the rh[+] factor: All are welcome!

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live.
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace.
here the love of Christ shall end divisionss:
All are welcome,
All are welcome in this place
~Marty Haugen (b. 1950)

Our bishops have spoken in a remarkably generous and Spirit filled way. They have affirmed a desire to remain in the Anglican Communion but have also made clear that if we must choose between our baptismal ecclesiology (all are welcome) and a type of church unity purchased with the lives of a few (didn't Jesus already do that?) then they are ready, able and willing to lead this church through that wilderness. We will not sacrifice the vision we believe God has given this church to a crisis that we believe has been manufactured.

Stunning!

I've read the bishop's statements several times over by now. What is capturing my attention most this morning is their conviction that the church is not theirs (or anyone else's) to divide. In the third of their three resolutions they say:

It is incumbent upon us as disciples to do our best to follow Jesus in the increasing experience of the leading of the Holy Spirit. We fully understand that others in the Communion believe the same, but we do not believe that Jesus leads us to break our relationships. We proclaim the Gospel of what God has done and is doing in Christ, of the dignity of every human being, and of justice, compassion, and peace. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, no male or female, no slave or free. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ all God's children, including women, are full and equal participants in the life of Christ's Church. We proclaim the Gospel that in Christ all God's children, including gay and lesbian persons, are full and equal participants in the life of Christ's Church. We proclaim the Gospel that stands against any violence, including violence done to women and children as well as those who are persecuted because of their differences, often in the name of God. The Dar es Salaam Communiqué is distressingly silent on this subject. And, contrary to the way the Anglican Communion Network and the American Anglican Council have represented us, we proclaim a Gospel that welcomes diversity of thought and encourages free and open theological debate as a way of seeking God's truth. If that means that others reject us and communion with us, as some have already done, we must with great regret and sorrow accept their decision.

This the Episcopal Church I remember. This is the Anglican vision that first drew me in from the rather dreary Protestant evangelicalism of my youth (hey, it was the 1970s). This is an expression of the faith I'd sign up for all over again.

How about you?

I'm also taken with their clarity of history and our Church's place within it.

Third, it violates our founding principles as The Episcopal Church following our own liberation from colonialism and the beginning of a life independent of the Church of England.

Fourth, it is a very serious departure from our English Reformation heritage. It abandons the generous orthodoxy of our Prayer Book tradition. It sacrifices the emancipation of the laity for the exclusive leadership of high-ranking Bishops. And, for the first time since our separation from the papacy in the 16th century, it replaces the local governance of the Church by its own people with the decisions of a distant and unaccountable group of prelates.

Most important of all it is spiritually unsound. The pastoral scheme encourages one of the worst tendencies of our Western culture, which is to break relationships when we find them difficult instead of doing the hard work necessary to repair them and be instruments of reconciliation. The real cultural phenomenon that threatens the spiritual life of our people, including marriage and family life, is the ease with which we choose to break our relationships and the vows that established them rather than seek the transformative power of the Gospel in them. We cannot accept what would be injurious to this Church and could well lead to its permanent division.

I'm also taken with their generosity. They issue invitations rather than ultimatums.

We invite the Archbishop [of Canterbury] and members of the Primate's Standing Committee to join us at our expense to three days of prayer and conversation about these important mattters. We belive there is an urgent need for us to meet face to face.

Lastly, I'm especially taken with their ability to hand the anxiety back to the Primates who try to demand that a crisis on their part is a crisis on our part. Rabbi Freidman would be proud.

With this affirmation both of our identity as a Church and our affection and commitment to the Anglican Communion, we find new hope that we can turn our attention to the essence of Christ's own mission in the world, to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4:18-19). It is to that mission that we now determinedly turn.

There's more to come with a press conference today at 3:30 pm CDT, and with the blogosphere most likely about to explode with reaction and analysis.

pax [+]

Comments

there should be dancing in the streets!
This voice from the bishops should be sent out to all peoples in all places, this is the hope for the oppressed, this is the Gospel message.
We will have tough times, but I now feel the strength to endure.
Peace and hugs brother
Bruno

Posted by: Bruno | March 21, 2007 at 10:22 AM

I was just remembering that the first time I sang "All are welcome" was at All Saints' in Pasadena. I remember not being able to finish the hymn because I was weeping and so was nearly every person standing near me.

Dancing to Jesus' lead, indeed!

Posted by: rh | March 21, 2007 at 01:22 PM

Okay, you can't be posting the lyrics to "All Are Welcome". You know how it makes me cry. And yes, there should be dancing in the streets. I'm so relieved to see the prophetic voice that I believed in when I showed up at TEC. I feel like dancing, too!

Posted by: Marie | March 21, 2007 at 03:46 PM