House of Bishops speaks on immigration, Haiti, MDGs
Episcopal News Service. September 21, 2010 [092110-04]
Mary Frances Schjonberg and Pat McCaughan
The House of Bishops, concluding its Sept. 16-21 fall gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, has issueda pastoral letter and a "theological resource" on immigration, pledged to support a major fund drive to aid the rebuilding of the Episcopal Church in Haiti and reaffirmed its support of the Millennium Development Goals.
The bishops also passed a "mind of the house" resolution calling on one of their colleagues to resign. As of 10 p.m EDT, Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison had not officially responded to his fellow bishops' request to "tender his immediate and unconditional resignation."
Bennison did not respond to a call from Episcopal News Service requesting comment on the house's request. (Additional ENS coverage is here.)
The house's actions came in addition to the bishops' call for a reasoned and complete consideration of migration issues. That call came by way of a pastoral letter and an accompanying "theological resource" meant to give Episcopalians a way to study more deeply the challenges presented by the immigration debate.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori called the six-day gathering "a remarkably full meeting."
Diocese of Pittsburgh Provisional Bishop Kenneth Price, House of Bishops secretary, told a post-meeting telephone media briefing that 120 bishops attended most of the sessions, adding that 115 were present for a business meeting the afternoon of Sept. 21.
The bishops also committed to a planned fundraising appeal to help the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti rebuild after the magnitude-7 earthquake on Jan. 12 devastated the country. The idea began with a February 2010 Executive Council resolution challenging the church to raise at least $10 million for the initial reconstruction, based on priorities established by the Diocese of Haiti. The council is due to discuss the appeal in more detail during its Oct. 23-25 meeting in Salt Lake City.
Noting the Sept. 20-22 high-level United Nations summit on progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the bishops said the goals are "a response to God's mission of restoration and reconciliation," and pledged "to re-engage our dioceses in helping to achieve the goals of the MDGs."
The eight targets are designed to reduce by half poverty, hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality and environmental degradation by 2015. The Episcopal Church has been committed since 2003 to helping the world achieve the standards called for in the MDGs. The goals formed the basis of the church's budget priorities for the 2006-2009 triennium and a continued commitment to the goals was included in a different set of priorities for the 2010-2012 budget.
The bishops considered immigration, evangelism and mission amid changing cultural contexts during a regular rhythm of Bible study, theological reflection and worship. Their reflection included presentations from invited guests and from among their own ranks. The sessions were closed to the media and the public. Official accounts of the days' work were released by the Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs each evening.
Two reporters participating in the post-meeting briefing asked about the closed nature of the meeting, one noting that the last time the bishops met in open sessions was in September 2007.
"We always meet without the presence of press," Jefferts Schori said, adding, "it's not a meeting of the whole church; it's only a meeting of the bishops and we seem to work better when we are speaking to ourselves and hearing input from particular experts."
Prior to the bishops' regularly scheduled meeting, about 40 bishops, spouses and partners participated in a Sept. 13-15 visit to Douglas, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico, to acquaint themselves with the way immigration law impacts people on both sides of the border.
Many bishops and their spouses and partners also attended a dinner with representatives of the newly created Coalition of Episcopal Latinos, holding its inaugural meeting at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale.
Bishop Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, called the gathering "a moment of maturity" for Latino ministry. He also had facilitated a Sept. 17 panel discussion for the House of Bishops about immigration and preached while Jefferts Schori celebrated Eucharist Sept. 19 at the Trinity Cathedral Spanish language service.
A majority of bishops attending the House of Bishops meeting also participated in local Sunday worship services, some as preachers. Some of their sermons are posted here.
According to the official daily accounts, the bishops also heard reports on:
- reform of the General Ordination Examination process.
- work on liturgical, pastoral, theological and teaching resources as well as canonical and legal considerations being developed for same-gender blessings to be presented at General Convention 2012.
- the update of an earlier HOB Theology Committee report on same-gender relationships, which is now supplemented by responses of seven ecumenical and interfaith theologians and will be published in the Anglican Theological Review.
- the formation of "The Episcopal Community," which Diocese of Nevada Bishop Dan Edwards describes on his blog as having been formed by Episcopalians who felt pushed out of the Daughters of the King organization.
- a program to create "safe space" for theological minorities in the church, which Edwards describes as aimed at "developing canonical protection for conservatives in the church generally and also for liberals who live in conservative dioceses – a plan to value and preserve theological diversity in the whole church and in each diocese."
- a plan to separately incorporate the College for Bishops, which its website says provides educational and formational opportunities "that will strengthen bishops in their personal lives, as diocesan leaders in God's mission and in their vocation to God as a community of bishops in service to the Episcopal Church."
- a task force on theological education, which Edwards said is aimed at "improving relationships between dioceses and Episcopal seminaries and on how to know which non-Episcopal seminaries have substantial Anglican studies programs."