WASHINGTON: Convention supports Presiding Bishop, hears warning against congregationalism
Episcopal News Service. February 2, 2007 [020207-04]
Mary Frances Schjonberg
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington, meeting in its 112th annual Convention January 26-27 at Washington National Cathedral, went on record as supporting Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and hoping that the upcoming Primates Meeting "will provide our world and our Church with an example by responding positively to our Lord's desire that we be one as we work together to fulfill our common mission of witness and service."
The resolution expressed the diocese's appreciation to bishops from other parts of the Anglican Communion for participating in Jefferts Schori's November 4 investiture.
The convention also passed resolutions dealing with the equal status of men and women, the legacy of slavery, working toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and the treatment of immigrants.
Bishop John Chane outlined the diocese's mission and ministry of the past year in his convention address, including celebrating the first new church construction in the diocese in 40 years -- Saint Nicholas Church in Darnestown, Maryland.
Chane also noted the decision to eliminate the position of Canon for Congregational Development.
"This decision was a painful one and was based on finances and our realization that expectations about the nature of supporting ‘congregational development' were so varied as to defy the prospect of successfully defining the work of this position," he said. "I concluded that it was just not helpful to fund a senior level staff position until such time as there exists greater clarity about the position's underlying rationale and priorities and until such time as additional financial resources surface to fund this position."
Chane urged congregations to "become more aware that no matter how great their individual resources of time, talent and treasure might be in comparison with other congregations, they must have a connection with all the congregations of the diocese."
"Congregationalism is not in the Anglican/Episcopal dictionary. Silos belong on farms, not in dioceses," he said. "All congregations in a diocese are connected one to another and all have a responsibility to one another, if we are to live well into the model of Christ's teaching. A diocese exists as shared residences, not as gated communities.
The full text of Chane's address is available here.
During the resolution debate, the Convention postponed indefinitely a resolution that would have expressed its "extreme displeasure and firm disapproval" of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' decision to invite Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, whom the resolution called "the principal organizer and moderator" of the Network on Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, and Western Louisiana Bishop Bruce MacPherson to the meeting of Anglican Primates in Tanzania next month. The resolution said that the invitation "lends notorious credibility to the divisive efforts of Bishop Duncan, and diminishes the importance of the presence of our Presiding Bishop."
The resolution would have called on Jefferts Schori and the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to form a commission to examine whether continued membership in the Anglican Communion is any longer beneficial to the core task of proclaiming the Gospel in this country.
The convention's resolutions included ones to:
- "endorse, ratify, and implement" Resolution 13/31 adopted by the Anglican Consultative Council at its meeting in Nottingham, England in June 2005 calling for equal participation of women and men on all decision-making bodies of the Anglican Consultative Council and that all Provinces of the Communion should work to achieve that goal; encourage all congregations and other institutions to work toward the same goal on all their decision-making committees, commissions, agencies and boards; and urge the United States Senate to ratify the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
- endorse General Convention 2006 resolutions A123 and A127 and accept the portions of A123 which urges dioceses to collect and document information on the complicity of the Episcopal Church in the institution of slavery.
- endorse General Convention 2006 Resolution A017, "deplore any action by any state or local government that unduly emphasizes enforcement as the primary response to immigrants in our midst," condemn actions by individuals, groups, or institutions who harass the strangers among us or those who would befriend and assist them "rather than apply biblical principles of hospitality."
- affirm work on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a mission priority, urge congregations and individuals to educate themselves about the MDGs and the role of the Episcopal Church in implementing them, and urge congregations and individuals to commit to giving .7% of their income toward their implementation.
The complete texts of all resolutions are available here.
The Diocese of Washington comprises about 42,150 Episcopalians worshipping in 92 congregations.