The Rt. Rev. Michael Smith, Bishop of North Dakota, rose at the start of the morning session of the House of Bishops today and said:
“Presiding Bishop, thank you for allowing me to rise to speak on behalf of at least twelve members of this House. Those of us known as the Communion Partners have expended a great deal of energy for at least the past six years working to persuade theological conservatives to remain in the Episcopal Church and theological liberals to remain in the Anglican Communion. Two actions of this General Convention have made this task more difficult: the authorization of same-sex blessings through the passage of Resolution 049, and our decision to ”˜decline to take a position on the Anglican Covenant’ by the passage of Resolution D008.”
“We find ourselves between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard place’. We struggle to hold together the evangelical faith of the Church, from which we see this Convention as departing, and the catholic order of the Church, which causes us, for the sake of the unity for which Jesus prayed, to resist the temptation to leave this fellowship.”
Does anyone remember off hand how many bishops signed the similar minority report after the election of Bishop Robinson? I think it was more than twelve. I hope that “resist the temptation to leave this fellowship” is not take as a threat to leave “the communion of this church” and viewed as actionable by the PB.
One, Bauerschmidt+ of TN, has taken a firm/heavy hand with clergy and parishes who have departed. It would be wonderful to see him decide to join them. There are plenty of school cafeterias in which to hold services.
There are only ten Bishops listed at the bottom of the article. Who are the other two? I’m guessing Bp. Lawrence is one.
Renee, I’m thinking that +Gary Lillibridge (Dio. of West Texas) is another. He is a Communion Partner and, in the live feed the other day, he said he would be voting No.
TLC identifies the other two as +Jacobus (Fond du Lac) and +Skilton (resigned).
Stand Firm has now posted a version with 11 signatures. It does not have the two added by TLC, but adds +MacPherson (W. La.).
+Lillibridge and +Reed from West Texas voted “no,” according to Bishop Lillibridge’s daily report on their diocesan website. So I guess I’m not understanding the number of “no” votes reported.
I am happy to see Bishop Jacobus’s name on the list. Once long ago I was a parishioner of his, before he was a bishop. Well done.
#7
Voting “no” is not the same thing as signing this statement, which contains commitments as to various matters concerning the church and the communion. As Kendall mentioned earlier, many (most?) of the “no’s” were really “not yets”.