The Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool
(Jesus said) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will speak not on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” -- John 16:12-14
The 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church took place in Columbus, Ohio from June 12 - 21, 2006. Of lasting and striking importance was the election of both a new Presiding bishop: The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori; a new President of the House of Deputies: Ms. Bonnie Anderson; the establishment of achieving the Millennium Development Goals as a mission priority along with the endorsement of the ONE Episcopalian Campaign; work on Church Reparations for Slavery; a host of resolutions on justice, liturgical and ministry issues; and six resolutions addressing the Anglican Communion and our Church's relationships and commitments to it and in it. These last were watched closely by people throughout the Anglican Communion as our Church made every effort to respond clearly, solidly, and fully to recommendations of the Windsor Report, published in October of 2004. Our Church not only “expressed regret for straining the bonds of affection in the events surrounding the General Convention of 2003,” but it also offered “its sincerest apology to those within the Anglican Communion who are offended by our failure to accord sufficient importance to the impact of our actions on our church and other parts of the Communion” and asked forgiveness. We reaffirmed in the clearest and strongest possible terms our commitment to interdependence in the Anglican Communion and our “desire to live into the highest degree of communion possible.” And we further pledged our commitment to the Listening Process and the Anglican Covenant Development Process - both of which were recommended in the Windsor Report. On the last day of General Convention, we passed Resolution B033, which “Calls upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.” You have probably heard much about this last, and doubtless you will hear more before this Convention is over. So I want to use this time to urge all of our participation in the Listening and Covenanting Processes, which, unfortunately, have gotten far less publicity.
First, I have a confession to make. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Primates, the Anglican leaders of the 38 Provinces worldwide. Whenever they meet, we usually read about it in the newspapers and online and we read their communiques and other people’s commentaries on their communiques and we may even, have responses to their communiques. And I was thinking. There are approximately 77 million Anglicans in the world who comprise the Anglican Communion. And there are 38 Primates. I’m not a numbers person so I did have to use a calculator, but I divided 38 by 77 million to discover what percentage of the Anglican Communion the Primates are by number and I got this: the Primates are four one-hundred-thousandths of a percent of the Anglican Communion! Now I say this with all due respect - and I’m not stupid: I realize that the Primates are chosen leaders of their Provinces. But the Episcopal Church is not exclusively a hierarchical Church. We are also a Church which values and honors the voices of lay people, deacons, and priests as well as bishops. We are a both-and Church, not an either-or Church. And every single one of us here is invited to participate in the Listening and Covenanting Processes of the Anglican Communion!
First, the Listening Process. After resolutions at Lambeth 1978, Lambeth 1988, and Lambeth 1998 repeatedly urged the Anglican Communion to listen to the voices of its homosexual members, as well as to engage in mutual listening on issues of human sexuality, on January 1, 2006, the Anglican Communion Office finally hired a full-time person: the Rev. Canon Phil Groves, to coordinate the Listening Process among the 38 Provinces. After a year of intense work, each of the 38 Provinces submitted a report on the Listening Process within their own Province. These reports reflect a huge spectrum of difference in process as well as content - culture as well as theology - and they are fascinating to read! Summaries of these reports are posted online - and I’ve asked our Youth pages to circulate green sheets with the relevant online addresses at the conclusion of this report. Based on the Listening Process, a “Study Guide on Human Sexuality” has been prepared for Lambeth 2008. It, too, is posted online. The practice of deep listening to one another is a spiritual as well as a physical discipline. There’s quite a lot for us to read, and “listen to”, and there is also a way to offer input and feedback. I commend to you this ongoing aspect of the life of our Anglican Communion, of which you and I are a part.
Second, the Covenanting Process. The Anglican Covenanting Process is a bit more complex. Many of you will remember that the Windsor Report contained a model for a possible covenant. The Archbishop of Canterbury appointed a “Covenant Design Group” which met January 15 - 18, 2007 in the Bahamas and drew up a different draft covenant to which we are all being asked to respond. Let me be clear, if not emphatic, that this is a process, not a product. The four-page draft document is available on the web for any and all to read. Our own Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies appointed an ad hoc Committee of the Executive Council to develop and distribute a Study Guide for this draft covenant. That Study Guide is also available online - and for those of you who do not like the idea of an Anglican Covenant because you don’t see why the Baptismal Covenant doesn’t cover it, the very first question in the Study Guide is Do you think an Anglican Covenant is necessary and/or will help to strengthen the interdependent life of the Anglican Communion? Why or why not? Executive Council and the leaders of our Church really want to hear from us! Each of us has a voice, and we minister in a Church in which you don’t have to be a Primate to be heard. So I urge your participation, either individually or in a group process within your parish, so that we are fully a part of this important dialogue. Responses are due June 4, 2007 - so we have a whole month during which to do this.
So friends and colleagues: I commend to your attention the Listening and Covenanting Processes that our own General Convention commends to us. I can’t help but believe that when Jesus says in John’s Gospel that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, Jesus’s Spirit, will guide us into all truth, that that means we have to listen for the Spirit and be open to the Spirit. We have to listen for the Spirit in each other, and others across the world as members of the Body of Christ in the world. Because when we really listen to one another, and allow ourselves to be guided into God’s Truth, then we can proclaim with joy right along with the writer of Ephesians: Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. -- Ephesians 3:21-22
LAY
Ms. Alma Thompson Bell
Mr. Russell R. Reno, Jr.
Ms. Marjorie J. Mack
Mr. David G. Mallery
1st Alternate
Ms. Maggy Cullman
CLERGY
The Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool
The Rev. Angela F. Shepherd
The Rev. Eddie M. Blue
The Rev. William P. Baxter, Jr.
1st Alternate
The Rev. T. Stewart Lucas