News
Florida’s Episcopalians respond to pro-gay resolutions by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE ContributorThursday Jul 23, 2009The 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church initiated an international tidal wave of headlines last week when attending bishops, clergy and lay people overwhelmingly approved two resolutions that further open the church to gay and lesbian members and clergy.
First, on July 13, Resolution D025 ended a temporary ban on gay and lesbian bishops, "affirm[ing] that God has called and may call on [gay and lesbian persons living in lifelong committed relationships] to any ordained ministry" in the church. Two days later, Resolution C056 opened the door for "the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships."
The resolutions were undeniably progressive steps by the Episcopal Church, which has already faced several years of controversy rooted in member and parish migration following the 2003 election of Gene Robinson, the church’s first openly gay bishop, in New Hampshire. The denomination’s membership has reportedly declined by six percent in the period between 2003-2007 and may be facing a financial crunch.
In Florida, the news from the convention has been greeted with mixed emotions. The Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, serves the northern part of the state. He responded to the resolutions’ passage with a special message addressed to church members on the Diocese’s Web site.
"I and the majority of our Florida deputation did not vote in favor of the resolution, fearing that it would be given undue attention, fearing that it could be occasion for further division in an already divided and hurting Church, and fearing, too, that it would be misinterpreted as saying things that it did not," Howard wrote. "As your bishop, I call you to faithfulness and to love. I call you to not be distracted from our mission by sensational interpretations of what convention has done in this resolution, whether those interpretations come from the press or from others, outside our church."
Howard’s fear of misinterpretation and skepticism of media coverage was palpable among parish staff EDGE contacted for this story. Several denied requests for comment on the resolutions, while many others did not return phone calls or e-mails. Those who did, however, agreed reaction among their congregations and communities was surprisingly minimal.
"There really hasn’t been that strong of a reaction," the Rev. Lupton P. Abshire, rector at St. John’s in Tallahassee, said. "The people who’d really be upset with these decisions have already left [the church], at least for the meantime, and formed their own congregations."
"The people who’d really be upset with these decisions have already left [the church], at least for the meantime, and formed their own congregations." The Rev. Sherod Mallow, rector at All Saints in Fort Lauderdale, agreed. She added both she and her congregation were pleased with the decision. Mallow acknowledged her parish had lost some members in recent history due to its openness toward gay and lesbian members and staff.
"We’ve been waiting a long time for the consciousness of the Convention to switch back this direction, so it’s a good thing," Mallow said. "We experienced the pain and sadness of a lot of broken relationships, the exhaustion of trying to explain ourselves to ourselves and come to some sort of common understanding."
While Abshire declined to opine specifically on the resolutions, he emphasized their "subtle and nuanced" language as essential to avoid further confrontation in an already complicated situation for the church.
"I’ve tried to approach these issues that can be so divisive in a communal and spiritual way that would be trans-partisan," he said. "This allows us to go forward in a way that keeps the most people on board and engaged."
As they looked ahead to the future of the church, both Abshire and Mallow pointed to what they described as common faith as a source of strength as Episcopalians continue to rebuild in light of the criticism.
"We’re trying to clarify our sources of authority, our identity and trying to maintain or re-establish integrity," Abshire explained. "The key is that we pray and worship together, then have a good Christian debate. If we can do that, then there’s hope, if we can’t do that, then the word is ’schism’ and things fall apart."
Mallow agreed.
"I believe they made the right choice and we will grow," she said. "There’s a certain strength that’s going to come from this and allow us to move on very quickly."
Joseph covers news, arts and entertainment and lives in Chicago.
|
|
|
Email
Print
Share