Episcopal unity shaky

Christian Century, Oct 25, 2000 by Rns

FOLLOWING the Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention in Denver in July, both conservatives and liberals within the 2.5-million-member denomination claimed a partial victory. Liberals cheered an overwhelming vote to affirm "lifelong committed relationships" other than marriage which merit the church's support. Conservatives blocked a measure that would have created rites to bless such relationships. Taking that step, they said, would open the door to blessing same-sex unions, something conservatives vehemently oppose.

But with both sides claiming a win, it was only a matter of time until the two parties started bumping into each other on the victory lap. A little more than three months after the Denver meeting, the fragile unity--or awkward coexistence--crafted by both sides is beginning to crack in several ways:

* At least four Colorado Episcopal priests and two Florida parishes have left the church and aligned themselves with Charles Murphy and John Rodgers--two American "missionary" bishops ordained in Singapore and sent to shepherd conservative Episcopalians.

* The bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles Bennison, was recently denied communion at a conservative parish in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, that refuses to recognize his oversight and authority.

* Conservative bishops from around the world held a meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, to plot strategy for the future. Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, a moderate, called the move "unhelpful."

* A number of bishops continue to struggle with renegade congregations over property disputes. Bishop Thomas Shaw of Massachusetts is in the midst of a costly legal battle to keep St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brockton from leaving with church property. The conservative director of the Canon Law Institute in Washington has advised Shaw and others to drop the legal battles.

For some church observers, an exodus by conservatives distressed by the church's pursuit of change was all but inevitable. But for others, it's a sign that the church's liberal leadership has sacrificed biblical truth. "The unity which we seek, and which we enjoy with the rest of the [Anglican] Communion, is a unity in the truth," said Philip Wyman, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, where Bennison was passed over for communion. "It's often been said that God's unity is never bought at the expense of God's truth."

Many conservatives are frustrated because while they are in the minority in the U.S. church, most of the 70 million Anglicans around the world share their positions. (The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion.) That is partly why some churches have chosen to align themselves with Rodgers and Murphy, who have launched the Anglican Mission in America. (Murphy, based in South Carolina, told Ecumenical News International in early October that up to 24 U.S. parishes were formally severing their ties with the Episcopal Church or considering doing so--a small number among the denomination's 7,400 parishes, Murphy conceded, but he sees it as the start of "the unraveling." Murphy told ENI that his new alliance would discuss possible ties with earlier breakaway groups, such as the Reformed Episcopal Church.)

In Buena Vista, Colorado, three priests have signed up with the two Singapore bishops. With about 140 of the 160 members of the church, they have formed the Anglican Church of the Savior and meet in a former Baptist church. According to one of its lay leaders, parishioners do not feel comfortable with the national church's leadership. "There are about 101 bishops in the Episcopal Church and 70 of them are flaming liberals," said Rick W. Taylor, board chairman of the new church. Colorado Bishop Jerry Winterrowd will take a "wait and see attitude," his spokesman said, but added that the priests eventually could be expelled.

The position is perhaps most awkward for church bishops who must reconcile their personal beliefs with church law, all the while delicately trying to keep both liberals and conservatives in the same camp.

Charles Duvall, a moderate bishop from Florida's panhandle, wrote in an August pastoral letter to his flock that if God had joined them together, he as bishop would work to keep them that way. "We are unique, thinking human beings, not robots," Duvall wrote. "It is Jesus who incorporates me and you into his body, the church, through baptism. If Jesus is pleased to bring us together, I am pleased to remain together with you, whether we agree or disagree."

For other, more ideologically charged bishops, the task can be very difficult. Bennison, who oversees 162 parishes in and around Philadelphia, is widely considered a leader of the church's liberal wing. Conservatives bristle at his notion that "the church wrote the Bible, and the church can rewrite the Bible." For Bennison and his flock, their only prayer may be simply to agree to disagree. "They may not agree with me on everything I think or say or do, and I don't make any claims that I'm right," Bennison said. "But I'm a person trying to work out as best I can what Christ's claims are on us in this time of great change. I don't think we have to be of one mind to be of one faith."