Dear Diocesan Family,
I am glad to report that
the deputation from the Diocese of Southern Virginia has returned
safely from our time in Indianapolis at the 77th General Convention of
the Episcopal Church. It's good to be home!
Unlike past Conventions
which were typically 10 days long, the 77th Convention compressed the
work of the triennial into eight days. As a result, we did more work in a
shorter period of time than in the past. Each day of legislation began
early and ended late. Legislative committees would typically begin at
7:00 or 7:30 a.m. for most of us. The larger legislative sessions of
both houses would begin before lunch and usually conclude their business
around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. Following a dinner break legislative
committees would meet again until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. in the evening. I
think it is fair to say that all of us returned home exhausted - and
yet, I believe we all feel energized by what we experienced in
Indianapolis.
It is difficult to
describe the sheer volume of material covered at General Convention or
the sheer volume of the process itself. The Convention is the largest
bicameral (two house) process in the world. While the House of Bishops
was comprised of a mere 200 or so bishops, the House of Deputies (lay
people, priests and deacons) involved over 700 deputies and 200-plus
alternate deputies. Add to that number visitors, special guests, the
press, spouses, etc. and the result was a huge assembly of people. I
attended one mid-morning Eucharist where there were at least 1,600
people in the congregation.
Given the size of
General Convention and the fact that those gathered do the work of the
Church through a massive legislative process, it would be easy to
conclude that God gets left out of all of it and that the work which is
done is somehow less than "holy". I attended my first General Convention
in 2009 with more than a bit of skepticism about this possibility.
But what I discovered in
2009, and what I discovered this last week in Indianapolis was the
Church of God in all its diversity, and in all its chaos, striving,
sometimes struggling, to do the work of its Lord as faithfully as
possible. It wasn't always pretty and we more often than not exhibited
the "fallen" nature of institutionalized religion, and yet, there seemed
to be something sacred and remarkable about our work together. I have
no doubt that the Holy Spirit was among us and around us at General
Convention and that God did work and will work through our work, however
imperfect and fallen we might have been or will be.
Unfortunately, there are
those who see our gathering in Indianapolis differently and have felt
the need as of late to cast derision on the event. There are members of
the media who have evaluated the modern Episcopal Church according to
some idealized fantasy of the Church as moral "relic". After reading one
scathing article in the Wall Street Journal, I sat wondering if the
writer and I had actually attended the same event! What he experienced
there was the complete opposite of what I experienced. I am hard pressed
to explain this difference. I can only offer you what I saw and
understood and promise that I return from the 77th General Convention
in praise of the behavior of my colleagues in the House of Bishops - how
they treated one another with respect and caring in the midst of
disagreement - in praise of our Presiding Bishop's leadership, and in
praise of the new missionary sense that seems to be unfolding in our
Episcopal Church!
As was expected, the
press focused most of its attention on resolutions regarding sexuality,
especially Resolution A049 (the blessing of same-gender, life-long
covenants). Needless to say, sexuality is always "the news that sells"
in our culture. At the bottom of all the hype and all the controversy I
believe one will find the Church of God using the legislative process
in an attempt to address same-gender relationships in a new, Christ-like
way. I have dedicated a full interview
describing my thoughts on same-gender unions and why I voted "yes" to
A049. I want all in the diocese to have access to my thinking and
theological position on this matter.
In all honesty,
sexuality was not the topic around which this General Convention focused
its primary time and energy. Nor was it the subject that evoked the
most passion. Again, the real and substantive subject which captured our
attention was reforming the structure of TEC so that we may, in the
future, effectively address the unique missionary challenges that we now
face in our culture and in our world at large. As a result, for the
first time in history, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution to
create a task force to evaluate and to recommend how we might alter our
structure so that we are much less about sustaining the institution and
much more about doing God's mission. The task force will report its
findings to a special gathering of leaders from around the entire Church
in the fall of 2014 in preparation for the next General Convention in
2015.
In the same spirit, for the first time in recent history, TEC adopted a budget that had at its foundational core the "Five Marks of Mission"
previously adopted by our Church. Even in the budget there was a clear
and resounding move away from maintenance spending to mission spending. I
recommend that everyone take time and learn about the "Five Marks of Mission" that are now guiding TEC and that should guide every parish in Southern Virginia as well.
And finally, in the same
spirit, General Convention passed a resolution to relocate - as soon as
possible - the office of the National/International Church from 815
Second Avenue in New York City, to a more appropriate, more
mission-centered location in the Continental U.S. While this may sound
like a relatively minor decision to some, it is a hugely symbolic action
representing a real coming to terms with who we are and who we now need
to be as our Lord's disciples in the 21st Century. The aristocratic
mindset that has so dominated our identity in TEC in the last century is
now becoming a thing of the past. It is time to re-embrace our
understanding of Christian discipleship and to move away from thinking
of ourselves as the "privileged" church in society. God needs more from
us now.
I could certainly name
many, many other important resolutions that arose from our time in
Indianapolis. There are various websites where that information can be
found - our diocesan website offers several links. There are, however, a
few resolutions that I believe are particularly noteworthy. These
include:
- Acknowledgment and affirmation of Holy Baptism as the normative entrance rite to Holy Communion.
- Affirmation of the work of the Anglican Covenant to build relationships across the Communion and our continuing commitment to that process. (Note: Convention declined to take a particular position on the Covenant at this time)
- Diocesan bishops authorized to allow the use of the BCP lectionary in place of the Common Lectionary.
- Authorization of liturgical rites for those who care for animals, including a rite for celebrating the life of a beloved animal.
- Creation of a pilot student loan fund for seminarians who agree to three years of service in under-served areas of the Church.
- Establishment of a development office for the entire Episcopal Church.
I do hope that everyone
will find some time in their respective parishes to discuss the work of
General Convention. This triennial gathering of the Church for the 77th
time will be another formative step in our common life.
Faithfully,
+H. Hollerith
