On Saving Anglicanism

Lionel Deimel is a member of the continuing Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, and a blogger of all things Anglican as well as Episcopal.  He recently revisited a paper he wrote before the 75th General Convention and found the remarks to be as applicablejust before the 76th General Convention.  In his essay he responded to the challenge to The Episcopal Church of the Windsor Report, and the reaction to it of much of the Anglican world.  Mr. Deimel calls upon The Episcopal Church now, as he did then, to be faithful to its unique witness to Anglicanism.  Here are his concluding remarks, written in 2006, which he commends to Convention deputies in 2009:

Our object, then, despite what the militant traditionalists tell us, must first be to save Anglicanism, not to save the Anglican Communion, which we cannot allow to become the object of idolatrous veneration.  Recent history suggests that our response in typical Anglican rhetoric -- the subtle, nuanced, ambiguous language that has allowed us to, as the traditionalists say, "fudge" so often in the past -- will, in the current climate, be misinterpreted, ridiculed, and used to stage new attacks on our Church.  Perhaps the decision of General Convention will be that this is a chance we must take, but it is not our only option.

We should consider making a more principled, straightforward, and courageous response.  We should consider the novel idea of proclaiming the Gospel as we understand it and defending the approach to theology that most theologians in our Church actually use.  In simple, clear sentences we could express our sorrow for the hurt that others have experienced and express our sincere desire to remain in communion with all our sister provinces.  We could remind others of Bishop Desmond Tutu's explanation for how we have always maintained communion -- "we meet" -- and insist that removing The Episcopal Church or its representatives from Communion discussion is hardly characteristic of the Anglican way.  Before the Communion creates more rules, we could insist that existing ones be observed.  Before we cede authority to others, we could insist that those to whom we have ceded no authority refrain from intimidation.  And we could declare that name-calling, misrepresentation and subversion are unbecoming a Christian and unacceptable in a bishop.

We could, in other words, insist that we have as much right to make claims on the Communion as it does on The Episcopal Church.  Most importantly, however, we could declare our commitment to save Anglicanism at all costs, and to save the Anglican Communion if at all possible.

-Lionel Deimel

Comments

[Clair R. Touby]

Thank you Mr. Deimel for your succinct commentary.

I believe Christians must ask ourselves:
1. Are we welcoming and forgiving of all people?

2. Are we demanding standards that are acceptable to God?

3. Is the whole Holy Bible the foundation of our faith?

I believe Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church can answer "yes" to all these tenets.

God speed.