The Rt. Rev. Gary R. Lillibridge, Bishop of West Texas, concentrated on the Anglican Covenant during his address to the diocese’s annual council. The council met Feb. 18-21 in Corpus Christi.
The bishop cited the 76th General Convention’s Resolution D020, which encouraged dioceses to the consider the Covenant “as a document to inform their understanding of and commitment to our common life in the Anglican Communion.”
“The Covenant will not, and indeed cannot, solve all of our problems. Nor was it designed to do so. We should not look at the Covenant in terms of a political victory or a political defeat,” the bishop said. “Many times in the world, particularly in political systems, if you can win the debate and get the votes, you claim victory. Of course in politics this may be true, but it’s usually only true until the next election. But this approach certainly does not serve the church well. Just think for a moment where all the lobbying, posturing, scheming, planning, debating and voting in the church has taken us up to now. I said a few years ago in my address that I’m not interested in winning. I’m interested in healing. I think this is what Jesus is interested in, and it continues to be my focus.”
It would be helpful if this “bishop” were to be more familiar with the aims of Jesus, whose primary focus was “truth.” Healing is not possible outside of truth and being in line with God’s will. No wonder he’s about to lose his biggest parish.