General Convention 2006  |  Anglican/Episcopal News

GC RESOLUTION ON MORATORIA DEFEATED DECISIVELY IN DEPUTIES
 By Sarah Dylan Breuer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
 

General Convention Resolution A161 -- which, as amended by the Special Committee meeting during convention, included language urging the church to refrain from electing or consecrating bishops whose "manner of life poses a challenge to the wider church" and bishops and GC2006 to refrain from authorizing official rites for blessing same-sex couples -- has gone down to decisive defeat in the House of Deputies.

Early indications are that moderate deputies perceived the resolution as amended by the Special Committee as no longer being moderate -- particularly in its rejecting the counsel for those involved in the nomination, election, consent, and consecration of bishops to exercise "very considerable caution" and substituting counsel to "refrain" from selecting and consecrating a bishop "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the church." Perhaps even more influential was the vocal agreement of Integrity president Susan Russell and noted conservative Kendall Harmon that the resolution should be voted down -- Harmon arguing that it did not conform sufficiently to the language of the Windsor Report and Russell arguing that it "manages in the same resolution to balance the unity of the Anglican Communion on the backs of gay and lesbian people by urging the church to refrain from allowing any of them to respond to the Holy Spirit's call to the episcopate AND to apologize to them for the new one they were getting ripped by the church they're trying to serve," and that it furthermore violated church canons prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in discernment processes for church ministries.

A resolution from the floor of the House of Deputies to reconsider Resolution A161 -- potentially to amend its language to match that of the resolution as originally proposed by the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion -- has now failed in the House of Deputies. It needed the votes of two-thirds of the House to pass; it received 486 (or 59.1%) 'yes' votes and 336 (or 40.9%) 'no' votes.

At this point, it seems that the only likely way a resolution dealing with the Windsor Report's recommendations regarding the election and consecration of bishops will be passed is if the House of Bishops takes up Resolution A162 -- much of which had been rolled by the Special Legislative Committee at convention into Resolution A161. The House of Bishops could, in theory, choose to amend Resolution A162 to address issues surrounding the selection of bishops, and send the newly amended Resolution A162 to the House of Deputies for consideration.

But it is now nearly 5:00 p.m. on the day before General Convention 2006 ends, and many crucial matters before convention -- including the budget for the next triennium -- still require action from the Houses. The time pressure is considerable, and outcomes regarding the Windsor Report of discussion and reception are in doubt save for at least one point: It is clear that conversation and discernment in what is now being called the "Windsor Process" are likely to continue for years beyond GC 2006.


Update: June 20, 2006, 8:00 p.m.:

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold announced earlier this evening in a session of the House of Bishops that he intends to call a joint session of the two Houses tomorrow immediately following the closing Eucharist. The House of Bishops affirmed his intention, and the Special Legislative Committee is being reconvened tonight so they can attempt to agree on a resolution to present to the joint session tomorrow morning.

It is unclear at this point whether the Special Legislative Committee -- which was unable to agree on the resolutions originally sent to the floor of the Houses until well after the original deadline -- will be able in a single night to come to consensus around a wholly new resolution or group of resolutions.

The Presiding Bishop noted that if the Houses are unable to concur on common resolutions, the House of Bishops may decide to issue a "mind of the house" resolution speaking solely for the House of Bishops, although some bishops spoke critically of this option, noting that at the bishops' 2004 meeting at Camp Allen in Texas, they noted that only the General Convention could speak for the Episcopal Church as a whole.


The deputations that voted 'NO' or 'DIVIDED' on Resolution A161 are as follows ('YES' votes will later be listed here):

Alabama -- Lay DIVIDED
Albany -- Lay NO; Clergy DIVIDED
Arizona -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Bethlehem (PA) -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy NO
California -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Central Florida -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Central Pennsylvania -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Chicago -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Convocation of American Churches in Europe: Lay NO; Clergy NO
Colorado -- Lay DIVIDED
Connecticut -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Dallas -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Delaware -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
East Tennessee -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy DIVIDED
Eastern Michigan -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Eastern Oregon -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
El Camino Royale -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Fond du Lac -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy DIVIDED
Fort Worth -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Hawaii -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Idaho -- Clergy NO
Indiana -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Iowa -- Lay DIVIDED
Kansas -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Lexington -- Lay NO
Litoral Ecuador -- Clergy NO
Long Island -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Los Angeles -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Maine -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Maryland -- Clergy DIVIDED
Michigan -- Lay DIVIDED
Milwaukee -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Minnesota -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Missouri -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Montana -- Clergy DIVIDED
Nebraska -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy NO
Nevada -- Lay NO; Clergy DIVIDED
New Hampshire -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
New Jersey -- Lay NO; Clergy DIVIDED
New York -- Lay NO; Clergy DIVIDED
Newark -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
North Carolina -- Lay NO
Northern California -- Lay NO
Northern Michigan -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Northwest Texas -- Lay DIVIDED
Olympia -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Ohio -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Olympia -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Oregon -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Pennsylvania -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Pittsburgh -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Puerto Rico -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Rhode Island -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Rio Grande -- Lay NO
Rochester -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
San Diego -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy NO
San Joaquin -- Clergy DIVIDED
South Carolina -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
South Dakota -- Lay NO
Southeast Florida -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Southern Ohio -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy NO
Southwestern Virginia -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy DIVIDED
Springfield -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Tennessee -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy DIVIDED
Utah -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Venezuela -- Clergy NO
Vermont -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Virginia -- Clergy DIVIDED
Washington (DC) -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
West Tennessee -- Lay DIVIDED
Western Louisiana -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Western Massachusetts -- Lay NO; Clergy NO
Western Michigan -- Lay NO; Clergy DIVIDED
Western New York -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy DIVIDED
Western North Carolina -- Lay DIVIDED; Clergy NO
Wyoming -- Lay NO; Clergy NO

TOTALS:

Laity -- 109 votes cast:
-- YES: 38
-- NO: 53
-- DIVIDED: 18.
TOTAL NO & DIVIDED: 71.
Motion fails in lay order.

Clergy -- 111 votes cast:
-- YES: 44
-- NO: 53
-- DIVIDED: 14
TOTAL NO & DIVIDED: 67.
Motion fails in clerical order.

THE RESOLUTION FAILS.


Sarah Dylan Breuer is editor of The Witness. In her spare time, she maintains a website with a lectionary commentary series and a blog, and works throughout the church on issues of liturgy and faith. Dylan may be reached by email at editor@thewitness.org.