Volume 5, Number 2, Post-General Convention 2012
A convention unlike others in recent memory Eight days; early morning to late in the evening; close to 450 resolutions from committees, dioceses and individuals considered, debated, and prayed over; over 1500 celebrating Eucharist, each morning in English and other languages: these are just some of the General Convention moments you will read about in this issue of Seek. If after reading this issue you find your appetite whetted for learning more about the Missouri presence at General Convention, consider reading the deputation’s online blog at missourideputation.blogspot.com. There you will find over 50 articles, reflections, rever-
ies, transcriptions of streamed legislative sessions and press conferences, and behind-the-scenes glimpses. A few have been cherry picked for this issue, but the bulk remains available online. The Diocese of Missouri was well represented by bishop and deputies, our Canon to the Ordinary, Episcopal Church Women delegates to Triennial, and the many diocesan members who volunteered, visited, and worked in the exhibitor booths. Bishop Wayne Smith was cognate chair of the Prayer Book Liturgy and Church Music Committee (the larger committees have chairs in both houses). Many of the continued on page 5
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Presiding Bishop’s Message to the Church on General Convention The General Convention which took place in Indianapolis in July offered new and creative responses to the call of the gospel in our day. We saw gracious and pastoral responses to polarizing issues, as well as a new honesty about the need for change. General Convention addressed a number of significant issues that will impact the life and witness of this Church for years into the future – and they include many more things beyond what you’ve heard about in the news. The way we worked together also represented a new reality, working to adapt more creatively to our diverse nature as a Church. It is that way of creative engagement that ultimately will be most transformative for The Episcopal
Church and the world beyond it. On issue after issue, the resolutions addressed by General Convention emerged in creative responses that considered, but did not end in, the polarized positions expected as we went into Convention. People listened to the movement of the spirit and discerned a way forward that was mutually up-building, rather than creating greater divisiveness or win-lose outcomes. The hot-button issues of the last decade
We emerge with abundant hope, better discipline for working together and with partners beyond this Church, for our fundamental reason for being— engagement with God’s mission.
have not been eternally resolved, but we have as a body found creative and pastoral ways to live with the differences of opinion, rather than resorting to old patterns of conflict. There is a certain expansive grace in how these decisions are being made and in the responses to them, a grace that is reminiscent of the Elizabeth settlement. We’ve said as a Church that there is no bar to the participation of minorities of all sorts, and we are finding continued on page 4
Bishop Wayne Smith: Charting a way ahead for the diocese The Public Affairs Office at the Episcopal Church Center has released a list of thirty-nine noteworthy actions from the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. As I read the media, however, I realize that one action stands out in public awareness, and that is the approval of provisional rites for same-sex blessings. The other thirty-eight actions are in fact noteworthy, and many of them will make a difference in how our Church lives, but they are just not as newsworthy. Writing these words, I do understand that Jay Akasie’s opinion piece about the Episcopal Church in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal has received a lot of attention. Alas, his article does not meet the fact-check test, as several respondents have pointed out. I’ll not rehash their points. Let me instead chart a way ahead for the Diocese of Missouri, as we consider implementation of the blessing rites, beginning in Advent of this year. Since the diocesan bishop oversees the use of these rites— and I expect to be hands-on as I do this—it is only fair that I sketch out my intent.
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Parishes and other worshiping communities need to prepare before incorporating these rites into their life, and they must satisfy me that they have done so. Doing less is to invite conflict and misunderstanding, and to dishonor anyone who is to receive the Church’s blessing. Likewise, those persons receiving the blessing must prepare beforehand, under the direction of the priest, who then will demonstrate to me that the preparation has happened. Moreover, these are Churchly rites, radically communal in their setting, and they are for Christian people who already know the life of the Church. I will expect clergy to show how such is the case, in the lives of the two persons preparing for this blessing. So, in short, I will consider the implementation of the rites, parish-by-parish and person-by-person. The rites are permissive and by no means required, a fact to hold in mind. The enabling resolution from General Convention allows the rites, but only with the bishop’s permission and oversight. Some bishops will not permit these liturgies, and others will. Also, the resolution protects clergy and lay
people who may dissent from the use of same-sex blessings. It also protects those who desire to implement the blessings in places where they are not allowed. As with marriage, a cleric may decline to preside at a particular blessing--or all blessings. But note that these materials go out of their way to distinguish the liturgies for same-sex blessing from the Church’s marriage rite. They are related but nonetheless distinct. In all things, It is imperative that we maintain mutual regard, as we live together in the body of Christ. The broad theological and dispositional diversities of our Church are some of our strengths, not our weaknesses. This fall I hope to convene a group of Episcopalians from our Diocese to advise me in the drafting of guidelines for the rites of same-sex blessing. These corporate rites deserve corporate input. I look forward to their implementation--prayerfully, carefully, pastorally, and hopefully.
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