Some quotes from my Bishop ...

My Bishop sent out a communique before his travel to Texas for a House of Bishops meeting. He gave a number of random thoughts, critiques, concerns, things for which he was glad, clarifications, etc. etc. etc. I really like and admire him. He is very pastoral and I feel cared for and supported by him. He loves the church and it's people. He likes fly fishing. He's a decent man. He's not a BS artist. He looks nice in purple and with a mitre & staff. Yet some of what he says leaves me feeling baffled. Some quotes ... * I appreciate the work that has been done in producing the Windsor Report as well as the Primates Communiqué. Being a part of the Anglican Communion, while not of the essence, is very important to me and part of my own catholic understanding of the Church. I also believe that it ought to be possible to be a Communion while holding diverse perspectives on certain matters such as human sexuality as the Gospel is received and interpreted in different places in different times. How diverse? Polygamy? Polyamory? Menage trois? What if it's a committed, long term stable menage trois where no one appears to be getting hurt? Is that OK too? These people have rights. * I continue to believe that the decision of the General Convention of 2003 to give consent to the ordination and consecration of Gene Robinson was not only canonically sound, but also that it was consistent with the Gospel and God's vision of justice as set forth in the Scriptures and as it was lived and taught by Jesus. This is the real motivation for many people behind this movement. Justice. Their reasoning is: homosexuals were born that way; therefore created by God to be that way; therefore we should protect their rights. Justice. * Although I knew that the vote to affirm Gene Robinson as a bishop would cause some hurt and dissension in the Church, I did not foresee the degree to which it has led to the present crisis in the Communion. For that I am regretful and truly sorry. You have got to be kidding me! Had no idea?!?! Really. The world wide leaders of the Communion made it absolutely clear that the fabric of the communion would be irreparably torn, but you had no idea? Just stop. This is the comment that bothers me the most. I know Skip. He's not a bs'er but he's not dumb either. * Too much of our theologizing about the ordination of homosexual people is not sufficiently grounded in a theology of baptism. I believe that if we cannot ordain gay people then we cannot baptize gay people either and I am not in any way willing to say that. * We do need to develop a sound and developed theological explanation for the actions of the 2003 General Convention regarding the consent to the consecration of a homosexual person in a committed relationship to the episcopate. Might I say that the accounts in the Gospel of John of the woman at the well and the healing of the blind man would not be bad places to start? As if there were a sound and well developed theological explanation. Might this have been done ahead of time? Just a thought. Seriously, how could you have gone ahead with this course of action without a well developed theological rationale? * I am dismayed at the inability of so many to engage in meaningful dialogue without rancor. This includes members of our own Diocese of Central New York. We must do better. In other words, we need to treat each other in ways that our faith would demand and speak with one another in charity and humility even in the midst of deep disagreements. Not to do so is in my mind more hurtful to the Christian enterprise than the disputed actions of General Convention 2003. People with deeply held convictions that seem to be irreconcilable can equally be people of faith and good will. This bothers me too. Again, I know Skip and he is a really decent person. Certainly he is not intentionally malicious. He wants peace and is willing to bend over backwards to get it. Yet some in our Diocese just vilify him and are mean spirited toward him. There's just no reason for it. Certainly they have a right to be angry but there is just no place to treat him badly, especially when he is your Bishop. At least respect the office if not the person. God help the Episcopal Church.