We find
ourselves in a moment when the selection of a priest by the Diocese
of New Hampshire as their next bishop has been assented to by the
House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church and then by the bishops
with jurisdiction. This clears the way for the Rev. Canon Gene
Robinson to be ordained bishop. We are carrying out our process.
We are doing the best we can as a church in a situation where we do
not all agree. The particular attention given to this assent
is because Canon Robinson is in a committed relationship with a
person of the same sex, and because he has been honest with the
community in acknowledging the reality of his own personhood as a
gay man and the fact of his relationship.
Though this is a particular event and
a decisive moment, it is only one moment of a lengthy process, and
that is the process of discerning God’s will for us, of learning
from one another, and of growing up in Christ: into the fullness of
Christ’s calling to the whole people of God.
The assent to his consecration by
bishops and deputies of the Episcopal Church will be interpreted in
many ways over these next days, both because those within our
household of faith are not of a common mind on issues of sexuality,
and because these issues call forth a great deal of emotion. For
some this is a moment of great joy and represents an affirmation of
the place of gay and lesbian persons in this church. For
others, the decision signals a crisis and reflects a departure from
biblical teachings and traditional church practice. I hope that the
inevitable passionate expressions of opinion from those with
strongly held views do not drown out the quieter voices of those
many persons who have not come to clarity about their own sense of
what this means in the life of our church. As the overseer of this
community, I would like to offer my own perspective.
I will begin by quoting from remarks
I made to the bishops and deputies at the outset of General
Convention.
It is my own conviction that
different points of view can be held in tension within the church
without issues around sexuality becoming church dividing. Others may
disagree but this is my firmly held opinion. This was also the
view of the House of Bishops Theology Committee and of the
International Anglican Conversation on Human Sexuality that I
convened following the Lambeth Conference of 1998 at the request of
the Archbishop of Canterbury. This international group
included twelve bishops and primates who represented a broad range
of views and met over a three-year period. Their conclusion
was that if matters of homosexuality were to divide the Communion,
it would be, to quote from the report, “the ultimate sexualization
of the Church, making sexuality more powerful, or more claiming of
our attention, than God.”
We have heard people on both sides of
a number of contentious questions say that their particular view is
in accordance with Scripture, whereas the opposing view is not.
There is no such thing as a neutral reading of Scripture.
While we all accept the authority of Scripture, we interpret various
passages in different ways. It is extremely dishonoring of the
faith of another to dismiss them as not taking the Bible seriously.
Let us be clear that we can all agree that, in the words of the
ordination oath, “we believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments to be the Word of God and to contain all things
necessary to salvation.”
The confirmation of Canon Robinson
honors the choice of the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire.
They followed a careful and prayerful process and then elected
someone who had served among them for 28 years because they believe
he has the gifts and abilities necessary to offer leadership to them
in the carrying out of their mission. I note here that the
Episcopal Church has a long history of honoring the choices of the
dioceses. I cast my own ballot in the affirmative because I see no
impediment to assenting to the overwhelming choice of the people of
New Hampshire.
This decision does not, in my view,
resolve the issues about homosexuality in the life of the church.
What it does do is place squarely before us the question of how a
community can live in the tension of disagreement. So, it is
now our challenge to take up the difficult and holy work of living
with difference. We must live with the consequences of
addressing conflict and facing squarely difficult decisions. The
fact that we are willing to do this work in a public way that is
honoring of one another says a great deal about who we are as a
community of faith.
This is not a time for either triumph
or desolation. And, our community has the particular task of
reaching out to those who are unsettled by this decision. Here
I would mention particularly the provinces of the Anglican Communion
and my brother primates with whom I will be in conversation in the
days ahead.
It is my hope and prayer that this
conflict can be a gift from God, redeemed by God, and an invitation
to reconciliation.
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
August 5, 2003
