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Episcopal Diocese of West Texas (Use your browser print commands then click back to the webpage.) |
Live from Columbus - June 13, 2006
Volume 2, No. 3
NEW!
Live from Columbus Audio recording
Bishop Lillibridge describes the first legislative day and comments on consent by the Committee on Consecration of Bishops to the election of the Rev. David Reed as bishop suffragan, plus an interview with Reed following the consent.
Reed gets approval from committee
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The Rev. David Reed cleared the first hurdle of consent to his election as bishop suffragan Tuesday afternoon, June 12, when the Committee on Consecration of Bishops recommended approval of his election. It now goes before the House of Deputies and House of Bishops, in that order, for final approval. That action is expected to come next week. About 35 persons from the West Texas deputation and friends of Reed presented him to the committee, then a half dozen of them testified on his behalf. Three of those who spoke in favor of Reed -- the Rev. Nancy Coon, the Rev. David Read, and the Ven. Don Lee -- had been on the ballot when Reed was elected on March 25. Reed made note of that to the Committee, saying "Their support and prayers have been invaluable. It is only by God's grace that I am the one standing here." The Rev. James Murguia, deputy from West Texas and rector of St. David's, San Antonio, told the Committee that he grew up in a household that was suspicious of someone of his ethnicity being able to find a place in the Episcopal Church. "It was David Reed and Bishop Lillibridge who showed me I was welcome," he said. Others who spoke for Reed referred to his deep Christian faith, true humility, and sense of humor. The Rev. Ram Lopez added that Reed has been an incredible mentor to him, especially when Lopez served as assistant at St. Alban's, Harlingen, where Reed was rector for almost 12 years before his election. After about 20 minutes of effusively kind remarks on his behalf, Reed told the Committee he felt like he was at his own wake. In response to Committee questions, Reed said that his role will be to support Bishop Lillibridge. "I am also excited about congregational ministry and about working with parish priests," he said. "I want to help people regain confidence in our Church." Reed was one of four who received recommendation for approval by the Committee on Consecration on Tuesday, and all four are Texans. Pending further consents, William Love, a native Texan, will serve as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Albany; Dena Harrison, bishop suffragan-elect of the Diocese of Texas, grew up in Texas and has spent her entire ministry in the state; and Todd Ousley, a native Texan who served churches in the Diocese of Texas, has been elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan. The latter three are graduates of Episcopal Theological Seminary in Austin.
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The Rev.
David Reed (2nd from left) gets approval |
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Bishop Gary
Lillibridge introduces the Rev. David |
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The Ven.
Don Lee speaks on behalf of the Rev. |
Archbishop Rowan Williams sends message to Convention
The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, reminded the 75th General Convention that "We cannot survive as a Communion of churches without some common convictions about what it is to live and to make decisions as the Body of Christ" in a message delivered to both houses by Bishop John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Archbishop of York.
Sentamu is one of more than 60 international guests at the Convention and has been seated in the House of Bishops with voice, as have other international bishops.
Williams said the bishops in the Church of England "recognize the pressure under which you meet," and have committed to praying "more deeply and more constantly" for the Convention.
He said it is the hope of the bishops of England "that we in the Anglican Communion may learn again to walk with each other more trustfully."
He also said that while the Windsor Report is not the "end of the story," it does set "a positive picture of what that might imply as together we strive to serve the mission of God."
The full text of Williams' statement follows:
Greetings to you all in Christ's name as you meet to pray and deliberate about the life and witness of your church and the demands of God's Kingdom. May God grant you discernment as you meet and listen to each other in patience and love.
As all those involved will be acutely aware, this General Convention takes place in a climate of intense and perhaps rather oppressive attention worldwide. At the meeting last week of the Bishops of the Church of England, we recognized the pressure under which you meet, and committed ourselves to praying more deeply and more constantly for all of you during these days. Please be assured of our loving concern for the Episcopal Church and our hopes that we in the Anglican Communion may learn again to walk with each other more trustfully.
The recommendations of the Windsor Report will be much in your minds and your deliberations, and I appreciate the work your Commissions and Committees have done in responding to the Windsor Process. I hope that the theological vision there set out in the Report of the ground and character of our communion in Christ will be clearly before you. We cannot survive as a Communion of churches without some common convictions about what it is to live and to make decisions as the Body of Christ; Windsor is not the end of the story, but it sets out a positive picture of what that might imply as together we strive to serve the mission of God.
We thank God for all that the Episcopal Church has contributed over the years to our fellowship and commend you to the One "who is able to establish you according to...the proclamation of Jesus Christ" (Rom.16.25).
Grace be with you all.
+Rowan Cantuar
Title IV revisions get public hearing
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West Texans
(center of photo) mark their deputation |
The Legislative Committee on Canons heard mostly negative public comment June 13 on a resolution that would rewrite Title IV, the disciplinary canons of the church.
Eleven of the 13 people testifying spoke against resolution A153, which would replace the present adversarial system with a multi-layered approach that stresses mediation and reconciliation. The laity would also be subject to the proposed canons.
After an hour of public comment, the committee went into executive session for another hour and did not reopen the hearing to the public before adjourning.
Afterward, the House of Deputies chair of the committee, Sally Johnson of the Diocese of Minnesota, said that Title IV may be on the agenda when the committee meets at 7:30 a.m. June 14.
During public testimony, many speakers expressed concern about including lay leaders in the new canons.
"I cannot imagine in a diocese the size of ours, how we would avoid simply being capsized by lots of complaints with folks who are essentially unhappy with others in their congregation," said the Rev. Sarah Shofstall, a deputy and Canon to the Ordinary from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. "I don't want that kind of dispute having to be handled at the diocesan level."
The revisions would do away with the current structure of diocesan review committees and ecclesiastical trial courts. The actual functioning of the multi-layered approach to handling complaints was the subject of debate and various interpretations at the hearing.
The timing of the changes at this point in church history also worried several speakers at the hearing. "In my diocese and around the church right now, some of my conservative brothers and sisters are very anxious about the climate," Shofstall said, "and are very nervous that all kinds of disciplinary rules are going to be used against them."
Russ Randle, a lawyer and lay deputy from the Diocese of Virginia, agreed. "The church is not ready to receive changes right now. It's not the right time to do this."
The proposed changes also seem too complicated, said the Rev. Susan Eaves, a deputy from the Diocese of Virginia. "I'm concerned about the complexity of the structure, particularly the human resources which are going to have to be employed, particularly in a smaller diocese."
Under the proposal, several dioceses could agree to combine resources to carry out parts of the process requirements in their jurisdictions.
The only person testifying in favor of the resolution was a member of the Task Force on Disciplinary Policies and Procedures, which wrote the proposed canon. Les Alvis, from the Diocese of Mississippi, tried to explain the rationale behind the resolution. "We're called by the church to the work of reconciliation," he said. "If canon law exists, as I believe it does, to uphold Christian values, then it follows that our disciplinary canons should promote these values of reconciliation, repentance, amendment of life, restitution and forgiveness.
"What is at the essence of what's proposed is a completely new way of exercising discipline within the church," Alvis said. "The essence of this draft is to move away from a one-dimensional judicial model that's adversarial in nature toward one that's multi-dimensional and is pastoral in nature and is patterned not on the wisdom of the world but on the wisdom of the church."
The full text of the resolution is available at http://gc2006.org/legislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=160&type=ORIGINAL
-- Jim DeLa for Episcopal News Service.
MDGs and ONE Campaign addressed in open hearing
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a new initiative, ONE Episcopalian -- which seeks to rally Episcopalians to the cause of ending extreme poverty and achieving the MDGs -- were addressed during an open hearing June 13 in the National and International Concerns Committee.
The legislation asks Convention to endorse "The ONE Campaign," and appeals to all dioceses, parishes, and individuals to join the ONE Episcopalian campaign that calls for the U.S. government to annually spend an additional one percent of its budget to combat global poverty.
Alex Baumgarten, international policy analyst in the Office of Government Relations for the Episcopal Church, explained that during the last three years there has been a tremendous movement towards the MDGs from Americans uniting under the banner of the ONE Campaign.
"ONE Episcopalian seeks to unite the voices of Episcopalians with other people of faith and other Americans of all backgrounds who are building a movement to make poverty history," he said. "By speaking one person at a time, with one voice, we have the power to remake the face of the world."
Related resolutions that ask for the MDGs to be established as a mission priority for the coming triennium and call for an additional 0.7 percent from the Church budget for work that supports the achievement of the goals were also addressed during the hearing.
The resolutions would also designate September 11 as a special day of prayer, fasting, advocacy and giving in the Episcopal Church toward global reconciliation and the MDGs.
--Matthew Davies for Episcopal News Service.
Coming Up
The Special Committee on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion has begun hearings on the Episcopal Church's response to the Windsor Report. A public hearing set for 7:30 p.m. on June 14 will focus on resolutions A160, A161, A162 and A163, which deal with the expression of regret, election of bishops, public rites of blessing same-gender unions, pastoral care and Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO).
June 13, 2006 ENS Headlines
From Columbus: U2charist draws enthusiastic crowd
Windsor Report resolutions begin to move through committee
For the full stories, http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2006news.