Disaster Area

Itinerant Deposed Bishops...

Have crook, will travel...

The odd situation that has developed around the flying conservative bishops who have been accumulating disaffected Episcopal parishes is nowhere stranger than my back yard of the Diocese of Olympia. Here, the two original breakaway parishes aligned themselves with the Bishop of Recife in Brazil, Robinson Cavalcanti, who was shortly thereafter deposed by his own primate, leaving him a former bishop without portfolio. He was promptly snapped up by Archbishop Greg Venables of the Southern Cone in what appears to be a deposed bishop fire sale.

Since then, Venables and his new henchmen have set out on what looks more like a Gordon Gecko style hostile takeover spree or or shameless land grab than anything to do with "church". It's all very unAnglican and unTraditional and unseemly.

Apparently Cavalcanti, in his new role of flying bishop, will be in the great Pacific Northwest, crossing diocesan boundaries without permission (of my diocesan bishop, no less) and so on.

Father Jake has much, much more on the story, including this...

While in Washington State, he will be visiting the parishes and clergy he is claiming for Recife in Poulsbo, Bellingham, Oak Harbor, Spokane and Walla Walla. On Sunday, May 11th (Pentecost) he will preside over diaconal ordinations at St. Stephen “Anglican” in Oak Harbor. On Tuesday May 13th he will attend a special service at St. Brendan’s worship space in St. Paul’s (Bellingham) church school. While there he will preside at a Confirmation service during which he will also install (the Rev.) Kevin Allen (former rector of St. Paul’s), who has been appointed to the newly created Pacific Coast Common Cause Council which will have its charter meeting May 16th in Vancouver, Canada.

Cavalcanti will be back in Spokane over the Memorial Day weekend (May 23-25). On Friday, May 23rd, he will meet with the Vestry of Christ-the-King Anglican in Spokane before traveling to the Tri-Cities to visit Trinity Anglican Church. On Sunday, May 25th he will preside at a diaconal ordination at Christ-the-King Anglican.

If you see Mr. Cavalcanti, please document his presence and activities by sending information regarding the time, date and location to The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton at chaplain@whidbey.com. All reported tracking and sighting information will be updated daily on the St. Stephen Episcopal website: http://www.ststephenepiscopal.com.

For every sighting which includes a documenting photo, St. Stephen Episcopal (the faithful Episcopal remnant who are locked out of the building that is rightfully theirs) will donate the cost of mosquito net to our diocesan NetsforLife campaign.

Reading about all the shenanigans in the dioceses of San Joaquin and Virginia and Fort Worth is one thing, having it happen in your own back yard is another. Really, I don't mind if these folkls want to break away, but the onus is surely on them to vacate the property that belongs to the diocese they no longer wish to be part of. Even if it they don't like it and it's not very practical, surely that would demonstrate integrity and be the honorable thing to do?

After all, if you don't have integrity and honor, what's the point of calling yourself a church?

Fresh Breath Problems?

Maggi Dawn posted recently on various and sundry tacky Christian novelties. Well, the same people who brought you the wash away your sins soap also have this lovely borderline sacreligious product for sale...

Are the flavors of your last supper lingering too long? Freshen your palate with the miraculous breath-cleansing power of these Last Supper After Dinner Mints. Each collectible, 3" x 1-1/4" x -1/2" (7.6 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.3 cm) tin contains one hundred mints that you can share with your apostles! Thirty-six shrink wrapped tins in each illustrated display box.

In the right circumstances, I could see these figuring into a humorous alt-worship service of some kind. Come to think of it, why does church have to be so solemn all the time? Why couldn't we cut loose a bit with a humorous service? Of course, there's no need to get stupid about it...

Presiding Bishop Q&A

Due to a hectic personal life the last few days, I haven't had much of a chance to compile and format my notes from the Presiding Bishop's visit with the youth of our diocese last week. But, finally, here it is!

The PB opened with a few remarks and questions for the youth. What I wrote down was this:

How does being connected all the time to your friends affect your relationships?

You are asking the questions older generations may not be.

Creation/Environment – hold older generations feet to the fire for what we have left you – you have the voice and technical ability to mobilize people to do better things for the earth.

You live your life with your thumbs – what does that mean?

Interesting questions or points to think about, at least.

And so on to the Q&A (sorry - I couldn't be bothered to expand the notes to real English):

Q: Music in church is old and tired – how do we get newer stuff?

A: U2 is not contemporary, it’s young boomer, older Gen X generation, try something new for yourself. Diocese of California has song writing workshops for youth

Q: How do we deal with homophobia in church? (specifically disinvite of +VGR to Lambeth)

A: It’s the ABC’s party, and he can invite who he wants. Handle it like racism and sexism, name it and learn about it – finding in ourselves how we respond to those who are different

Q: How has her experience as Presiding Bishop been different than for a male?

A: Don’t know – she’s never been a male PB… Women used to be confined to altar guild and choir. Social constructs define “normal” roles – need to get beyond that. Hillary Clinton running for president will be an interesting example.

Q: The Emerging church is a way to look outside of box. How can we make it real?

A: Not different from rest of church. Vibrant communities emerge when you leadership with a broad vision.

Q: New generation – overscheduled – less than half youth at services due to overscheduling (jobs, homework, sports, as well as leisure). Are they getting what they need?

A: Challenge is converting a consumer and competitive society – value comes from being a child of God, not how many things you attend – must prioritize what is important.

It was interesting to listen to the Presiding Bishop. It's hard in this format to look brilliant, but she gave careful answers that asked the questioner to think about what they could do to help with their own issue - not to just wait around for someone else to do something, or solve their problem for them. All in all, I'm extremely glad she is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Dinner with the Presiding Bishop...

...is what I'll be having on Wednesday evening. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori is in town for an environmental conference this weekend and is taking the opportunity to speak to and hear from the youth of the diocese. As a youth leader, I get to take some youth along.

I will miss the conference itself, as I will be speaking on Youth and Cursillo in San Jose at the weekend. I will, however, be flying back on Saturday night so I can be with my band at church when we play on Sunday morning when the Presiding Bishop preaches and celebrates the Eucharist at my church.

Quite the week, really. I promise to blog the heck out of the events :)

However, tonight it's tax returns (hopefully the money returns back to me...)

Changes Afoot at St Mark's Cathedral

While I was otherwise occupied last week, the Dean of St Mark's Cathedral in Seattle resigned (hat tip Tim Mathis). It's been a long time coming, and somewhat inevitable. There's plenty of "blame" to go around, but to be honest, ten years is about as long a tenure as anyone can expect these days in a church appointment. St Mark's, like many cathedral congregations, is a bit of an oddity. Many members commute from a fair distance, so although the attendance and membership may look high, direct involvement by parishioners isn't particularly high. A case in point was a youth weekend where we needed to house almost a hundred teens, and St Mark's could barely handle half of that itself. Other churches had to pick up the slack. All of this makes St Mark's a difficult place to lead, and it seems it's time for a change.

It's also, in my experience and opinion, the ugliest cathedral in the world. It's basically a 1930's concrete blockhouse that is a blot on the Seattle skyline, and is ugly and dingy inside. Apart from that I guess it's
OK.

Anyway, life at St Mark's will move on, and I applaud the Dean, the Very Rev. Robert Taylor, for moving on in classy fashion and wish him the very best as he figures out what to do next.

A Civil Way Ahead

The Bishop of Liverpool has written a very interesting essay on the nature of the dialogue within the Anglican church/communion on the contentious issue of the place of the gay population in the church. Maggi Dawn notes in particular the bishop's apology for his role in the infamous Jeffrey John saga. The essay delves deeper into the nature of the process of listening and is quite a provocative piece from a self-confessed conservative evangelical. For me, his opening paragraph captures very well the essence of what the Anglican Communion is:

However else you may wish to define and describe the Anglican Communion the reality is that it consists of a myriad relationships between Dioceses, Deaneries, Parishes and Provinces around the globe. Like a map from an in-flight magazine that shows the airline’s routes criss-crossing the world so the Anglican Church offers a network of links that connect people from different cultures. It lacks the structured pattern of a spider’s web because these connecting strands do not emerge from the strategic planning department of a central secretariat. Rather it resembles a spilled bowl of spaghetti! This image is not to belittle the Communion but to recognise that the shapelessness of the Communion is part of its history and its character.

Those who would care to provide shape to the communion via the "Anglican Covenant" would be well advised that the very shaping will likely kill off many of the relationships that make the communion what it is today. They may end up with something, but it won't be what it was, nor will it be very pretty.

Thinking Anglicans has a very nice summary of all the press so far.

Episcopal Church Gay Redux

Over on Thinking Anglicans, there have been a few reports from the Chicago Consultation, a gathering of some 50 “church leaders” who “urged leaders of the Episcopal Church to permit the blessing of same-sex relationships and to remove barriers that keep gay candidates from being elected as bishops”.

In the comments on a second article, I made the comment:

“The rigorous theology from the liberal side is still sorely lacking, even four years after Gene Robinson's consecration (and eight years since he was first a candidate for the episcopate.)

This would be (and should be) one of the truly legitimate criticisms the conservatives could make, if only they weren't so concerned with their petty power games.”

There is no doubt that with the election and consecration of Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church had the theological cart before the horse. And it’s not that this should have come as a big shock. After all, Robinson had been a finalist for at least one other episcopate (Rochester, in 1999). Why, after such a clear indication that his election to an episcopate somewhere became likely, was there no work done by proponents of the ordination of gays to the episcopate?

All we got was the typical wishy-washy double speak of then Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold (who, sadly, is now looking a communications giant in comparison with Rowan Williams).

Griswold had this to say in October 2004 in the wake of the release of the Windsor Report:

"For at least the last 30 years our church has been listening to the experience and reflecting upon the witness of homosexual persons in our congregations. There are those among us who perceive the fruit of the Spirit deeply present in the lives of gay and lesbian Christians, both within the church and in their relationships. However, other equally faithful persons among us regard same gender relationships as contrary to scripture. "

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_52922_ENG_HTM.htm

To summarize, the theology contained in that statement is: “…”

We then move on to January 2005. In a statement released after the meeting of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, January 12 – 13, 2005 in Salt Lake City, Griswold had this to say:

"The Presiding Bishop has already established a committee to offer a theological explanation of how "a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ" (Windsor Report, paragraph 135)."

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_56787_ENG_HTM.htm

So almost two years after Robinson’s election, Griswold and the HoB figured they ought to work on some theological justification. Brilliant! And what has come of it so far? Absolutely nothing.

In the TA discussion Erika Baker pointed out that there is “good gay theology” around.

Erika: "Having said that, there is very good theology around, why do people keep saying there isn't?"

I replied:

I wasn't implying that there isn't plenty of "gay theology" around, (see, for instance, An Acceptable Sacrifice?) but that the leadership of TEC (at least the liberal wing) should have the guts to lay out the particular gay theology they support.

Frank Griswold, in the aftermath the Windsor Report, admitted that TEC had not made the theological case and (supposedly) commissioned some work on the issue (see above). The results so far:

(tumbleweed blowing down main street...)

There's a huge difference between "there's gay theology out there" to "this is the particular gay theology TEC can stand behind".

Make no mistake; I am generally in favor of the full inclusion of everyone in the church. However, I also see the path the leadership of the Episcopal Church has taken as intellectually dishonest or intellectually lazy at best. Change doesn’t take place overnight, and somebody has to do the hard work of laying the foundation for that change. So far, the Episcopal Church has attempted to skate by doing as little real work as possible.

Of course, the argument has shifted over the past couple of years. It's now clear that the conservative objections run much deeper than Gene Robinson and the gay issue. Women's ordination and the updating of the prayer book in the US have resurfaced as issues that never really went away, precipitated in large part by Katharine Jefferts-Schori's election to Presiding Bishop. In many ways, it's good to have that out on the table, and it broadens the argument to "how do we interpret scripture" rather than dancing around nuances of seven passages in the Bible.

That is a question that has also been left begging by TEC for the most part.

Also make no mistake; the conservative side has behaved abysmally, both in terms of tactics and behavior. While the liberals may have been lazy, the conservative leadership have shown themselves to be spiteful and nasty – in some cases downright evil. Their behavior has hardly been much of an advertisement for the church. In many cases they have made the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell look like Mother Theresa by comparison.

Such is life in the center...

San Joaquin Gets Personal...

Episcopal News Service reports that plans are already underway to provide for a continuing presence of the real Episcopal Church in the Diocese of San Joaquin.

The Rev. Robert Moore will meet with the group as well. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori appointed Moore "to provide an ongoing pastoral presence to the continuing Episcopalians in the Diocese of San Joaquin," said the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon to the Presiding Bishop.

Moore is the husband of Bishop Suffragan Bavi Edna "Nedi" Rivera of Olympia, the daughter of San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield's predecessor, Bishop Victor Rivera.

Regular readers here will know that I live in the Diocese of Olympia and am a huge fan of Bishop Nedi Rivera. Perhaps less well known is that I am an equally big fan of the Rev. Bob Moore. He's a fabulous guy, and I am so glad he is able to provide a pastoral presence in the midst of this turmoil. My prayers go out to Bob and all the faithful Episcopalians in that diocese.

Update - from the faithful Episcopalians in San Joaquin:

From Remain Episcopal:

Those of us who remain Episcopal within the Diocese of San Joaquin extend our thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming expression of love and support that we have received from faithful Episcopalians and Anglicans throughout The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We are committed to the very challenging tasks that we are now faced with, including but not limited to, supporting and protecting the clergy that have stood with us, maintaining and growing the parishes that retain their Episcopal affiliation, providing support and leadership to those who are in the minority in their current parishes, informing and gathering those who have left over the years in response to words and actions they found oppressive and marginalizing. To those within our diocese who have not felt represented by Remain Episcopal but have a desire to remain loyal to The Episcopal Church, please know that we do not exclude those who may feel their opinions and beliefs differ from ours. Contact us so we can better understand all perspectives and go forward representing all. ( reach us at contact@remainepiscopal.org )

Many of you have asked how you can help. Please continue to pray for the Diocese of San Joaquin. We are all mourning some level of loss regardless of our affiliation. We are in need of comfort, strength, discernment, and wisdom as we go forward in love and service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The tasks that face us will require considerable financial support. We need to get the word out that The Episcopal Church is still present in the Diocese of San Joaquin. Bulk mailings and print ads for media in 14 counties are costly. We would appreciate any donations. We are a 501(c)(3) organization so your donations are tax deductible. Please mail them to:

Remain Episcopal
2067 W. Alluvial
Fresno, CA 93711

San Joaquin Secession

As the soon-to-be-former Episcopal bishop of the once-Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin leads his flock to the Southern Cone (or such elements as may choose to join him), I was amused by the exchange between Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori and former Bishop Schofield. In response to a letter from Jefferts-Schori, Schofield writes back (addressed merely to "Bishop Schori" - a not so subtle slap in the face of the kind he and his ilk are very good at.)

I have read your letter of December 3, 2007 and thank you for your prayers. There is a pastoral tone to this letter which is much appreciated. Informing me that you are not writing with any threats is most encouraging also. One would hope that this indicates your serious consideration of the Primates’ specific request that deposition and litigation under the present circumstances be abandoned as unacceptable behavior among Christians.

So he invokes the "Christians shouldn't sue Christians" doctrine. Well, I have an even better doctrine for him to ponder. it comes from that book where Moses leads the people out of somewhere and gets these ten, um, suggestion thingies, written on stone tablets. I believe these ten "strong suggestion" thingies are very popular with a lot of Christians, and usually moreso with the really hard line conservatives such as, say, Bishop Schofield.  There's one in there, I'm pretty sure, about not taking what doesn't belong to you. I think it goes along along the lines of "thou shalt not steal". And trying to rewrite the laws as you rob the bank doesn't really count now, does it?

Yeah, maybe someone could look it up and send him the reference.

Advent Service: Waiting in the Starlight

Tonight was the 4th annual Waiting in the Starlight Advent service at my church. It's an alt-worship type of experience with stations of various kinds. One of the biggest thrills of the church year for me is when D (my main co-conspirator) and I lay down the Christmas star in tape on the parish hall floor. It's just magical to see the first couple of tape stripes go down and see the star form emerge.

We have always placed a manger in the center of the star as the primary focus.

Last year we started and ended with live music provided by the three Daves - myself and two friends also called Dave, as it happens. One of those friends, Dave B, is a pretty good songwriter, and in response to a comment I made a couple of years ago about there being a dearth of Advent songs, he's written a couple of excellent ones, which we now play at the service.

We also usually change things up a bit each year, as some stations work better than others and there's always room for improvement. This year, based on Maggi Dawn's Advent and Epiphany devotional, Beginnings and Endings (and what happens in between), I added a station called Eat, Drink, Sleep based on the Dec 12 reading from Maggi's book (and at her suggestion and prior experience, I should add...) It worked very well for me, as I managed a 10 minute nap.

The whole evening worked out quite well, although attendance was sparse due to the snow that arrived today. Washingtonians don't do snow  very well. But really, it's not about how many people show up, it's about how much those who do get out of it. And Advent this year is turning out to be very meaningful to me.