tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7525401670447372972024-03-12T16:25:10.928-07:00Canterbury Tales from the Fringe+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-91332560002750123462009-07-20T05:20:00.000-07:002009-07-20T06:21:28.712-07:00The Last WordI am back in my beloved New Hampshire where the clean air and my own bed have banished my fever and restored my health. A nasty bug, enabled by my near exhaustion, ruined the last couple of days of a great Convention, but it does not diminish in any way the good work we did.<br /><br />This General Convention accomplished, addressed and acknowledged many concerns that face the Church and the world, among them...<br /><br />* put in place a mandatory lay pension plan for all lay church employees working 20 hours or more, addressing an inequity long overdue for remedy<br /><br />* established a mandatory denominational health plan for all clergy, combining the buying power of our numbers of clergy in order to provide excellent health coverage (with several plans to choose from) at an estimated 10% reduction in cost<br /><br />* advocated for humane treatment of undocumented immigrants, including a call for the ending of roadside checkpoints, an ending to raids on community centers, transportation centers, workplaces and houses of worship, an end to the inhumane conditions and questionable processes in detention centers, and a call for a process toward legal citizenship for those already resident in this country<br /><br />* called on members of this church to work for universal health care coverage, including, in time, a single-payer system<br /><br />In doing all this, The Episcopal Church faced into the economic realities of this time, passing a drastically reduced budget, which includes the painful elimination of some 30 positions at the Episcopal Church Center and cuts to worthy programs, but which seeks to continue our mission in the world. <br /><br />In addition, the Church decided to move beyond the informal moratoria on gay bishops and the blessing of same sex unions. By this time, you will have read of those actions, but let me tell you about the most significant moment, for me, related to these actions.<br /><br />The House of Bishops had already concurred, with some minor amendments, that this church will continue to follow our constitution and canons regarding the election of bishops. This resolution basically said, "We have canons, they have served us well in the past, and they will be sufficient for guiding our selection of bishops in the future." In other words, we will not be constrained by any extra-canonical agreements. That was a positive statement about where we mean to be in the selection of bishops.<br /><br />Then, the Prayer Book and Litury legislative committee brought to the floor of the House of Bishops (where such legislation originates) a resolution that called for the development of liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender unions, along with a generous flexibility in the use of rites in those civil jurisdictions where marriage equality is already (or may become) a reality. The debate was vigorous and positive. It looked as if we were going to move forward. Then a bishop rose to propose that legislating this issue was counterproductive. It was moved to send this to a small working group to come up with a "better way." This motion passed, and I feared that this move was an attempt to get us to do nothing, or worse, to make our own statement as bishops, completely sidestepping the fact that we were meeting, not as a lone House of Bishops, but as the General Convention, which includes laity and clergy.<br /><br />In an effort to forestall this move, I signed up to be a part of the small working group (Presiding Bishop Katharine had invited any who wanted to be a part of the group to volunteer). What followed was perhaps the most signficant "moment" of the Convention for me.<br /><br />We met late into the night on Wednesday night. Some 25 bishops representing the entire spectrum of opinion, from the most conservative to the most liberal. On Wednesday night, using the style of the African Indaba process from the Lambeth Conference, we each simply spoke about where we were on this issue. NEVER in my six years as a bishop have I experienced the holy speaking and holy listening I experienced that night. Each bishop in turn spoke their truth -- the pain and difficulty they've experienced in their dioceses as a result of the controversy, the personal burdens they've shouldered, the pain of gay and lesbian people in their dioceses who are not sure whether they are valued as full members of this church and their pastoral needs as children of God. Each spoke of what they needed to go home with. Each was honest and vulnerable about what they could give up for the good of the whole. It is hard to describe the vulnerability and honesty with which each bishop contributed.<br /><br />We took all this to our prayers and to bed, and returned at 7:00 the next morning to decide what all this meant for the resolution before us. The vulnerability and honesty continued in this working session. What resulted was a resolution to bring back to the House that represented that group's "best way forward," although there was no attempt to lock anyone into voting for it or to commit to every word.<br /><br />At our afternoon session, the resolution was presented, along with a brief account of our precious time together. Then we talked about the resolution at our tables of eight, for close to half an hour. Then the debate began. There were a few amendments offered -- some passed, some failed. But the resolution we had crafted remained reasonably intact. <br /><br />Just as we were nearly ready to vote, a bishop rose and proposed "discharging" the resolution (in effect, NOT voting on it and making it "go away"). This move to not deal with the issue failed by a substantial (3 to 1) margin. It seemed clear that the Bishops knew that we could not duck out of this one. A roll call was requested, so no bishop could hide behind a voice vote. The time had come to declare ourselves. When the resolution came to a vote, it passed by a whopping 3.5 to 1 margin. Interestingly, some of the bishops who had voted to make the whole issue go away, when finally having to vote, voted "yes!" There were some bishops who voted "yes" who had NEVER voted "yes" on any gay-affirmative resolution before. This vote was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone seemed stunned.<br /><br />As is our practice at the end of each session, the Presiding Bishop asked the chaplains to lead us in prayer, which they did. But what happened next was a total surprise. As the chaplain spoke the final AMEN, no one moved a muscle. Normally, we would have immediately gotten up and exited the hall. But this time, there was no movement at all. The bishops sat perfectly still, and totally silent for some 10 minutes, continuing to pray. My prayers were filled with love and concern for those who had courageously voted "yes" and would face much criticism for having done so. I prayed for those conservatives who had voted "no" and whose dioceses would demand to know why they had not been able to stop this move. And I prayed for those lgbt people who now had a new, bold affirmation that indeed they ARE full and equal members of this Church, good news for the marginalized. It was a stunning moment, and for me, a moment to experience/feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I believe others felt it too.<br /><br />This Convention had an unexpected -- and wonderful -- effect on me. The marginalization I have felt from my own House of Bishops since Lambeth seems to have disappeared. Finally, after months of feeling "cut out of the herd" by Lambeth, I once again feel restored to the community of bishops. Perhaps it was my own doing, I don't know. But whatever distance I felt, now seems mostly healed. And for that I am very grateful.<br /><br />One brother bishop noted in private that my blog was still called "Canterbury Tales from the Fringe," and wondered if that was not out of date now. While I had simply decided to continue the same blog, rather than establish a new one, I now wonder if at some level I had still felt "on the fringe." Because that is no longer the case, if I decide to blog again (I'm sure I will), it will be under a different name. I, along with my gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters, are moving into full participation in the Body of Christ. There is no sweeter result of General Convention than this one.<br /><br />Thank you for reading my musings here. Your prayers and support have meant and will continue to mean the world to me. As I am fond of saying, God's love wins! And God's inclusive love certainly won the day at the Convention. Still, isn't it amazing when it happens right in front of your eyes?! Thanks be to God.<br /><br />No longer on the Fringe,<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-21863029992852505082009-07-17T18:28:00.000-07:002009-07-17T18:33:25.931-07:00Reporting inMy apologies to those of you who have been following my blog -- until it recently stopped. On Wednesday evening, after a momentous and wonderful day in the House of Bishops, I came down with a raging fever. At first, I thought it was simply exhaustion. But now, 48 hours later, I am still host to a serious fever which has sapped my strength and kept me from participating in the last two days of Convention.<br /><br />When I return home (tomorrow) and am feeling better (soon, I hope), I will post one last time on this blog. There is much to rejoice about. Let's just say that my "core message," that "Now is the time for the Episcopal Church to stand up and be the Church God is calling us to be" has happened. Weak as I am, I have never been prouder of being an Episcopalian.<br /><br />Watch this space for my final recap of Convention.<br /><br />Thank you for all your prayers -- they have sustained and supported ALL of us here, and I am especially grateful for your prayers for me. I could have not done this important work without them.<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-69714441599425874502009-07-14T06:46:00.000-07:002009-07-14T07:18:40.261-07:00And move forward we did!It was an inspiring day in the House of Bishops -- not just because of the final vote to move beyond B033 from the last Convention (declaring an unofficial moratorium on the election and consecration of bishops who happen to be gay and partnered), but because of the gentle, honest and faithful debate that preceded that vote.<br /><br />As those of you reading this blog know, I've not had a good feeling about my colleagues in the House of Bishops lately. And while this vote has not entirely eased all my concerns, it was a moment (okay, three hours!) when my beloved colleagues rose to speak from their hearts and from their faith about the matters before us. Some of my brothers and sisters spoke and voted in ways that will get them in trouble with many they pastor. Courage comes in many forms, and yesterday, many who had voted FOR the moratorium listened both to the House of Deputies and, I believe, the Holy Spirit, opening their hearts to where God might be moving in the world and in the Church. No doubt, they will pay a price for opening their hearts, much as gay and lesbian people in this Church have paid a price for their exclusion. I applaud them for their courage and will stand with them in the consequences of their vote.<br /><br />This is the Church I've been telling my gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters to come to, or to come back to. This is the Church that sees the face of Christ in the poor, the despised, the neglected and the marginalized. This is not the "gay Church," but the Church who values those who are gay, women, people of color, those differently abled, as well as the white, male and middle class. It is a Church for ALL of God's children -- all sinners redeemed by a loving God who gave God's self for ALL on the cross. This is a day to rejoice for the Church -- no, let me be more specific, this is a day to rejoice in The Episcopal Church, which once again has stood for the full inclusion of all.<br /><br />Another difficult and moving experience for me yesterday: One of my brother bishops confronted me about something I had written here on this blog, reminding me that my words weren't just going to the people of my diocese (for whom my blog is primarily written), but to the many people who come to read my reflections. He disagreed with my perceptions of the House of Bishops (even though they were written as MY perceptions), feeling that they fueled the often-heard perception that there was a divide between the Houses of Deputies and Bishops. He felt -- and I seriously listened to and contemplated -- that I had exhibited the kind of arrogance that I had accused my brother bishops of. I have and will continue to contemplate that, searching my soul for the kind of sin I accuse others of. (Jesus had something to say about the mote in someone ELSE'S eye!) But the point I want to make in relating this personal interaction is that he SAID it. What a gift it is when people speak the truth in love to you. There was no question in my mind that he spoke those words in love -- and that is what makes the Church, and yes, the House of Bishops, a holy place. We're all doing the best we can, and being human, we don't always have the full perspective we'd like. And when we err, fellow Christians correct one another in love. As long as THAT commitment persists, we will be all right. No, we will be better than all right. We will be the community of the faithful God would have us be. <br /><br />Yesterday was exhausting. At the close of the debate, instead of feeling overjoyed at the two-to-one margin of the vote, I felt strangely quiet, pensive and sober. Votes like this (yea or nay?!) always LOOK like there are winners and losers. I wish that weren't so. I was so aware of those who voted no, many of whom are beloved friends, some from my very close group of bishops in my "class" (elected also in 2003), and how they must feel. They will have experienced the Church, which they love every bit as much as I, moving away from what they perceive to be God's will and the course of action to preserve the Anglican Communion. I, on the other hand, found it hard not to take their votes, and their speeches prior to the vote, personally. It sounded as if they were denying my own humanity, and that of my brothers and sisters who have consistently found ourselves on the fringes of the Church. I know they didn't mean it that way, or think that, but still it is hard to sit and listen to such arguments. But that is what this is all about -- speaking the truth as best we can discern it, for the good of God and God's Church. <br /><br />So, for me, while I find profound joy in the vote for inclusion, I also continue to feel quiet and humble in the face of it, knowing the distress it also causes in other faithful people, in the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion, who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, we move forward, together. Together -- that's the important thing. As long as we hang in there together, with all our flaws and shortcomings, speaking the truth in love and trusting in God's grace, all will be well. If not today, then tomorrow. Thanks be, not to the House of Deputies nor the House of Bishops, but TO GOD.<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-36021369042120469342009-07-13T06:46:00.000-07:002009-07-13T07:12:51.457-07:00Moving ForwardAt last! We are moving forward!<br /><br />Saturday, like every other day at General Convention, was filled with legislative work, worship and much conversation. Anyone who came to Southern California to play and lie beside the pool were again sadly disappointed. The commitment and hard work of all the deputies, and yes, our very own deputation, are a marvel to behold. Meetings that begin as early as 6:30am, and activities that last into the night, make for a demanding time, drive-thru lunches, and not much sleep. But through it all, spirits are high, determined and committed.<br /><br />Sunday began with a colorful and wonderful festive eucharist, with all the bishops dressed in our red and white rochets and chimeres, liturgical dancers, and rousing music. Every eucharist here is a reminder that we find our unity in the divine liturgy, not in our agreement on certain issues.<br /><br />I received communication from the official Youth Presence at General Convention. They have invited me to lunch with them on Tuesday -- a special honor, since the other two guests invited to address them have been the Presiding Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The youth at this Convention -- both the official Youth Presence as well as countless young people who have simply come to be a part of things -- have made a powerful impact on this Convention, speaking articulately and powerfully of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their commitment to The Episcopal Church.<br /><br />But of course, the issues surface in the legislation. At the beginning of our legislative session, the Bishops were read a communication for Program, Budget and Finance, which sobered the tone of our gathering. As they had begun their work, PB&F faced a $28 million gap between anticipated revenue and anticipated needs. In their letter, they announced that they had cut that gap to $14 million, still a sobering figure. Caution was urged in passing legislation that called for additional funding for anything. In our own diocese, we are of course familiar with this painful dilemma, and it is encouraging to see The Episcopal Church struggling to make the same difficult choices at this level of our common life.<br /><br />That warning had a real effect on the HOB voting. Measures which called for worthy actions often went down because of their funding implications. Even the funding of missionaries -- we have nearly 80 of them, working at a cost to the church of only $24,000/year! -- was held up, pending further information. Their cost amounts to nearly five-and-a-half million dollars. The good news is that The Episcopal Church is committed to this mission of evangelism; the bad news is that their funding demands the cuts in other important areas. Stay tuned.<br /><br />The big news, of course, is that the House of Deputies considered D025 -- a beautifully crafted resolution which did not expressly repeal the ban on gay partnered people from being called, elected and consecrated bishops, but simply and elegantly stated that we have canonical processes for the selection and "vetting" of nominees and bishops-elect, and this Church means to follow those processes. They have served us well, the resolution implied, and we intend to follow them WITHOUT extra-canonical promises or restrictions. All attempts to alter the proposed resolution failed. In effect, this resolution ends the informal ban on such bishops-elect. Its power is that it returns us to the canons of the Church, which have always served us well and which allow the Holy Spirit to call those whom the Spirit calls.<br /><br />I was in the gallery when this vote (which was overwhelming, with a 2/3 majority in EACH of the orders of laity and clergy!) was announced. Rules of the House prevented any display of emotion, support or non-support. But the exuberance of the Deputies could be felt in the air. We had finally moved beyond that dark cloud of last Convention's B033 and into the Church of the future.<br /><br />Our deputation immediately called my cell phone to share the good news, unaware that I was in the back of the House, waiting to congratulate and thank them personally. It was like a family reunion and celebration when they made their way to the exit, where I awaited them. Hugs, tears and joy filled our faces and hearts as we greeted one another.<br /><br />Many people, including our own deputies, said: "We've done OUR part. Now you bishops do YOURS!" That is the task we will set our minds and hearts to today (although we are not sure whether this deputies' action will make it to our House today (Monday) or tomorrow. Pray for us, my friends, and pray especially for the Bishops as we determine whether we will remain the church of yesterday, or whether, by God's grace, we will embrace the future of a fully-inclusive church.<br /><br />As they say, "film at eleven!"<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-88255231189572881542009-07-11T05:32:00.000-07:002009-07-11T06:19:34.516-07:00"All will be well" in the Anglican CommunionAnother amazing day yesterday. At noon, I had lunch with three primates, thanks to the Chicago Consultation. Along with Bishop Tom Ely, of Vermont, I broke bread with the Primates of Korea (and his translator), Scotland and Australia. It was a delightful and meaningful exchange between those of us who minister in radically different contexts. After my inquiries about his ministry in Korea, relations with North Korea and the nuclear threat posed there, Bishop Solomon of Korea spoke of a young gay man who came to him, wanting to know if he was going to hell, and his attempts to minister to him. He talked about the fact that 25% of Koreans are Christian -- and among those, the Anglican Church of Korea is a progressive and liberal alternative to the mostly conservative Churches available to Koreans. He expressed his disappointment that I had not come to Korea in my sabbatical journey around the Pacific rim. Perhaps that will happen some day, and I would be honored to do so.<br /><br />My sense is that the place of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion is not in danger. Strained and tense, sometimes, yes. But actually threatened, no. Are we in the same place regarding the issue of homosexuality -- of course not. But the bonds of affection are strong and deep, and God will see us through this difficult time. This is a strong belief exhibited by all the primates and bishops visiting this Convention from across the Anglican Communion. It confirms my own belief that it is time for us to stand up and be the Church God is calling us to be, and trust that the Anglican Communion will not only survive, but be a blessing to all.<br /><br />It was a long and tedious legislative day in the House of Bishops, dealing with mission funding, additions to the saints calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts (including the need for everything we do to be published also in Spanish and French, the other two languages of The Episcopal Church), the ethical treatment of animals and endangered species, a possible capital campaign for The Episcopal Church, and our methods of organizing and funding for a 21st century church. Our time was lightened by the settling of bets between the provisional Bishop of Pittsburgh and the Bishops of Arizona and Michigan: Pittsburgh won both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup, and the Bishops of Arizona and Michigan were sentenced to wearing Pittsburgh team hats for the rest of the day.<br /><br />Speaking of Pittsburgh, one of the most inspiring things about this Convention is the presence of new deputies from the continuing dioceses of Pittsburgh, Ft. Worth, San Joaquin and Quincy. After years of being purposely distanced from the Episcopal Church by their Bishops, they are visibly joyful in being back in the church. They are fully present, testifying at hearings and making themselves heard on the floor of Convention. Everyone is offering a welcoming word to them, and they are so grateful for our prayers.<br /><br />Last night was the Integrity eucharist, always a highlight of General Convention. It was my honor to be the celebrant at this amazing and lively service. If the energy in that room could be harnassed (who says it isn't?!), the world and the Church would be a different place. Over 1600 people, many standing along the walls, did what Christians always do -- gather to express our love of God and thanksgiving for God's love for all of God's children. This is what liberation and freedom in Christ looks like! As I followed the Gospel procession, asperging (throwing sprinkles of holy water) the crowd, people extending their arms to be bathed in the water of their baptism, the joy on their faces, buoyed my spirits and lightened my heart. Then, as is the tradition at this service, all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clergy were invited to the altar, to share in the final blessing. What was once a small and brave group is now a joyous throng -- both those who have been doing this work for oh so long, and those who have recently joined the ranks. It was a stunning visual image of the gifts brought to this church by its gay clergy. Tears streamed down the faces of these clergy who are serving God in God's Church despite the slings and arrows of discrimination and hatred -- and tears of joy and appreciation filled the eyes of the congregants who honored them with sustained applause. A joyous moment of celebration that will carry us through these next days.<br /><br />Today, in the House of Bishops, we will have a private conversation around the sexuality issues that face us, followed by the always-public discussion of legislation. Today, we are scheduled to deal with the legislation proposed by those bishops serving in states where marriage equality is already a reality -- asking for pastoral generosity and flexibility for responding to the pastoral needs of gay and lesbian members of our congregations. That discussion will be an early signal of how all this might go. Pray for us!!<br /><br />I'm off to a 6:30 AM meeting (who said we're only here to play?!), with joy and resolve in my heart to be the Church God is calling us to be. <br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-42943859110265144032009-07-10T06:32:00.000-07:002009-07-10T07:07:12.997-07:00Here We Are! Send US!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SldDLNB18YI/AAAAAAAAADc/CxBgqPbLl9k/s1600-h/Gen+Conv+09.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 196px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356824141535506818" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SldDLNB18YI/AAAAAAAAADc/CxBgqPbLl9k/s200/Gen+Conv+09.jpg" /></a> The T-shirts worn by these two beautiful models were worn by many supporters of full inclusion at yesterday's eucharist, with the Archbishop of Canterbury preaching. They say, "Here I am, Send Me! I am a witness to God's inclusive love." As usual, the worship was spirited and lively -- reminding us all that it is in the worship of the God who made us, the saviour who redeemed us, and the Spirit who leads and guides us, that we find our true unity.<br /><br />In his sermon, the Archbishop said that God longs for a humanity broken open for intimacy. Indeed! ALL of God's people are to be broken open for intimacy. In my testimony last night on moving past B033 (last convention's moratorium on any more gay bishops and blessing of unions), I suggested that God's longing applies to ALL of God's children, and that God's gay and lesbian children, called to the episcopate, deserve the opportunity for intimacy as well -- noting that I simply could not do the ministry of being Bishop of New Hampshire without the love and support of my partner, Mark. To exclude partnered people from the episcopate is cruel, and not in the Church's interest.<br /><br />Last night's hearing on moving beyond B033 was inspiring and uplifting. It helped me remember why we do this work. Story after story of how gay and lesbian people have found hope in The Episcopal Church and its proclamation of God's inclusive love, after years of abuse and exclusion by other churches. Most profound of all were the testimonies of numerous young people, who spoke eloquently and movingly about the kind of church THEY want to be a part of, in which there truly are NO outcasts. One young man told of being a counselor at a church camp, who was confronted in the middle of the night, by an 8 year old camper, in tears, saying that he didn't want to BE in a church who would not love his older, gay brother. Another spoke the truth to power: we are not moving forward -- not because it's not right, but because of fear. Our beloved Church will be in good hands with these young stewards of God's message of love. Maybe it's time for us old foggies to just get out of the way!<br /><br />One alarming thing about last night's hearing was the fact that there were almost NO bishops present. Other than those on the committee (who HAD to be there), there were only five bishops present: Andrus (California), Beckwith (Newark) and myself, arguing for moving forward; Love (Albany) and Lawrence (South Carolina) arguing for continuing B033. Other than these, NO bishop was present to hear the two hours of voices from the Church appealing for progress.<br /><br />I fear (and I hope I'm not being overly dramatic here) that we are moving toward a train wreck between the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. I sense an unwillingness among the bishops to listen to these voices of the laity and clergy. I hope I'm terribly wrong, but it seems that bishops feel they have some special access to God's will and nothing will persuade them otherwise. I shutter to think of a church where the Bishops are so disconnected from the will of the people they serve. Please God, let me be terribly wrong about this perception, and may the scales fall from my pessimistic eyes and reveal an episcopate who has listened to the Spirit's movement in the people of this Church. Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong about this. Only time will tell.<br /><br />One last note: In the table conversations using the "public narrative" model for communication, and seated at tables with our own deputations, I listened to our own deputies tell their own stories of conversion and how they came to faith and The Episcopal Church. I was moved almost to tears at the faithfulness expressed by our (your!) deputies to General Convention. I know each of them well, and yet through this process, I learned so much more about our colleagues whom you chose to represent them at Convention. All I can tell you is that you should be oh so proud of your deputation, the deep and abiding faith with which they are representing you, and their experience of the Living God which guides them. I could not be more proud of being from New Hampshire and serving with these exemplary Christians.<br /><br />Please continue to pray for us. For our stamina and energy, for our witness, for our learning from others gathered here, and for our beloved Church. I keep reminding myself that, in the end, all will be well. It seems a long way between here and there, but in God's time, all WILL be well. Thanks be to God!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-27696688657430600402009-07-09T06:26:00.000-07:002009-07-09T06:44:50.563-07:00Sublime, ridiculous and glorious!The hectic pace of Convention continues. But amidst all the busyness, joys abound. Perhaps the most memorable of all experiences of General Convention are the innumberable images of our great diversity.<br /><br />Yesterday, just in the worship service alone, I saw...spirited drumming from one of our overseas dioceses...a eucharistic minister with her seeing-eye-dog-in-training by her side...three tables of deaf men and women, signing the singing of hymns, looking like a beautiful and syncronized ballet troupe...Native Americans, Asians, Africans and African-Americans, more Hispanics than I ever remember, European-Americans, all worshipping the God who made them...at the time of the Lord's Prayer, the words given to us by Jesus being recited in countless tongues, sounding like the Day of Pentecost, when each heard the Gospel in his/her own language, a glorious cacaphony of sound...and then, at the moment I was taking communion, the opening notes of my favorite hymn, "I want to walk as a child of the Light." Indeed!<br /><br />Legislation goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. One minute testifying before one hearing asking for pastoral generosity in those dioceses where marriage equality is now or soon will be a reality, to respond to the pastoral needs of our gay and lesbian couples. The next minute slogging through the legislation of my Structure Committee, tending to the tedious, but necessary, issues raised by our canons and the groups doing ministry in the Church -- where and how does it fit into the structures of the church. One exciting, the other mundane -- and all to the glory of God.<br /><br />We also had a disturbing private (no one in the gallery) conversation in the House of Bishops that led me to feel discouraged about what lies ahead. That conversation is private, so I can't detail it, but there seems to be a kind of belligerent attitude toward the House of Deputies by some of our bishops. Their vision of the episcopate is way too "high and mighty" for my taste, or my theology, and I am not happy about it. The last thing we bishops need is a larger measure of arrogance. Didn't Jesus save his most serious criticism for the religious powers-that-be of his day who lorded their power and position over others?<br /><br />Mark is now here -- thank God! -- along with my camera. So perhaps tomorrow I will have some pics to go along with these musings.<br /><br />Off we go into another long day. Hearings on same sex blessings and moving forward from the two moratoria (on blessings and gay bishops) of B033 from the last Convention. And of course, the conversation and worship which remind us of our community in Christ. Pray for us!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-22802752809165328042009-07-08T06:03:00.000-07:002009-07-08T06:27:25.924-07:00We're off!!The first couple of days have been at lightspeed! I've been to many General Conventions, but never one so ready to roll!! There is a sense of urgency here that is new. Perhaps there are many perceptions about why that is so, but my sense is that there is an urgency to move on beyond the divisions that have plagued us in the last few years.<br /><br />What a joy to see the deputies from the new "continuing" dioceses of Pittsburgh, Ft. Worth, San Joaquin and Quincy -- rejoicing in their newfound voices within the Episcopal Church. Young people -- tons of them -- here as deputies and volunteers, eager to BE the Church God is calling us to be, a fully inclusive and open church, one focused on mission to the world, instead of dwelling on internal struggles.<br /><br />Legislation is being front-loaded in a way I've never seen. Having experienced recent conventions where legislation gets bogged down, sometimes never reaching the floor for action, I sense an urgency in our legislative committees to get the important things discussed, heard in open hearings, perfected, and to the floor for action. Meetings of Committees are beginning at 7am; strategizing meetings often as early as 6:00! People are here to WORK, not play. To quote a favorite president of mine, "the urgency of NOW!"<br /><br />For me, the time has already been exhausting. No time to rest, or even eat. It's hard for me to move from one place to another because of being stopped by countless numbers of people who want to say hello, tell me they have been praying for me, and to wish me well. More humbling still are the many people (surprisingly many, and usually young people) who want to tell me that my election is the reason they're in The Episcopal Church, or more usually, why they've returned to the Church, after year of being disillusioned with the institutional church. Wonderful, but exhausting too. Many seem so very grateful for the witness of New Hampshire to the wider Church. It is often easy to forget what our life and ministry and witness mean to the greater Body of Christ -- and it is a humbling expression of support for all of us in New Hampshire.<br /><br />Today I will be testifying in favor of resolution B012, put forward by those bishops who live in dioceses where marriage equality is already a reality, asking the General Convention for a certain generosity and flexibility with the marriage rites in our pastoral care of gay or lesbian couples who want their unions legalized and sanctified by their Church. Some will argue that this is an end run around Prayer Book revision, but actually it is seeking an open and honest way of offering pastoral care to ALL our members. With the introduction of marriage equality, our priests are being forced to discriminate against certain people in their congregations, offering the sacrament of marriage to some, but not to all. This resolution would permit us, for the next three years, to experience the equal treatment of all our parishioners, and then report on that experience to the next General Convention, in preparation for the marriage equality that is destined for all of us. You'd have to be crazy to think this is a slam dunk -- but it may be possible. <br /><br />More than usual, there are not enough dollars available to do all that we would like to do, for ourselves and for the world. Our own Judith Esmay serves on Program, Budget and Finance, who is charged with presenting a balanced budget, choosing among many worthy priorities and funding those that seem essential for the life and ministry of The Episcopal Church -- a daunting task indeed.<br /><br />Our deputation is doing well. Somehow, seeing a familiar and trusted face among the thousands of people is an unexpected and delightful oasis of joy. We have a terrific deputation, and we should all feel grateful to them for this sacrifice of time and energy on our behalf.<br /><br />Please keep all of us in your prayers as we seek to do God's will in this place. It is inspiring to see so many gathered, commmitted to God and to our beloved Church. Know that we keep YOU in our minds as we deliberate and vote, always with great affection and love. Oh, and did I mention, PRAY FOR US!!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-34148285095334614592009-07-05T04:21:00.000-07:002009-07-05T04:23:51.955-07:00Coming Soon to a Church Near YouWatch this space for my blog from General Convention! I'll try to let you in on the "feel" of Convention, as well as its events and high points. Please pray for all of us. My message will be: "NOW is the time for The Episcopal Church to be the Church God is calling us to be!" We'll see if we have the courage to do that.+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-26794900900377298112009-01-22T10:27:00.000-08:002009-01-22T10:38:34.650-08:00Here are the pics<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi8EPFyNvI/AAAAAAAAADU/-fatbMPiu7g/s1600-h/PresidentObama.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi8EPFyNvI/AAAAAAAAADU/-fatbMPiu7g/s400/PresidentObama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294188142930310898" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi8Dq6Ba4I/AAAAAAAAADM/rl4kAzFj5gE/s1600-h/jse_IMG_0388.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi8Dq6Ba4I/AAAAAAAAADM/rl4kAzFj5gE/s400/jse_IMG_0388.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294188133217299330" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi7rhbR6JI/AAAAAAAAADE/Af8XWmhaLYI/s1600-h/Bono.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi7rhbR6JI/AAAAAAAAADE/Af8XWmhaLYI/s200/Bono.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294187718355576978" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi7EBYzTKI/AAAAAAAAAC8/g5KyBad7Gx8/s1600-h/jse_IMG_0211.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXi7EBYzTKI/AAAAAAAAAC8/g5KyBad7Gx8/s200/jse_IMG_0211.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294187039740349602" /></a><br />One last posting -- pictures to prove I wasn't making it all up!<br /><br />Ella and Gene with The Man (compliments of Mark).<br /><br />Ella and Michelle.<br /><br />Ella, Mark and Gene with the Tom Hanks family.<br /><br />Hug fest with Bono.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you for accompanying us on this amazing three day journey. Give thanks to God for a new day in America!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-24326482004690801502009-01-21T04:42:00.000-08:002009-01-21T05:57:10.508-08:00A New Day<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoG5EWldI/AAAAAAAAAC0/3nSRIvgwdvk/s1600-h/DSC00078.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoG5EWldI/AAAAAAAAAC0/3nSRIvgwdvk/s200/DSC00078.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293743985860711890" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoGFQdX1I/AAAAAAAAACs/JT3IT9k3Jd0/s1600-h/DSC00018.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoGFQdX1I/AAAAAAAAACs/JT3IT9k3Jd0/s200/DSC00018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293743971952844626" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoFh33kKI/AAAAAAAAACk/Lox2nLGhJjM/s1600-h/DSC00084.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXcoFh33kKI/AAAAAAAAACk/Lox2nLGhJjM/s200/DSC00084.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293743962454462626" /></a><br />Wasn't yesterday amazing?! A new day -- for all of us. Here's what it was like from my perspective.<br /><br />Mark and I arrived at St. John's Episcopal Church early in the morning. Waiting in the security line, I greeted Pastor Rick Warren, who couldn't have been more gracious. Once inside, we were seated in the fifth row, with a perfect view of the service participants, and eventually, the President-Elect himself. This is not a man who fakes a faith, but one who is clearly motivated by it.<br /><br />Dr. T. D. Jakes gave a magnificent sermon, based on the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, being thrown into the fiery furnace. Some of his points, on which he elaborated brilliantly: "there is no light without heat"; the three Hebrew boys were saved because they stood up! it's time we ALL stood up for what is right and good; King Nebuchnezzar (sp?) turns the furnace up to seven times its normal heat, more than the furnace or its contents can bear -- pointing out the ways in which the economy, war, health care, etc. have deteriorated beyond what we can bear; and finally, when the King looks into the furnace to see the boys' destruction, instead, they are intact, and there is a FOURTH figure -- the Spirit of God which has seen them through and preserved them. You can imagine the rest. It was SO powerful.<br /><br />I met some wonderful people. Sat next to the new Securities and Commodities appointee, who later introduced me to the new Treasury Secretary and his wife. Oprah was there (sitting BEHIND us, I might add!). Most of the cabinet. Other denominational leaders.<br /><br />Then, we were bused to the Capitol. Mark and I split up, because I had been invited to sit on the Presidential Platform. Through several security checkpoints in the bowels of the Capitol. Al and Tipper Gore left their entourage specifically to greet me -- a real honor, given the magnificent contributions he's making to our common good. Then, we walked down the series of hallways/steps that the new president would walk down in a few minutes. I entered into the light of day and the Presidential Platform, just behind Newt Gingrich and Rick Warren. I told Pastor Warren that I would be praying for him. Again, he was most gracious.<br /><br />Coming out onto the platform was overwhelming. Not only would I be mere feet away from Barack Obama when he took the oath of office, but the view from the platform of the millions of people on the Mall was awe inspiring. It was a solid mass of humanity for as far as the eye could see, all the way to the Washington Monument, and then all the way to the Lincoln Memorial, where this weekend's journey had begun for us. The air was electric, the joy palpable, and the momentousness of the occasion solemn. I was seated in the sixth row behind the president, beside Federico Pena (who was delightful), directly behind Gov. Warren Dean (chairman of the Democratic National Committee). General Colin Powell was also in the next row in front of me -- we greeted each other with the secret Episcopal handshake. In front of him was Aretha Franklin (you gotta love that hat, eh? it takes a substantial black woman to wear a hat like that!). Senator Judd Gregg (Republican from NH) came over to chat. I also spoke for a while with Senator Joe Lieberman. Pretty heady stuff for a Kentucky country boy, who grew up in poverty and never thought he'd live to SEE a real president, much less be invited to sit where I was invited to sit.<br /><br />And then, as you all saw on TV, each of the principals entered. To see the military personnel salute their about-to-be Commander in Chief made me cry. As always, Obama seemed natural, calm, confident-but-not-cocky and present to the moment. I've said it before, but it was never more evident than yesterday -- I've never seen someone so comfortable in his own skin. And then the oath of office, the moment when America changed.<br /><br />Leaving the swearing in, and still separated from Mark and Ella, I had some alone time to try to absorb what I had just been a witness to. It is still hard to find words to describe it. But you know what we were all feeling. Waking up this morning felt different somehow, didn't it?<br /><br />After the parade, home for a nap. Then off to the lgbt ball at the Mayflower Hotel. When I walked in, Rufus Wainwright was dedicating a song to me. (He's one of my faves!) He was then joined for a couple of songs onstage by Cyndi Lauper. Then I was introduced to the crowd of several thousand. I got to introduce Mark and Ella to them, and say a few words. The crowd was overwhelming in their kind and generous response. Then I posed for pictures with, oh, six or seven hundred of them. Nearly exhausted, we left for the live Daily Show broadcast, with Jon Stewart.<br /><br />It's always difficult to do such a show from a remote location. I can only hear what is going on in my earpiece, and am talking into a black camera screen. But it went well, I think. He started in with a joke (this IS Comedy Central, after all), and miraculously, I was able to respond with a joke in return. I don't think he was expecting it, and he nearly fell off his chair laughing. Later, after the show, he told me it was the best line of the show. Amazing praise from a brilliant comedian who is SO good at what he does.<br /><br />The best part of that was, he had done a joke, and so had I, and then the rest of the interview was serious. I was moved that HE had seen the connection between the inauguration of an African-American and the hopes of the gay community, and asked if it had raised my hopes that one day, perhaps a gay or lesbian person might become president. He had read my thoughts -- and I suspect, the hopes of so many of us.<br /><br />It is a new day in America, thanks be to God! I was overwhelmed all day by the sense that God is still alive and well and working overtime in our great nation, bringing about things that could have never even been dreamt of a few years ago. Join me in giving thanks to our great God for loving us as we are, and loving us too much to make us content with staying as we are.<br /><br />I have been carrying all of you in my heart these few days. So often during this time, I have reflected on the many, many blessings that are mine. To serve the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire is a holy and awesome gift to me. To feel your love and support during these momentous days calmed my heart and brought me great joy.<br /><br />In a day or two, once we "break into" Ella's camera, I will post on this blog a few pictures that you've just GOT to see. But thank you for traveling this path with me, and know that I give thanks to God for you every day.<br /><br />Today, I return to New Hampshire, back to my "day job" which I love. Tonight, life resumes with the ordination of Madelyn Betz at St. Thomas, Hanover. Ordination of someone to the priesthood is one of the most awesome and wonderful tasks assigned to Bishops -- and I can't think of a better way to re-enter the "real world" of my life in the Diocese of New Hampshire. I look forward to seeing you soon!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-64745132871434489182009-01-20T03:16:00.000-08:002009-01-20T03:18:27.107-08:00Last minute updateOne addendum to yesterday's posting: I have been invited to be on the President's Platform for the inauguration/swearing in. An astounding honor!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-55606649406812243502009-01-19T04:25:00.000-08:002009-01-19T20:04:18.100-08:00i thank you God for most this amazing day<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4sn1LkI/AAAAAAAAACc/7VkoW_35TWQ/s1600-h/DSC00009.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4sn1LkI/AAAAAAAAACc/7VkoW_35TWQ/s200/DSC00009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293003770676194882" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4Zy9e9I/AAAAAAAAACU/yVL9xzS2CrU/s1600-h/DSC00008.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4Zy9e9I/AAAAAAAAACU/yVL9xzS2CrU/s200/DSC00008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293003765622602706" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4PUCjQI/AAAAAAAAACM/tGkD_sUtHeg/s1600-h/DSC00006.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SXSG4PUCjQI/AAAAAAAAACM/tGkD_sUtHeg/s200/DSC00006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293003762808556802" /></a><br />These words from one of my favorite e. e. cummings' poem, describe yesterday. It goes on, in part<br /><br />"and for everything<br />which is natural which is infinite which is yes<br /><br />(i who have died am alive again today,<br />and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth<br />day of life and love and wings:and of the gay<br />great happening illimitably earth)<br /><br />how should tasting touching hearing seeing<br />breathing any--lifted from the no<br />of all nothing--human merely being<br />doubt unimaginable You?"<br /><br />Monday was a VERY long day (hence, my not writing until this morning; and because I had trouble getting this posted, it is now Tuesday night before I'm getting it online. With apologies!] Here are a few of the day's amazing moments:<br /><br />Arriving, getting through security (which was, as you can imagine, thorough!). Being shown to my "dressing room," a trailer with heat (thank God), and the announcement that I would be sharing a dressing room with Tiger Woods. Not a problem, I say. There was a sound check and walk through on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- but I couldn't keep from looking over my shoulder at the marble figure of Lincoln from inside the Memorial, watching over this gathering, with the kind of calm presence I experience in the new president. <br /><br />Then lots of time to gather with others in the "Green Room." It was hard not to be a bit starstruck and bedazzled by those gathered, each and every one feeling overwhelmed at the honor of being asked to speak or perform. NO ONE was a "star" today, just fellow Americans, exuberant and joyful to be asked to participate at this historic moment. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, director Ron Howard, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, a ninety-year-old Pete Seeger, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Correll, Forest Whitaker, Bon Jovi, Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder. I spent a lot of time chatting with Tom Hanks, his wife and kids. <br /><br />I learned fairly early on that the live broadcast of the event would begin just AFTER I concluded my invocation. A decision made by HBO? Who knows? But I couldn't help but wonder if the HBO-powers-that-be could not imagine that the nation would be interested in a religious prayer. For whatever reason, it was not to be broadcast. I learned a long time ago not to worry about those things over which I have no control! I was honored to be invited to give the invocation, and that's what I intended to do.<br /><br />Then it came time for me to be taken to the special "Green Room," set up in the bowels of the Lincoln Memorial, in preparation for going onstage. Denzel Washington and I were both there, rehearsing our lines. It was nice to see that he was as nervous as I was! All around us there were photos of the civil rights movement of the '60's, and a lone video monitor played excerpts of the "I have a dream" speech, Marian Anderson singing, and other great events that have taken place at the Memorial. As if I needed any reminders that this memorial is holy ground!<br /><br />Then my introduction, and walking onto the steps of that magnificent shrine to freedom, and looking out at a crowd of around a million people, which flowed all the way back to and beyond the Washington monument. A teeming crowd of people, gathered to hail this new day in our common life as a nation. <br /><br />You can see some pictures on Susan Russell's Inch at a Time blog: http://inchatatime.blogspot.com/2009/01/prayer-for-nation.html<br /><br /><br />When I got to the second petition of my invocation, the one where I ask God to "bless us with anger," those million people got very quiet. It's an unnerving experience to have a million people go silent as a result of what you are saying. It was then that the import of the moment hit me. I wanted it to be a moment for God, and of course, I will never know who or how many were touched by what was said. What I do know is that it was an indescribable honor to be asked to address God at this amazing occasion.<br /><br />I then got to join Mark and Ella in our seventh row center seats. Two seats over was Toni Morrison. In the next row was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, new Attorney General Holder, and most of the new cabinet. Sitting within our full view was the new First Family, behind bullet proof glass (a constant reminder of the risk they are taking on behalf of all of us). I cannot imagine how, but they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves -- a brief respite from the overwhelming roles that await them.<br /><br />Since all of the presenters/performers were asked to come back out on stage for the finale singing of America the Beautiful, I left Mark and Ella to go backstage again. There, I encountered Bono, who wanted to talk about my invocation. I was amazed that after hearing it once, he was quoting back to me things I had said. We chatted, and then he asked if I would pray with him and his band (U2) before they went onstage to perform. We gathered in a close huddle, I prayed, and off they went to play to a screaming, cheering, joyful crowd. (We saw him later that night at a private party -- and he picked up our conversation right where we had left off.)<br /><br />After the closing song, the Obamas and Bidens moved down the line of presenters/performers, greeting each of us. Each of them spoke of their appreciation for the words of my prayer, and their families seemed to appreciate especially my prayers for their safety. After the event, Mark, Ella and I were invited, along with the other performers, to a small reception with Barack and Michelle Obama in a small tent just behind the Lincoln Memorial. We got a chance to chat with Michelle, and then later with the Man himself. He was unbelievably gracious, posing with me and Ella for a picture (Mark sacrificially offered to take the picture) -- which I will post once we retrieve it from Ella's camera. As he left us, he said, "Thanks, Gene. We'll be in touch." I have no idea what he meant, or IF he meant it, but it sure sounded nice!<br /><br />A day filled with the nearness of God, the joy of hope and expectation, and the most remarkable sense of community I've ever experienced on such a large scale. As e. e. cummings said, "how should any human merely being doubt unimaginable You?" Indeed.<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-61883022001197603842009-01-18T02:22:00.000-08:002009-01-18T03:14:49.717-08:00Washington Tales from Closer to the CenterIt's very early on Sunday morning. The quiet outside belies the exuberance that promises to explode today here in Washington.<br /><br />This new "chapter" in my "Canterbury Tales from the Fringe" blog needs to be renamed, of course. It could be "Mr. Robinson goes to Washington," or "Oh my God! How did I ever get to this moment?" Instead, I'm calling it "Washington Tales from Closer to the Center." After the experience of being on the fringe in Canterbury this summer, I am struck that the new President of the United States is including me in a way the Anglican Communion was not able to this summer. Funny, isn't it, and sad, that the culture is modeling for the Church the inclusion meant for all of God's children. <br /><br />One of the great bishops of the Episcopal Church, Stephen Bayne, once said, "MISSION is looking around and seeing where God is already at work, and joining God there." God, and God's mission, will go on, with or without the Church. My prayer is that all of us in the Church will "see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up," (from the opening collect for ordinations, which I prayed at an ordination yesterday morning). In his invitation to me to offer the invocation for the opening inaugural event, I hope that gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people everywhere will feel "raised up" by the events here in Washington. I know I carry all of you in my heart.<br /><br />Arriving at National Airport yesterday was like coming into a recently-stirred-up anthill. But there were no angry, impatient voices (okay, I did hear one!), no one in a bad humor. Faces filled with anticipation and sheer joy at being here. Was it my imagination, or were all the African-Americans walking just a little bit taller? I think so. I hope so. And so was everyone else.<br /><br />I am, to say the least, overwhelmed by the possibilities of this day. Not just offering a prayer for the nation and the new president, but helping to kick off the beginning of a new era of hope in this nation. The hope that then-candidate Barack Obama talked about -- and which was often decried by others as hopelessly (literally) labeled as unrealistic and maudlin -- is about to become reality. The future won't be perfect, of course, and the new president won't be either. But what a new beginning!<br /><br />I am also overwhelmed and humbled by the task ahead of me. This prayer has weighed on my heart for several weeks now. My words will be the first heard by the crowds who will have been standing, waiting, for six hours to witness this event. I figure they'll be ready to listen, and grateful that the event has finally begun, or maybe they'll start chanting "Springsteen" or "Bono" and wishing the clergy guy would just get out of the way. Either way, I will attempt to get the crowd to pause for a moment before the fun begins, and join me in a prayer that we can all pray together.<br /><br />I have received a lot of critical email since announcing that my prayer would not be overtly or aggressively Christian, as most of the inaugural prayers of the last 30 years have been. My plan is to address this prayer to the "God of our many understandings," acknowledging that no one Christian denomination nor no one faith tradition knows all there is to know about God. Each of us is privy to a piece of God, as experienced in our faith tradition. My hope is to pray a prayer that ALL people of faith can join me in. <br /><br />In the end, in addition to doing all this for God, I will be thinking of three kids in the teeming crowd of people today. One of the priests in my diocese, Teresa Gocha, and her husband Jim, adopted three children, Martin and Malcolm, African-American boys, and their mixed-race sister, Margaret. They'll be here in Washington to witness the inauguration of someone who looks like them! They will never forget it, of course. But what they'll REALLY remember is that someone just like them can be president, can be acknowledged for who he is and not just the color of his skin. Everything changes this week for Martin, Malcom and Margaret. It changes for all of us. This is not something that the American people alone have done. This is God's doing.<br /><br />Pray for me today. Pray that I can point to a God who loves us all, who yearns for the best we can be and do, and who is constantly raising up those of us who have been cast down. Thanks be to God!<br /><br />+Gene+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-1883081102488171882008-08-09T01:59:00.000-07:002008-08-09T03:34:28.372-07:00Last thoughts of hope and thanks<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJ1wjzQRQsI/AAAAAAAAAB8/emuqInIzfps/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-9+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232462102430565058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJ1wjzQRQsI/AAAAAAAAAB8/emuqInIzfps/s200/Lambeth+08+-9+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJ1wkHEYVmI/AAAAAAAAACE/nwRekGNWd28/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-9+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232462107749406306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJ1wkHEYVmI/AAAAAAAAACE/nwRekGNWd28/s200/Lambeth+08+-9+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>It's 4:30am, and I'm sitting on the screen porch at home, back in my beloved New Hampshire, with gentle rain falling outside. Late Thursday night, after a 21 hour day of travel, I arrived at the Manchester, NH, airport (two hours late), to be greeted and surprised by 30 or so clergy and laity from New Hampshire, waving signs, holding balloons and flowers, and singing "I sing a song of the saints of God." Some came from over two hours away, and would get home long after midnight. One of my favorite signs read: "Medium rare after your grilling at Lambeth? No, WELL DONE!!" Can anyone doubt why I love my diocese so much?! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Scotland was exhausting, but a real joy! The welcome at the Cathedral in Glasgow (pictured above) was phenomenal, with a packed church, despite a few protesters outside. The Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace, beneath the castle that dominates the city, is a remarkable offering by St. John's Church and the Interfaith Council. It was my privilege to speak at its opening event, and then address a packed audience of 300+ on the first evening. Numerous other events and interviews filled up my time, but it was a wholly welcoming and warm atmosphere. Scotland was a wonderful place to once again celebrate the eucharist, something denied me in England for three weeks -- the same Church who gave America its first bishops, when the English bishops refused to do so. The Scots reminded me that, in doing so, THEY, not the English, created the Anglican Communion!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The morning we left Edinburgh, the headlines in the London Times announced the publication of letters sent by +Rowan Williams several years ago, in response to a conservative evangelical, in which he says that after many years of study and prayer, he has concluded that faithful, life-long-intentioned, monogamous love between two people of the same sex is NOT prohibited by scripture -- and that scripture simply does not address this new phenomenon. Precisely what I and others have been saying all along.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have two reactions to this revelation: Yes, of course this is what +Rowan thinks. We knew that all along from his writing and speaking, which is why we were dancing in the streets at his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury. But I think +Rowan is getting a bad rap for this from the conservatives, since he has steadfastly done what he has said he would do: set his own personal understandings aside and take a centrist stance "for the good of the whole Church." This is not news, folks! But it is indeed sad.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>+Rowan, in my opinion, has not only taken a centrist stance, he has virtually abandoned those who would argue for a more inclusive church. While meeting often with the most extreme conservatives in the Communion (Bishop Iker of Ft. Worth writes recently in a letter to his diocese that he met with the Archbishop right before Lambeth), +Rowan has consistently refused to meet with me and others who argue for inclusion. He has consistently failed to criticize publicly those primates who say vile and hateful things about gay and lesbian Christians. He has bent over backwards to accommodate those who seem intent upon splitting this beloved Church. He has sided with those who say that our interpretation of scripture is outside the realm of reasonable and faithful interpretation -- while at the same time having come to the same conclusions himself! How does he sleep at night?!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>My second thought is that, at the very least, it demonstrates that Americans and Canadians are not the only thoughtful, faithful Christians who can come to such conclusions. It puts the lie to the notion that we are revisionist , faithless crazies who simply disregard the Holy Scriptures in favor of a secularist, world-following agenda. If one of the great intellects and faithful theologians of our time can come to these same conclusions, how can we be accused of being mindless in our pandering to the culture and so over-the-edge of orthodoxy?!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>As for the "results" of the Lambeth Conference, first let us give thanks for the Archbishop's sticking to his original plan to make this a conference for conversation, relationship-building, and deepening of the bonds of affection. Those who would have brought this to a "tidy" end were disappointed. No votes were taken; no conclusions were reached.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>On the other hand, +Rowan did weigh in during his last address, and he might rightly be accused of short-circuiting the process with his own assessment: that the only way forward was to commit ourselves to three moratoria: no more gay, partnered bishops, no more blessing of same sex unions, and no more border crossings by bishops/primates into other jurisdictions. While the focus still seems to be on the American and Canadian churches, one has to wonder if the Archbishop intends to stop same sex unions in his OWN diocese, where they occur on a regular -- and public -- basis. One of the documents coming out of Lambeth seems to indicate that even the ordination to the priesthood of gay and lesbian people is not to be tolerated -- and one has to wonder about all the gay and lesbian clergy now serving in +Rowan's own diocese (including those he, himself, has ordained).</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>As for the proposed Covenant, many bishops (I am told) -- and not all of them from The Episcopal Church -- expressed their difficulty with any Covenant which would create a centralized authority for the Communion, and which had more to do with punishing any Province for "coloring outside the lines" of belief and practice, than with mission. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Clearly, the value of the Conference was the sharing of stories among the bishops about how they are trying to live out the Gospel in their contexts, and how the actions of one Province affect the life and ministry of another. My diocese and I were denied that experience, and so I can only learn from the stories of those conversations from others. But this, it seems to me, is the essence of Communion. To stay independent enough to be able to follow God's will as best we can discern it, in OUR context, while staying connected and caring deeply about how that plays out across the Communion.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>General Convention 2009 will be significant for the Episcopal Church. Here's what I hope for: When the Church gathers -- and remember, our Church gathers ONLY when laity, clergy AND bishops meet together -- I hope we will declare ourselves, claiming a piece of Gospel ground and standing on it. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Through the actions of our General Convention, I hope we will say to the Communion, "You know, we have listened carefully to what you have had to say to us. We deeply regret that our actions cause you distress, even a diminishment of your ability to evangelize in your context. But we must minister in and to our OWN context, as best we can discern God's will for us. We will no longer observe (or pretend to observe) the moratoria on consecrations and blessings. We will abide by our own canons which (in two different places) bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and if and when a partnered gay or lesbian person is elected by the clergy and laity of a diocese, we will consider them for consent as we would any other. And we will proceed to ask the Standing Liturgical Commission, over the next triennium, to develop authorized rites for the blessing of same sex unions, to be brought back to the 2012 General Convention. This will necessarily involve our articulation of the theology of blessing which underlies this action, which you have asked for. We will no longer sacrifice the faithful gay and lesbian members of this Church for the sake of a unity we seem unable to define." That is my hope, and that is the work we have to do in preparation for the 2009 General Convention.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I went to Lambeth to do two things: to witness to the joy and Light of Christ in me, by virtue of my redemption at the hands of a loving God, and to be a gentle reminder to all those present that they have gay and lesbian members sitting in the pews of every church in every province of the Communion, and that bishops have taken vows to serve ALL (not just some) given to their care. I feel that I (and the many lgbt people present from all over the world) were able to do just that. The ways in which we failed are our responsibility; the ways in which we succeeded can only be attributed to God, who sustained and nourished us in our witness.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I cannot begin to find the words adequate to thanking all of you for your constant prayers. Your messages and good wishes have all been read by me, on a daily basis, and they have been like manna in the desert. I simply could not have done this without you. I wish that I could write to each one of you, expressing my deep appreciation, but time and energy simply will not permit it. After all, I have a "day job," and I now gladly give up being the "gay bishop," and return to simply being "the bishop" of this wonderful diocese. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I am profoundly tired, as I'm sure all the bishops are. But I return to my work in the diocese, knowing that God is working in and through us to bring about God's reign. I do not know what the future will bring for the Episcopal Church or for the Anglican Communion. What I DO know is that we are told repeatedly in scripture, including this coming Sunday's gospel, "Be not afraid." If we could but do that one thing, we would be in good shape to receive whatever God has in mind for us.</div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-61844031496990766622008-08-06T22:03:00.000-07:002008-08-06T22:06:03.860-07:00Watch this spaceIt's been a thoroughly wonderful, but exhausting, time in Scotland. I leave for home this morning. Watch this space for one last posting -- my overall thoughts about this experience. I wanted to give it a little time and distance before writing a concluding piece. It will be all that I can do to resist kissing the tarmac when I first set foot on my beloved New Hampshire tonight.+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-39258641304630481252008-08-01T22:26:00.000-07:002008-08-01T23:43:14.431-07:00Goodbye, Canterbury; Hello, Scotland!<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJPxAIeD4yI/AAAAAAAAABs/GZgELiwHYW8/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-8+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229788576883139362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJPxAIeD4yI/AAAAAAAAABs/GZgELiwHYW8/s200/Lambeth+08+-8+013.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJPxAtGx-fI/AAAAAAAAAB0/l06MfTB6t4s/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-8+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229788586717608434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJPxAtGx-fI/AAAAAAAAAB0/l06MfTB6t4s/s200/Lambeth+08+-8+016.jpg" border="0" /></a> We left Canterbury yesterday afternoon as the Bishops struggled with the notion of an Anglican Covenant.<br /><br />Wednesday evening's session with other bishops again went very well. Good attendance, and rich discussion. One particular Indian bishop especially moved me with his own testimony. He rose to speak, dressed in his long white garments. Without any rancor, anger or blame in his voice or on his face, he described the difficulty my election and consecration presented for his life and ministry. It was a beautiful moment of truth telling. He spoke of our very different contexts which made my election seem all right in America and terribly wrong in India. I apologized to him for whatever harm had been done to his ministry by our actions. I told him that I really didn't have the answer to this problem. I longed to talk further with him, and it made me realize again what I was missing by not being included in the conference. I told him that what I DID know was that he must continue being the Church in his context and that we must continue being the Church in ours. And how that plays itself out must be left in God's hands. In the meantime, we must hold onto one another as best we can.<br /><br />I also told him that my own life and ministry would be profoundly changed by listening to him. I will carry his pain and life-made-more-difficult with me in my own ministry. Surely this kind of honest exchange is at the heart of whatever Communion means. Not that we have all the answers, but that we bear each other's pain. I have heard things like this before, but the miracle of his words were that they were said with love, absent of rancor and blame. Just a description of what is. Afterwards, he came up and thanked me, patted me on the arm, and assured me of his prayers. Surely, if Communion means anything, it includes this.<br /><br />The kids from Western Michigan put on a stunning performance of "Seven Passages" on Thursday night. Every word spoken came either from the Bible or from interviews held with countless people who have struggled with those seven passages which seem to condemn homosexuality and struggled with a Church that uses them to denounce and degrade gay people. The passion and commitment of these kids to a new vision of the Church came through both in their performances and in the Q & A afterwards. I had sent them a "break a leg" bouquet of flowers for their opening. One last round of group photos ended a sublime evening. Another holy moment.<br /><br />It was hard to say goodbye to the Franciscan brothers, after one last cup of tea following Friday morning prayers. These kind and gentle souls had provided me with a spiritual home during my stay in Canterbury. Their peace contrasted so dramatically with the anxiety of the conference. These too, I will carry in my heart: Austin, the burly linebacker-looking head of the Household, with a voice and manner so gentle it defies description; Colin, a walking-talking hospitality machine, always eager to welcome any traveler; Reg, whom we had feted the day before on the occasion of his 55th anniversary of becoming a brother, who is still writing music in his late 80's; and Max, the novice from Berkeley, California, young and fresh and soaking up the wisdom of his older brothers. I shall miss them all terribly, and will be forever grateful to them for making a space in their chapel, their home and their hearts for me.<br /><br />Lots of people, including journalists, were asking what I thought the Lambeth Conference had accomplished. Most of them, I suspect, thought the answer is "nothing!" But I disagree. I have said all along, publicly and privately, that this is the part that the Archbishop of Canterbury got exactly right. That while the Conference would produce no legislation, no definitive statements and no decisions, its real "product" would be the deepening of the bonds of affection that MAKE us the Anglican Communion. That won't be enough for those who want to bring all this difficulty to a rapid conclusion, declaring winners on one side and losers on the other. That won't satisfy those who seek a way to punish those who are pushing the boundaries of God's inclusive love. But it's enough for me.<br /><br />I have frequently recalled Desmond Tutu's simple and wise description of the Anglican Communion. "We meet," he said. Full stop. That's what we do. We hold a common belief and hope in the Risen Christ, and because we care for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, we meet. We meet, and let God's Holy Spirit work among us, to allow us to see our common humanity, and to discover the Christ in "the other." While that might not look like much to the rest of the world, it is an amazing "product." It is precisely what we need during this difficult time. We don't need -- perhaps cannot possibly discern -- the answers right now. What we DO need and CAN discern, is that we are all in this together. That God IS working God's purposes out, even if we can't always see it. Even if we are in the midst of conflict and pain. <br /><br />I am not an optimist -- because being an optimist seems to me to be putting our faith in the works of humankind. The evidence is that we're not doing a very good job of it. But being a person of HOPE, means we put our faith in the love of God, and GOD'S ability to bring this to its rightful conclusion, in God's own time. I leave this Lambeth Conference as a person of hope.<br /><br />I was also asked by several people whether or not my own witness, and that of other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, had been "worth it," and "effective." If I've learned anything over the last five years, it is that I am not responsible for how my words and actions are received and whether or not they make a difference. I can only be responsible for (and judge myself by) the faithfulness with which I make my witness to the love of God working in my own life. I am proud to have stood with the people of Integrity, Claiming the Blessing, the Chicago Consultation, Inclusive Church and Changing Attitudes, as we all have made that witness, loud and clear. It was VERY interesting to me to look at the faces of those at the conference -- many, many of which were somber, sad and tense. In contrast, the faces of lgbt people and our allies, looked joyful, happy, even radiant. I wondered, which vision of the church are people drawn to? That which produces a solemn and morose countenance, or one which produces joy and radiance? Gay and lesbian Christians KNOW what it is like to be rescued from shame and guilt, and to walk in the light of God's redeeming love, and seem to show it in every moment. That's the church I want to be in, don't you?<br /><br />Upon our arrival back in London, our happy little band of travellers (pictured above) had to say goodbye to our driver. We've dubbed ourselves the "Fab Four," and I must say we have become a real community. Richard, our driver, is one of the perkiest, happiest cherubs ever to walk the planet. With his Cockney accent and effervescent sense of humor, he added so much to our little band of men. He (and we) were nearly in tears as we said goodbye yesterday. Terry, my security person, is a big, football-lineman looking sort of guy, but a big teddy bear of a guy inside. This, I think, has been a real eye-opening experience for him. He's new to this "gay thing." He's had a crash course in this side of culture and the oppression we experience from the world and the Church, and he shakes his head and says, "I just don't understand all the hatred toward you guys." He has taken such good care of me, and I am indebted to him for putting himself at risk for me. Mike, my press person, has been the purveyor of good news interviews and media connections. He has helped get our story out to the world. His cell phone is nearly permanently glued to his ear, and he has worked tirelessly to field, screen and help me choose the best venues for getting the word about God's love out to the world. What a funny little band of men we are. Even here, God's love has worked to change each of us. None of us is worthy of such a community of love, and yet, there it is. We will be brothers for life.<br /><br />Now, we're off to Scotland. I will be preaching and celebrating at the Cathedral in Glasgow on Sunday morning. Scotland, the Dean/Provost is eager to tell me, is NOT England! If I didn't believe that already, it was confirmed when he said he would not be able to meet us at the train station, because he was doing a same-sex blessing in the Cathedral at the time of our arrival. Dorothy, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore!<br /><br />I leave Canterbury and journey to Scotland believing that our witness in Canterbury was worthwhile and holy. I came to do two things: to witness to the joy that is in me because of God in my life, and to be a quiet reminder to those gathered that every bishop worldwide has gay and lesbian people in their pews and they dare not forget that they have taken vows to serve ALL their people, not just some. I think we accomplished both of those things. We'll leave the results up to God.+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-73445671737609536572008-07-30T02:20:00.000-07:002008-07-30T04:20:48.374-07:00A neat and tidy bundle? I hope not.<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJBMxgOcy5I/AAAAAAAAABc/rTILQBi1cus/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-7+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228763580724988818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJBMxgOcy5I/AAAAAAAAABc/rTILQBi1cus/s200/Lambeth+08+-7+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJBMx4Xp1bI/AAAAAAAAABk/bG_s7j9LKK4/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-7+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228763587206043058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SJBMx4Xp1bI/AAAAAAAAABk/bG_s7j9LKK4/s200/Lambeth+08+-7+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>So much happening since our return to Canterbury.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Every few hours or so, I check in with all the people involved with advocacy for inclusion -- the hard working folks from our own Integrity, Claiming the Blessing and the Chicago Consultation, and the hospitable English groups, Inclusive Church and Changing Attitudes. If only you could witness the long hours and blessed devotion these people are giving, it would inspire all of you -- especially lgbt people around the world. In addition to the Americans and Brits, many lgbt people are here from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and other places, displaying the kind of courage you only read about in books! They are here, witnessing to the love of God in their lives, despite incredible danger to themselves for doing so. We should all keep them in our prayers when they return to their own countries which are hostile to the lives of integrity they are living. They are living proof of the lie often told that "we don't have any gay or lesbian people here."</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>During one of those confidential and necessarily private meetings with an African cleric yesterday, I had one of the miraculous moments that are provided when two people who disagree, sit down and discover not only one another's humanity, but brotherhood in Christ. While the details of this meeting must be kept confidential, suffice it to say that we -- of course -- discovered that we have far more in common than that which separates us, and left as friends and brothers in Christ. Oddly enough, one of the things we found we had in common was the condemnation and derision from those who want to divide our Church. He was and continues to be the target of distortion, lies and misinformation from those who see his openness to listening to those of us working for inclusion as an affront to God. He witnessed to the fact that it has given him a window into what lgbt people experience every day -- and it is not pretty. I was honored to be in his presence, and blessed by his willingness to talk. It will be one of my most cherished experiences here.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I was approached by one man, a youngish English priest whose parishes are near Canterbury. He timidly asked if I had just a minute to talk. Of course I did. It is precisely why I'm here. He described himself as an evangelical, having had a powerful conversion experience as a young adult. Upon moving to his new parishes, he discovered that he had a few gay couples in his congregations -- and this sent him back to the scriptures to study and pray, to ask if what he had always been taught about homosexuals was really what the scriptures meant, in an effort to be a better pastor. He has newly come to an accepting attitude toward those gay communicants, but was feeling guilty about leaving his old understandings behind, and wondering if he was moving in the right direction. He has come to believe that God's love is far more expansive than he first imagined, and wondered aloud if there were really two Gods being worshipped in the Church. I told him what I believe -- that no, there is only one God, but our ability to comprehend that God goes through lots of stages, becoming ever more expansive as God reveals God's self to us, directly and through others. Here was a young priest, open to change and growth, open to God's patient teaching and open to the notion that God's love might be more profoundly extravagant than he ever thought possible. Just your common, ordinary, everyday miracle.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Rumors abound here, spawned by the pervasive anxiety, especially from the higher-ups. If I were everywhere I'm reported to be, doing the subversive and destructive things I'm reported to be doing, I'd be even more exhausted than I am! Rumors of a predicted confrontation between African bishops attending a reception hosted by the Presiding Bishops and American bishops, by those Africans who oppose any association with us, caused a frenzied gathering of media, hoping to catch all the ugliness on film -- laughable and silly, given that nothing of the sort happened, with no footage to put on the evening news. I was said to be on my way, to add to the melee. Another good media story, spoiled by the facts.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>There was much anxiety and dread surrounding news that the Archbishop of Canterbury would be giving a second, unscheduled "presidential address" last night after Evensong in the Big Tent. Upon reflection about his remarks, which you can find online, I think it was a really good summary about where the conference finds itself. The Archbishop, in a risky endeavor on his part (which he acknowledged), attempted to characterize the "two sides" of this debate, what each is feeling, fearing and hoping. While I might have charactized them differently, they were fairly accurate descriptions of that which counfounds us here -- how to learn to live with one another despite our substantive differences.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>The only thing with which I disagree with the Archbishop over, is his conclusion: that all this points to the need for a Covenant and a means whereby some more centralized authority could and would pass judgment on developments within the communion, seeking to settle these differences once and for all, rather than let them be.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>It reminded me of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, whose working group (they labored for three weeks!) on human sexuality produced a brilliant statement -- which did not seek to SOLVE the problems and differences between us on the issues of sexuality, but rather merely DESCRIBED where we are, with several different approaches held by large groups within the Communion. We now know that the 1998 Lambeth Conference swept aside this measured and fine report, and replaced it with the draconian Resolution 1.10, which has plagued us ever since, declaring homosexuality to be incompatible with Scripture. That conference gave in to the temptation to try to settle these complex issues by fiat, once and for all, rather than merely acknowledging, and offering to God, our different perceptions of the mystery of sexuality and its ramifications for Christian life. The Archbishop of Canterbury last night did a good job of once again outlining those differences, and I thank him for that. I see the call for a Covenant, no matter how worthy in its intentions, as another attempt to settle our differences rather than learning to live with them and with one another in charity and generosity of spirit. I hope that the 500 year Anglican tradition of living together under a big umbrella prevails and that the urge to settle things once and for all is resisted.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Yesterday, my spirits were once again lifted by young people. A theatre troup from Western Michigan is here to present a drama, called "Seven Passages" (about those seven dreaded verses of scripture that purport to relate to homosexuality), which will be performed tonight and tomorrow night. I met with them during one of their rehearsals. It was a magical and delightful time, meeting with these young people who have struggled with scripture and what it means for them and for their gay and lesbian friends. These are kids who love the Church and are so distressed at the harm they have endured at its hands. Yet here they are, making their own witness to the love of God in their lives. One young African-American man told me of his own coming out to his mother, after she saw the play. She and his father, just released after eleven years in prison, both expressed their undying and unswerving love for him -- much to his amazement and joy. More miracles.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Things are both winding down and heating up here. Everyone knows that the end is near. No, not THAT end; just the end of the Conference. There is the usual wondering, that always happens towards the end of any conference: "Is this all there is?!" And the nagging question of "Shouldn't we have done more?" My sense is that it is quite enough -- to meet one's fellow bishops from across the communion, to listen intently to their realities where they are doing ministry, to deepen the bonds of affection between us, and to leave here renewed in the knowledge that God is working God's purposes out, in many different contexts, in many different ways, and on many different timelines. That should be sufficient, and participants should leave without trying to solve everything with an ill-advised Covenant which will attempt to tie everything up into a neat and tidy package. My experience tells me that the Christian life is seldom neat and tidy, and the business of loving the world that God has made, and every person in it, is messy and difficult. Attempts to clean up the "mess" may be at cross purposes with what God has in mind.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Thank you for all your prayers. You cannot imagine how much they mean to me. You are joined in them by so many of my brother and sister bishops who have sought to "keep me in the loop," despite a grueling and overly-filled schedule. Running into them on the street or in the marketplace, and having them tell me of their constant thoughts for me, has meant so much to me. Ours is a goodly fellowship, and I am honored to be counted among them, even when separated. Special thanks and appreciation go to Tom Ely, Bishop of Vermont, and his wife, Ann, both dear friends, who have gone out of their way to keep me connected to what is going on and to listen to my own feelings as I navigate these waters. In return, I introduced them last night to the best Sticky Toffee Pudding in Britain, a treat they shall not soon forget!</div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-6303587848437310062008-07-27T04:35:00.000-07:002008-07-27T13:44:27.830-07:00Odds and Ends<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIzdPR9VTaI/AAAAAAAAABU/aPSTE70TlRc/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-2+077.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227796522058730914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIzdPR9VTaI/AAAAAAAAABU/aPSTE70TlRc/s200/Lambeth+08+-2+077.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>In the middle of my three-day "sabbatical" from Canterbury, I have time to muse over some of the curious things I'm seeing and hearing....</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Every trip to a pub or restaurant is an ode to "two nations separated by a common language." I've learned that a "fool" is a creamy, mousse-like dessert. A "mess" is something similar, but, well, a mess! "Pudding" seems to be a name encompassing all desserts. If you order "cream pie," it's likely to be cake with whipped cream on top. And "spotted dick" -- let's not even go there! But a pig roast is a pig roast, no matter how you slice it. And the one pictured above was to celebrate the end of the school year in the small village where we were staying, about 9 miles from Canterbury.</div><br /><br /><div>My Cockney driver is a total delight to listen to. I'd rather listen to him talk than eat, and that's saying a lot. When something surprises or shocks him, he cries, "Crikey!" Britain, just like I pictured it!</div><br /><br /><div>Americans use the phrase, "You get what you pay for." Here, it's "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!"</div><br /><br /><div>Today, in the press, I was called a "pantechnicon." I've looked it up and it means a "moving van." I still don't get it -- but can it be good?!</div><br /><br /><div>I walked to St. Paul's Cathedral yesterday. A bit of a hike, but with a gem of a church awaiting me at the end of the journey. When I arrived, I discovered it cost 10 Pounds to get in (about $21). Crikey! Even if tourists have to pay in order to keep up these museum-like churches, I was still offended by the high charge and left without going in. Am I getting cranky in my old age?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Cricket is a game with impenetrable rules and played solely for the purpose of confirming that Brits are superior to the rest of the world.</div><br /><br /><div>Across from my hotel, hundreds and hundreds of 18-25 year olds line up on Friday and Saturday nights to get into a local club. They're queueing up at 11:00pm as I'm going to bed. At 5:30 the next morning, as I'm getting up, they're coming out of their all-night jamfest. Most of them look exhausted from their pulsing night in the mosh pit, many looking still whacked-out on drugs. They congregate around the tube station, waiting for it to open, while I get coffee across the street. The local deli opens just to feed these kids who are trying to come back to their senses in the early morning light. It makes me sad to see these kids, obviously hungering for something, something not apt to be fulfilled in the club scene.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>A quotation from +Richard Harries, retired Bishop of Oxford: "Diversity is God's gift to us; division is what we've made of it."</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>From a chat with a British priest on a diocesan staff: "Justice sermons don't go over very well here. It offends the British sense of being courteous and nice. Toleration is about as far as people are willing to go." No wonder we're having a problem!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>All in all, the Brits are a kind and generous people -- courteous to a fault and delightful to be around. To this old Anglophile, it is a joy to be with them.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-22780515957346930312008-07-25T04:10:00.000-07:002008-07-25T05:41:41.291-07:00The Agony and the Ecstasy<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SInHx80eZoI/AAAAAAAAABM/jgWFa1cALPg/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-5+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226928503493912194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SInHx80eZoI/AAAAAAAAABM/jgWFa1cALPg/s200/Lambeth+08+-5+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SInHLwrouWI/AAAAAAAAABE/VD_oHL5yEzc/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-5+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226927847400585570" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SInHLwrouWI/AAAAAAAAABE/VD_oHL5yEzc/s200/Lambeth+08+-5+014.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>What a roller coaster this continues to be -- with ecstatic moments of grace and agonizing moments of disappointment. Forgive me for not writing since our Wednesday evening gathering, but I just needed a rest.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>First, one of the ecstasies. The gathering on Wednesday evening was really quite everything all of us had hoped for. I must be general in my comments, to protect the identities of those who were present. I would in no way want to compromise the risk that some took to be there. I was profoundly moved and humbled by those who chose to attend. Certainly, I was preaching to a considerable number of "the choir." But also present, at the personal invitations from some of our American bishops, were many bishops from all over the world -- from SIX continents, I might add. Our time began with refreshments in the courtyard, before moving inside for the program. Some who attended were probably only curious. Many more were deeply interested, and deeply committed to the listening process called for by the last three Lambeth Conferences. Some were cautious, anxious (it seemed) and taking quite a risk (from their peers) to be there -- a remarkable and holy risk-taking on their parts. I was deeply moved by their willingess to attend and listen. This was my first opportunity to meet my foreign counterparts, and of course like my brother and sister American bishops, found this to be a wonderful, sobering and thoughtful experience.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>After a presentation by some of our bishops about the polity and practice of electing bishops in our Province, and an introduction of me (via DVD) by laity and clergy of New Hampshire, I spoke. I told them that the one goal I had was that they might recognize the God I know and witness to in my life as the same God they know in their lives. I believe that happened.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>During the question and answer conversation, several wanted to express their support, and did so movingly and sincerely, some through a translator. Both bishops and spouses contributed. Others asked good questions and listened intently to my answers. I could not have asked for a more respectful hearing. Comments made during and after the presentation revealed a deep yearning to heal this current divide -- theologically, culturally and ecclesially. The longing for Communion seemed palpable to me. Those who would prematurely announce the demise of the Anglican Communion obviously haven't talked to these folks!</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>One telling comment, from one of those who had chosen to accept a brother bishop's invitation despite his misgivings, was moved to lament how easy it is to believe what one reads and hears about a fellow Christian, and to find in meeting him that that impression was distorted. He comes from a country torn by internal strife and with more than enough problems of its own, yet found time in his schedule to participate in this effort at reconciliation. Profoundly moving.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I can't really say much more than that, except to say that we'll be doing it again next Wednesday and that we hope that word will travel among the bishops that this could indeed be a productive and holy time for those who wish to open themselves to it. God did, as I had prayed, provide me and those present with the words we needed to communicate our common humanity and our common faith.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I began Thursday morning in prayer with the Franciscans, and continue to feel blessed by their hospitality and their witness. It's a good thing I began that way, because what next befell me was one of the agonies.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Since arriving in Canterbury, I had not yet visited the Cathedral. I went nowhere near the place on Sunday's opening service. The ever-anxious leadership had provided the Cathedral security guards with a large photo of me, posted at the security checkpoints, presumably to keep me from "crashing the gates" of the opening service. No one believed that I would be true to my promise to the Archbishop not to attend.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>On Thursday, knowing that the conference attendees would leave early in the morning for London -- for the MDG walk, lunch at Lambeth Palace, and tea with the Queen -- it seemed like a good, low-profile time to make my own pilgrimage to our Mother Church. I told no one of my intentions to attend -- except I had my security person follow the properly courteous protocol of alerting the Cathedral to my visit. I had him also seek permission for a videographer to accompany me on my visit for a documentary to be released sometime in 2010. We were informed that the videographer could NOT accompany me or film me inside the Cathedral. Fair enough. We were told that he could accompany me to the gate onto the Cathedral grounds, and, standing in the public street, could at least film me walking into the Cathedral through the gate's archway.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>We contacted Cathedral security to let them know of our imminent arrival, as had been requestd. When we got there, we were met by a gentleman, representing the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, I think. He intercepted me and told me that I could not be filmed walking into the Cathedral (even from the public street outside) after all. The reason he gave took me by surprise, rendering me speechless (an uncommon experience for me!). "We can't have any photographs or film of you entering the Cathedral," he said, "because we want this to be a church for ALL people." Presumably he meant that my being seen walking into the Cathedral would cause others not to want to come.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>This was one of those breathtaking moments when you just can't come up with the right thing to say. The rest of the day I thought of all the things I SHOULD have said. Like, "so you mean that I am not included in 'ALL people?!'" Or, "isn't this MY cathedral too?!" Or, "so what am I, chopped liver?!" The moment was so surprising, after having been so forthright in our notification of our visit and going through all the channels to ensure courteousness, I just couldn't come up with anything to say except, "okay," and accede to his wishes. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>We were taken to the Cathedral's visitors office, where we were introduced to Theresa, a competent and warm guide who provided me with a wonderful, informative and hospitable tour of the Cathedral. But I simply couldn't shake the feelings engendered by the previous "welcome" a few minutes before.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>The Cathedral, of course, has its own voice, and its towering arches, art, altars and promenades tell a wonderful story of Christian witness over the centuries. Three distinct architectural styles attest to its construction over a very long time. Its Augustine's Chair points to the first Archbishop of Canterbury's primacy at a much more precarious time than our own. The ancient nature of this building points to the Church's survivability over time, and I found this particularly moving and comforting, that even through THESE times, God promises to protect the Church such that "even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>As for nearly every other pilgrim, I found the altar at which Thomas a Becket was slain particularly moving. Since I had last been there, some thirty years ago, a modern sculpture had been added above the alter. It depicted the sword, used to accomplish this "murder in the cathedral," broken in the act of doing its dirty deed, flanked by two other swords. The three of them together formed a kind of three-cross Golgotha on which our Lord was slain. An already poignant place, made even more powerful by the work of an artist. I knelt to pray there and found it hard to leave. The witness of the saints, standing firm against the powers of this world, continues to inspire.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Young people, from all over the world, staffing their own version of the Stations of the Cross, implored me to come down to their witness in the crypt of the cathedral. True to my experiences with countless young people "on the Fringe" here, they shake their heads and wonder why the Church is tearing itself apart over an issue that is simply not an issue for them. Their comforting words of support mean the world to me, and in that moment, provided the REAL welcome at Canterbury Cathedral I needed.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Then, we were off to London. Many months ago, I had been contacted by the Cara Trust, a philanthropic organization who has been providing support and services to those living with HIV/AIDS since the early days of the pandemic. They invited me to have tea with them and many of their clients -- now not just limited to gay men, but including heterosexuals, women and especially women of color. What an honor to be asked, and what an honor to accept.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>In one of those divinely humorous coincidences, our travel route from Canterbury and through the jam-packed traffic of London took us around Buckingham Palace, just at the precise moment that bishops and spouses were streaming off their coaches and into the Palace, for tea with the Queen. It was delightful to see most of the women wearing fabulous hats, chosen for this occasion. My gaze was caught by Donna Scarfe, wife of the Bishop of Iowa, in a stunning green hat with matching ensemble. Truly fit for a queen!</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Upon my arrival at the Methodist church where we were meeting, I was greeted with open arms by those living with HIV. Italian, French, Caribbean, Indian and British human beings infected with a disease that knows no class or nationality, and whose treatment by an inhuman prejudice breaks my heart. But this was not a time to mourn. Pots of tea on tableclothed card tables and a table of delectable pastries gave it a party atmosphere. I was supposed to judge the "best cake" contest, but there were just too many to sample them all and no way to single out the best. </div><div> </div><div>I don't know how tea with the Queen went, but I can attest that west of Buckingham Palace, there was a GREAT tea party going on! At the end, they presented me with a spectacular bouquet of flowers, wrapped in purple tissue that perfectly matched my bishop's shirt. It was a profoundly moving experience, and one that I would not have traded for the world. The view "from the Fringe" continues to inspire, challenge, nourish and console me.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I am now in an undisclosed location, taking the weekend to rest and relax. I'm going to not think about the Church for a few days. I might even take in the latest Batman movie, just to turn my brain off and escape for a little while. A little sabbath time is what I need. I've scouted out a place to worship on Sunday and will meet friends for dinner. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I am well and content. God still seems palpably close. Life is ALWAYS filled with both agonies and ecstasies, and each teaches us something different. One can never be absolutely sure one is doing the Lord's work instead of one's own agenda, but it sure feels like God is here, directing my attempts to witness to God's goodness and love. Praise to God when I get it right, and God help me when I get it wrong.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Thank you for your continuing prayers. I could not be doing this without them.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-20948409760085733052008-07-23T00:22:00.000-07:002008-07-23T01:42:08.415-07:00God is good. All the time.<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIbsb6wjt6I/AAAAAAAAAA8/-xmddVLueTA/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-4+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226124381983586210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIbsb6wjt6I/AAAAAAAAAA8/-xmddVLueTA/s200/Lambeth+08+-4+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The busyness and tension of the last couple of days have kept me from blogging. Now there seems so much to catch up on, it is daunting. Some highlights....</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Early morning prayers with the Franciscans continue to feed and nourish me. Approaching via the narrow and empty streets of Canterbury, arriving at the gate, left open for me by the brothers, proceeding across the quiet and narrow river, into the meadow of wildflowers glistening in the morning sun, and into the chapel where Christians have been praying for 700+ years. As I sit quietly in prayer with the brothers, doves are cooing overhead, and the babbling river over which the chapel is built makes its own peaceful rhythm.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>In reciting the psalms, the brothers employ a practice that has never really worked for me -- until now. The long and pregnant pause between lines of the psalms has always seemed to me, observed in large groups, to be artificial and distracting (more worried that I'm going to start too soon and stick out like a sore thumb). But here, it is an entirely different spiritual practice. It's as if the brothers and I have become one breathing organism, finding a breathing and speaking rhythm that brings us intimately together. Rather than a distraction, it is an embodiment of the oneness life in Christ promises with one another.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>As an American, I suppose, I want to voice meaning in each word, but the flatness with which the brothers recite the psalms make a strange sense to me. The reciting of the psalms becomes less about what the words mean, and more about the unity with which we are reciting them. Sounds strange, even for me to be saying. But it works. Powerfully, prayerfully and intimately.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>In the intercessions rota, we happen to pray for the Francisans in the Solomon Islands, where I visited last November. A holy and unexpected coincidence (although since being here, I heard someone say that "coincidences are God's way of keeping a low profile!"). Those brothers, halfway around the world, are collected into our presence, and the world seems unexpectedly one.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Emerging from the Greyfriars, after a morning cup of tea, into the now-busy streets of Canterbury is a prelude to the tension and drama that awaits me "up on the hill" at the University of Kent campus and the Lambeth Conference. I try to take some of the peace I've found at Greyfriars with me.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>The day is littered with chance meetings with brother and sister bishops from the Episcopal Church -- always helpful and comforting to me. There are the chance meetings with others from around the Communion -- some warm and friendly and supportive, some averting their eyes when they see me coming, choosing to withhold returning even a smile in passing.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Almost invariably, though, I am stopped by each of the conference stewards -- mostly college-aged young people from England and around the Communion, who want to shake my hand and tell me of their support. These young people are so interested in the Church, so committed to being here and helping in any way, yet mystified by some of the words and behaviors they witness, all in the name of the Church. They want me to know how much they are praying for me. The fellow behind the cafe counter in the Marketplace insists that I accept a cappuchino he has made for me, a free gift he insists. Many want their pictures taken with the Bishop of New Hampshire, as if it will be a reminder of something important and hopeful for them. I am awed and honored by their interest and their kindness, and am reminded that "my congregation" right now is anyone who will listen and engage. Being "on the Fringe" is a blessing indeed.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Yesterday (Tuesday), I was scheduled to make an address at the University of Kent's Law School's Centre for the Study of the Law, Gender and Sexuality. It was an oversubscribed event, with a queue of people on a waiting list, hoping for a seat. Young and old, churched and unchurched, faithful and skeptical. It is an amazing gathering, and our conversation is robust, thoughtful and challenging.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Just before entering the hall, I receive news that the Archbishop of Sudan, claiming many in the Global South supporting him, has called for my resignation as Bishop of New Hampshire. The Bishop of Fort Worth adds that those who consecrated me ought to recognize how unwelcome THEY are at Lambeth and should leave.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have decided not to make any official kind of response. It seems to me that the challenge is not so much to me as it is to the Episcopal Church, and specifically to its House of Bishops, our polity as a Church, and the canons which were followed to the letter in my election and consecration.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But I will reflect on a few questions raised and thoughts I've had since.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>First, this is also about the faithful people of New Hampshire who called me to be their bishop. Everyone seems to forget that I am not here representing myself, but rather all the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire, with whom it is my privilege to minister in Christ's name. They have called me to minister with them as their Bishop, and suggestions that I resign ignore the vows that I have taken to serve my flock in New Hampshire. I would no more let them down or reneg on my commitments to them than fly to the moon. We may be the one diocese in the entire Communion who is, for the most part, beyond all this obsession with sex and are getting on with the Gospel. They would be infuriated, as well they should be, if I entertained any notion of resigning. And it is not just Gene Robinson who is being denied representation at the Lambeth Conference, it is the people of New Hampshire who have been deprived of a seat at the table.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Second, those calling for my resignation seem to be under the impression that if Gene Robinson went away, that all would go back to being "like it was," whatever that was! Does ANYONE think that if I resigned, this issue would go away?! I could be hit by a big, British, doubledecker bus today, and it would not change the fact that there are faithful, able and gifted gay and lesbian priests of this Episcopal Church who are known and loved for what they bring to ordained ministry, who will before long be recognized with a nomination for the episcopate (as has already happened in dioceses other than New Hampshire), and one of them will be elected. Not because they are gay or lesbian, but because the people who elect them recognize their gifts for ministry in that particular diocese. We are not going away, as much as some would like us to. That toothpaste isn't going to go back into the tube! Not if the Bishop of New Hampshire resigns. Not if the "offending" bishops leave the Lambeth Conference. Not ever.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I especially need your prayers tonight. It is the first of two Wednesday evenings in which some American bishops will sponsor a Fringe Event (officially sanctioned, not as part of the conference, but as a Fringe Event), for bishops and spouses of the Communion to come and meet their brother bishop Gene. After four bishops describe the process that led to my election and consent, and testimony, one from a bishop who voted for my consent and one who voted against consent, about my warm welcome into our House of Bishops by virtually all members of our House, even and especially those who voted "no." They will bear witness, I hope, to how the Episcopal Church is forging a model for ministry together, despite our differences. Something the Anglican Communion might want to learn from.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Then I will be introduced -- not by a bishop, but by the people of New Hampshire who elected me. A DVD presentation will include voices of clergy and laity from New Hampshire introducing me and reflecting on our ministry together. I am so proud of that.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I will then attempt to share my own witness to the love of Christ in my own life. It will not be a "sell job," although I'm sure some will judge it to be that. Rather, my one goal is to talk about my own life and journey in Christ in such a way that those who are listening will perceive that the God I know in my own life is the same God they know in THEIR lives. Then we can wrestle with the faithful differences we have in interpreting that God's will for us and for God's church. I feel an enormous weight on my shoulders as this evening approaches, and hence ask for your prayers. I assume that God will, as God has always done, supply me with the words I need. Not MY words, but GOD'S words, as best I can open myself to being a channel for those words. Those who have ears to hear, by the grace of God, will hear.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>This has gone on much too long, and I apologize. But as I write these words, my faith in God is strengthened and my spirit is calmed. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "God is good. All the time." I trust that this evening will be no different.</div><br /><div></div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-7947521894150405972008-07-20T21:48:00.000-07:002008-07-20T22:13:46.495-07:00Mind the GapSunday's "inclusive opening service" was a boost to my spirits. Gathered in a beautiful, open, grassy park, a couple of hundred folks gathered to give God thanks in the way that Christians have been doing for centuries. Susan Russell "knocked one out of the park" with her sermon. Her theme, a phrase heard at every Tube station in London: Mind the Gap! She talked about all the gaps that separate us -- especially the gap between what we say and how we act. (At the official opening service in the morning, I understand that the sermon by a Sri Lankan bishop was extraordinary, though I've still not caught up with it online. The irony of singing the hymn "All are welcome" apparently was not lost on anyone!) But the gaps, said Susan, need not become chasms that divide us -- it is the greatest of Anglican traditions.<br /><br />Some 20-30 American bishops joined us for the inclusive service. Many of them gathered with me in the parish hall next door, to walk with me over to the eucharist site. They are sharing the pain of all this with me, and their pain is real too. We're all caught in this institutional web of which we are a part. Their being there, their words of comfort and pain, and their walking with me meant so much.<br /><br />I learned more about today's planned meeting of the House of Bishops and the official thinking behind my not being able to attend. I don't "get" their reasoning, but here it is: (And the fact is, most of our House of Bishops is probably totally unaware of the "negotiations" going on behind the scenes.) The Lambeth planners do NOT consider this a meeting of our House of Bishops. Rather, they say, this is a part of the Lambeth Conference, and therefore, as a non-invitee, I will not be allowed on the premises where the meeting is taking place. It seems a flimsy distinction to me, but I have decided not to pursue it. It really puts all of us in a lose-lose position: if I abide by their ruling, I am excluded; if I fight it or simply show up, then I'm the troublemaker and rebel. If the House of Bishops takes some action on this, necessitating a vote, then it divides our House -- a further and unnecessary division that I refuse to encourage. So no matter how you slice it, someone loses. I have decided, on my own, to let it go, sad as it is. This is not a ditch I feel called to die in. I will just mourn the sadness of it, and move on. (There's something about shaking the dust off your sandals and moving on that I've read somewhere!)<br /><br />What I want all of you to know is that there are some amazing people in our House of Bishops who are working constantly behind the scenes to support me. Their support means the world to me. They are as dismayed, discouraged and frustrated as the rest of us. They need to play THEIR roles INSIDE the Big Top (the large tent where they are meeting -- the circus reference has been duly noted by everyone!), and I need to play MINE, OUTSIDE, as our beloved ++Katharine told me back in March. So that's what we'll do.<br /><br />I'm off early this morning to pray with the Franciscans. Sitting in their 13th century chapel and offering prayers to God, I will be giving thanks for all your prayers and support. I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses -- some here, some far away, and some gathered around the throne of God (+Jim Kelsey comes to mind). Because of your love, some of the bounce is back in my step, and I welcome this new day and whatever it will bring. The Marketplace opens today, and I will be there to talk with whomever wants to talk. And as we know from the Road to Emmaus story, "as they walked and talked, Jesus drew near." I'll be looking for him!+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-66366934300677608822008-07-20T04:12:00.001-07:002008-07-20T04:51:59.288-07:00Pray for me<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIMitDFu9OI/AAAAAAAAAA0/4HC8DRZtfz8/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-3+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225058149998720226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIMitDFu9OI/AAAAAAAAAA0/4HC8DRZtfz8/s200/Lambeth+08+-3+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Never have I felt more in need of your prayers. As I write this, the opening service of the Lambeth Conference is going on at Canterbury Cathedral. I am a few miles away -- but it feels like a much further difference. I am not appearing at the opening service, as I promised the Archbishop.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Yesterday was a painful day. I am feeling frustrated and angry. I dare not write too much, because I don't want to sound like I'm whining, nor do I want to say anthing intemperate. But making my first trip into Canterbury and the campus on which the Conference is occurring was difficult.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>The level of fear and anxiety, especially among the Conference powers-that-be, is out the roof. No matter what I say, no matter what assurances I give, I seem to be regarded as a threat, something to be walled off and kept at a distance. Greeting a few American bishops in passing, and then at a dinner for General Seminary alumni last night, has been pleasant and supportive. But even though I thought I was properly prepared for the feeling of being shut out, I am stunned by the depth of that feeling.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>I am not participating in any kind of official way at the "inclusive opening service" being held this afternoon on a green off campus. I will sit in the congregation with those American bishops who choose to show up in support of this service of inclusion. I know that a number of them will be present, even though they'll have just finished a long service at the Cathedral. This means so much to me that they would do so, especially at this time.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>The most infuriating blow came this morning with news that when the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops meets on Tuesday afternoon (each of the 38 "national" provinces of the Communion will have its own gathering), I will not be allowed to participate, because this would look like I had become a "participant," and the organizers seem intent on enforcing my status as a non-invitee. If nothing can be done to change this decision, it will be a particularly painful blow. At our House of Bishops meeting in March, I pleaded with the House not to let Lambeth separate us. For me to be excluded from my own House of Bishops seems especially cruel and unnecessary.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>All is not bad, of course. I had a wonderful time with organizers from Integrity, Claiming the Blessing and the Chicago Consultation. They are making a powerful and effective witness to the presence of gay and lesbian people in the Church, and I am honored to be with them.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>In the afternoon, I made my own little pilgrimage -- not yet to the Cathedral, but rather to the Greyfriars, the community of Franciscans here in Canterbury. Franciscan friars made their way to England and arrived in Canterbury in A.D. 1224. They've been here ever since. I had been invited to join them for prayer, eucharist and quiet, so I wanted to touch base. I was welcomed by every single one of the community, getting a personal tour of the place (which includes a heavenly "pasture" of wildflowers tucked between two passages of the river that runs through town) by one of the brothers, and then tea with the whole community. (See photo above, which includes some of them.) I believe I have found a spiritual home here in the midst of exile. I am thankful for their hospitality and welcome.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I don't know how all this is going to play out over the next two weeks. At the moment, I am feeling like the ancient Hebrews, wandering in the desert looking for God's daily manna, just to get through. With all the exclusion and meanness that has come my way over the years, you'd think this would come as less of a surprise. But surprise me it did! And it hurts, especially at the hands of my brothers and sisters in Christ.</div><div> </div><div>So please, pray for me. Pray that God will reveal to me what I am to do and how I am to do it, best reflecting God's love and spirit of reconciliation. Pray that when given an opportunity to speak to one or to many, God might replace my words with His words, my heart with His heart. In the end, I keep reminding myself, I'm going to heaven.</div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-50172135284178602462008-07-19T09:48:00.000-07:002008-07-19T10:42:18.366-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIIkWGxp8ZI/AAAAAAAAAAs/LQW5Mge4rG0/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-2+094.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224778479897801106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIIkWGxp8ZI/AAAAAAAAAAs/LQW5Mge4rG0/s200/Lambeth+08+-2+094.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIIe6XsG9zI/AAAAAAAAAAk/vx9ZH5kqlCE/s1600-h/Lambeth+08+-2+079.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224772505843463986" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_SEDoBcfyji8/SIIe6XsG9zI/AAAAAAAAAAk/vx9ZH5kqlCE/s200/Lambeth+08+-2+079.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>We arrive at St. Rumwold's parish, about thirty miles from Canterbury, set among "amber waves of grain." Surrounded by nearly ripe wheat fields, on the edge of what used to be the coast (before the area was drained, Henry VIII's warships were built here, and the soldiers who would murder Thomas a Becket landed here from France), St. Rumwold's has hosted Christian worshippers since A.D. 786. The present building "only" dates back 1,000 years!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Let me save you some time looking up St. Rumwold. It seems that Rumwold was born, and when he was three days old (yes, that's three DAYS old), he delivered a sermon on the Trinity and promptly died. Sermons on the Trinity are generally tough, but this one takes the cake! No wonder we don't have a St. Rumwold's in New Hampshire!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In the middle of nowhere, amid this beautiful farm country, I was greeted by twenty or so photographers, did a live interview on BBC TV, and taped another interview with Sky TV. </div><div> </div><div>St. Rumwold's has a curious ministry of "absence." That is, its special ministry seems to be of offering an empty (except for God) church for people to stop in and pray, anytime, 24/7. It is a haven of peace and quiet in a busy world, offering its beauty and simplicity to all who might find it welcome. Offering little in the way of potential stolen property, it worries not about losing anything.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Every Friday evening in the summers, St. Rumwold's offers a lecture to the community. Last night, I was it. The place was packed to the gills, and the organizers seemed quite happy at the turnout -- the largest in thirty years, they said. The audience was diverse in age and theological stance. Billed as a "conversation with Bishop Robinson," I mostly answered people's questions. They were thoughtful and interesting. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>There were a couple of quite conservative questioners who voiced their concerns about my regard for the Scriptures and what, it seemed to them, was my playing fast and loose with the Word of God. They were respectful, thoughtful and sincere. One of them, a lovely woman who appeared to be in her eighties, read to me from her Bible. To her credit, she not only read the familiar part of Leviticus, but went on to read Levitcus' instruction that "a man who lies with a man as with a woman" should be put to death. I asked her if she thought that Mark and I should be put to death. She responded, "I didn't say it. God did." I went on to answer her question as best I could. At the end of the evening, she thanked me and patted me on the arm as only a matron and matriarch of the church can do. She reminded me of the matriarchs I had grown up with in my church in Kentucky. She and I may not agree, but she was there! At eighty-something, she was still opening her heart to learn what God would have her learn. You can't ask for more than that.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>One man approached me after the service, nearly sobbing. All he could get out was that he had left the Church twelve years ago, having been treated and hurt so badly. For the first time in a long time, he said, he was feeling some hope of being able to return. I pray so.</div><div> </div><div>Numerous people, including the vicar, shared that they had a son or daughter who was gay, and I was reminded of my own parents who were so isolated from their friends when I came out to them, afraid that their friends would judge THEM and punish them for my being gay. These are parents -- and there are so many, everywhere -- who love their child and who can't square what they think the Bible says, with the wonderful child they know and love. Of all the people in the audience, they seemed the most appreciative.</div><div> </div><div>After refreshments, we made our way back through the waving wheat fields to our lodging outside of Canterbury. An evening well spent.</div></div>+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752540167044737297.post-62632205594401576652008-07-17T22:18:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:33:13.600-07:00If I am to do nothing...Today (Friday), we leave for Canterbury, where the bishops have been gathered in retreat since Wednesday. After all the planning and praying, I still don't know what to expect. What I do know is that praying for the Archbishop of Canterbury and all the bishops, on retreat, has been painful. I still don't fathom why my presence in their midst would be such an affront. It is especially hard being separated from my own brother and sister bishops, who have been so generous and welcoming in our own House, even those who voted "no" on my consent. I miss them terribly.<br /><br /><br /><br />I have a friend in the midwest, someone I have never met, but who has been a companion on the way since emailing me right after my election. In her wisdom, this morning she forwarded to me one of my own favorite prayers. Though it comes from the section of the Prayer Book for use by someone who is sick, it is a great prayer for anyone, anytime. It seems especially appropriate for right now, as she obviously discerned.<br /><br /><br /><br />This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.<br /><br /><br /><br />With Lambeth Palace seeming so paranoid and suspicious of my presence at the conference, and with my desire to HELP the Archbishop, not undermine him, it seems to offer the best guidance for me right now. Perhaps it is not anything I will say, but rather my quiet presence alone, which will be my witness. Pray, my friends, that I will have patience and that my witness will be gallant. And above all, pray that I take with me the Spirit of Jesus.+Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01138301501368009478noreply@blogger.com