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When I think about the ramifications of Bishop-elect Glasspool receiving a majority of consents from diocesan bishops and standing committees throughout the church I get all weepy. I could hardly get any work done yesterday. And still today it hasn’t left me. This is a huge, game changing, tipping point. Gene Robinson’s consecration could have been seen as an anomaly. It caused such a stir we were’t sure if we wanted to do it again. Now we have decided to do it again. We are stating clearly, for all the world to hear, that we fully welcome people who are gay or lesbian into all facets of the church’s life. Being clear about our identity is a necessary thing if we are going to proclaim the gospel as we see it to a hungry world.
We are a church that fully welcomes people who are gay or lesbian. Now of course that isn’t true for every congregation or diocese, because we are also a church that fully welcomes people who don’t want to fully welcome people who are gay or lesbian. But being clear that we, as a denomination, or province, fully welcome people who are gay or lesbian, is very important. We are done saying, “we are still trying to figure it out.” ”Still trying to figure it out” is not helpful for evangelism.
I think the Episcopal Church has a particular ministry in serving folks who want to belong to a church that welcomes people who are gay or lesbian. Now that job becomes easier.
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The
Chicago Consultation is joining other organizations such as
Integrity in celebrating Glasspool’s upcoming consecration.
CHICAGO CONSULTATION APPLAUDS BISHOPS; ANTICIPATES GLASSPOOL CONSECRATION WITH JOY
CHICAGO, IL, March 17, 2010—The Chicago Consultation applauds the bishops of the Episcopal Church who today confirmed the election of the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool as suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, and looks forward with joy to her consecration in May.
“Mary’s qualifications were never at issue,” said the Very Rev. Brian Baker, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento and co-convener of the Chicago Consultation. “This has always been a question of whether our Church had the courage of its convictions. We are delighted to find out that it has.”
Glasspool and the Rev. Diane Jardine Bruce will be consecrated as suffragan bishops on May 15. Both were elected in early December and had previously received the necessary consents from diocesan Standing Committees. Glasspool, who lives with her partner, will become the first openly lesbian bishop in the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion.
“We salute the people of the Diocese of Los Angeles who were wise enough to elect Mary, the leadership of Bishop J. Jon Bruno, who worked hard to get her confirmed, and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which passed the legislation that made this great day possible,” Baker said. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that the arc of history is long, but that it bends toward justice. Today, more than most days, we can see that he was right.”
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CHICAGO, IL, March 10, 2010–The Chicago Consultation rejoices with friends across the Anglican Communion in the news that a majority of Standing Committees within the Episcopal Church has consented to the election of the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool as suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Canon Glasspool will become the first partnered lesbian bishop in the Church if she receives the consent of a majority of the diocesan bishops in the Church before the May 5 deadline.
“This is a happy day, and one that lay people, clergy and bishops across the Church have worked and prayed for,” said the Very Rev. Dr. Brian Baker, Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento, a co-convener of the Chicago Consultation. “For too long, religion has been used to justify cultural prejudices against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians. Slowly, but I hope surely, the Church is stepping out of that shadow and into God’s light. We urge bishops with jurisdiction to follow the lead of the church’s standing committees and consent to Canon Glasspool’s election without delay.”
Glasspool’s election and consecration could not have occurred without the passage of pivotal legislation at the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. At that gathering, the Church’s House of Deputies and House of Bishops passed Resolution D025 which acknowledged that:
· “the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in ‘lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God’ ”
· “gay and lesbian persons who are a part of such relationships have responded to God’s call and … have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst”
· “God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church”
“We were pointing toward days like this when we worked to pass that resolution,” Baker said. “We believed that if D025 passed, we could move past the time when gay and lesbian Christians were expected to ignore God’s call to ministry simply because some people didn’t believe such a call was possible.”
Among those passing their congratulations on to Canon Glasspool were the Very Rev. Rowan Smith, dean of Saint George’s Cathedral in Capetown, South Africa and Dr. Jenny Plane Te Paa, Dean of St. John’s Seminary in Auckland, New Zealand.
In joining her voice “with all those global Anglicans who would sing the alleluia chorus to greet a newly elected member of the episcopate,” Te Paa noted that Glasspool was “clearly chosen on the basis of her ecclesial eligibility and her spiritual and pastoral suitability.”
Smith wrote: “In your election of Mary Glasspool as Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles you were being true to your/our vocation and that is to be as Christ from whom no one is excluded.”
“For much of the last seven years, Episcopalians were offered a false choice between acting in conscience by affirming God’s call to LGBT Christians, or maintaining relationships within the Anglican Communion,” Baker said. “These warm words from our friends in other parts of the Communion suggest those days are over.”
The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican bishops, clergy and lay people, supports the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. To learn more about the Chicago Consultation, visit www.chicagoconsultation.org.
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The Cleavland based Diocese of Ohio has a new advertising campaign. Along with billboards, there are matching yard signs that parishioners and congregations are using. I’ve long thought that we need to stop being a well-kept secret. Good job Ohio!
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Ohio is counting on people looking up for signs from God.
In this case, four of them — 23-foot by 10-foot, eco-friendly blue and white billboards strategically positioned in high-traffic areas in Cleveland, Akron and Toledo that convey the good news of the Episcopal Church:
“Welcome, regardless.”
“God loves you — no exceptions.”
“Love God. Love your neighbor. Change the world.”
“If you’re looking for a sign from God, here it is.”
And, beneath each message, a familiar tagline: “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You,” along with the Episcopal shield and the diocesan website.
Part of a new advertising campaign by the diocese, the four billboards went up at the beginning of February. In little more than a month’s time, they’ve ignited enthusiasm and “sparked requests for matching yard signs for churches, not only from around the diocese but also a few requests from churches outside the diocese,” said Martha Wright, diocesan director of communications.
The goal: heightened awareness of the Cleveland-based diocese, located in northern Ohio, Wright said.
The signs also are movable and will be placed in different locations that “we want to target … for about six months,” Wright said.
It’s all part of a marketing campaign that also combines teaching evangelism and learning to tell faith stories in appropriate settings, Wright said.
The campaign grew out of research with randomly selected groups of people — some Episcopalian, some not — who were asked what they knew about the Episcopal church.
“We were interested in their spiritual lives,” Wright said. “Most people, who were randomly chosen and not necessarily Episcopalian, said ‘we don’t even know what the Episcopal Church is.’ Or, the ones who did know would say things like ‘Catholic-lite. Or, they’re ‘those people who are having all the trouble with sex.’ But, for the most part … people didn’t even know what we were, didn’t have anything to attach to us.
“Our purpose was to raise our profile so people would begin to hear about us.”
The billboards were staff-designed; an advertising agency scouted the locations. The cost varies depending on the location, but has ranged a total of $800 a month for all four locations, according to Wright.
Read it all HERE.
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On February 11 the Church of England’s Synod passed a motion giving surviving, same-sex domestic partners of clergy the same pension benefits that opposite sex spouses receive. I’ve copied the motion to the bottom of this post.
Why doesn’t this threaten the unity of the Anglican Communion? Why aren’t bishops from the Africa or South America flying in to England to rescue clergy in dioceses headed by bishops who allow gay clergy? Why are “Anglicans” in the U.S. who can’t abide their liberal bishops petitioning to be in communion with a church that ordains people who are gay or lesbian to the priesthood? (Their request to be recognized by the Church of England was considered, and rejected, in the same Synod where the CoE affirmed gay clergy!)
Why is the Archbishop of Canterbury encouraging us to refrain from blessing gay or lesbian couples when he has partnered gay and lesbian clergy in his own church? People who are in a gay or lesbian relationship can be priests, they just can’t have their relationships affirmed in a church?
I’m tired of the Episcopal Church being a scapegoat for a drama that is playing out on a global scale. Why is the “division” in the Anglican Communion our fault? What we are doing in the Episcopal Church is simply living with integrity what is happening in England. If you have gay, partnered clergy, shouldn’t you have a rite to support the monogamy and faithfulness of their relationships? And if people who are gay or lesbian are holy enough to be deacons and priests, why not bishops? If you are going to affirm the ministry of people who are gay or lesbian, and not consider them sinners for their “lifestyle,” then affirm them! And if some people are uncomfortable with that, fine. It can all fit within traditional Anglican comprehensiveness.
But to affirm gay priests in England, while blaming the Episcopal Church for the division in the Anglican Communion over homosexuality is crazy. Or it at least drives me crazy.
Here’s the motion:
“That this Synod request the Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England Pensions Board to bring forward changes to the rules governing the clergy pension scheme in order to go beyond the requirements of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and provide pension benefits to be paid to the surviving civil partners of deceased clergy on the same basis as they are currently paid to surviving spouses.”
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Here’s a great 7 minute interview with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on the Atlanta NPR affiliate.
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The Episcopal Church has been in the news as the object of others’ actions. The Pope invites Anglicans to come to Rome. Disaffected Episcopalians leave the church. The Episcopal Church is pushing back by stating the positive side of its identity.
Last week the Diocese of Fort Worth ordained its first woman priest. Most dioceses have had women priests for a long time, but Fort Worth was governed by a bishop who was opposed to such action. He has left the Episcopal Church. The ordination was accompanied by an op-ed that appeared in Fort Worth’s Star Telegram. It was written by The Rev. Canon Dr. Charles Robertson, the Canon to the Presiding Bishop. Here’s what he wrote:
On Nov. 15, the Fort Worth diocese ordained a woman priest for the first time. This is noteworthy given that the diocese has long been defined, at least in part, by its stance against the ordination of women. The renewing diocese in Fort Worth has now affirmed what the wider Episcopal Church has recognized for years — that God does not differentiate between the gifts of men and women.
This ordination stands in contrast to recent actions taken by the Vatican, which remains opposed to women in ordained roles. While we continue in good faith with our ecumenical relations work, we also celebrate the understanding that God is at work in all of us — man or woman, lay or ordained.
We are a Church steeped in history and tradition, but part of our Church’s DNA from the very beginning has been our willingness to wrestle with the needs of the world around us and not be afraid to move forward in faith and action to help meet those needs.
As followers of Jesus Christ and members of the Church catholic — the Church universal — we will continue to share with all we meet the good news of God in Christ. We will continue to affirm that all who follow Jesus Christ are welcome in the Episcopal Church. We do so as inheritors of the bold spirit of Anglican reformers who affirmed the use of reason in bringing the Gospel to bear on the needs of the world.
It is this bold spirit that is flowing from Fort Worth.
I think this is a very good articulation of some of the strengths of the Episcopal Church. In addition to this op-ed, The Episcopal Church put a large ad in USA Today. While it neither mentioned the Roman Catholic Church nor disaffected Anglicans, you can see them being addressed in the text of the ad. The ad isn’t catchy, but I am glad that the Episcopal Church is being proactive in presenting its message. You can see the ad HERE.
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We just started a new series of ads for the Sacramento News and Review, Sacramento’s weekly “alternative” newspaper. Originally these ads were longer, op-ed style pieces written by me or Canon Kathleen Kelly. We’ve recently shifted formats. Kathleen and I still take turns writing the text for the ads. This is my first offering of the season.
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Tags:
church advertisement
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On November 15, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori visited Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento.
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The Wall Street Journal has two good articles by Stephanie Simon on the Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas. The diocese there had been one of the few that would not ordain women as priests. One year ago the diocesan bishop, Bishop Iker, and many of the members left the Episcopal Church to form a separate diocese. One of the articles looks at the status of the church after the split. Here’s how it starts:
There is still talk of pain and loss. But not much of it.
Last November, the Episcopal diocese here in northeast Texas fractured over issues such as the ordination of women and gays, and the theology of salvation. A year later, both sides express one emotion above all: Relief.
The Episcopal Church, about two million strong, is the U.S. branch of the world-wide Anglican communion, which has about 80 million members. In the past few years, scores of individual churches and several entire dioceses have rejected the leadership of the national church and formed their own Anglican Church in North America, aligned with more conservative bishops in Africa and South America.
Complicating matters, the Vatican last month reached out to the disaffected faction in the U.S., offering to welcome them into the Roman Catholic fold. It was a dramatic gesture that seemed to further strain the already-divided Episcopal Church.
But at least here in the Fort Worth diocese, the pope’s overture appears to have so far fallen flat. The reason? Life apart has left both sides surprisingly content.
You can find the entire article HERE.
The second article is about the ordination of the ordination of the first woman priest. Here’s how it begins:
For three decades, a succession of conservative bishops here barred women from being ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church.
But the conservatives went their own way last fall, forming the Anglican Church in North America. And so on Sunday, exactly one year after that schism, Susan Slaughter will become the first woman in the Episcopal Church’s Forth Worth diocese to don a red stole for ordination to the priesthood.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Ms. Slaughter said, “and this is one of those.”
Here’s how it ends:
Ms. Slaughter says she doesn’t consider her ordination a political statement but she recognizes that many in the audience will find the moment deeply meaningful.
Katie Sherrod is one of them. The wife of a retired Episcopal priest, Ms. Sherrod still recalls with absolute clarity the moment she first heard a woman consecrate the Eucharist, years ago, in a different diocese.
“My whole life, I’d heard it said in a man’s voice,” Ms. Sherrod said. So when a woman priest held up the host, or communion wafer, and declared ‘This is my body,” Ms. Sherrod said joy and relief washed over her. “It was the first time I got it. It spoke to me. I was part of the body of Christ too,” Ms. Sherrod said. “It changed everything.”
You can read it all HERE.
