I did not vote for the deposition of Bishop Duncan for a couple of reasons. I was one of the few who believed that his intention to lead his diocese out of The Episcopal Church was not the same as actually doing it. Secondly, I was impressed with the argument of one of our own partnered gay priests now serving in another diocese that we must act to end the cycle of violence that our Communion struggles really extend on all sides. In that vein, I have also believed that we have to find a broader canonical framework with which to account for one another, which allows for removal and transfer within the Communion of the Anglican Church, and not deposition. I also think accountability should have come from the highest ranking bishop in our Communion five years ago, who had the right idea of making Lambeth 2008 a place for conversation and relationship building, but ought to have started at that point several years ago in face to face interaction.
Is it all now too late? The planet is still in peril. Trillions of dollars of value have been wiped off the portfolios of millions never to be returned in quite that same way. The Church is divided and we face a public to whom we are obliged to witness to the reconciling love of God in Jesus, who has every right to judge us according to the Gospel we promise to proclaim in word and deed but also to live.
With Christ it is never too late. Error turns into truth, sin into righteousness and death into life. The cross and resurrection are our ultimate points of accountability, and even righteous people get things wrong but can start again.
I probably disagree substantially with the bishop on a wide variety of the issues he raises, but I do respect his integrity in actually foregoing power politics in his efforts to be faithful. This is hopeful
May God bless him.
I second jeff marx.
More and more lately, when I consider the state of TEC – the constant drip, drip of inhibitions and depositions, the lawsuits, the departures – I am reminded of my childhood, and of my brother, who is two years younger than I.
When he was young, my brother frequently (and quite easily) became bored, and when he became bored, he would “entertain” himself by picking on me. (It worked, in that he was no longer bored, but I never did approve of his methods…) In any event, once he did something, I would become consumed by the notion that I had to “get him back.” Once I did get him back, of course, he then had to get [i]me[/i] back – which meant I then had to get [i]him[/i] back, and so on, and so on, in a rapidly accelerating, self-perpetuating cycle. It was absolutely maddening – and I chose that phrase deliberately. Eventually, the mounting anger and frustration would develop into a fury that blinded us to all other options; we just [i][b]had[/b][/i] to get the other back, and we couldn’t even conceive of letting go of it until we did.
Perhaps you can see where I’m going with this. I look at TEC nowadays, and I see that same determination to “get him back.†Though it does seem to me that one side has greater power to punish ([i]i.e.[/i], the authority to inhibit and depose), I see it on both sides. It is so deeply saddening that I can’t begin to describe it. I pray that, eventually, cooler heads – and warmer hearts – will prevail.
I third Jeff Marx and second Fishsticks.
And if KJS and her allies care about ECUSA’s future, they may rue the day they began their orgy of depositions and lawsuits. Bullying doesn’t fill pews. In the case of a low-commitment Liberal Protestant church like ECUSA, it will leave the pews even emptier.
All;
Alas, but we are watching how Boomers “do” ethics. They beat on social institutions until they’ve won. Now, it also means the institution is pretty much toast by the time they’re finished, but that’s also the point. If things were different, they wouldn’t be the way they are.
I agree with the first three commenters regarding the bishop’s integrity in realizing the destructive nature of litigation and canonical persecution.
However, the bishop’s rhetorical flourish, “Error turns into truth, sin into righteousness and death into life” – in paraphrastic echo of one of the Rite II eucharistic prayers – is simply bad theology. As the eucharistic prayer rightly states, the Lord Jesus through his cross and resurrection leads us [i]from[/i] error into truth, sin into righteousness, and death into life. Error, sin and death do not [i]become[/i] truth, righteousness and life by some mysterious spiritual alchemy. Error, sin and death must be overcome, not transmuted, by Christ.
“We are watching how Boomers ‘do’ ethics†—Maryland Brian [#5]
That’s right, folks: watch out for deadly Boomers like Bp. Robert Duncan, Bp. Keith Ackerman, Fr. Ellis Brust, Bp. John Guernsey, Fr. Leander Harding, Bp. John Lipscomb, Bp. Edward Konieczny, Bp. Mark Lawrence, Fr. Grant LeMarquand, Fr. David Roseberry, Bp. Jeffrey Steenson, Fr. Lawrence (Laurie) Thompson, Dr. William Witt, and . . . Fr. Kendall Harmon.
“Error turns into truth, sin into righteousness and death into life”
Todd [#5]: Perhaps Bp. Scarfe envisions a process of abiogenesis (a/k/a spontaneous generation) by which decaying moral substances generate living ones. Would that it were true.
Irenaeus: I hear ya, brother, and you are right on. ‘Boomers’ are quite a diverse bunch. In fact, the generations AFTER the Boomers wield a good bit of power in TEC, including votes in diocesan conventions and GC (one example: the many ‘youth’ deputies now mandated by different dioceses). And the $$$ is still largely with the aging PARENTS of the Boomers. THEY are the ones realizing the steep run-ups in homes (“We bought this for $28,000 in 1962, and can you believe we got $750,000 for it today?”), have safe, secure corporate pensions, and generally benefited from the incredible post-war Boom of the ’50s and early ’60s. Plus, most who are over age 80 have already received all their Social Security deductions plus more, in the form of benefits. So, don’t blame the Boomers as a whole, the picture is actually quite complex (as it so often is).
Is it too late? The more important question is whether it is too late for the TEO? The answer is a most definite yes. The liberal institutionalists like Scarfe cannot steer the TEO from the self destructive path that Ms Schori is leading the denomination down. She is about to embark on a multifront legal war of unparalleled size in the history of religion. There will be years of headlines of the TEO suing Christians. I cannot imagine worse PR. And this comes when the denomination was already the fastest declining. The liberal institutionalists don’t have the fortitude to stand up to Ms Schori. Their natural allies who do have the strength of character are heading for the doors. Bp Howe is about to retire. Bps Lawrence and MacPherson are not enough. But Bp Scarfe is right: life will come out of death. The baby is growing in the womb and soon will be born.
#5 and #7
I think he is simply reminding us that Christ redeems all things, including sin, error and death, which is by no means bad theology but a reminder that He has overcome the world. I may disagree with him on other votes he has cast, but I find this vote and the thought he put into the decision evidence of that grace and mercy which Christ offers the world. Perhaps we should be a bit less quick to condemn and snipe and bit quicker to show mercy and love as #1, #2, and #3 were all willing to do.
Peace,
Mannainthewilderness
It’s not much but it is evidence of the predictions of those who said the middle would finally wake up and find their voice once the public and canonical humiliations either got too close to home or the precedent setting misuse of the canons with life changing consequences .
So, good morning.
And thank you.