January 25, 2008 Diocesan Council

Dear E-pistle subscriber,

I write this week's epistle from the floor of our Diocesan Council meeting in Reston.

Gathered here are over 260 clergy and 270 lay representatives of each parish in the Diocese. You are - St. James' is - represented at this council by me, Rev. Kate, and Pastor Mary, and by Henry Stribling, John Tello, and Dottie Brannock.

For better or worse, I have a special role at Council this year: a year ago, Diocesan Council passed a resolution calling for a special task force, or commission, to study whether or not there is an “emerging consensus” on the matter of allowing the blessing of same-sex couples.

That’s an inherently controversial issue, one that generates plenty of strong opinions. So it was a mixed blessing when, shortly after last year’s diocesan council, Bishop Lee asked me to not only be on this Commission, but to chair it.

I agreed on a couple of conditions, all of which were perfectly consistent with what Bishop Lee wanted: first, I wanted a clear charter for the Commission’s work; second, I wanted to be sure the membership of the Commission was as diverse as possible; i.e., represented the wide range of theological viewpoints within the church.

That second point is very important to me because I think that part of the reason St. James’ remains a healthy, vibrant, growing church is that we make room – more than make room, we actively welcome – all points of view. We try as hard as we can to take seriously the “hot-button” issues of the day that threaten to divide us, but we don’t define ourselves by them. Instead, we try to focus our attention on what unites us: the fact that we are nourished by Word and Sacrament and sent out into the world as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.

Well, we were successful in getting a commission that is broadly representative. We worked hard over the past seven months. We began each of our meetings with a time of prayer and refection on Scripture. We discussed issues of theology, sexuality, scriptural authority, and church discipline and polity.

Occasionally, we would even try to keep things in perspective: reminding ourselves that this is not the only time in church history where there has been controversy and conflict, and that the Episcopal Church is not the only denomination trying to live out the Gospel in a society where differences in sexual orientation are openly discussed and increasingly acknowledged in all areas of public life.

Late in the process – December and early January of this year – we turned our attention to the writing of a report – a report that each and every member of the Commission could agree upon.

I’ll be delivering that report to the entire Council later this afternoon.

In my report, I’ll be stating something that I’d like to share here, something that, sadly, is taken less and less for granted, and that is this:

“All voices are needed in the process of discernment and theological inquiry.

“If we’re going to find a reasoned theological explanation for the actions we take – if we’re going to find a place of healing and reconciliation in tumultuous times -- then no part of the Body can say to any other part, ‘I have no need of you.’

“We need careful attention to matters of Scriptural authority and interpretation, which have historically been strong gifts of those from the conservative and moderate evangelical traditions (though not exclusively).

“And we need careful attention to matters of reconciliation and justice, which have historically been strong gifts of those from the social justice and progressive Christian traditions (again, not exclusively).”

It strikes me that these needed gifts are abundantly present at St. James’, and that is part of the reason I valued their presence on the Commission.

After the report is delivered, later this afternoon, we’ll have an “open hearing” – a chance for members of council to ask questions of us, and to have further conversation.

After that, I’ll be done with this responsibility. (Alleluia!) I’ll have dinner here in Reston with friends and colleagues from around the diocese – one of the treats of Annual Council.

Then, after Council wraps up tomorrow morning, I look forward to having a bit more time and energy back!

See you Sunday,

Fr. John

P.S. On Sunday, we wrap up our three-part series on Living in the Spirit: “Why it’s good to have both GPS and a rear-view mirror, not only in your car, but in your church and in your life.” I’ll be preaching on this topic, and Pastor Mary will lead Adult Forum.