Openly Episcopal in Albany

Albany Diocese Lays Down The Law

For those who have received the Pre-Convention Book of the upcoming Diocesan Convention of Albany (June 6-8), I want to point out a chilling coincidence.

In the same week that this website reported on Bishop Love's reply to The Rev. Glen Michael's inquiry regarding candidates to Holy Orders (See: Diocese Says We Can Discriminate), we read of two proposed resolutions to Convention.  One resolution mandates changes to the wording of the Diocesan canon On Marriage, and the other amends the Standards for Clergy.

As you remember, Bishop Love informed The Rev. Michaels that:

"The policy in the Diocese of Albany is that for a person to be eligible to be considered for the ordination process, he or she must live within the covenant of marriage to one man and one woman, or be celibate and abstinent."

Upon further consideration, the Bishop may have concluded that simply stating a policy is not enough.  Any policy worth enunciating is worth codifying into an inflexible statute, it seems.

Proposed Resolution #5, On Marriage, is in two parts.  Not sparing you any of the legalese, I quote Part 1, "Celebration of Blessing of Marriages by Clergy, verbatim:

Members of the Clergy resident in or Licensed to Serve in this Diocese shall not officiate at, nor facilitate, nor participate in, any service, whether public or private, for the Celebration or Blessing of a Marriage or any other union except between one man and one woman.  Unions other than those of one man and one woman in Holy Matrimony, even if they be recognized in other jurisdictions, shall be neither recognized nor blessed in this Diocese.

Part 2, regarding "Marriages on Church Property," states:

Properties owned, controlled, managed or operated by this Diocese, or any other parish of the Diocese, or any legal entity established by the Diocese or a parish of the Diocese, shall not be the site for any service, public or private, for the Celebration or Blessing of a Marriage or any other union except those between one man and one woman.

Mercifully, Proposed Resolution #6, "Standards for Clergy," is shorter, though again in two parts:

First, "To be eligible to be ordained to the Diaconate or Priesthood, or consecrated a Bishop, a person must live within the covenant of Marriage between one man and one woman, or be celibate and abstinent."

Second, "To be eligible to be elected, appointed or licensed to any position of ordained ministry in the Diocese, a member of the clergy must live within the covenant of Marriage between one man and one woman, or be celibate and abstinent."

The author of these resolutions, and it appears to be the same author, must be commended for efficiency.  Why waste time with a pastoral response, or be distracted by the complexity of individual cases, when a cleanly antiseptic rule can be applied without compassion in all situations?  But wait, didn't Jesus warn us against those who would again subject us to the burdensome demands of The Law?  Of course, that was a different time.  There are no longer any Pharisees in the Church, are there?

Diocese Says: "We Can Discriminate"

The Rev. Glen Michaels from Trinity Church, Plattsburg, has provided us with an interesting exchange of emails regarding his inquiry to the Diocese of Albany about a possible candidate for ordination.  The candidate happened to be a partnered gay man.  Michaels+ was mistakenly copied on an exchange of emails between the Rev. Peter Schofield and The Rev. Robert Haskell (both of the Diocesan Commission on Ministry) relative to his inquiry.  The Rev. Michaels has given us permission to post his notes and the related email exchange:

Dr. Bones & Openly Episcopal,

Our AM readers may want to see how the Diocese treats certain of those in this Diocese who believe they may be called to Holy Orders.  Canon Haskell's response to Fr. Schofield below was inadvertently sent to me after I had inquired regarding a member of my parish.

Canon Haskell's is an interesting approach.  Perhaps it can be used by "really historically orthodox" bishops who don't want to ordain women:  "We don't discriminate against Christians because they ARE women.  No... we discriminate against them because they TEACH that women are called to ordained ministry in the Church.  Say... it might even work to exclude people of color and all other heterodox undesirable who hold the radical notion that in Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or canfree, male or female....

(The Rev.) Glen Michaels, Priest Associate, Trinity Church, Plattsburgh, NY

                                                            ....................

The email exchange alluded to is given below:

Common Cause: Is It Yours?

In a previous post, The Morphing of the Anglican Network, we discussed the most recent developments in a movement threatening the good order and discipline of the Episcopal Church. The following is a letter from Bob Dodd, president of Albany Via Media, explaining the immediate impact of this movement on parishes in our own diocese.  It is worth your attention:

Dear AVM Members and Friends:

We need your help on a matter of some urgency.  You may know that the Anglican Communion Network, with which the Diocese of Albany is affiliated, has joined several ex-Episcopal organizations in a new coalition called Common Cause Partners.  Common Cause, like the Network, seeks to replace the Episcopal Church in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Unless you have visited the Common Cause website and examined its membership map, you probably do not know that the new coalition has adopted 88% (102 of 116) of Albany's parishes and missions.  The map shows every church that was swept into the Network in 2004 and did not make the effort to disassociate from it thereafter.

Does 88% membership express the level of Albany's commitment to the Network and Common Cause?  That is most unlikely, for two reasons.  First, 40% of Albany parishes that were represented at the 2004 Convention voted against joining the Network, though its dark designs on the Episcopal Church were only rumored at that time.  Now its intentions are all to clear.

Second, Albany's extremely high concentration of Common Cause parishes contrasts sharply with very low concentrations in neighboring dioceses.  Of 815 parishes in the Diocese of Vermont, Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Long Island, and Central New York, just 18 (2%) have been angry enough at the national Church to join the Network.  Are Albany Episcopalians really that different from those in nearby dioceses?

We believe that inertia, not commitment, has kept many of Albany's churches from leaving the Network and Common Cause.  Given a chance to revisit the diocese's 2004 decision to join the Network, most parishes would reject the blatantly separatist organization.  Albany Via Media will try to give them that chance with a resolution at this summer's Diocesan Convention.

However, we urge you not to wait for Convention to take a stand.  Our resolution to leave the Network may not be accepted (our previous Bishop quashed similar resolutions!).  If it's accepted, it may not pass.  Take action yourself!  Visit the Common Cause website to find out if its membership map claims your parish, and to learn what the coalition stands for and against.  If you and your parish decide that Common Cause is not your cause, you can opt out of it, and the Network, by contacting:

Common Cause Partners

35 Smithfield Street, Suite 910

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

(412) 325-8900

Please let AVM know what you decide.  (Yes, we are keeping score!)  You also might want to notify Albany's Diocesan Office at (518) 465-4737.

I said at the outset that this is urgent, and it is.  One Network diocese, San Joaquin, has tried to leave the national Church.  Two others, Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, are just one vote away from doing the same.  If they bolt, other Network dioceses, including Albany, will be under strong pressure to follow suit.  It is essential that Bishop Love not overestimate the support for such action in the Episcopal Diocese of Albany.  Thank you for your help!

Robert T. Dodd, President, for the Via Media Board

 

                                                                  

DVD's of Bonne Anderson's Visit Now Available

On January 19, Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies, addressed 250 to 300 Albany Episcopalians at St. Andrew's, Albany, on the topic "Can We Talk?"  Ms. Anderson, Bishop Love, and Fr. James Brooks-McDonald then answered questions from the congregation.  A complete DVD of this exciting event are now available.

If you would like a copy of the DVD to share with your parish, please email me through this blogsite, post a comment, or drop us a note at:

                          Albany Via Media

                          P.O. Box 376, Hillsdale, NY 12529.

We will soon be contacting all parishes in the diocese to offer copies of the DVD as well.

John White

Christian Service Opportunity

The Episcopal News Update of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles includes this announcement of a service opportunity for Episcopal young adults, age 21 to 30:

Urban Intern Program Seeks Applicants

The Episcopal Urban Intern Program is now accepting applicants for its next class of interns.  EUIP offers young adults an opportunity to explore their faith and their future through positive social action.  EUIP helps place interns in some of the most caring and creative social service agencies in the greater Los Angeles area.  The program also includes time for guided reflection and spiritual growth.  For information and application forms, click here.  Application deadline is April 15.

Interns are all college graduates, generally between the ages of 21-30.  They represent a variety of ethnic backgrounds, geographic regions of the United States, and nations of the world.  Many are bilingual and all share an interest in service to the community.  More than 75 persons have completed the program since its inception in 1991.  Graduates are currently working or studying in such fields as teaching, social work, community development, ministry, psychology and medicine.

The Episcopal Urban Intern Program offers service opportunities in the greater Los Angeles area.  The website does not specify that applicants need to be from Los Angeles to be considered for the positions, however.  Plus, the website for EUIP lists programs in other cities that use the same application process.  For any recent college graduates seeking experience and professional opportunity, this is an entry point for personal spiritual growth and the possibility of a rewarding career in community service.

Thanks to the Diocese of Los Angeles for publicizing this program.  The Diocese of Albany should take note that the national church includes many paths to Christian social service such as this one.  But if we do not hear of them we, and the youth of our diocese, cannot participate.

Feel free to announce other ways to be of service to our Lord here, in this blogsite.

Episcopal Resources on the Web

Imagine how useful it would be to find all Episcopal Church websites at one place on the Internet, clearly described and categorized?  More than that, to be able to suggest a new Episcopal website and see it added to the list on the basis of your recommendation?  There is such a comprehensive list, a work in progress, and for the past year or more I have been helping to build the Episcopal Church category.  Can you help?

The Open Directory Project bills itself as "the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory on the Web.  It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors."  This means first that it is a directory, a categorized subject listing. The ODP website includes a search engine, but the usefulness of the directory is based on its subject categories.  Secondly, it depends on the dedication and expertise of the volunteer editors who select sites to include under each subject category.  That is you and me.

The Open Directory Project is not only  web portal by itself, but "the ODP powers core directory services for some of the most popular portals and search engines on the Web, including AOL Search, Google, Lycos, HotBot, and hundreds of others.  The data compiled by the editors of ODP help make the most popular search engines on the Web more accurate and useful.

Being an editor requires only as much time as you are willing to spend at it.  It is a lot of fun, though, and don't be surprised if it becomes a favorite hobby.

To start, go to the Episcopal Church category by clicking here.  Choose a subcategory to edit, for example Churches or Dioceses.  Click on the subcategory, then on "become an editor" at the top of the page, or "volunteer to edit this category" at the bottom of the page.  You will be asked to suggest three new Episcopal websites, and provide descriptions as part of the application process.  A good way to find Episcopal websites is through the national church website, or Anglicans Online.  Or, if you want help getting started, email me through this blogsit.

Thanks, and let me know if you decide to become an editor.  The goal is to make the resources of the Episcopal Church more available to all, and this is a great opportunity to do so.

John White

 

The Morphing of The Anglican Network

Albany Via Media and others in the Diocese of Albany, including the author of this blog, have long objected to the fact that our diocese considers itself to be a member of The Anglican Network.  This is an organization of so called orthodox dioceses and parishes that reject the order and discipline of the Episcopal Church in favor of various other ad hoc relationships with the global Anglican Communion, if such relationships are possible. Now Mark Harris, writing in the blog Preludium, comments that The Network is showing signs of fracture and possible dissolution.  This would appear at first to be a positive sign for the American Church, except for the possibility that The Network may be morphing into another group known as Common Cause Partnership.  This interpretation of events is supported by an announcement on the Anglican Communion webpage of an upcoming summit in Chicago:

"Bishops of those Episcopal Church dioceses that have formally affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network will meet in Chicago on April 24.  The purpose of the meeting is to allow Network bishops to speak frankly with each other about the future.

As the crisis in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion has deepened, Network bishops and dioceses have been moving in several directions.

'I have called this meeting because we need to talk frankly and openly about the future and how we as Network bishops can help the Network best fulfill its mission', said Bishop Robert Duncan, moderator of the Network.  'We will be talking about how we can work together to accomplish this goal even as we bless the several paths we have chosen as bishops and dioceses,' he added."

Mark Harris interprets the upcoming meeting as a sign that "Common Cause Partnership, a grouping of Anglican communities, some in communion with Canterbury and some not, is branching off from the Network.  The Moderator of CCP [Common Cause Partnership] seems to think that this new effort is an extension of the Network's mission.  Canon Daryl Fenton, Chief Operating Officer of the Network, essentially indicated that the Network is now the staff of the Common Cause Partnership.  So perhaps the Chicago meeting is a chance to be frank about it all, shake hands and unwind the Network into...a new world wide configuration of churches."

A new configuration of churches?  The very idea abandons hope that those parishes who have strayed from the Episcopal Church would ever return, and suggests that those dioceses that try to reconcile membership in The Network with TEC affiliation would be ultimately drawn into other orbits.  What a new configuration would look like is unclear, but the only model so far offered would seem to be a rival Anglican Communion led by churches of the Global South, walking apart even from Canterbury.

As members of a diocese that has so far attempted to patch over the contradiction of membership in The Network with nominal TEC affiliation, we must be concerned about these developments.  The pressing question is, will Bishop Love be in attendance at Chicago on April 24?  If so, what position will he take?  The Common Cause Partnership seems to be headed in a direction that even The Network has not traveled, and may well try to take our diocese with it.

Pray for the Diocese of Albany.

Fighting Hunger One Step At A Time

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.  Matthew 25:35

May 4 is the date for the annual CROP Hunger Walk in downtown Albany.  CROP is an interfaith hunger education and fundraising program of Church World Service.  The acronym CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty.  The first CROP Walks took place in the late 1960's.  Today nearly 2,000 communities throughout the United States hold fund raising walks each year, earning over $3.7 million for local hunger relief agencies, according to the Crop Walk website.

No Invitation for Bishop Robinson

On Monday, in the midst of the House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen, Gene Robinson learned that he would not be allowed to fully participate with the other Anglican bishops at the Lambeth Conference beginning in July.  Attempts to persuade the Archbishop of Canterbury to allow him full access to the conference were unsuccessful.  Robinson regretfully declined the limited participation that he was offered.  But still he was not bitter.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu notes that "Gene Robinson breathtakingly says of those opposing him, who have been vituperative or worse, that they are all (including him) desined for heaven.  Our Lord must smile to have such a splendid representative in an affair that has often been sordid."

Bishop Robinson graciously acknowledged the pain felt by others at the House of Bishops meeting, including Bishop Love of our Diocese of Albany.  Of course there are differences in their situations, and the degrees of pain.  Bishop Love has not been denied a place at Lambeth solely because of who he is, as has Bishop Robinson.  Furthermore, Bishop Robinson has not countenanced or encouraged disrespect for the leadership of The Episcopal Church, as is the pattern of official behavior in the Diocese of Albany.  Bishop Robinson's diocese has not officially associated with groups attempting to subvert the auhority of The Episcopal Church, as has the Diocese of Albany.

Bishop Robinson's edited remarks to the House of Bishops follow:

Bishop Love Goes to Texas

Bishop William Love of the Diocese of Albany is off to resist the proud and do battle with the enemy at Camp Allen, Texas.  From the site of the Spring House of Bishops meeting, he sends his diocese this note:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I arrived at Camp Allen, Texas yesterday afternoon, in preparation for the Spring House of Bishops Meeting, which begins today.  I would ask you to please keep me and all the members of the House of Bishops in your prayers this coming week.  In my prayers this morning, the Lord brought the following passage from 1 Peter 5 to mind:

Diocese Down the Rabbit Hole

According to Episcopal Life, Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone will make a "pastoral visit" to the Diocese of Fort Worth in early May.  He will speak to a convocation of the 2008 diocesan convention delegates to make a case for the diocese joining the Southern Cone if (when!) Fort Worth decides to ditch TEC.  A press release blandly states that "the Diocese of Fort Worth is considering aligning with the Province of the Southern Cone, and this visit will help clarify the practicalities, benefits, and possible drawbacks of such a move."  Readers will remember that the 2007 diocesan convention gave the first of two needed approvals before disassociating from The Episcopal Church.  The second approval is widely expected at the 2008 convention, despite sharp warnings from Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.

Struggling With Scripture

In its typically gentle, ironic voice, Anglicans Online currently zeros in on the pseudo-orthodox pretentions of Nigerian Bishop Peter Akinola, who “in a press conference, stated the formation of a separate conservative Anglican conference was due to some members within the Anglican family bringing ‘new principles’ to interpret the Scripture.”

San Joaquin Moves On

A poignant anecdote from the reorganized Diocese of San Joaquin (TEC), the real Episcopal Church:

Cindy Smith, one member of a newly-appointed steering committee for the diocese, reported seeing a copy of Episcopal Life for the first time on a visit to the Diocese of Virginia. "I thought it was a diocesan publication, and I asked about it. They told me it was the national newspaper and I remember saying, 'what national newspaper?' I had never seen it or heard of it.”  Her surprise was the result of a complete lack of national church news under the administration of the former bishop, John-David Schofield.  Now the diocese can read up on “all the things nobody ever told us about, except that it's 'bad' or 'apostate’.”  No more graphic illustration of the need for media coverage of church affairs can be imagined.  Here is an example of a diocese that formerly denied its members knowledge of what was happening outside its boundaries, or a balanced view of events within the diocese.  Beware, those in the Diocese of Albany who advocate banning the media from diocesan events.

Prayer Warrior or Hatchet Job?

I had never visited the website for Albany Intercessor, but a brief reference on another blogsite prompted me to check it out.  It's a destination that I would not recommend for anyone who wishes to maintain a balanced view of our Church.  In fact, if it were possible, this website alone could convince me that reconciliation within our Diocese of Albany is an increasingly impossible dream.  Here's why:

Bonnie Anderson's Very Public Appearance

St. Andrew's Albany and Albany Via Media were honored to host Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies, on Saturday January 19 at a special Eucharist and forum.  Ms. Anderson spoke on the announced topic "Can We Talk?" which was an invitation to begin a healing conversation within the diocese.  Over 200 church members from around the diocese and across the liberal-conservative divide attended the service and the talk that followed.  As Marc Parry, religion writer for the Times Union noted, Ms. Anderson challenged Episcopalians:

"in Albany to come up with a model for the national church of how believers of different views can communicate."

Why This Blog?

Anyone who has read a news article about the Episcopal Church knows that everything changed in 2003.  After years of grumbling by some traditionalists who were upset by changes in liturgy and by inclusive ordination, the Diocese of New Hampshire ordained, and the House of Bishops confirmed, a new bishop who happened to be an openly gay man.  For many church members this was seen as a Spirit-led act of courage.  For others it was an outrage.

In my Diocese of Albany, which covers most of northern New York State and includes some 116 parishes and missions, the reaction was swift.  Then-bishop Herzog led the diocese in 2004 into the arms of the Anglican Communion Network, a group whose goal appeared, and proved to be, the removal of parishes and dioceses from The Episcopal Church (TEC).  Those parishes and church members in Albany who wish to remain faithful to the purpose and programs of the Episcopal Church nationally must now find their own way to do so.

Our goal will be to raise the visibility of The Episcopal Church throughout the diocese, and encourage our parishes and leadership to remain Episcopal in Albany.  To do that:

• This blog will comment on the news and issues facing the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, with particular reference to our life in the Diocese of Albany.
• Our conversation will commend ways for our diocese to join with the national Episcopal Church in its work of reconciliation.
• We will identify resources of TEC available to the Episcopal Church in Albany, and encourage all Episcopalians to pursue the work God has given us to do.

Because this is a conversation, we invite everyone who visits here to add their comments and suggestions for future post topics.  As you do so, please pray for our national Episcopal Church and for our diocese.