Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Bishop Doyle on Passage of D025 Monday
Resolution DO25 was passed by the House of Deputies on Monday and moved to the House of Bishops Monday afternoon.
The resolution, despite the headlines of a number of news organizations, was descriptive and offers a vision of where the Episcopal Church is at this time. It speaks to the fact that we are not of one mind on the issues of sexuality, that there is disagreement within the church on issues of ordination, marriage/unions. I think it reflects the reality that there are differences of opinion on how to deal with our differences.
I do not believe the house intended the passage of the resolution to be prescriptive. In other words the resolution did not pass same sex blessings, or ordinations of partnered gay and lesbians. It was not a permission giving resolution or a canonical change to our understanding of marriage.
Interestingly enough, DO25 passed in the HOD clergy order by a 2 to 1 margin, in the HOD lay order by a 2 to 1 margin, and in the HOB by a 2 to 1 margin. I do believe this shows some consistency within this body at this time.
The Diocese of Texas Deputation was divided in their vote and so their vote was registered as a "no" vote. This diversity, appointed by the people of the Diocese at Council, reflects who we are as a diocese. I thought our deputies did their discernment well. We shared together over lunch their thoughts and concerns about the church at home. They too felt as though the resolution was descriptive and not prescriptive.
Bishop High, Bishop Harrison and I each voted against the resolution as we have been and continue to be concerned regarding the repercussions throughout the Anglican Communion. And we were concerned with the idea that DO25 repeals BO33 from the 2006 General Convention. I should add most every one of the Episcopal Church's dioceses in a foreign country voted against the passage as well. Also, bishops of Dallas, Northwest Texas, Rio Grande and West Texas voted no.
There are several thoughts that seem important when reflecting on the resolution and its meaning for us in our diocese. The Diocese of Texas honors the moratorium not because of DO25 or BO33, but because of our belief that the teachings of the church on sexuality have not changed, that the Windsor Report asks the American church to refrain from election and ordination of a bishop who is living in a partnered relationship, from the development of rites for same sex blessings, and our own resolutions and canons currently have reaffirmed our views on the topic.
The House of Bishops carried on a deep debate of listening ears and open hearts. Bishop Hines once called this the "exquisite pain of being a bishop" -- living and praying through times of great division with your brother and sister bishops. This was very hard work today. I thought that the House deliberated and conversed well, prayerfully, and mindful of those who were not like minded in the room.
God's mission is greater that the passage or defeat of any resolution at this Convention. Regardless of which side of the argument you may find yourself embracing, or what you believe the best way of resolving this situation is, we have a mission that is given to us in partnership with Jesus Christ.
I believe that God intends the restoration of creation and those that live within it. I believe that God intends the incarnational body of Christ in the church to be the chief instrument in this work. God intends the Episcopal Church as a member of the worldwide Communion to be a part of this restoration. No resolution will get in the way of this work, nor can it resend the love and providence of God to offer both blessings and challenges.
I will continue to lead us as a Diocese as a member of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. I have plans to be in London in the Fall for a Compass Rose meeting and believe this will be a good time to get a sense of the communion's response.
I am concerned about how this affects our people in every manner of life and relationship, in every congregation. How will this affect our relationship with one another? Nevertheless, our history tells us that we can move through this together and by continuing to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have already asked Canon Case, Janie Stevens, and Cecilia Smith to help me design a pastoral and small group program for congregations to respond to the actions of General Convention and enable me and the leadership of the diocese to receive feedback regarding strategies in dealing with the pastoral issues which arise out of the actions of this convention.
The Diocese of Texas has self-differentiated itself by Council on the issues of sexuality and the church's teaching on marriage, which is a more traditional stance. I do not believe that the Diocese is prepared to change that stance. It is with greater clarity, I believe that we now see the reality of the church within which and from which we do our ministry.
I should say that the work of this week is not over. We have many more important resolutions to follow. We need to see how the rest of the week continues to play out and what the reactions of the greater communion will be.
Bishop Gary Lillibridge hosted a wonderful gathering for the Diocese of Texas and West Texas deputations. It was a very good time to be together and to have fellowship. Afterwards we had the deputation dinner and broke bread together. This was an important time and while we spoke some of the business of the day, there was also laughter, reconnecting friendships, and new relationships born out of the evening. I think we were again reminded of our deep communion relationships built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will keep our deputation in your prayers as we continue to move through ever longer legislative days.
The resolution, despite the headlines of a number of news organizations, was descriptive and offers a vision of where the Episcopal Church is at this time. It speaks to the fact that we are not of one mind on the issues of sexuality, that there is disagreement within the church on issues of ordination, marriage/unions. I think it reflects the reality that there are differences of opinion on how to deal with our differences.
I do not believe the house intended the passage of the resolution to be prescriptive. In other words the resolution did not pass same sex blessings, or ordinations of partnered gay and lesbians. It was not a permission giving resolution or a canonical change to our understanding of marriage.
Interestingly enough, DO25 passed in the HOD clergy order by a 2 to 1 margin, in the HOD lay order by a 2 to 1 margin, and in the HOB by a 2 to 1 margin. I do believe this shows some consistency within this body at this time.
The Diocese of Texas Deputation was divided in their vote and so their vote was registered as a "no" vote. This diversity, appointed by the people of the Diocese at Council, reflects who we are as a diocese. I thought our deputies did their discernment well. We shared together over lunch their thoughts and concerns about the church at home. They too felt as though the resolution was descriptive and not prescriptive.
Bishop High, Bishop Harrison and I each voted against the resolution as we have been and continue to be concerned regarding the repercussions throughout the Anglican Communion. And we were concerned with the idea that DO25 repeals BO33 from the 2006 General Convention. I should add most every one of the Episcopal Church's dioceses in a foreign country voted against the passage as well. Also, bishops of Dallas, Northwest Texas, Rio Grande and West Texas voted no.
There are several thoughts that seem important when reflecting on the resolution and its meaning for us in our diocese. The Diocese of Texas honors the moratorium not because of DO25 or BO33, but because of our belief that the teachings of the church on sexuality have not changed, that the Windsor Report asks the American church to refrain from election and ordination of a bishop who is living in a partnered relationship, from the development of rites for same sex blessings, and our own resolutions and canons currently have reaffirmed our views on the topic.
The House of Bishops carried on a deep debate of listening ears and open hearts. Bishop Hines once called this the "exquisite pain of being a bishop" -- living and praying through times of great division with your brother and sister bishops. This was very hard work today. I thought that the House deliberated and conversed well, prayerfully, and mindful of those who were not like minded in the room.
God's mission is greater that the passage or defeat of any resolution at this Convention. Regardless of which side of the argument you may find yourself embracing, or what you believe the best way of resolving this situation is, we have a mission that is given to us in partnership with Jesus Christ.
I believe that God intends the restoration of creation and those that live within it. I believe that God intends the incarnational body of Christ in the church to be the chief instrument in this work. God intends the Episcopal Church as a member of the worldwide Communion to be a part of this restoration. No resolution will get in the way of this work, nor can it resend the love and providence of God to offer both blessings and challenges.
I will continue to lead us as a Diocese as a member of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. I have plans to be in London in the Fall for a Compass Rose meeting and believe this will be a good time to get a sense of the communion's response.
I am concerned about how this affects our people in every manner of life and relationship, in every congregation. How will this affect our relationship with one another? Nevertheless, our history tells us that we can move through this together and by continuing to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have already asked Canon Case, Janie Stevens, and Cecilia Smith to help me design a pastoral and small group program for congregations to respond to the actions of General Convention and enable me and the leadership of the diocese to receive feedback regarding strategies in dealing with the pastoral issues which arise out of the actions of this convention.
The Diocese of Texas has self-differentiated itself by Council on the issues of sexuality and the church's teaching on marriage, which is a more traditional stance. I do not believe that the Diocese is prepared to change that stance. It is with greater clarity, I believe that we now see the reality of the church within which and from which we do our ministry.
I should say that the work of this week is not over. We have many more important resolutions to follow. We need to see how the rest of the week continues to play out and what the reactions of the greater communion will be.
Bishop Gary Lillibridge hosted a wonderful gathering for the Diocese of Texas and West Texas deputations. It was a very good time to be together and to have fellowship. Afterwards we had the deputation dinner and broke bread together. This was an important time and while we spoke some of the business of the day, there was also laughter, reconnecting friendships, and new relationships born out of the evening. I think we were again reminded of our deep communion relationships built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will keep our deputation in your prayers as we continue to move through ever longer legislative days.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Bp. Doyle Interview in TX Monthly
"On the night Jesus was taken into custody, he prayed that his followers would be unified. So difficult is the task of a healthy, thriving community that our Lord had to actually pray for it. We can spend a lot of time talking about every issue that divides us, but what about the challenge that we’ve been given to be one people in the midst of our great diversity? I’m not sure that wholeness and unity isn’t exactly what we’re supposed to be aspiring to." From Bishop Andy Doyle's interview with Texas Monthly editor, Evan Smith, published today. Check it out.
Bishop Doyle on Day Six
I very much enjoyed the UTO service on Sunday morning. The music was wonderful, Sandra Montes sang. I thought the sermon on mission had a number of good points, which I twittered, along with the prayers of the people, and UTO Ingathering. Kaye Pendarvis, our diocesan ECW president brought forward our diocese's UTO offering.
Mary MacGregor, our director of leadership development, spoke to ECW presidents and membership on Sunday receiving accolades for her passion and expertise.
I met with the deputation shortly after and we discussed a number of things. The consent for the Bishop of Ecuador Central came up in conversation. This is a major issue in a very divided diocese, where The Episcopal Church has been helping to restore health. The House of Bishops elected a fine man, The Rev. Luis Fernando Ruiz. He will bring skills of leadership, transparency, administration and a love of Jesus Christ to the office. He received an almost unanimous vote by the house at our March meeting. I believe that some of the dysfunctional elements of his diocese have attempted to disrupt this process throwing the House of Deputies into some confusion. We will receive the vote of the House of Deputies on Monday afternoon, God willing
We also discussed the Title IV revision (disciplinary canons). While a number of very committed iindividuals have worked on this revision, I very much believe our current Title IV serves us well. There are a great deal of continued discussion in several areas of the proposed Title that I just don't feel are yet worked out. We will have to see what the House of Deputies does with this, but I am concerned that the level of structure needed for the new Title will be very burdensome for us, let alone a small diocese with limited resources.
We were back in session in the afternoon and moved steadily through our resolutions in the House of Bishops. I am very pleased with the resolution on Immigration. We had a healthy discussion and I believe the resolution upholds the church's commitment to respect the dignity of human beings. Along with the Roman Catholic Church we are joining in a call for reform.
I had the honor and privilege of toasting (roasting) Bishop Wimberly at the Bishops' dinner tonight. What a great night of celebration for our retiring bishops. I was blessed to be asked and laughed and enjoyed my time listening to stories about the good people who have served with great hearts and a love for their church. I would say that there was a theme. The men who were honored last night were known for their dedication, their love of Jesus, their love of his church, their love for his people, their belief that that love is articulated in mission for the oppressed and those in need. They were also each known as friends in and of the House of Bishops. The histories and stories make me wish to be a servant bishop and a good bishop for the Church, the diocese and Jesus.
C. Andrew Doyle
IX Bishop of Texas
Today's Episcopal Life Daily:
Bishops approve denominational health plan
Eucharist highlights Episcopal pageantry, UTO mission
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Deputies support fully inclusive ordination process, ongoing commitment to communion
The House of Deputies by more than a 2-1 margin adopted a resolution July 12 that declares the ordination process of the Episcopal Church open to all individuals while expressing its ongoing commitment to the Anglican Communion.
The vote was 77-31 in the lay order and 74-25 in the clergy order. It now goes to the House of Bishops, where it must be passed to be enacted.
Resolution D025 was created as a response to resolution B033, which was adopted in the waning hours of the 2006 General Convention and urged restraint concerning the election of bishops whose "manner of life" would cause offense to the wider Anglican Communion. That was widely believed specifically to refer to gays and lesbians in committed same-sex relationships. Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_112451_ENG_HTM.htm
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