Top News Stories of 1991 Show Episcopal Church Is 'Thermometer' of American Concerns
Episcopal News Service. January 10, 1992 [92009]
Jeffrey Penn and James Solheim
Arguments about sex. Disagreements about the nature of authority and qualities of leadership. Questions about the financial support of ministry.
Such difficult issues were high on the agenda of the Episcopal Church in 1991 -- and Episcopalians showed that they can be a contentious lot, not afraid to trod a difficult and thorny path through a minefield of issues. Despite dire predictions on all sides, however, the Episcopal Church showed itself to be a resilient community in 1991, a place where disparate voices continue to be spoken, heard, and challenged.
Prior to the beginning of the General Convention in July, the religion editor of the Arizona Republic wrote that Episcopalians reflected the mainstream of concerns in American society. "If you want to know what the typical American thinks and where the country is headed on social issues, think about tuning into the Episcopalians," she said.
Whether or not the Episcopal Church is a barometer of future trends, it is certainly a thermometer of the current concerns in American society and in mainline religion.
Our choice for the top dozen news stories of 1991 are moments in time reflecting on larger, momentous issues that will be with the church in the years ahead. They suggest not only who and what the church was in the year past but also define the questions the church must address in the future.
There were two ways to describe the Episcopal Church's struggle over the issue of homosexuality in 1991: unsettled and not settled. Heated arguments kindled keen interest in the church's position regarding its homosexual members -- particularly whether noncelibate homosexual persons may be ordained under current church policies. In the end, the General Convention said that the church needed more light on the subject. A compromise resolution affirmed the church's traditional teaching that sexual expression should only occur within heterosexual marriage. However, the convention admitted that there is a "discontinuity" between the church's teaching and the experience of many of its members. The convention called for a church-wide dialogue on the subject of sexuality to occur within local parishes before the 1994 General Convention reviews the matter. Meantime, the United Methodists, Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians, and the United Church of Christ are involved in similar efforts to study the issue.
The national economic recession came home to roost in the church. Many dioceses faced severe budgetary problems in 1991 and found it difficult to meet the national church's apportionment. Substantial reductions of the national church staff in New York City followed in September. In addition, a few dioceses voted to eliminate or redirect funding of national programs as a means to protest their discontent with General Convention policy. Critics charged that such action set a bad precedent and was an affront to the concept of stewardship. Meantime, the Presbyterians and Lutherans were forced to make even deeper cuts due to budgetary shortfalls.
Across the country Episcopalians joined in vigils for peace before the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf on January 16 -- and prayed for the safety of American military personnel after the war began. Two days before the war began, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning participated in a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, then joined 6,000 others on a candlelight march to the White House. Browning directed the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and the suffragan bishop for the Armed Forces to respond to the victims of the conflict, particularly to the plight of refugees and the upheaval among dependent families of U.S. military personnel in Operation Desert Storm. Nearly 20 Episcopal priests served as chaplains in the Persian Gulf during the war.
Traditionalists affiliated with the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA) continued their quest for some structural way to safeguard their concerns in a church they define as increasingly "hostile." At a November meeting of its synodical council, the ESA announced the birth of a nongeographical Missionary Diocese of the Americas to protect traditionalist Episcopalians from what it termed was "persecution" of biblical Christianity. The ESA contended that it would continue to work for reform of the Episcopal Church from within, but that the new diocese would operate outside the canonical framework of the church. The presiding bishop, the Council of Advice, and the archbishop of Canterbury warned that the plan was "schismatic."
A special meeting of the Episcopal Church's Executive Council on January 5 affirmed the decision to hold the 70th General in Phoenix despite the failure of Arizona voters to adopt a paid holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said that the decision would give the church an opportunity to address its own internal racism and to stand in solidarity with the people in Arizona who had worked for the holiday. The convention put concerns about racism at the top of its agenda, including participation in an unprecedented racism audit to determine the extent of racism in the church and to offer solutions. The General Convention endorsed an Executive Council plan to establish a Martin Luther King, Jr., Legacy Fund to provide scholarships for minority college students.
After formal theological dialogue spanning two decades, a team of theologians concluded conversations and offered a plan that would eventually lead to full communion between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Lutherans decided to complete their own study of ministry before considering the proposals. Early reaction to the Concordat of Agreement suggested that Lutherans were divided on their acceptance of the historic episcopate as a condition for full communion.
In a service that blended the modern and the medieval, George Leonard Carey was enthroned on April 19 as the 103rd archbishop of Canterbury. The choice represents a break in tradition since Carey comes from a working-class background and converted to Christianity as a teenager. He also identifies with the evangelicals in his church, although he is open to high church elements. In his sermon, Carey attacked the "doubt and secularism of much of our nation," but added that the church also faces "challenges that will test us deeply." He cited the ordination of women as one of these challenges. Prior to his enthronement, Carey provoked a storm of protest when he suggested in an interview that those who contend that only a man can stand in the place of Christ at the Eucharist are guilty of heresy. Later he modified the statement, changing "heresy" to "serious theological error." The church's governing General Synod will vote on the issue this fall.
As a clear signal that the church takes seriously the leadership role of women, the Phoenix General Convention elected Pamela Chinnis of the Diocese of Washington to serve as president of the House of Deputies, one of the most powerful positions in the church. Chinnis is former vice-president of the House of Deputies and former president of the Episcopal Church Women. She is believed to be the first laywoman to lead a national legislative body in mainline Protestantism.
Nearly five years after he was taken hostage in Lebanon, Anglican envoy Terry Waite was released by his captors on November 18. Waite's shuttle diplomacy, which earned him the nickname "the Anglican Kissinger," succeeded in securing the release of a number of hostages over the years. Waite said that he was sustained during his captivity by reading the Bible over and over. Waite later denied reports that he was involved in Colonel Oliver North's arms-for-hostages deal with Iran.
The ordination of a noncelibate lesbian in Washington, D.C. (Elizabeth Carl) and a gay man in the Diocese of Newark (Barry Stopfel) fueled the continuing controversy over church policies on the ordination of homosexuals. In an ironic twist, Robert Williams, whose ordination in 1989 set off the furor, publicly renounced "the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church." While expressing "sadness and regret," Williams said he had concluded that "gay and lesbian people, women, and ethnic minorities are not welcome in hierarchical-structured churches."
As Americans continued to struggle with the issues of sexual harassment and abuse, a Denver District Court jury found that bishops may be held accountable for the misbehavior of clergy in their jurisdiction. In the case, former Colorado Bishop William Frey and the Diocese of Colorado were ordered to pay $1.2 million to a woman who claimed she had been emotionally damaged by an affair with a former rector. Observers said that the case could have far-reaching implications for the wider church. "If bishops are responsible for all the misbehavior of individual clergy, it seems church rules and regulations have to be strengthened to give us control over clergy," Frey said after the verdict.
Orthodox churches in the United States, fuming over what they perceive as liberal trends among mainline churches, suspended membership in the National Council of Churches and dialogue with the Episcopal Church. Committees have been appointed to examine Orthodox objections. The action follows an announcement that Orthodox also intend to reexamine their membership in the World Council of Churches (WCC), contending that the WCC Assembly in Australia demonstrated that a political agenda was pushing aside the search for church unity in ecumenical circles.