13 July 2009
Suspenseful Afternoon
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized .
This afternoon was one of those days at General Convention where I believe every deputy was doing some serious praying. Those who favored D025, Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion, and those opposed to the resolution worked diligently to express themselves. Two different attempts to ‘divide the resolution’ failed. This resolution states clearly that we highly value our relationships with and within the Anglican Communion. It also reiterates the reality that our ordination process for all three orders of ministry is an open discernment process. In a vote by orders (laity and clergy vote separately), 71% of our lay deputations voted in favor and 68% of our clergy deputations voted in favor. To me this says volumes about where the senior house’s leadership is in 2009. I hear over and over again that B033 gave us opportunities to be at the table in certain international meetings, but, as one deputy said today, the movement to split our church began decades ago when Prayer Book revision and women’s ordination were hot topics. Please keep the bishops of our church in your prayers as they receive this resolution. My personal prayer is that they concur with the House of Deputies action — hopefully without amendment. Time will tell. From Anaheim…LL
One Comment so far...
jmelnyk Says:
13 July 2009 at 8:40 am.
I believe B033 was the Episcopal Church’s attempt to step back, let the emotions in the Communion cool and invite everyone to meet somewhere in the middle. We were the only ones to move. After three years of restricting our legal, moral, ethical, and spiritual process of ordination in an attempt to hold communion our House of Deputies have said “enough.” If the only way to have a meeting of the minds is for the Episcopal Church to completely abandon our LGBT sisters and brothers as well as our understanding of the gospel, then we choose the gospel.
My prayer is that the House of Bishops will see that the only action they have is to stand firm for their faith. That those who oppose full sacramental inclusion of LGBT members will never accept anything accept complete surrender. It is the House of Bishops time to stand for the gospel.