General Convention, and Its Tone, Reflects Top Ten Themes of 1994
Episcopal News Service. January 19, 1995 [95013]
In both the breadth of its concerns and the tone of its debate the 71st General Convention seemed to distill the spirit of the Episcopal Church in 1994. The critical and often divisive issues were there -- sexuality, women's ordination, finances. But efforts -- mostly successful -- to approach those issues through dialogue rather than acrimonious debate reflected a more conciliatory air in the church. The top ten themes we've selected from the year starts, in fact, with attempts to improve the nature of the church's discussion.
Work by the bishops over the past several years to improve the collegiality of their relationships bore fruit in 1994 not only for their house, but also for the entire General Convention. By following what came to be called the "Kanuga model" emphasizing shared time for Bible study and prayer, the bishops achieved a more open tone of discussion that helped dispel fears that any number of explosive issues might split the church. Meeting in March, the bishops hammered out a pastoral letter on the sin of racism, and were able to at least bring a pastoral teaching on human sexuality to the convention floor despite marked disagreements about its contents.
In the House of Deputies, much of the credit for a more positive tone was given to Pam Chinnis, president, who worked hard to streamline the legislative process and to encourage a more congenial discourse.
The improved spirit was not won, however, by ignoring the thorny issues. The bishops' long-awaited teaching on human sexuality became a lightning rod for controversy leading up to General Convention. Early release of the document by the conservative group Episcopalians United unleashed a firestorm of criticism and counter-criticism, and the document itself generated earnest debate in the early days of the convention. In the end, compromise did win the day, though some complained the document suffered as a result, as the teaching was modified to respond to the strongest objections and was downgraded to a "study document."
Adding grist to the mill, a questionnaire used by groups that met throughout the church to study the issue of sexuality revealed surprisingly open views about sexuality on the grassroots level.
An Episcopal seminary added its own chapter to the year's debate on sexuality when General Theological Seminary revised its housing policy to allow committed same-sex couples to live in seminary housing with the approval of their diocesan bishops. The move followed a complaint filed with the New York City Commission on Human Rights by a member of the seminary faculty. In the Diocese of Olympia, the bishop honored the agreement forged at General Convention when he blocked a service that would have blessed a same-sex union.
As complaints against clergy for sexual misconduct continued to plague the church, General Convention adopted a sweeping revision of the canons governing responses to such complaints.
With a shortfall for the 1995 national budget projected at $5 million, Executive Council brought to convention a plan to radically restructure the national staff, eliminating 38 positions, or about 20 percent of the staff. The church's program was reorganized into a single Service Witness and Education unit. An initial proposal to move principal responsibility for deploying missionaries from the national to the local level was reversed by General Convention, but reflected the degree of the changes considered. Convention failed to agree, however, on an additional proposal to launch a long-term restructuring study. The pain of the budget cuts prompted bitter complaints that some ministries of the church were being abandoned.
Faltering diocesan support for the national budget also prompted a new approach to the method of assessing diocesan apportionment. The basis for the new unified asking, it was decided, would be actual diocesan income rather than the total income of all parishes in a diocese. Apportionment also would be organized on a four-tier basis to more fairly match requests for support to the dioceses' income. The evidence that the financial woes of dioceses were being recognized by the national church, and Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning's ringing call in a convention address for stronger support for national ministry, helped revive confidence in the church's financial future.
Another piece of financial good news for parishes and dioceses came from the Church Pension Fund, which announced in April that it would waive millions of dollars in pension payments and increase life insurance benefits for a significant number of clergy.
As in other years, natural disasters throughout the country drew Episcopal assistance, both financial and human. Much of the financial assistance was funneled through the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, while Episcopal volunteers flocked to help at disaster sites. The Diocese of Los Angeles was at the center of relief efforts after as many as 60 people died in the January earthquake in Northridge, California. Floods in the Midwest, Texas and Alaska drew aid as well. Episcopal priests were among those who ministered to rescue workers at the site of a USAir plane crash in Pittsburgh.
A visit to the war-torn southern Sudan by the Archbishop of Canterbury drew attention to the dramatic needs of that country's Christians who are victimized by the Muslim majority. Browning used a tour of Uganda to raise awareness of that country's plight. As bloody massacres ravaged Rwanda, churches felt frustrated by their inability to help or to protect church members and clergy who fell victim.
The appointment of the Very Rev. John L. Peterson, dean of St. George's Cathedral, as secretary general of the Anglican Communion, and of Bishop James Ottley of Panama as Anglican Observer to the United Nations heralded new days in both those arenas of international involvement.
Women continued to make significant advances in the church's ecclesial structure as the Church of England, mother church for the Anglican Communion, took the final vote to ordain women, followed later in the year by the Episcopal Church of Scotland. Wales, meanwhile, narrowly failed to approve women's ordination. The Anglican Church of Canada also consecrated its first female bishop. The archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Communion and Women in the Episcopate, the so-called Eames Commission, continued to wrestle with the international implications of the wide variety of views on women's ordination through the communion.
While Bishop David Ball of Albany changed his mind and announced he would ordain women, Bishop Clarence Pope of the Diocese of Fort Worth and Bishop Graham Leonard of London chose to join the Roman Catholic Church over the issue. Though headed by Bishop Jack Iker, another opponent to women's ordination, the Diocese of Fort Worth voted not to withdraw from the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Keith Ackerman received the necessary number of consent votes to approve his election as eighth bishop of Quincy, despite his stated unwillingness to ordain women to the priesthood.
A service in Philadelphia marked the 20th anniversary of women's ordination, and a central service at General Convention celebrated the ministry of women. But in a final debate at convention, the House of Bishops sidestepped a call to enforce a canon on women's ordination, voting instead to include language that said both opponents and proponents of women's ordination "hold a recognized theological position in this church." At the same time, they asserted that the dialogue must continue.
Anglicans joined other representatives of world denominations as monitors for the first free elections in South Africa, and then participated in the celebration following the election of Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC) as president. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa visited General Convention in Indianapolis to say "thank you" to the American church for its help in toppling apartheid, and to ask for a new policy of investment in his country.
Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning continued to focus the church's attention on Middle East issues as he condemned the February massacre of 69 Muslims at prayer in Hebron and urged the Israeli government to disarm Jewish settlers in the Occupied Territories. He was equally critical of an April attack on Israelis at a bus stop in Afula. Following a 10-day pilgrimage to the Middle East during Lent and Easter, Browning joined with President-Bishop Samir Kafity of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East in issuing a statement calling again for "the creation of a sovereign state for a new Palestine while assuring peace and security for Israel." They also condemned the construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories as "a deep impediment to the peace process."
Despite a chilling of ecumenical dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of women's ordination, some progress was made as the two churches reaffirmed a common understanding of the Eucharist, saying that "the eucharistic sacrifice is not an issue that divides our two churches." A joint pilgrimage from Canterbury to Rome by Episcopal and Roman Catholic bishops further underscored the historic ties the two churches share.
General Convention affirmed the Episcopal Church's membership in the Consultation on Christian Union (COCU), the multi-lateral discussions involving most mainline Protestant denominations. In bilateral talks with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), steps were taken to bring the two bodies closer to acceptance of a Concordat of Agreement that will provide full communion.