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The state will be the shining star of the Anglican Communion today when the Rev. Ian T. Douglas is consecrated the 15th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Douglas sits on the Anglican Consultative Council, which represents Anglicans worldwide, so he is well known outside the Episcopal Church. He asked a friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to be the preacher today.

Douglas, formerly professor of world mission at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., said his connections will benefit the diocese, and vice versa.

“I’m not afraid to call in favors around the world to help us in Connecticut,” he said recently. “I have a pretty good Rolodex that I would hope to utilize.”

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From here:

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Virginia has declined to consent to the election of the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool as bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles because, in the view of a majority of the Committee, her election is inconsistent with the moratorium agreed to by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. That majority believes that, at this time, failure by individual dioceses to respect the Church’s agreement to the moratorium would be detrimental to the good order of our Church and bring into question its reliability as an institution. The committee found no other reason to withhold its consent to the election of Canon Glasspool.

From here:

After balloting concluded at the 35th convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska, the eighth bishop of the diocese was elected. The Very Rev. Mark Lattime was elected after delegates from around the state of Alaska prayerfully considered five candidates at their annual convention, held April 8-11, 2010. Ninety-seven delegates met at the Meier Lake Conference Center in Wasilla, Alaska for the electing convention.

On Wednesday, April 7, 2010, St. Helena’s, Beaufort hosted a “Conversation with the Bishops.” Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop Mark Lawrence, Bishop FitzSimons Allison, and Bishop Alden Hathaway engaged in a conversation about the Anglican Communion and its emerging global biblical mission.

Listen to it all.

MacPherson and Harbin’s relationship was the first same-sex union blessed by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio since Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal lifted the ban on such ceremonies a week ago.

The men, who live in German Village and started dating in 1975, cannot be legally married in Ohio. And the Episcopal Church does not marry same-sex couples.

MacPherson, 59, and Harbin, 56, would like the civil benefit of marriage someday, they said. But yesterday, they sought their church’s blessing, that their relationship is holy and of God.

Theirs has been a “covenant relationship” – unbreakable – since 1979, in their estimation. But they never had a ceremony with loved ones to mark the relationship. They wanted to do that with a congregation that made them feel welcome when they weren’t sure church could be a haven for gay people. St. Stephen’s, on Ohio State University’s campus, was.

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The Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, a priest of the Diocese of Maryland and a partnered gay woman, was elected to serve as a bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles in December 2009. The consent process, a 120-day period, requires the receipt of consents from majorities of the Standing Committees throughout the Episcopal Church and from the Church’s bishops with jurisdiction. On March 17, just before the opening of the House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen, Texas, the presiding bishop’s office announced that Canon Glasspool had received the number of consents required to proceed with her ordination and consecration as a bishop.

Along with several other bishops, I had been delaying my vote until the House of Bishops meeting so that we might confer with one another as to the implications of this episcopal election. As consent is a responsibility upon all diocesan bishops, I then sent in my ballot even though the process had already been decided. Understandably, the diocesan offices have received numerous inquiries as to how I voted. I write this to announce my decision for this particular process and to say something about what this means (and doesn’t mean) for my leadership in the Diocese of Virginia.

Bishop-elect Glasspool’s election has been both a source of celebration and of alarm for many in our diocese, just as in the Episcopal Church and our wider Anglican Communion. In my judgment, both “sides” make compelling arguments and have quite legitimate concerns. Personally, I am more torn by this decision than by any other decision I’ve yet faced, whether as priest or bishop. After deep prayer and thought, I voted to decline consent to the ordination of Bishop-elect Glasspool. This is not to reflect on Bishop-elect Glasspool herself (who, by all accounts, is indeed highly qualified and well suited for the ministry of bishop) but rather is about the circumstances of this case.

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Elevating [Michael] Barlowe, currently head of congregational ministries for the Diocese of California, also might exacerbate tensions over homosexuality in the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Church of England’s umbrella organization that includes the Episcopal Church. Several African dioceses, opposed to gay clergy, have split with the Communion and formed a new denomination, which has attracted a handful of Episcopal churches in the United States.

Picking a gay bishop also would not likely endear the diocese to Utah’s dominant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was among Prop 8’s strongest supporters.

“There are a lot of theological issues that divide our churches and [homosexuality] is certainly one of them,” Ric Tanner said. “Perhaps the best way to work toward understanding is to be engaged in conversation with views different than ours. That’s true of both groups.”

But Barlowe’s sexuality may not matter to the 6,000 members of Utah’s Episcopal Church, which is on record supporting the ordination of gay and lesbian priests in committed relationships, Tanner said. At the denomination’s triennial meeting in Los Angeles last summer, the diocese sided with the majority in making the office of bishop open to all ordained persons, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.

Read the whole article.

“We’ve only had 10 bishops in 143 years,” said Bishop Irish in a prepared statement. “I am delighted to see this slate of extremely gifted finalists and feel a sense of vision and strong leadership that any one of these priests will prayerfully serve the Episcopal Church in Utah.”

The finalists include the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, canon for Congregational Ministries in the Diocese of California; the Rev. Canon Scott B. Hayashi, canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Chicago; the Rev. Canon Juan Andrés Quevedo-Boscho, rector of the Church of the Redeemer in the Diocese of Long Island; and the Rev. Canon Mary C.M. Sulerud, canon for Deployment and Vocational Ministries in the Diocese of Washington, D.C.

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From here:

At our convention in November 2009, I announced my intention to permit the blessing of same-gender unions in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, beginning in Easter of 2010. At that time, I named a task force of clergy and laity whom I asked to assist me in working out the procedures and requirements related to this policy. Here, once again, are the members of the task force: The Rev, Douglas Argue, The Rev. Trevor Babb, The Rev. William Carroll, Joe Dehner, Esq., The Rev. Pam Elwell, The Rev. George Hill, Nanci Koepke, The Rev. Eileen O’Reilly, Dr. Gail Payne, Dr. Don Reed, Dr. Marti Rideout, A. J Stack, and Lisa Wharton, Esq.

As I said at the time, this was not a collection of people who were necessarily eager to see Southern Ohio move in the direction of same-gender unions. Some were; some weren’t. Once gathered, however, they dug into the hard questions with great courage and mutual respect.

This group has gone far beyond my initial request in stating the theological convictions that underlie the policy, in developing a rite of blessing for trial use, and in providing web and print resources for congregational and individual study. I am extremely grateful for their work ”“ not only for its outcome, which will contribute significantly to the Episcopal Church’s reflection on same-gender unions, but also for the charity, honesty and devotion to the Gospel that was so beautifully modeled in their conversations with one another.

The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal
Bishop, Diocese of Southern Ohio

Read it all and follow all the links–KSH.

My dear brothers in Christ:

I write you because of developments in The Episcopal Church, about which you will soon hear and read. As you all know, the Diocese of Los Angeles elected two suffragan bishops in December, and the consent process for those bishops has been ongoing since then. One of those bishops-elect is a woman in a partnered same-sex relationship.

At this point, she has received consent from a majority of the bishops with jurisdiction, and a majority of the standing committees of this Church. According to our canons, I must now take order for her consecration. I will do so, and anticipate that both bishops-elect will be consecrated at the same service on 15 May. It has been my practice, since I took office, to preside at the consecration of new bishops, and I intend to do so in this case as well.
It may help you to know that our House of Bishops will continue to discuss these issues at our meeting later this month. The papers we discuss will be available publicly following that meeting, and we will endeavor to see that you receive copies. I would encourage you to engage in conversation any bishops whom you know in this Church, particularly those you came to know at Lambeth, whether in Bible study or Indaba groups.

Know that this is not the decision of one person, or a small group of people. It represents the mind of a majority of elected leaders in The Episcopal Church, lay, clergy, and bishops, who have carefully considered the opinions and feelings of other members of the Anglican Communion as well as the decades-long conversations within this Church. It represents a prayerful and thoughtful decision, made in good faith that this Church is ”˜working out its salvation in fear and trembling, believing that God is at work in us’ (Philippians 2:12-13).

I ask your prayers for this Church, for the Diocese of Los Angeles, and for the members of the Anglican Communion. This part of the Body of Christ has abundant work to do, and God’s mission needs us all.

If you have questions about this decision or process, I would encourage you to contact me. I would be glad to talk with you.

I pray that your ministry may continue to be a transformative blessing to many. I remain

Your servant in Christ,

–(The Rt. Rev.) Katharine Jefferts Schori is Presiding Bishop of TEC

The Windsor Report of 2004 recommended “that the Episcopal Church (USA) be invited to effect a moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion emerges” [Section D subsection 134, bullet point no 3].

That request was reiterated at the Primates’ Meeting in Dar es Salaam and followed at the Primates’ Meeting in Alexandria with a request for ”˜gracious restraint’. The decision of The Episcopal Church in respect of the confirmation of an election and subsequent consecration of a partnered gay person to the episcopate has clearly signalled the end of ”˜gracious restraint’. This is a development which I deeply regret. Whatever may be ”˜the mind of a majority of the elected leaders in The Episcopal Church’, it does not reflect the mind of a majority of those in positions of leadership in the Anglican Communion and it is bound to create even greater stresses within the Communion at a time when consultations on an Anglican Covenant are at an advanced stage.

The action of The Episcopal Church also has implications for another serious issue that has strained the bonds of affection within the Communion, namely extraterritorial interventions by other provinces in the life of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. A moratorium on such interventions and also on the authorization of public rites of blessing for same-sex unions was requested by the Primates at Dar es Salaam. In neither of these cases has “gracious restraint” been wholly exercised.

Read it all.

In searching for its 11th bishop, the Diocese of Springfield describes itself as “more conservative than liberal” philosophically and theologically, “although several parishes likely would describe themselves as more liberal.”

A survey included in the diocesan profile [PDF] reinforces that description, but with some unpredictable results.

The Rt. Rev. Peter H. Beckwith was the diocese’s 10th bishop from 1992 until February 2010. In addition to his diocesan duties, Bishop Beckwith served as vice president of the American Anglican Council and as chairman of the AAC Bishops Network.

The diocese’s election committee says 846 people completed the survey. That number “constitutes 40.61% of the diocese’s average Sunday attendance of 2,083 taken from the 2008 parochial reports.”

Read it all.

From here:

The Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, recently retired 106th Bishop of the Church of England/Diocese of Rochester, will be a guest at St. Helena’s, Beaufort, from April 5-14.

On Wednesday, April 7, Bishop Nazir-Ali will be joined by Bishop Mark Lawrence, Bishop FitzSimons Allison, and Bishop Alden Hathaway. Together, they will engage a conversation about the Anglican Communion and its emerging global biblical mission. All are invited to this special event.

Please, please do not link to this story or email it without sending Lydia Evans’ letter already posted earlier also.

originally was missing the word NOT between did and think. That is, in the originally published version Steve Wood was depicted as saying he DID think Mark Lawrence would pursue legal action, whereas Steve said in fact the OPPOSITE. It is because of errors of this magnitude, as well as the complete misprepresentation of the US Supreme Court situation, that I was unable to post this artiucle and the second smaller related article yesterday. It would simply have caused too much confusion. Please do not add to the confusion yourselves–KSH.

This is the last of my articles on the Lenten Disciplines. We have looked briefly and sequentially at Self-Examination & Repentance; Fasting; and Self-denial. We come now to the final disciplines mentioned in the Ash Wednesday’s Invitation in The Book of Common Prayer for the observance of a holy Lent””“Reading and Meditating on God’s Holy Word.” A recent Gallup Survey noted that only 10% of Americans read the Bible daily, and only one in five Christians belongs to a study group of any kind. Only 31% of committed Christian men have read a Christian book of any kind in the past year. Women who are committed Christians do significantly better here. It is important to realize that the mind will always take on an order that conforms to the order of whatever it concentrates upon or has in the past focused upon. Mind-pollution is a reality. Just consider the way a jingle from a commercial can stick in your mind sometimes even when you do not cultivate it.

St. Paul’s words are most appropriate in regards to this when he writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”¦” That’s the goal we’re after in the discipline of Reading and Meditating on God’s holy Word. And since we have entered into Holy Week during which some of our parishes have a service every day and when each day brings us ever deeper into Christ’s redeeming work, it is the most appropriate time for me to take up these two disciplines.

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The Very Rev. Robert S. Munday, Ph.D., Dean and President of Nashotah House preached on the Lord’s Prayer during a service of Holy Eucharist. Dean Munday told listeners that the ultimate thing for which they should be praying is the power of the Holy Spirit. “God wants to give the power of the Holy Spirit to empower his Church,” he said.

Mark Lawrence, XIV Bishop of South Carolina, began his address to the convention quoting Saint Paul, “My spirit is troubled,” he said. “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest….” 2 Corinthians 2:12-13a Lawrence noted that though there are doors open to us (for gospel work) we must, instead, turn our attention to the “distractions that come from the decisions others have made within The Episcopal Church.”

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Two days after the Bishop of South Carolina announced a ceasefire in a long-standing property dispute, another large parish took final steps in separating from the Episcopal Church.

On March 27 the Rev. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence told the diocese’s annual convention that All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Waccamaw, and All Saints’ Church (Anglican Mission in the Americas) had reached an out-of-court settlement in their legal battle for church property.

On March 29 the congregation of St. Andrew’s, Mt. Pleasant, acted on a parish survey in December 2009 that recommended leaving the Episcopal Church to affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America’s Diocese of the Holy Spirit.

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A South Carolina diocese has declared itself “sovereign” within the Episcopal Church, the latest salvo in a long-running skirmish between the conservative diocese and the denomination.

The Diocese of South Carolina, which covers 47 parishes in the eastern and coastal parts of the state, voted on Friday (March 26) to assert the local authority of Bishop Mark Lawrence, particularly in dealing with breakaway parishes.

Concerned that Lawrence would not fight to keep conservatives from seceding with church property, the Episcopal Church hired its own lawyer earlier this year. The 2.2 million-member denomination maintains that local parish property is held in trust for the regional diocese and the national church.

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Though the Diocese of South Carolina remains affiliated with The Episcopal Church, the two are waging a battle over Scripture and polity.

South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence was not hesitant this week to express his continuing frustrations with the national church body’s “false gospel” and ongoing pursuit of litigations.

“The distractions that come from the decisions others have made within The Episcopal Church have created restlessness in my spirit,” he said at the diocese’s 219th annual convention which concluded Friday.

“Like those in the Church at Corinth with whom St. Paul was confronted, many within the leadership of The Episcopal Church have grown willful,” he lamented. “They will have their way though it is contrary to the received teaching of God’s Holy Word, the trustworthy traditions of the Christian Faith, and the expressed will of the Anglican Communion.”

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Read it carefully and read it all also.

Read it carefully and read it all.

Two years ago The Episcopal Church House of Bishops asked a panel of eight theologians, four “conservative” and four “liberal,” to produce a study document addressing the issue of same-sex marriage. The Rev. Dr. Grant LeMarquand, Trinity’s Academic Dean, was one of the theologians on that committee. Their work is now done.

Along with Dr. Willis Jenkins of Yale, Grant went to the Spring 2010 meeting of the House of Bishops to present the work of the panel. Both Willis and Grant gave ten minute presentations summarizing the two positions, for and against same-sex marriage. The bishops then discussed among themselves in table groups following which there was an hour for the bishops to ask questions. Perhaps the most interesting thing which happened during that question period was a short speech by Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, who expressed dissatisfaction with both papers and stated that it was time to move beyond speaking simply of “GLBT” (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) orientations: “there are so many other letters in the alphabet,” he said; “there are so many other sexualities to be explored.” He did not elaborate as to what those other sexualities and other letters of the alphabet might be.

Read it all.

Unfortunately, there are not only diocese[s] leaving TEC, but a clear plan of response from the PB on how to deal with these departures. The PB is essentially defrocking these diocesan bishops as they leave or seek to leave (this only has some effect in TEC as other provinces continue to recognize the bishops). Exacerbating this situation further, she is also seeking to replace the bishops with those loyal to her. The last part of the plan is to then sue the former diocesan bishop (who, in almost all cases, has not physically left their diocese but rather transferred association to another province) and diocesan officers in order to acquire all former “TEC property” that has now been transferred to another province.

It is because of this policy and the negative will it has created around TEC that I was pleased to read about the resolution of the South Carolina case. Does it bode well for current and future cases? I don’t know. I hope it does, but it appears as though the current policy will remain in place. The South Carolina bishop has a convention to lead this weekend and his comments on this issue will interest me. Also fervently hope and pray Christian love and Paul’s teaching about communal living will be at the heart of any discussion prior to another diocese leaving. I can’t in good conscience make someone stay in TEC, but I also don’t have to be mean when they decide to leave. Especially when they are only responding to the issue of homosexuality in the same manner as many provinces outside of TEC.

Wish us peace and luck as we endeavor to continue serving him and anyone who wants to worship alongside us.

Read it all.

Read it all.

At Friday’s convention, officials passed five resolutions quickly and overwhelmingly. Four pertained directly or indirectly to the current crisis.

Barbara Mann, president of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, a group of about 500 who advocate loyalty to the Episcopal Church, said she was saddened by the antagonistic tone of the convention.

“I think what disturbed me most was the battle language,” she said. “They have separated themselves even more from the Episcopal Church.”

Mostly, the resolutions were restatements of existing positions or angry expressions of concern, Mann said. But she interpreted the call for “a generous pastoral response to parishes in conflict” with the church to signify a willingness on the part of the bishop to permit dissenting parishes to leave the church.

Jim Lewis, the diocese’s canon to the ordinary, said the language simply means that the bishop has discretion to exercise his authority over these parishes as he sees fit.

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And the converse of this observation will be a strengthening of the hand of Bishop Lawrence. For now we see, by the settlement as communicated, the wisdom of his announced policy of not trying to alienate any further the parishes which had already become alienated from ECUSA. I predict that the settlement in Waccamaw Neck, when its details become public, will bear out fully the wisdom of Bishop Lawrence’s announced intention to lower the heat against realigning parishes, and those thinking about realignment — and to deal with the problem as Christians, guided by the words of St. Paul. This development will, in its turn, further undercut 815’s disastrous litigation strategy, and light the way to further and future settlements along the same lines, as I suggested some time ago might be possible in this post.

As an attorney, I am always happy when clients and their opponents agree to bury the hatchet. But as the Chancellor for an Episcopal Church, I am doubly happy when my fellow Christians see the wisdom in the words of St. Paul. And I am triply happy for all the good parishioners of the Diocese of South Carolina, who are most fortunate to have a godly bishop who is blazing the way for all other Episcopalians to follow — and who (not deliberately, of course, but simply out of his sheer willingness to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul) is pointing up the un-Christianlike and scripturally invalid policies being followed by the Presiding Bishop.

Godspeed, Bishop Lawrence! Godspeed, the Diocese of South Carolina, and both of the parishes of All Saints Waccamaw! Blessings be upon you, now and unto all future generations, and may your light so shine before other Episcopalians that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven.

Read it all.

The document “Same-Sex Relationships in the Life of the Church” is now posted here. As the preface notes, “this project was commissioned in the spring of 2008 by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, to be overseen by the Theology Committee.” The postscript to the document written by the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops expresses gratitude for the work of the report, noting however that “their work is for study and reflection and does not constitute a position paper of the Theology Committee” (p.86).

The document contains statements by two parties or affinity groups offering two different interpretations of creedal faithfulness as the editor’s foreward notes (iv): the traditionalists write on Same-Sex Marriage and Anglican Theology while the liberals write on a Theology of Marriage Including Same-Sex Couples. Each affinity group then responds to the work of the other group and the editor offers an epilogue.

I rejoice that our work is now available for all to read.

When the document was presented to the House of Bishops on March 20, 2010, Willis Jenkins gave this introduction (posted here with his permission). Grant LeMarquand also gave an introduction. Willis Jenkins’ introduction helps to counter two blogosphere misperceptions to our work so far: nothing new and no points of agreement.

Read it all.

Pray for the the worship, the bishop and the bishop’s address, the voting on the resolutions and other common activity as it arises.

As a reminder, you may find the proposed resolutions here–KSH.