Live from Columbus - June 23, 2006

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Volume 2, No. 12

A message from Bishop Lillibridge to the Diocese of West Texas

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience, when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline (Excerpts from 2 Timothy 1: 2,3,6,7).

Last night, I returned from General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, and want to share some reflections with you. Let me begin by thanking you for your ongoing support of your deputation from West Texas before and throughout the convention. We received many words of prayer and encouragement, and we are grateful. I am always mindful of what a blessing it is to serve with you in West Texas. The words of St. Paul to Timothy in the passage above speak of my love for you and my gratitude to you.

I am amazed that what we take for common sense in our corporate life together is not the norm around the Church. I would be less than honest with you if I said that I was pleased with the events of the Convention. I found the days to be grueling and moving at a snail's pace with regard to the work and ministry that we were called to do. I discovered that many people present, and certainly the most vocal ones, were hardened in their positions and were not particularly open to hearing from one another in any deep and meaningful way. Yes, there was respectful listening, but more of the kind that was not really hearing, but politely waiting for their turn to speak. Evidently this was especially true in the House of Deputies, as reported to me by many deputies from several dioceses.

I suppose a reason for this is that the General Convention operates primarily in a legislative mode and not a theological one. In my opinion, this is at the heart of our difficulties when General Convention meets. This is not to say that there are not many faithful, caring Episcopalians who love the Lord who participate in General Convention. But it is to say that the "legislative and committee" system is oppressive when it comes to getting any meaningful theological work accomplished. Rather than dealing with significant theological concepts - such as the theology of marriage; or what it means to ask God to "bless" people or things; or what the scriptural and theological implications of being in covenant as a church means, many are content to debate grammar and parliamentary procedure, thus sapping the energy from the Convention as the days wear on. Though this frustrates almost everyone, for some reason it is allowed to continue.

Let me say a word about Katharine Jefferts Schori, our new presiding bishop-elect. The fact that she is a woman will create a barrier for some in the Communion, but her gender is not a barrier for me. The yardstick by which she is ultimately measured will be her theology, not her gender. Her actions and statements, both past and present, will be scrutinized and this will severely test her ability to lead the "whole church." We are a deeply divided denomination, and she will need to reach out to the other half of the church if we are to have hope to move forward as a denomination. Being on a much larger stage as the Presiding Bishop will require great skills both personally and theologically, and she remains in my prayers during this time of transition. She will need your prayers as well, and I trust that you will offer them to God on her behalf.

Regarding the Windsor Report, we did in fact pass a resolution (B-033) which states that the General Convention "call upon the Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on the communion." This was a last minute and hard fought compromise, with both conservatives ("It didn't go far enough") and liberals ("It went too far") left unhappy and some on each side disassociating themselves from it.

There were other Windsor response resolutions passed indicating our desire to remain in the Anglican Communion. How these words and actions will be received in the wider Church will be seen in the weeks ahead. The Archbishop of Canterbury has sent a preliminary response in which he expresses his appreciation to the General Convention "for the exceptional seriousness" with which it has responded to the recommendations of the Windsor Report. He adds that the wider Communion will need to reflect carefully on the significance of what has been decided before a fuller response will be forthcoming. Since we are in communion with the "See of Canterbury" per our constitution, we will need to hear from him about the next steps.

I supported a much stronger response by this Convention to the Windsor Report's requests, using Windsor's own language. This is what we were asked to do, and in my opinion, what we should have done. Unfortunately, it was apparent early on that this was not going to be the case. However, in The Diocese of West Texas, we will continue to fully support both the spirit and the letter of the Windsor recommendations. As your bishop, I am in conversation with other bishops who are committed to both the Windsor Report and the Episcopal Church. In fact, a group of bishops in the "broad middle" who can fully support Windsor have begun conversation, and we will see where that leads.

I could write much more, but this is probably enough for the day after I have returned. I will continue to be in communication with you, and please know that I am so grateful for you and for our life together. We are a diocese that includes many views, no doubt, but let our main focus be in the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ and of the building up of God's Church in South Texas. I encourage you to re-read the passage I quoted at the beginning of this letter, and remember that God gave us a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. May God bless you in your life in Christ.

The Rt. Rev. Gary Lillibridge
Bishop of West Texas