House of Bishops adjourns Salt Lake City meeting with 'spirit of commitment'
Episcopal News Service, Salt Lake City. September 19, 2008 [091908-01]
Pat McCaughan
The House of Bishops wrapped up its meeting in Salt Lake City September 19, with discussions about the future of theological education and mission opportunities in the hurricane-ravaged Diocese of Texas.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said the September 16-19 meeting began "by reminding our members of our connections across the church … including responses to and the painful realities of people affected by hurricanes in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Texas and Louisiana."
Bishop Nathan Baxter of Central Pennsylvania said "mission has been a primary focus of our concerns" at the meeting. The bishops talked about ongoing relief efforts in Texas and how to address that devastation and "help mission continue in that place," he told reporters during a media conference call after the meeting's conclusion. Bishops also discussed theological education and nurturing future leadership of the church, he added.
It was also a challenging and difficult meeting, "particularly in the sense of decisions that we had to make regarding a colleague," Baxter added, referring to an 88-35 vote a day earlier to depose Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh.
"I was also moved that those who voted in different ways returned to the tables today to be with one another, that there is a spirit of commitment to being colleagues in this house," said Baxter, who voted in favor of the deposition.
Bishops Michael Smith of North Dakota and Edward Konieczny of Oklahoma, both of whom voted against Duncan's deposition, also spoke with reporters during the news conference.
Certified minutes of the meeting, which include the roll-call vote on the deposition question, are available here.
Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh 'will not go away'
Throughout their deliberations, Jefferts Schori said bishops expressed great concern "for the people of the Diocese of Pittsburgh." The Episcopal Church (TEC) will support efforts to reconstitute the diocese should an upcoming October 4 vote (see resolutions one, two and three here) approve realignment with the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, she told reporters.
"The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh will not go away, even if their convention makes a canonically inappropriate vote to secede" from TEC, she said. "We anticipate that at least one member of the standing committee will remain with TEC and protest such an action. We anticipate that person will be able to reconstitute the standing committee and become the ecclesiastical authority in Pittsburgh."
She added that the "reconstitution in the diocese is led by the people. The 'Across the Aisle' group is a remarkable example of cooperation across a variety of differences of opinion. The people of Pittsburgh are coming together and doing everything they can to protect the diocese from these schismatic actions and remain in TEC."
Jefferts Schori also said she will move "fairly promptly" to carry out the deposition. "It's my duty to act on it … (but) there's nothing in the canons that says how soon the deposition must occur," she told reporters. "I expect to act fairly promptly but I would like to speak with Bishop Duncan before that."
Duncan did not attend the House of Bishops meeting, or return telephone calls seeking comment about the deposition. In a statement on the diocesan website, Duncan called September 18's vote "a very sad day for The Episcopal Church. It is also a sad day for me, a faithful son of that church."
However, Rich Creehan, a media advisor to the Across the Aisle Steering Committee in Pittsburgh, said he was energized by the Presiding Bishop's affirmation on September 19. "We're very pleased. The realignment has gotten so much press in Pittsburgh, there were a number of people unaware until recently that there was going to be an Episcopal diocese remaining and that they did have options," he said. "The word from the Presiding Bishop that she recognizes our efforts here is very, very encouraging."
Diocese of Iowa Bishop Alan Scarfe and Maine Bishop Steve Lane discussed their reaction to the deposition in their roles as official House of Bishops meeting bloggers. Their comments are available here.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh has set up a separate website for people and advocacy groups to voice their support of Duncan. Among those commenting are Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda, along with a joint statement archbishops Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone, Drexel Gomez of the West Indies and Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya.
Questions of timing
Some bishops may have voted against Duncan's deposition because of procedural questions. Among the issues was the timing of the deposition vote -- just a few weeks prior to the October 4 convention vote.
But bishops denied that timing had anything to do with their deliberations. "I don't think it was any kind of pre-emptive strike, we didn't consider any kind of proposed actions," said Konieczny of Oklahoma. The bishops' decisions "were all based on the actions of Duncan over the last number of years. There was nothing in the process to suggest it was in response to something that might happen."
Jefferts Schori added that "this meeting happened at the normal time for our fall meeting."
"At the time we set the dates for this meeting, Pittsburgh's convention was scheduled for significantly later in the fall. The perception may be out there that we scheduled it (to precede the diocesan vote) but it had absolutely nothing to do with it."
Smith of North Dakota said he voted against the deposition "as a question of interpretation of canons" regarding the requirement that a bishop be inhibited prior to deposition since the House's three senior bishops did not agree to inhibit Duncan.
"I offered one of the challenges about three senior bishops," said Smith. "It's been a contentious issue and an area of great disagreement. But we have no Supreme Court to adjudicate those agreements. In the context of the meeting we are free to challenge the presider and I did that. But I was overruled by a two-thirds majority of the rest of the house and the ruling of the Presiding Bishop stood and it will continue to be that until General Convention will change those canons and clarify them."
"I lost, but I'm still part of the House of Bishops and I still have a relationship with the Presiding Bishop. There's a difference between loyal opposition and disloyal opposition and we need to recover that in the Episcopal Church. I look forward to the ministry of accountability being carried out across the board with theological liberals as well as theological conservatives. Fairness makes me want to be loyal."
In response to a reporter's question about whether or not Duncan's deposition implies approval of proposed Title IV revisions slated for action at General Convention 2009 in Anaheim, California, Jefferts Schori said: "I don't think we have a final draft of the proposed Title IV revisions. The conversation here was reflective of the need to clarify many issues raised in recent months. The reality is the canons are an evolving set of norms and have been revised continually throughout our history in response to our changing circumstances."
Baxter added that depositions are not necessarily permanent. "The Presiding Bishop made it very clear that … one can be received back into proper status" in the church.
Lambeth reflections, mission and hurricane relief
Konieczny of Oklahoma said there were also discussions about post-Lambeth Conference relationships and opportunities for ministries "and ways to partner with the larger community in ministry, to keep relationships flowing positively back and forth. We talked about who we are as a House, where we're going and how to continue to respond to the work ahead of us as the church."
TEC spokeswoman Neva Rae Fox said that cell phones donated for bishops' use during the Lambeth Conference were going to be given to the Seaman's Church Institute, which serves 40 dioceses throughout the U.S.
A September 19 mid-morning conference call with Diocese of Texas bishops Don Wimberly, Dena Harrison, Rayford High and Bishop Coadjutor-elect Andrew Doyle, helped identify diocesan needs, and ways to help out, said North Dakota's Smith.
"They were very grateful for our assistance so far, but said to wait, that now is not the time to send anyone to help with clean-up just yet," Smith added.