Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Priest, Martyr
August 14, 2009
A Pastoral Word
My Sisters and Brothers:
As you may know, yesterday the Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence, Bishop of our neighboring Diocese of South Carolina, called a meeting of his clergy to discuss the future of the diocese in the light of resolutions D025 and C056, passed at General Convention 2009. [D025, affirming, in accord with the canons, the openness of the ordination process, and C056, calling for collection, over the next triennium, of resources for blessing same-sex unions and for “generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church,” “particularly in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal.”]
Because of the historical and social ties between our two dioceses, what happens in one diocese affects the life of the other; and because recent secular news reporting on the Episcopal Church has been filled with inaccuracies and misleading phrases, I want to provide for your firsthand information Bishop Lawrence’s complete statement to his clergy. I also refer once more to my website comments on General Convention as a reminder of my own position on these issues.
Follow this link for my comments, and this one for Bishop Lawrence’s statement.
In closing, let me say that my most immediate concern about all this is for you, my clergy, and what you may face this coming Sunday morning. Holding a faithfully comprehensive middle ground on such intense issues is difficult and costly; yet, it is the ground that I believe must be tended and done so with great care. I am grateful to you, the clergy of
So, even though I am away from the Diocese at this time, I nonetheless send you my deepest care and affection and a blessing, hoping that this message is a tangible reminder that we are in this together and that our God is the God of deliverance and new life. Please join me, as I know you do, in praying that we may use our firmly rooted trust in God to be courageously open to receiving the Holy One’s gracious life and will.
–(The Rt. Rev.) Dorsey Henderson is Bishop of Upper South Carolina
Not much of a “comment” at all. Why even bother to write this? If he thinks it will quell concerns, not sure if I would be mollified of any concerns by these words.
Not to mention the fact, and I get really worked up over this, that nowhere in his entire message is Gospel, Jesus, or even Christ mentioned. Not looking for a “talisman” here, as if the name ought magically to appear. But why wouldn’t a CHRISTIAN BISHOP manage to work the name of the Lord into such a missive.
Just thinking out loud…
Darin+
Huh? Bp Henderson acknowledges the prospect that his clergy will be bombarded this Sunday by questions from parishoners confused by the contrast between his statement and that of Bp Lawrence. He goes on to say he doesn’t want them to feel like they are on their own……and then the line goes dead. No helpful hints, no point-of-view, no talking points, nothing. “I don’t want you feel like you’re on your own, even though I’m not going to do a darned thing to help you out.”
“Holding a faithfully comprehensive middle ground on such intense issues is difficult and costly; yet, it is the ground that I believe must be tended and done so with great care. I am grateful to you, the clergy of Laodecia…”
I cannot judge why he did not use the words you would have. Just as I cannot judge why someone who purports to be a CHRISTIAN would judge the faith of a retiring Bishop who has giving years of faithful service to his Diocese and the work of our Lord, just because he does not like a position he has taken. I guess i’ll chalk it up to all fall short of the glory of God and the atmosphere of anger and hate our nation seems to have fallen into.
“Holding a faithfully comprehensive middle ground on such intense issues is difficult and costly.” With respect, Bishop, no; it is, rather, impossible, and increasingly so since General Convention.
And the good bishop has pulled a talking point out of the recent townhall debates on healthcare; “a number of you may be confronted next Sunday morning by the legitimately confused and/or the highly agitated”. So, anyone that dares question, or even seem slightly concerned, will either be “confused” or “highly agitated”. Onl
When one looks at “middle ground”, one must look at both sides of themselves to see where they stand. When one looks to the left, one sees as far a confrontation on their property of the middle as mathemeatically possible. Likewise when that person looks to the right! There is no “middle ground”, including that valuable instant when one saw it as “middle ground.” +Henderson speaks from a nothingness that once was. I feel sad for those that are under his steering capabilities.
I understand that Henderson’s St. Christopher’s in Spartanburg sought pastoral oversight with Lawrence last year and when it did he inhibited the rector and removed the vestry. That type of action is what is LEFT of the comprehensive middle ground in DUSC as well as TEC.
Look at the recent Crosswalk or as some describe Double-Crosswalk. The DUSC is 1984 for real!
#4- if calling a bishop into question is unChristian, then we’ll just have to forget Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, Athanasius, and the Apostle Paul (he had a little issue with Peter, the “bishop of bishops” if Rome is to be believed).
I also seem to remember a first century Jew who called many of the leading clerics of the temple into question, as they had turned their backs on the faith delivered by God and embraced the faith delivered by Greece and Rome. This Jewish man also used some violent and harsh methods to expel undesirable elements from the temple. I would tell you the name of such an unChristian man, except that I seem to have forgotten it… sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve heard His name from a pulpit…. it began with, I wanna say, a “J”, had two syllables… Someone help me out here, it’s right on the tip of my tongue.
This is another interesting response.
One of the central theses of this communication appears to be that we in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina are moderate and are responding moderately.
And yet . . . some might say that Bishop Lawrence himself has chosen the moderate path — a path that does not involve leaving TEC for ACNA and yet does involve resisting and challenging with every fiber of his and his diocese’s being the trajectory of the General Convention and House of Bishops.
As someone pointed out on another blog, Bishop Henderson voted for D025 which says in part “Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals [who are engaged in same-gender sexual relationships], to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church . . . ” . . . so I can certainly understand his not wishing to resist or challenge that reality.
But I am not certain that that makes his position of affirmation and approval of D025 a “moderate” one, at least within the state of South Carolina among Episcopalians, and certainly not within the larger Anglican Communion.
Still, it is an interesting response and interesting that he chose to respond as well. I agree with him that what happens in South Carolina has an effect on the upper diocese . . . communication is constantly flowing amongst friends and family here in this state, from beach to mountains, so to speak. And certainly the contrast between simply the words of the two bishops is quite marked.
Doesn’t “Middle ground” demand an abstaining vote instead of a “YES” for those two nasty self-affirming resolutions that passed in GC2009??
I think anything Bishop Henderson says or writes needs to be considered in the light of certain other pronouncements he made regarding what happened at GC 2009.
Waves to the left of me…waves to the right….here I am, stuck in the middle with you!
(sung to “Clowns to the left…)
What middle ground exists in TEC today? Either one believes the presenting issue to be a sin or one believes the issue able to be blessed. How can there be a middle ground?
He knows that there is an increase in cultural cross-contamination between the upper and lower of SC during the summer months. A lot of folks may be returning this week from vacationing at the beaches or in Charleston where there may have been more news coverage of GC 09. Also, these same people may have attended a Dio of SC parish during their vacation.
It is hard to believe someone who has to say “all is well” over and over again.
I think the “middle ground” means voting “Yes” for both controversial resolutions and then signing the Anaheim Statement directly afterwards.
The middle ground is occupied by those of us who refuse to be defined by a requirement by either end that we MUST subscribe to their tenets or go away. And that disagree with both ends of the spectrum that are tugging the church apart.
The middle ground is a position chosen without consideration of what is right and correct, it only values getting along with people.
Further, the middle ground is dictated by others. Thus, an effective strategy to move the middle ground is to argue for the most extreme positions possible. If one seeks the middle, then you have to move to the left every time someone else moves farther to the left (and similarly for the right).
Please consider the issues and make a choice based on what is right. Even if you disagree, at least you are standing for something.
And John Myrick Daniels wasn’t a priest, Bp. Henderson! Just nitpicking.
Brent, you appear to be falling into a trap espoused by the extremists that, in effect, holds those in the middle in contempt, by insisting that they don’t stand for anything. Doubtless there are some for whom that is true. For others it is more complicated. There are elements on either end with which we agree and others with which we don’t. There is a tendency, particularly in blogdom, to try to put people in boxes and demonize those with whom a blogger disagrees. Speaking for myself, who finds much of blogdom a bombastic and depressing place, I resent the efforts by those on either end to insist that I must take their side or leave. That is a sentiment far too common here, on Stand Firm, on the newly resurrected Fr. Jake, and on other sites. It is far tto commn on the HOBD listserve, which is a profoundly dispiriting and depressing place. The downside of blogdom is that it makes it far too easy to bring out the worst in those of us who like to think we are Christians.
I think there’s a misconception about Bishop Henderson’s “middle ground.” This is a TGC bishop, folks…middle ground is defined as paying lip service to orthodoxy while advancing the revisionist agenda until such time as it becomes politically fashionable to openly advocate said agenda.
The Bishop has good reason to be concerned. The EDUSC Bishop Search [url=http://www.bishopsearch.edusc.org/docs/_surveyResults.pdf] survey [/url] reveals the laity to be much more conservative than the vast majority of the clergy would like to admit (especially page 7). There could be some fun Rector’s Forums come Sunday…
Dallasite,
Point taken. I should be slower to speak and quicker to listen. The middle ground is not by definition a bad place or wrong to be in. However, I think there is a bit of a difference between examining the issues based on the principles and core beliefs that lead you to a middle ground, and choosing a middle ground just because it is the middle ground. I perhaps too quickly assumed that he took the latter approach, and should examine more fully his statements and how he came to that middle ground. I think that the former approach is not a wise approach.
Brent
Dallasite….
There can be no “middle ground” when it comes to morality. It is either right or wrong, black or white, true or false. To take the so-called middle ground is to espouse the current cultural style of moral relativism—if it feels good, do it. Please take note of the admonition in Revelation that we must either be hot or cold because if we are lukewarm, the Almighty will vomit us out of His mouth. Unfortunately, our beloved +Dorsey has become lukewarm.
9. Didymus wrote:
[blockquote]I would tell you the name of such an unChristian man, except that I seem to have forgotten it… sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve heard His name from a pulpit…. it began with, I wanna say, a “Jâ€, had two syllables… Someone help me out here, it’s right on the tip of my tongue.[/blockquote]
Hint: It’s Joshua, which means “YHWH saves”. (Although it gets transliterated differently in English.)
Sometimes the middle ground is not at all the best place to be.
-Henderson is standing on ground in the middle of a great fault line with a major seismic event taking place. The ground tends to open up and swallow such a person! Dives (the rich man) found no middle ground between Hades and Abraham’s Bosom.
Elijah challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one leg then on the other, perhaps the Bishop of USC should listen to him.
Middle ground? Middle ground? This is, in this case, absurd, comparable to suggesting that there is a middle ground in pregnancy or pneumonia.I can hear Moses using the middle ground approach: “Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s wife, generally speaking, unless the circumstances favor such an approach where in such coveting is encouraged by the neighbor’s wife who needs to be made love to because her husband refuses to do so and when your own wife gives permission. Then it becomes Christian charity and kindness.There are other possible exceptions which I do not have the time to list. See your marriage counselor for additional recommendations.” Larry
Larry, be careful, you may end up a write-in candidate for bishop of MN or in CA with a gem like that! 🙂
The Bishop of the Upper Diocese of SC is not a moderate if he was he would not have voted yes on the two resolution that support the new indiscriminate gospel of inclusions. And for all ya’ll in Upper SC it is time to rise up in revolt. A number of Churches in your diocese have asked to consider me in their search for a new priest. I have always agreed, but of course, they have to get permission from the Bishop and Diocese Office. Of course, that is the last I hear from that church as I am too much of an outspoken traditionalists to allow into the diocese.
Bishop Henderson fears what is happen in the Diocese of SC. The Clergy is liberal the people are not.
The laity of the Upper SC need to take control of the election of the next bishop or the situation will only get worse…..
I wish you the best but you better get motivated and organized.
And fast!
Is there another link to Bishop Henderson’s statement? When I click through I get nothing later than GC.
Holding a faithfully comprehensive middle ground on such intense issues is difficult and costly; yet, it is the ground that I believe must be tended and done so with great care
Bp. Henderson’s position is neither faithful nor costly nor a middle ground. It is the path of least resistance, the path of expediency.
Yet he writes as though he is making a noble sacrifice. One can almost hear the quaver in his semicolon.
Holding a faithfully comprehensive middle ground on such intense issues is difficult and costly; yet, it is the ground that I believe must be tended and done so with great care
This sentence could, in both style and content, have come from the pen of former Presiding Bp. Frank Griswold.
#4, Mitchell. I note your sympathy towards +Dorsey and conjecture that you are a member of Upper SC. Your bishop’s communication with the clergy does speak volumes about his self-understanding and how he has attempted to navigate this treacherous time in which we find ourselves.
I have met Bishop Henderson and found him, personally, to be very dear. Time will judge how effective his leadership approach has been.
Yes, some people in Upper SC may be anxious and concerned tomorrow, but I suspect most of them will not have the opportunity to talk about it. The clergy usually can manage that quite well. I wish Bishop Henderson all good things in his retirement and God’s blessing on the people of Upper SC as you seek your new bishop.
[i] Slightly edited by elf. [/i]
32. TomRightmyer: Link to Bishop Henderson’s relevant statements:
On D025: http://www.edusc.org/GC2009/?p=336
On both important resolutions:
http://www.edusc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=437&Itemid=1
I wonder if he also lived in a dream world when he was a lawyer.
[i] Comment deleted by elf. [/i]
Thank you, elf, for your edit. I was being needlessly critical.
[i] Thank you. We try not to be too heavy handed. [/i]
OK. I went to the 8 o’clock at Christ Church Greenville his morning expecting the worst. I believe there are a lot of confused aggitators who attend that service. I was really concerned that I was going to have to pull out some of my best Marine training to protect the celebrant from the angry mob. Thank God they were docile. I was greatly relieved.
David–Funny!
Elves–sorry for the one-liner. Please consider it a footnote to 39.
#35 VillageVicar,
You were right, we didn’t talk about it at church today except in whispered mutterings overheard at coffee hour.
the kindest thing I can say is that Bishop Henderson”s statement that he was one the same page as is Bishop Salmon is entirely false