1993 News Stories Reveal Episcopalians Continue to Explore the Meaning of Community
Episcopal News Service. January 13, 1994 [94006]
A survey of news stories in 1993 reveals that the Episcopal Church continued to grapple with the meaning of community. At the heart of controversies and many news stories were basic questions regarding cooperation and accountability among different levels of the church.
Why do we have a national church? What aspects of ministry require a national presence or program? How should national, diocesan or local leadership honor diversity in the church? What binds Episcopalians together? These questions and others simmered beneath a variety of headlines.
Our choice of the 10 most important themes in 1993 reflects broad concerns that received attention in news stories during the year.
During a year when the vice-president of the United States published a proposal known as "Reinventing Government," and when a host of corporations and institutions were reevaluating their structures in the light of future challenges, it should come as no surprise that Episcopalians were caught up in restructure concerns of their own.
At one count, seven canonical groups -- including the Standing Commission on Structure, standing committees of the Executive Council and joint committees of the General Convention -- were engaged in conversations about how to restructure the church or how to streamline and improve the legislative process of the General Convention. The House of Bishops continued to explore a non-confrontational way of conducting its business and many dioceses and provincial gatherings experimented with new formats for their meetings.
In early spring, the Executive Council gathered ecumenical and Anglican partners for a consultation on mission planning and listened to what those partners had heard during diocesan visits. And shortly thereafter, council members themselves joined by national staff, embarked on an ambitious project to visit every diocese of the church and listen to concerns. By year's end, nearly 4,000 Episcopalians had participated in the visits. Council members were given advice on a wide range of subjects, including significant supporT.
In late fall, the Shaping Our Future symposium in St. Louis, billed as "A grassroots forum on Episcopal structures," gave more than 1,000 Episcopalians an opportunity to dissect and diagnose the ills of the church and attempt to prescribe solutions to the problems. At the conclusion of the meeting, participants generally agreed that the church must first pay attention to its mission and vision -- and then tackle questions of structure.t for moving the Episcopal Church Center out of New York City.
A variety of stories in 1993 kept sexuality -- particularly regarding gay and lesbian issues -- near the top of the church's agenda. In a private correspondence in early spring, Presiding Bishop Browning expressed his support of President Clinton's intention to lift the ban on gay and lesbian service in the U.S. military.
In early summer, a tenured, New Testament professor at the General Theological Seminary, filed a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, claiming that she was the victim of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The professor had invited her domestic partner to live with her in seminary housing -- a violation, the seminary contended, of the school's existing housing policy. By year's end the dispute was still not completely settled, although a special committee was appointed to suggest changes in the seminary's housing policy.
At the annual convention of Integrity in July, House of Deputies President Pamela Chinnis revealed that she has a gay son and urged the church to reject homophobia. She received strong criticism after she invited members of Integrity to suggest names of persons to be considered for appointment to the church's interim bodies.
In September, the House of Bishops considered the first draft of a pastoral teaching on sexuality to be released prior to the 1994 General Convention. Although the details of the pastoral were not released at the bishops' meeting in Panama, Bishop O'Kelley Whitaker reported that the study process mandated by the 1991 General Convention was continuing in local congregations. He reported that, of the nearly 20,000 persons who participated in the study and responded to an unscientific questionnaire, nearly 70 percent said that it is possible to be a sexually active gay or lesbian person and still be a faithful Christian.
Also during the House of Bishops meeting in Panama, retired Bishop Otis Charles, former bishop of Utah and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, disclosed to his colleagues that he is gay.
In November, the Diocese of Massachusetts adopted resolutions calling on the General Convention to remove "the obstacles to ordination for qualified candidates who are living in committed same-sex relationships," and calling for the development of liturgies to bless covenanted gay and lesbian relationships.
In 1993, several developments in the Episcopal Church and in the wider Anglican Communion offered evidence of a growing acceptance of the ordination of women in the church. The consecration of the Rev. Mary Adelia McLeod as bishop of Vermont on November 1 represented the first time a women will lead a diocese in the Episcopal Church. At the consecration, the Episcopal Church's two female suffragan bishops -- Barbara Harris of Massachusetts and Jane Dixon of Washington -- participated in the exuberant service.
On June 13 members of the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church approved by a substantial margin the first stage of legislation to allow the ordination of women to the priesthood. Subsequent action, expected in 1994, is required before women can be ordained priests.
On November 19, the Rev. Victoria Matthews, who serves a parish in suburban Toronto, was elected the first woman bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.
Exactly a year after the General Synod of the Church of England voted for legislation clearing the way for the ordination of women to the priesthood, it adopted a plan to provide three suffragan bishops -- two in Canterbury and one in York -- to serve as provincial episcopal visitors for those who do not accept the decision to ordain women as priests. Opponents of the measure charged that it would "institutionalize schism" in the church. The church's action followed approval of the initial legislation by both Houses of Parliament.
Meantime, Roman Catholic bishops in England scrambled to accommodate disaffected Anglicans who are leaving to protest the ordination of women. Although each Anglican communicant would have to be re-confirmed, and Anglican priests would have to be re-ordained, Roman Catholic officials were exploring ways to receive whole groups or parishes.
A slow recovery from the nation's economic recession continued to put the squeeze on financial resources at all levels of the church. Several dioceses considered the adoption of new funding formulas in 1993 -- most of which relied on some amount of voluntary contributions, rather than a mandatory assessment. In a November opening hearing in Chicago, several diocesan treasurers and administrators expressed support for the adoption of a national budget based on diocesan income instead of parish disposable income. At the end of 1993, budget estimates based on a projected change in the formula for 1995 suggested that there would be approximately $5 million less for the national program. National staff and Executive Council members began a process to reorganize the national budget and prepare for a downsizing by 1995.
A number of lawsuits stemming from allegations of clergy sexual misconduct has forced the Church Insurance Company (CIC) and many dioceses to establish policies and guidelines to deal with the situation.
Although several cases of sexual misconduct by clergy made headlines before, in 1993 the complaints reached the episcopacy. In the wake of a revelation of sexual misconduct, Bishop Steven Plummer of the Navajoland Area Mission began a year's leave of absence in May. Plummer admitted to misconduct with a minor male several years ago. After his leave of absence and therapy, Plummer will consult with the presiding bishop to determine if he should continue his duties as bishop.
In February a complaint was made against Bishop C.I. Jones of Montana about a "sexual relationship with an adult female parishioner" prior to his election as bishop. No formal legal charges followed the complaint and the bishop and diocese are working on a reconciliation.
And in early November, the Rev. Canon Antoine Campbell withdrew from the consent process as bishop-elect in the Diocese of Virginia due to a continuing investigation related to sexual misconduct charges.
At the February Executive Council meeting, Treasurer Ellen Cooke reported that 1991 parochial reports showed the Episcopal Church registered an increase in membership for the second year in a row. Cooke reported an increase of approximately 23,000 baptized members, from 2,448,772 in 1990, to 2,471,880 in 1991. In addition to the membership growth, parishes reported that more than 111,000 persons who are not currently registered as baptized members are "active" in congregations.
In the face of damage estimates surpassing $12 billion and the needs of thousands of people displaced from their homes and businesses due to historic floods in the Midwest, Episcopalians from across the country poured financial contributions and volunteer spirit in an effort to help. In mid-July, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief rushed emergency grants to the dioceses affected by the flood and followed up with additional support later. Relief efforts were coordinated through Project Ark, a pilot program of the Episcopal Church's Jubilee Ministry, the PB's Fund and Province 5. Hundreds of volunteers assisted in sandbagging efforts before the flood and clean up efforts following it.
Following a September 10 statement by the bishops of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning formally ended the Episcopal Church's divestment campaign. In 1985, the General Convention asked the church to "divest all holdings in companies doing business in South Africa and Namibia." In his statement, Browning praised the church's efforts against apartheid and pledged that "now we will be there in the building of a new society based on democracy and nondiscrimination."
Both traditionalists and progressives attempted to use the consent process to stymie the elections of new bishops in 1993. In Fort Worth, opponents of the election of the Rev. Jack Iker as bishop-coadjutor lobbied standing committees across the church to withhold consent because he refused to accept the ordination of women to the priesthood. Opponents of the election of the Rev. James Jelinek as bishop of Minnesota asked standing committees to withhold consent because he publicly supported the ordination of homosexuals.