Well, the 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church has come and gone, and now we begin the task of communicating and interpreting to everyone here at home what happened in Philadelphia and what it means for our future together as a Diocese. Let me begin by saying that it could have been worse, but that there is life after General Convention!
This issue of the Fort Worth Forward contains a summary of the actions that were taken, and I realize that many of them will require some futher explanation. This is the first of several reports that you can expect from me and from our Convention Deputies. Not only will we be addressing these concerns at the pre-convention deanery meetings in October and at our Diocesan Convention in November, but we are available to come to your church for first hand reports as well. All clergy of the Diocese are invited to meet with me on Thursday, August 21 at All Saints' Church in Fort Worth for an in-depth report. We will begin with mass at noon, with lunch and discussion following.
As a follow-up to my article in the last issue of Forward, I will try to briefly touch upon the "big agenda items" that I pointed to at that time.
The votes on various matters concerning human sexuality revealed a deeply divided Church, both among the Bishops and Deputies. A resolution to authorize the blessing of same-sex unions failed by a single vote among the clergy deputations and by a single vote among the lay deputations, which means that the matter did not come before the House of Bishops. However, the Convention did authorize the Standing Liturgical Commission to continue to study the theology of blessing same-sex relations, and this will involve the exploration of specific rites. In the meantime we can expect that such blessings will continue to take place in various Dioceses, as will the continued ordinations of practicing homosexuals. The Church Medical Trust was directed to provide medical benefits for "domestic partners" for those Dioceses that want such coverage, but it passed by only three votes in the House of Bishops. However, the House of Deputies voted against allowing the Church Pension Fund to extend pension benefits to same-sex life partners of clergy, so this matter never reached the Bishops for a vote. Instead of taking a clear stand on the Kuala Lumpur "Statement on Human Sexuality,: the Convention did not even discuss it, but voted to refer it to a committee for study. A copy of this orthodox Statement is printed elsewhere in this issue, and I hope that our Diocesan Convention will endorse it at our next meeting.
As expected, the Convention voted to amend the canons to require the acceptance of the ordination and placement of women priests in every Diocese. As you know, ours is one of four Dioceses which has never had any women priests. An accompanying resolution was adopted which gives us three years to come into full compliance with these new canons. Copies of both the canons and the resolution are printed elsewhere in this issue. Because I an unable to comply with canons that would force me to go against my conscience and to deny my theological convictions on this issue, I have made a pastoral and non-legislative arrangement wiith Bishop James Stanton and the Diocese of Dallas which provides for a workable way to deal with this divisive issue. Any woman in this Diocese who wishes to enter into the ordination process for the priesthood must first secure the endoresement of her parish priest and then arrange an interview for the two of them with me. I then recommend her to Bishop Stanton so that she may enter into the discernment process in Dallas. Two woman from Fort Worth have already been ordained in this way, and a third aspirant for the priesthood is doing an internship at St. Christopher's in Fort Worth as part of this process. In this way, women here are not denied access to ordination. However, the second part of what the new canons require is somewhat more problematic, for it has to do with the placement of women priests in congregations of this Diocese where their ministry would be welcome. If any congregation here insists on going against my wishes and must have a woman priest at their church, I am willing to relinquish my episcopal oversight of that congrgation to Bishop Stanton, so that he may license and institute a woman priest there. The congregation would remain fully a part of this Diocese; the woman priest would be fully a part of the Diocese of Dallas, while serving under this special pastoral provision. This is as far as I can go, and I am asking for the support and cooperation of all of you, clergy and laity alike, in implementing this resolution to the impasses that has been reached. Canons do not change convictions or hearts. The desire to continue to live and work together, in spite of important differences on this issue, means that this is a good and workable plan for this Diocese.
The proposed Concordat to establish full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was overwhelmingly approved. The Lutherans' national convention will be voting on it later this month. The real problem for us is the matter of allowing their pastors to function as priests in our church, without having been ordained by Bishops in the historic apostolic succession. We have to suspend the Preface to the Ordination Rites of our Prayer Book (page 510 of the BCP) in order to make this one time, special exception in the case of Lutherans only. This involves a change in our Constitution, which passed on first reading, but must be voted on again at the next General Convention before it becomes effective. When that is done, there would be an interchangeability between our orders and theirs. Joint consecrations of all new bishops in both churches is part of what the Concordat provides as a way of moving toward full communion.
Bishop Frank Griswold of Chicago was elected by a very narrow margin as the next Presiding Bishop, and he will succeed Bishop Edmund Browning on January 1, 1998. Bishop Griswold is a signer of the so-called "Koinonia Statement" which Bishop John Sprong authored at the General Convention in 1994. This means that the PB-elect, like Bishop Browning and Bishop Sprong, supports the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions. Bishop Griswold was elected by the Bishops on the third ballot with 100 votes (two more than necessary), while Southern Ohio Bishop Herbert Thompson, the orthodox candiate nominated from the floor, was next with 96 votes. These numbers indicate the deep division within the House of Bishops on matters related to homosexuality. Some Dioceses in the House of Deputies voted against concurrance with this election because of the same concerns. Near the conclusion of the Convention, Bishop Griswold expressed to me his desire to come to Fort Worth to discuss how we might work together during the nine-year term to which he was elected.
Obvously, there are many thing I could report on, but will hold that for a later time. For now, I will close by simply saying a pastoral word of encouragement and perseverance to all of you. These are difficult times in the life of the Church. We must not become discouraged or further divided. I am not giving up, I am not giving in, I am not going away. Stand with me, as together we make our witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a Gospel to proclaim and souls to win for Christ's Kingdom. Let nothing deter us or stand in our way of doing the work and ministry which God has given us to do, now and in the days ahead.
God bless you,
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