Time to Say 'No'

by William Carroll

In the last issue (TCJ23), I observed that the 2006 General Convention had articulated a desire to work on relationships with others while staying true to what God requires of us. Despite ultimatums and prophecies of doom, we refused to take back our real but insufficient steps towards the full inclusion of ALL people in the ministries and sacraments of God's church. I was proud when we refused to enact a proposed moratorium on same sex unions. I was equally proud that we restored funding for Appalachian ministry and passed a strongly worded resolution on immigrants' rights in a xenophobic, reactionary climate. In many ways, we chose to live in hope rather than fear, and reaffirmed our commitment to the Gospel and our Baptismal Covenant.

I also pointed to the election of our new Presiding Bishop as a profoundly hopeful moment for the church. Another barrier fell, and she is both a capable bishop and a strong advocate for peace and justice, especially the Millennium Development Goals.

The most disappointing feature of General Convention was the ill-conceived resolution B033, which promised to withhold consent from the election of any bishop whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church. Would that all bishops were a challenge to the wider church! Now we all know this meant persons living openly in same sex relationships. We also know that the Presiding Bishop is largely responsible for its passage. She argued that it was necessary to give her a seat at the table in the ongoing discussions about the fate of the Anglican Communion. More recently, after the Primates issued a new round of ultimatums from Tanzania, she has argued for patience, so that our witness can continue to be part of the conversation.

I trust that the Presiding Bishop has the best possible motives in this, but I don't buy her argument. She deserves our continued respect and support, but part of that is letting her know when we think she's wrong. I doubt whether the conversation she envisions is really possible. I think we are in a conversation with some of our partners in the Communion. In other cases it is a power struggle. The Windsor Report is part of that power struggle, even if in the intentions of the more benevolent members of the Lambeth Commission, it was meant to be part of a conversation.

Saying a gentle, but firm and resolute "no" to the ultimatums will be a first step toward turning the power struggle into a conversation again, even if we are excluded at Lambeth, perhaps because (italics added) we are excluded at Lambeth. This is the response of creative nonviolence in an inherently violent situation, characterized by scapegoating the LGBT faithful. We have many friends in the Communion who will continue to talk with us and to engage God's mission with us.

The structures of the Communion are being taken over to support a sinister agenda, which includes denial of human rights. With the full support of Archbishop Akinola, Nigeria is considering a law that would limit freedom of assembly, the press, and speech for those advocating civil equality, in a society where same sex relationships are already criminalized.

If the primates had rebuked the government and church in Nigeria over this violation of human rights, which may well lead to more physical violence, I'd be more tempted to try for a worldwide conversation within the Communion. I say tempted, not convinced. Some of my brothers and sisters do not have this luxury. They need a clear and unambiguous statement that the Episcopal Church will stand with them, and we have a moral and pastoral responsibility to provide it. As Michael Hopkins has pointed out, in our context, the failure to do so would be "evangelical suicide."

Being "kicked out of the Anglican Communion" would not damage our relationships with any partners who really want to have a conversation with us. I think Ed Bacon's fine sermon* shows us a way forward: more of us need to be choosing the life-giving power of egalitarian relationship (that of being brothers and sisters in Christ) over the destructive power of domination.

Windsor, the proposed Covenant, and the Anglican Communion they envision help us to move in the wrong direction, an Anglicanism that can't get over its imperial legacy of violence, coercion, and exclusion. It's long past time to say "no."

*http://www.allsaints-pas.org/site/DocServer/JEB_2-25-07_Choosing_Life-Giving_Power_Over_Destructive_.pdf?docID=1041 (Requires Acrobat Reader; 5 pages; 260kb)

[The Covenant Journal, Number 24, March 2007]

The Revd R William Carroll, PhD, is rector, Church of the Good Shepherd, Athens, OH, and coeditor of TCJ.