To one who strives to stay in the backwaters of the church and observe, it is obvious that good old-fashioned hardball politics is underway under the guise of piety. On the one hand, TLC's executive editor has predicted that following the next General Convention, some sort of split will take place in the Episcopal Church, largely over legislation to bless same-sex unions and to ordain non-celibate homosexual persons.

In a related development, four more bishops have been consecrated by the churches of Rwanda and South East Asia for the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) [TLC, July 15]. I have a few observations:

1. "Everything is political." This old war cry from the '60s has inundated the church. We have moved from seeking the mind of Christ to emulating the United States Congress. There is logic to this as the bicameral system for both fledgling U.S. government and Episcopal Church emerged at the same time. But we have taken some of the Congress's hardball politics into our own area of interaction. Going back to the 1960s, it is obvious that reaction to Bishop Pike, the war in Vietnam, peace marches, civil rights demonstrations, and so on were tied directly to prayer book revision, the ordination of women and the retreat from orthodoxy. Much of the debate was civil. Much was not. Friends and family left the church in droves during these times. Most went to secularism, though some did embrace the continuing churches or left for other traditions.

The recent catalyst was the presentment against Bishop Walter Righter, which infuriated enough liberals that they set out to retaliate. They proposed a resolution to send "suits from 815" to enforce the ordination of women in uncooperative dioceses, which were also the hotbeds of those wishing to prosecute Bishop Righter. Their resolution passed easily at General Convention. Although linkage is refuted, it's pretty obvious to me that it was a skillful, out-and-out power play of retaliation. Our representatives in Congress would be proud. In turn, AMiA was established and did its own political payback. "We can't win in this church, so we'll start a new one where we can and will win" seems to be its position. Is AMiA being prophetic or is it only political? Only time and the Holy Spirit will tell what the final result will be.

2. The primates got it right. Watching the primates interact reminds me of the old counseling adage: "People are like turtles; you won't get anywhere unless you stick your neck out. And you'll never get someone to stick out his neck by beating on his shell."

With a couple of exceptions, it is obvious that the primates are not shell beaters. I think especially of the African primates, who deal with AIDS and genocide, and whose churches are growing exponentially. They are godly men who know patience. They see Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold sticking his neck out and they are being kind. They could be whacking him with the Lambeth resolution about homosexuality and other issues, but they are not. I have learned from them. Instead of being political, they are being godly. They pray and refrain from caucusing. They choose to study scripture instead of Machiavelli. They search for the mind of Christ rather than to further political agendas. And most importantly, if they do not have the mind of Christ, they do not act. They know that the mind of Christ is never discerned by only 50 percent plus one vote.

3. We need to emulate the primates. I acknowledge that former Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning instigated a process of Bible study, prayer and small-group interaction with the House of Bishops, but his ministry was so politically biased that it was hard to trust him with objectivity. It doesn't seem to be the case with Bishop Griswold. He has a history of an agenda, but he's not being very political. (Or if he is, he is being very slick!) Pastoral care and conversation seem to be the hallmark.

In response to the primates' model, the area rectors and vicars where I live are now gathering for coffee weekly at my church with the stated purpose to communicate other than by "rumor and innuendo." We study scripture and we pray with and for each other. All the while acknowledging that we have very different positions theologically, ecclesiastically, and especially politically. To deal with this, we have chosen not to act if we do not agree that we have the mind of Christ. We recently joined together to do a Novena between the Feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost for peace and justice in the Middle East and Sudan, as requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the primates. We believed that this was what Christ would have us do together. It's slow, but we are starting to trust each other. Can the same be said for the national church?

4. We need to be aware of our own history. I suggest two events. One is the Civil War and its aftermath. As is widely known, there was much patience, love and forgiveness on both sides which kept the Episcopal Church from splitting along North and South lines like the Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians.

The other model is the breakoff of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the consequent removal of the evangelical party from the Episcopal Church. (I had no idea how strong the evangelicals were in the Anglican Communion until I visited England a few years ago.) From what I read, it was retaliation by the Anglo-Catholics for their harsh treatment by the evangelicals that caused the split. There was a power play to pass legislation about "baptismal regeneration" at one of the General Conventions, a position that evangelicals could not (and cannot) accept. Are we going to have something similar in the next few years about gays, lesbians and bi-sexuals? Probably. I suspect at the next General Convention, there will be a strong enough contingent of politically skillful folks that the resolution to bless same-sex unions and to ordain non-celibate homosexual persons will pass both houses. It will be done well. But it makes me wonder what the political retaliation will be.

The Rev. Bryce McProud is the rector of St. Matthew's Church, Eugene, Ore.