Jubilee General Convention Draws Variety of Reactions
Episcopal News Service. August 22, 2000 [2000-123]
(ENS) If early returns in the form of commentaries and columns are an accurate measure, what some have called a "Jubilee strategy" -- focusing the attention of General Convention 2000 on what unites rather than what divides Episcopalians -- was a successful one.
Many praised Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold's use of the Jubilee theme and credited him with "exceptional leadership." Bishop Kenneth Price of Southern Ohio wrote, "In 2000, there was a new spirit overflowing the entire convention." Through Griswold's daily meditations at the Eucharist, he "challenged us to set our work for that day on a spiritual level that was a cut above where the world often is...I came away from convention this year more hopeful than ever before."
Bishop John Howe of Central Florida called the Denver gathering "by far the most prayerful, the most spiritual, the most gracious General Convention I've ever been to." In Arkansas, Bishop Larry Maze wrote that he had "never been a part of a General Convention that tried harder to find workable solutions over 'party line' statements... Bishop Griswold is to be commended for his non-anxious presence at the helm of this great church. His was a consistent voice of confidence that we would find our way faithfully and courageously."
Griswold himself, in his column for Episcopal Life, said that "both figuratively and literally" it had been a "mountaintop experience" for many.
During several days at a monastery following the convention, Griswold adopted the role of listener, praying that God would help him discover "the deeper word being addressed to us as a household of faith." He pointed to the visual metaphor, "a large banner depicting the face of Christ" hanging near the entrance to the worship area.
"What made the banner unusual is that Christ was composed of many faces -- faces of people like and unlike you and me who, together through baptism, form the body of Christ." He added that he was convinced that "bishops and deputies gathered in Denver understood at some deep level that, despite our different perspectives and experiences, we are members of one another called to live the costly mystery of reconciliation."
The Jubilee theme woven into the convention also led to a question: What does it mean to live with one another in the communion of the Holy Spirit? "Our convention was searching after truth in a context of communion," Griswold said, requiring "a disciplined willingness to listen to one another" with what he called "compassionate and loving attention."
Griswold said that what stands out most clearly for him is a conviction that "we have moved into a greatly expanded and deepened sense of the Episcopal Church as truly a eucharistic community," resulting in a change, a difference as a result of the shared experience in Denver.
Several "marquee issues," as Virginia's Bishop Peter James Lee dubbed them, were the focus of most of the post-convention analyses: full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (A040); full implementation of the canon on women's ordination (A045); acknowledgment of sexual relationships outside Holy Matrimony (D039); and a commitment to double the church's baptized membership by 2020 (A033, A034).
For some diocesan bishops, the Lutheran agreement was the most significant news coming out of Denver. Assisting Bishop Donald Hart of Southern Virginia called it "a momentous decision, overcoming five hundred years of Christian separation in the Body of Christ."
Southern Virginia's website [www.southernvirginia.anglican.org] also featured a letter to Bishop David Bane from the Lutheran bishop of ELCA's Virginia Synod. Bishop Larry Maze of Arkansas reported that he and ELCA's bishop in Arkansas and Oklahoma are already in discussion about how to implement the agreement. Bishop James Folts of West Texas declared that full communion with the Lutherans "opens up a lot of possibilities for us in South Texas," and in Northern California, Bishop Jerry Lamb looked forward to strengthening already-existing partnerships with ELCA clergy.
The "20/20: Clear Vision" plan to double the number of baptized Episcopalians in 20 years received enthusiastic endorsement from other bishops. "I accept this as my personal goal and highest priority for as long as I am blessed to serve as your bishop," wrote Bane, who called the Denver gathering "a life-changing event...a time of revelation and conversion."
By contrast, others left Denver quite dissatisfied with the results. "I want to share all of my optimism with all of you," wrote Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy. "That's what I want to do...but I can't." He maintained that there were "three General Conventions" in Denver: the youth gathering in Boulder, a "subterranean Convention...well orchestrated by the 'left'," and a "shadow" convention conducted on the floor of the two houses.
"For Anglo-Catholics/traditionalists/conservatives there were few 'victories,'" Ackerman wrote. "Lutheran pastors are Catholic priests. Co-habitation that is monogamous is good. The Boy Scouts are on notice. Bishops who don't ordain women will soon have regulatory commissions visit them, and the Executive Council will have Episcopal Women's Caucus and Integrity leaders as active members. I guess you could say there weren't too many Jubilee moments for some of us."
A pastoral letter released by Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin decried the Denver convention for recognizing relationships outside of marriage and not prohibiting same-gender blessings and the ordination of lesbians and gay men. Instead of freedom, he said that "a false and deceitful standard of morality has been thrust upon us." And he said, "We have to ask 'Jubilee for whom'?"
He charged that the legislative process was "being used to coerce persons of conscience into the acceptance of things that are clearly irreconcilable with Holy Scripture..." He said that he would meet with his clergy "to discuss how we as a diocese can make the strongest possible statement in response to Denver."
The letter stated that Schofield would send a representative to an August meeting in Nassau between traditionalist American bishops and Anglican archbishops from other parts of the world who have been critical of developments in the American church.
In his monthly column in the diocesan newspaper, Schofield expressed relief that Griswold promised him in a telephone call that there would be "no team coming to San Joaquin" to investigate diocesan compliance with the canons regarding women's ordination.