender identity or expression" to the class of persons who would not be barred from access to the discernment process solely because of those reasons. Definitions were helpful (I hope my notes are correct.) Gender identity is one's own understanding of one's gender; gender expression is how a person represents or expresses one's gender identity to another, such as hair, clothes, voice, etc. It is what an individual does. It does not include one's relational behavior or one's sexual behavior. This proposal would prohibit excluding transgendered persons from a discernment process solely on the basis of their gender identity. No one has a right to ordination, and all persons in discernment must go through their diocesan discernment processes. We had a vote by orders, and we adjourned before the vote was counted and reported.

As we adjourned we received news that the House of Bishops had voted on D025, the significant resolution that the Deputies previously passed on a vote by orders. The Bishops concurred with amendment. The vote was 99 yes; 45 no; 2 abstentions. We do not yet have the amendment text. The resolution must come back to the House of Deputies for us to decide whether to concur with the Bishops' amended version. I'm told that the amendment says something about the mystery of call, but doesn't change the fundamentals of the version the deputies passed.

Randall Curtis told us that our Bishop Larry Benfield was the first to speak on the matter. Randall said that the Bishop was eloquent and moving in his support of the resolution. I'll send the text of the Bishop's comments as soon as I have it.

The House adjourned about 6:20 p.m.
________

7:00 p.m. – Our Prayer Book and Liturgy Committee has a special meeting to try to work on what continues to be a long list of resolutions.

I'm going to try to get this sent out before we begin.

Lowell

Jenny Te Paa

Very possibly the most remarkable moment in the General Convention for me thus far was the address by Jenny Te Paa that I've written about earlier. Jenny was a member of the original Windsor Commission and is dean of a seminary in New Zealand. Here is a portion of her earlier address to the House of Deputies:

"I was sharing in all humility one of my deepest regrets (one that I know is shared by other Commissioners) that as members of the Lambeth Commission we were never fully apprised of the full facts of your polity and in particular of the limits to the power of the office of Presiding Bishop.

"As a result of that crucial gap in knowledge and understanding it is my belief that the very unfair, in fact the odious myth of ‘The Episcopal Church acting (in the matter of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson) with typical unchecked US imperialism’, was more readily enabled and abetted to grow wings and fly unchecked for way too long across the reaches of the Anglican Communion...

"We realized, to our utterly deserved chagrin that we had perhaps failed albeit inadvertently to prevent something of the unprecedented vilification of the Episcopal Church and especially of its leadership that inevitably resulted.

"Your generosity of spirit in spite of all you have suffered so unjustly and unnecessarily over the past few years is just so perfectly admirable. That you continue with such magnanimity to gather international friends, to share with us so openly, so willingly all that you do so formidably, so precisely, so efficiently and so compassionately is a gift offering of such magnitude that it seems so utterly insufficient for me to simply say thank you, thank you, thank you.

[At this point, I had tears in my eyes.]

If I could be so bold I want also to assure you that among ourselves as your international friends we are now all quietly urging you not to dwell unduly with any sense of uncertainty about your place within the global Anglican Communion. Sure the fearmongerers abound – they always have and they always will but surely our gaze must always be fixed beyond the horizon of fear and just as surely that gaze must always apprehend first and foremost the images of those who are the least among us...

[Jennie was among a group of international guests among us. She took note of that, and of their encouragement for the sake of justice.]

I pause momentarily and ask you all to note that President Bonnie has here represented Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Aotearoa New Zealand – what she has done of course is actually invite the true global south into your midst!

[Lest you think this was just a "love feast." In charitable but firm terms, Dr. Te Paa challenged the General Convention about our appropriation of the term "Umbutu." She is from a native tribe in New Zealand and speaks with authority about the appropriation of one cultural idea into another culture. In the following, she challenged the Convention in sharp, but guarded words. Her address was not mere fluff.]

We have seen how attractive indigenous spirituality; in fact indigenous tradition in its many forms has suddenly assumed a level of contemporary interests and attractiveness. We have in all of this become desperately afraid of cultural appropriation and so as this intensely beautiful and endlessly complex concept of ‘ubuntu’ is uttered and claimed, explained and proclaimed I cannot help but wonder if all the necessary precautions against even unwitting appropriation have been taken?

Now as I said I offer this comment not by way of a criticism but rather by way of a word of loving advice from this your indigenous sister. I don’t know what precautions you may well have taken but if I may suggest, one of the markers which we indigenous peoples have found most helpful in these matters is to ask of those seeking to enter more fully into the very different socio, politico, spiritual, cultural worlds of ‘the constructed other’, are you intent on becoming one with or one of ‘the other’?

The most respectful of these options if of course the former. In this way we are each freed to become fully whom God created us to be and to flourish into that God given identity. The actions of one seeking to become ‘one with’ are those of selfless, sacrificial and loving solidarity whereas the actions of one seeking to become ‘one of’, are likely to be characterized by unashamed self-interest! The former option is thus more likely to be true ubuntu, but then I would not be so bold to determine such a thing! I simply raise a respectful cautionary flag.
_____________

I know she may be a bit hard to follow, but I find the spirit of Jenny Te Paa absolutely compelling.

Lowell

General Convention, Day 5, Sunday, July 12

Sunday, July 12, Day 5

(NOTE: At the end of the day, we had a significant vote. It is reported at the end of this message.)

How wonderful to sleep a bit later this morning. My plan was to attend the ECW breakfast, but I didn't get to the exhibition hall in time to get tickets, so I slept late.

10:00 – We had the Convention's main Eucharist and the Ingathering of the United Thank Offering. The Presiding Bishop celebrated and preached to an enormous congregation that looked to me to be around 2,500 people.

The music and spirit was contagious. Some highlights from Bishop Jefferts Schori's sermon:

In the Gospel reading we heard the message "travel light." In the 19th century, missionaries often shipped their supplies ahead of them as they left for their journey into mission. They often packed their supplies in a coffin, not expecting to return home before their deaths.

Those missionaries took their culture with them. Culture can be an idol. Jesus sends us and tells us to travel light, to expect hospitality, to heal, and to announce peace, the Kingdom of God has come.

Are you open to receive what is offered here? What will you put down or leave behind in order to receive? Expect to meet the image of God in the other.

The Bishop told of a story about some young people who told her about going out into the city and offering "high-fives" to everyone they encountered. Some commuters stopped in their tracks to "high-five" the young people; others passed them by without a look. Whatever happened, the young people accepted it. The next day they were going to wave big signs saying, "Free Hugs."

Jesus told the disciples, Go! Just go. Notice – They went ahead of Jesus. Like an advance team. They announced, "The Kingdom of God is already here." Jesus told them to accept the response, whatever it is.

Are you ready to go ahead of Jesus? Expect to see evidence of God already there. Paul expected hospitality, even in jail.

Roland Allen told missionaries to bring the scriptures and sacraments, then get out of the way.

How much of a burden to our mission is culture and structure?

We are fed for service and we are fit for mission. Sharing our peace. It you find it, great. If not, move on.

The UTO offering will travel. All over – feeding, healing, preaching the Kingdom of God. The PB listed a long series of ministries that will be supported by the UTO. Ministries from all over the world and the U.S. Mission. Life on the road.

In the coming days, what welcome will you offer? What will you receive? Where will you announce peace? How will you heal?

Eat what is set before you and go out to become the sacrament of the Kingdom of God.
___________

After Eucharist, break for lunch.
___________

A little time in the exhibition hall before we resume.

Some other interesting ministries I found among the exibits:
The St. Nicholas Center has great ideas and resources to support celebrations in honor of St. Nicholas, especially in December. www.stnicholascenter.org
Dorcas House is an Episcopal Church ministry supporting children of prisoners in Tijuana, Mexico www.dorcashousefriends.org
There is a very impressive church in Palisades, California – St. Matthew's – that has a great tradition of developing outreach ministries. Good place to learn "how to." I didn't see their web site.
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance – www.thegaia.org
___________

3:00 p.m. Legislative Session

Chaplain Frank Wade opened with a meditation. Notes from his talk:

Halfway point. Daunting list of decisions not yet made. They are the most complex. We feel as if we've been straining at gnats and still must swallow camels. We feel like we've been here a long time.

We've settled into a routine. Parliamentary decisions are making more sense. The shuffle between legislation and worship; liturgy and politics mean the same thing – the work of the people. We say "Aye" in one hall and "Amen" in the other hall. They are the same.

This is where we ought to be. It takes time to let the big decisions percolate. Our uncertainties are among the most familiar themes in scripture.

The only time our ancestors were certain of themselves is when they were making a calf. Otherwise they were following fire, or a cloud. Peter on the water – when he kept an eye on Jesus, he could walk; when he looked away, he began to sink. "Eyes on Jesus. Do the job." We're halfway there.
__________

We took up the first landmark resolution having to do with our policies with respect to our relationships within the Anglican Communion. Here is the text of D025:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring. That the 76th General convention reaffirm the continued participation of The Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion; give thanks for the work of the bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008; 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; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations, and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks, and relationships of the Anglican Communion,

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm its financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and pledge to participate fully in the Inter-Anglican Budget; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm the value of "listening to the experience of homosexual persons," as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, 1998, and acknowledge that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God; and be it further

Resolved, that the 76th General Convention recognize that gay and lesbian persons who are part of such relationships have responded to God's call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst, and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, which call is tested through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge that members of The Episcopal Church as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind, and Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters.

Because I was standing in line to speak to the resolution, I wasn't able to take notes about the debate. We debated for 30 minutes, alternating between pro and con. The time ended before either I or Chris Keller could speak; we were both in line.

The House took a vote by orders. A vote by orders is a traditional and conservative structure that the General Convention observes, especially when it makes decisions on controversial or especially significant matters. In a vote by orders, we tally the vote in separate orders. The resolution must pass simultaneously by a majority vote in both the lay order and the clerical order.

Each diocese gets one vote in the lay order and one vote in the clerical order. Here's how that one vote is determined. There are four deputies in each order. It takes a majority of the four deputies to vote in the affirmative – 4-0 or 3-1 = "yes." A 2-2 vote is a divided vote and counts as a "no."

So anything that is significant or controversial cannot pass the General Convention on a simple majority. It takes something like a super-majority, and it has to pass both the lay and clerical order at the same time. Either house can defeat a matter. We don't make decisions lightly or with slim majorities.

Arkansas' vote on D025:
Lay "yes"
Clergy "divided" (which functions as a "no")


Results from the entire House:
Lay order: Needed to Pass – 50 Yes 77; No 31 – passed lay
Clergy order: Needed Pass – 49 Yes 74; No 35 – passed clergy
The resolution passes.

The resolution will now go to the House of Bishops for their deliberations and their decision whether to Concur or to Reject or to Amend and pass. If it is amended it would return to our House.


Lowell

A Brief Essay

This is a bit of a departure for me. I'm not reporting about events from the Convention, but I'd like to share something that came to my thoughts early this morning when I was reflecting on the choices before the Episcopal Church with regard to our policies toward gay and lesbian Christians and our relationship with the Anglican Communion.
__________

When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964, he prophesied that the Democratic Party was "signing away the south for 50 years."

I can imagine the voices among the Democrats at that time of decision in 1964. Do not pass this Civil Rights legislation. You will split the party. You will alienate the Southern part of our communion. You'll be thrown out of office. We have a fragile relationship with the Dixiecrats. Don't do anything to further strain those relationships.

LBJ and the Democratic Party could have backed away from the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They could have maintained the structural union within their party - but at what cost. The cost would have to be put on the backs of black people, continuing the disenfranchisement of African Americans, perpetuating their marginalization and continuing their discrimination.

Today we look back at that moment of decision in 1964, and we know that they chose right and we are proud of them. When the time of decision comes, you have to do what is right, whatever it costs: to extend freedom, equal opportunity and to defend liberty and justice for all.

Lowell