"We took to heart the admonition of the Apostle Paul that Christians should not be divided over seemingly important, but tangential issues, including sexual preferences and the role of women in the church, things like that."
Former president Jimmy Carter, at the funeral of former president Gerry Ford
O God of truth and peace, who raised up your servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great charity the catholic and reformed religion: Grant that we may maintain that middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Polity and Polity
At Albany’s Convention this summer, a resolution that included opposition to the Communion Partner Bishops’ critique of Episcopal polity was converted, by amendment, into one that supported it. Because that transformation took place during the Saturday business meeting, few if any deputies had a chance to read the 21-page Bishops’ statement before they were called upon to vote on it.
The fate of the now notorious Resolution No. 4 is only the most recent of several instances in which last minute resolutions forced Albany's convention deputies to make uninformed decisions. The first of these, in 2005, led to dramatic shortening of the process for electing a Bishop Coadjutor -- a decision with far-reaching implications that surely deserved much longer deliberation by deputies and their parishes. A last minute resolution led the 2007 Convention to shun the Religious Council for Reproductive Choice and redefine the boundaries of human life. It was clear from the discussion that few deputies knew much if anything about RCRC. Moreover, the redefinition of life implied certainty about a wide range of issues (including the death penalty), each of which needed far more discussion than time allowed.
The 2008 Convention played a novel variation on drop-ins. Late on Friday night, diocesan functionaries rewrote several previously accepted resolutions, then went on to vote on them. On Saturday, deputies were confronted by unfamiliar resolutions and advised to reject them.
In a 19 June e-mail, the diocese apologizes to the authors of this summer’s Resolution No. 4 for not removing their names from the amended resolution, which no longer expressed their views. It then goes on to justify the various legislative maneuvers that we have experienced in recent years, stating in conclusion that "The General Convention of the Episcopal Church follows the same guidelines." If that’s true, we must hope that GC applies them more judiciously than our local leaders do.
When Bonnie Anderson visited the Diocese of Albany in early 2008, she expressed the hope that we might become a model of reconciliation for other dioceses. It is still early enough in Bp. Love's episcopate to achieve that result. A step forward would be to restore integrity to convention resolutions. Enforce a mid-April deadline for their submission and restrict exceptions to matters of urgency. No deputy should have to make important decisions without adequate information. No one who submits a resolution should have to wonder whether he or she will recognize it when it reaches the floor.
While it is appropriate for Bp. Love and his Communion Partners to question the Episcopal Church’s practices, procedures at our diocesan convention are his responsibility. Polity, like charity, begins at home.
New members & "old" member renewals are most welcome.... and needed! We need all the help we can get to continue our work in the Diocese of Albany and elsewhere! Membership forms: click here |
 AVM Meeting: a question from the floor |
|---|
Spring Issue: our newsletter
Open Minds
As Albany’s convention (5 to 7 June) and General Convention (8 to 17 July) approach, much is going on in what blogger Fr. Mark Harris calls “Anglican Land.” The just concluded meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council disappointed proponents of an Anglican covenant, one of whom is our Bishop Love. Asked to endorse the third (“Ridley-Cambridge”) draft thereof and pass it along to the provinces for approval, the ACC decided to hold for now. As our Presiding Bishop explained in an article on Episcopal Life Online, “The covenant garnered broad support for its first three sections, but some feel the fourth section is inappropriately focused on discipline, while others see that as essential.”
Supporters of a covenant are briefly down, but by no means out. Dr. Ephraim Radner, a member of the Covenant Design Group, and ++Mouneer Anis, Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, have urged provinces and individual dioceses to embrace the covenant “in principle.” We wonder whether Albany will act on this suggestion at its convention.
Lost in the headline-grabbing struggle over what an Anglican covenant should include is a more basic question: Do we need what would be, in effect, a contract? Fr. E. Walton Zelley has written a thoughtful discussion of this issue, which we’re happy to publish here.