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Bishop's Statement Camp Allen Texas |
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Below is the pastoral letter BishopHerlong delivered on March 24, 2005 regarding the recent House of Bishop’s meeting and it’s impact on the Episcopal Election in the Diocese.
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Dear People of God,
I have just returned from the spring meeting of the House of Bishops held at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas. By this time, many of you have seen the “Covenant Statement” issued from that meeting. A copy of the statement and the cover letter, “A Word to the Church” from the House of Bishops can be found on our Diocesan Web Site: www.episcopaldiocese-tn.org. I was part of a group of bishops who developed the First Draft and again worked on the Third Draft of the Covenant Statement that was adopted in an amended form. The drafting group was a self-selected number of bishops representing a variety of views who believed that a positive response to the Windsor Report and the Primate’s Communiqué from the House of Bishops was critical to the life and future of our church. Those two documents, the Windsor Report and the Communiqué “invited” the Episcopal Church to declare a moratorium in three areas, “the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union,” “on public rites of blessing for same sex unions” and the crossing of diocesan boundaries to provide Episcopal ministries and to refrain voluntarily from sending delegates to meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council. The Covenant Statement was approved by a voice vote with only a very few negative votes. I only know of one “traditionalist” bishop who voted against it. The Covenant Statement responds to the Windsor Report and the Primate’s Communiqué in the language of those documents. It expresses deep regret, a sincere apology and repentance for breaching the “bonds of affection” (WR & Communiqué language). The House of Bishops has no authority for preventing Episcopal elections but has agreed to a moratorium on Consecrations by withholding consents to all Episcopal Elections until the General Convention of 2006. Likewise, they pledged not to authorize any “public rites for the blessing of same sex unions” (WR & Communiqué language) and will not bless any such unions at least until the General convention of 2006. “At least” here means just the minimum. I have stated before that Resolution C051 of the 2003 General Convention did not give permission for the blessing of same sex unions even though some have used it as a pretext for doing so. The Covenant Statement emphasizes this point. The Covenant Statement in response to the Windsor Report and Communiqué pledges a moratorium on crossing diocesan boundaries in violation of our Canons for our bishops and calls on bishops and clergy other provinces to do likewise. What does all this mean for the Diocese of Tennessee? Our Episcopate Committee is in place and functioning well and that process will continue, but the schedule will be altered. The election of our bishop coadjutor will be delayed for at least three and one-half months and the consecration of our new bishop will be delayed for at least two months. This delay is not necessarily bad; it will, in fact, give us more time to find the best nominees and get to know them before the election. This change is necessary because our Canons state that if consents to an election have not been received by a majority of diocesan bishops 120 days after the election, the election is null and void. So to proceed with our present schedule would not be feasible. However, the Constitution and Canons of our church also provide that Episcopal Elections held within three months of a General Convention must be approved by the House of Deputies (clergy and lay persons), and the House of Bishops. There are eleven Episcopal Elections scheduled between now and the General Convention, including one (Southern Ohio) where the nominees have already been selected. All of these elections will have to come before the General Convention for approval. In the case of our Diocese, that would mean our election could be held as early as mid-March and our consecration date could be in late June or early July instead of May. From a personal perspective, let me say that while the Covenant Statement is not what I would prefer, it is far, far stronger than I could have imagined and by far the best that could be done at this time. The Archbishop of Canterbury has welcomed the statement as “constructive,” stating that they (ECUSA – House of Bishops) “have clearly sought to respond to the requests made of them in the Windsor Report and in the Communiqué issued after the recent Primates Meeting. It is clear that there has been a real willingness to engage with the challenges posed” Some have said that this is just buying time. But what is wrong with that? We need time to allow the whole church to respond more fully to the Windsor Report and the Communiqué of the Primates and to pursue the education process called for by these documents and to rebuild bridges to the rest of the Anglican Communion. In my opinion, this Covenant Statement will keep the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion which is something that I and many others desire and that is a lot more important than the problems it presents or changes we and others must make in our Episcopal Election process. Already some very few bishops and a lot of others have sought to “spin” this Covenant Statement to say a variety of things that fit their own agendas. I ask everyone to read it carefully and remember that in spite of what some people in our church say and do in regard to this document and the issues it addresses, God is still in charge. Our response is to be faithful, to persevere, to pray and to do our work of ministry and service. May God bless each of you as we continue our journey of faith together. The Right Reverend Bertram Nelson Herlong, D.D. Bishop of Tennessee The Covenant Statement and Word to the Church are available on the Diocese of Tennessee web page, a quick link from our home web page, www.tnbishopsearch.org |
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