|
|||
| AGW Welcome | The Witness Magazine |
|
An Open Letter to the Church from the Claiming the Blessing CollaborativeSeptember 27, 2003, Glenn Dale, Maryland Whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40) We write in a season of change and distress in the life of our beloved Episcopal Church, recognizing that the process of reaction to the actions of the 2003 General Convention is ongoing. A small number of dioceses have met in special conventions even as we have met. Significant meetings are planned for Dallas and London in the very near future. We want to share our thoughts about the times in which we are living and our hope for the future. We are struck by the statement of Jesus from the RCL Gospel reading for Proper 20 (as we write, tomorrow's reading). "Whoever is not against us is for us." Surely this principle should be at the forefront of the ever difficult task of maintaining our unity as Christians. Have we come to the point where the "sides" of the sexuality debate are literally "against" one another in such a way that warrants both impaired communion and, more importantly, impaired mission? It seems to us that those who believe the answer is "yes" are in danger of reacting to General Convention as the disciples reacted to the exorcist who was, in their words, "casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us" (Mark 9:38). Jesus clearly lands on the side of a diversity of "following" so long as it is within a common confession. We ask, are not the Nicene and Apostles' Creed such a common confession and would it not be a fundamental change to the nature of Anglicanism to consider anything outside of their proclamation an "essential" of faith that is a cause not only for disagreement but for alienation? ...there is no universal "plain truth of Scripture" in our tradition, save that interpreted for us by the universal creeds. To claim differently is, again, to propose a change in the fundamental nature of Anglicanism. Yet strong voices declare that it is. No less than the Archbishop of Nigeria has stated, in a (for him) rhetorical question, "I ask, are the issues of peace, hunger, sharia, and HIV/AIDS, serious and prevalent, as they are, more important to the Church than faithfulness to the plain truth of Scripture?" For many of us (and, we dare conjecture, a majority of Anglicans) this is not a rhetorical question, and the answer is "yes." And the answer is yes because there is no universal "plain truth of Scripture" in our tradition, save that interpreted for us by the universal creeds. To claim differently is, again, to propose a change in the fundamental nature of Anglicanism. We continue to honor the voices of diversity in our communion including those who wish to disassociate themselves from the actions of General Convention 2003. A long part of our history is the freedom to do just such a thing. Many of us disassociated ourselves from the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution I.10. It is an important process, often called "reception," that, most recently, has been in place concerning the matter of the ordination of women throughout the Communion. The Communion itself, we would remind the church, has been in a state of impaired communion since at least 1976. What became clear very early on in that "crisis of communion" was that within our particular fellowship of churches, impaired mission was thought to be a greater threat than impaired communion. Our chief concern in the current climate is that this principle not be overturned. It is not impaired communion that is the greatest threat to the future of the Communion, but impaired mission. The members of the Claiming the Blessing collaborative rejoice in the actions of General Convention in Minneapolis. Furthermore, we believe that those decisions present the church with a significant evangelical opportunity, despite the diversity of reactions to them. We have the opportunity to show to the world a church of two significant evangelical values: honesty and diversity. We have the opportunity to show to the world that we can be honest about who we are, including being honest in our disagreements while continuing to be united in the fundamental love which is a gift from God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our ongoing work as a collaborative is to continue to be a resource for the church at large, assisting with the increased opportunities for further conversation this evangelical moment provides us. We will also assist those dioceses where resolution C051 of the 2003 Convention now allows for moving pastoral practice into the light of day. In the end, it seems to us that the decisions of General Convention were far more about this "moving into the light of day" than any kind of "settling once and for all" matters of human sexuality. The General Convention voted for honesty and openness... In the end, it seems to us that the decisions of General Convention were far more about this "moving into the light of day" than any kind of "settling once and for all" matters of human sexuality. The General Convention voted for honesty and openness, to tell the truth about what is really happening throughout the church, including in the Diocese of New Hampshire. Our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion who disagree profoundly with these decisions have every right and obligation to do so. This too is about honesty. What they do not have the right to do is to either say "we have no need of you" or to break the unity of the Church because "they were not following us." We are not against each other. We disagree. We can live with and through that. Followers of Jesus always have from the days of the Gospel itself: that is the hope and the blessing we claim.
Contact: the Rev. Susan Russell, 714-356-5718, revsusanrussell@earthlink.net |