Dear sisters and brothers,
 
A week has elapsed since the close of General Convention. As the dust settles, I'd like to make a few comments that may clarify our way forward as we seek to digest and act on the decisions that were made there.

This General Convention passed many wonderful resolutions having to do with mission to the poor, to children, and to young adults, but the resolutions that have gained media attention are the ones dealing with our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters within the church. What about those resolutions? What really happened in Anaheim?

First of all, we strongly affirmed our desire to be part of the Anglican Communion. But we also affirmed that same-sex unions can be holy, especially when they are entered into by faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

Some would say that these two affirmations stand in contradiction to one another. Perhaps they do, though I'd say both are true. It comes down to this: the Episcopal Church is insisting that, in our own context, in the actual, ordinary, day-to-day, Sunday-to-Sunday experience of our local congregations, the reality of faithful same-sex unions cannot be ignored any longer. At the same time, we do not deny that the experience of other parts of the Anglican Communion may be different from ours, nor are we insensitive to the fact that many provinces of the Communion do not stand where we are on this question.

What about relations within the Episcopal Church? Where do we stand with one another after Anaheim? We certainly cannot claim to be of one mind regarding the blessing of same-sex unions. But we have agreed that our differences will not destroy our communion with one another. Each diocese is free to find its own way.

This means that we are still dealing with a great deal of ambiguity when it comes down to same-sex unions. Such unions have not been officially condoned. Yet the bishops have agreed not to censure those who allow them, and the General Convention has requested that individual dioceses with experience in this area provide the next General Convention, three years from now, with the results of their experimentation with liturgies for the blessing of such unions.

Understandably, some are bewildered by the wide range of interpretations that have been offered.  For me, what we said in Anaheim boils down to this: (1) There is consensus that blessing the same-sex unions of fellows Christians can no longer be ruled out, if only for pastoral reasons; (2) there is not consensus that such unions can be holy, but there is a significant majority of our leadership, both lay and ordained, who are convinced they can.

What does this mean for the Diocese of Southern Ohio? This will have to be worked out the way we work everything out--with a lot of conversation, study and prayer. General Convention has obligated us to take seriously the pastoral needs of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. At the same time, it has left the interpretation of this obligation up to each diocese, since each diocese faces its own unique challenges in this, as in every area. How we engage this work of interpretation and discernment will require a great deal of consultation, not least with our own  lesbian and gay community. I do not yet know what form this consultation will take, since I have not yet had the opportunity to discuss this with you. I welcome your suggestions by email regarding a process we might follow. (I can be reached at tbreidenthal@diosohio.org.)

The main thing is that we must proceed in a spirit of mutual respect and care. This is the spirit that animated our deliberations in Anaheim, and I expect no less from all of us in Southern Ohio.

I can't close without telling you that Margaret and I had the joyous occasion today to meet up with the Diocese of Ohio bicyclists who have been cycling from Anaheim to the Church Center in New York City to raise money for Episcopal Relief and Development's mosquito net campaign. We were driving back from the celebration of Judi Wiley's new ministry at St. Mary's, Hillsboro, when I got a call from Bishop Hollingsworth saying they'd just entered Ohio and would be changing shifts in Newtown, just east of Cincinnati, at about 5:30 p.m. We notched down from Route 50 to Route 32, and spotted them in the parking area of a Mobil station, full of stories about surviving the desert in Nevada and making it up and over the Rockies. Check out Bishop Hollingsworth's blog at http://ohiobishop.blogspot.com/. Keep Bishop Hollingsworth and his brave band in your prayers as they pass through Ohio tonight (and go to the ERD site to make your on-line contribution to support their cause). They will be met by the Presiding Bishop when they arrive at 815 Second Avenue in Manhattan.

It is good to be back. 

Grace and peace,
 
+ Tom
Bishop, Diocese of Southern Ohio

7/26/2009