Drell’s Descants

I think the Bishops could all use a little air conditioning, cookies, cold milk, and a nap with a soft blankey. Everyone seems a bit grumpy from reports.

Based on what +Howe said, it looks like +Bruce is now the leader of the Communion Partners movement.

Oh, and the Lambeth Conference is bankrupt according to David Virtue:

It’s official. The Lambeth Conference is deeply in debt approaching $4 million dollars and church officials are scrambling to find the money.

Apparently the American Episcopal Church has not been asked to cover the shortfall, and probably wouldn’t, as the bishops here are angry at the non-invitation of V. Gene Robinson the homosexual Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.

Reminds me of the old saying of Mr. Miagi in the inestimable movie, the Karate Kid:

Walk on left side of road, okay, walk on right side of road, okay, walk in middle of road, get squeshed like grape.

Oh. They have 12 more days of this conference still to go. 12 more days. I don’t think they will make it. Plain and simple.

Hopefully, +Bruce will drop us an email to let us know how things are going, but, if I know him, and assuming the reports below are correct, he’s probably under a great deal of stress right now. I ask that folks keep him in your prayers, in the hopes that the Lord Jesus will comfort and strengthen him.

Interesting stuff:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the second day of “Indaba” groups, there seems to be an incipient revolt stirring among us. Many of the Africans are saying, “This isn’t ‘Indaba’ at all! First of all, we are not a village, and we don’t know each other. And secondly, we are not attempting to solve a problem; we are talking in small groups about minor issues of little consequence.”

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu (himself an African, I believe from Uganda) is reported to have said, “If Indaba is such a great idea, why is Africa in such a mess?” There seems to be the beginning of some rumbling that we need to get to a decision-making moment in the life of the Conference.

Continue reading ‘Bishop Howe Had This To Say About Day 2 Of The Lambeth Conference’

Wow.

A snippit:

It’s about a hundred degrees and getting hotter in the Big Top at Lambeth but the £1 million black hole in the budget at the Lambeth Conference means they can’t afford air conditioning. Expect fainting bishops to be ferried out by ambulances any moment now, if they don’t start shooting each other first. The press conference this morning was a farce. Excommunications officers declined to comment on who is here for reasons of ’security’ but declined to say what the ’security’ issues were. Apparently there are some Nigerian bishops at the conference but we are not allowed to know who they are. Even the totally harmless and innocuous Church Press here are being denied access to the evening Eucharists.

****

The conference is falling apart and it is only day two of official business. The Sudanese bishops, who were, astonishingly, stationed as Salisbury with the US Presiding Bishop and her team before the conference, have almost derailed the whole thing by virtually calling for Gene Robinson’s resignation.

UPDATE:

As I write this the Archbishop of Sudan Dr Daniel Deng Bul is sitting behind me in the press room, calling for Gene Robinson to resign. If God had wanted men to be with men, he said, ‘He would have created two Adams.’ He has just come from a meeting of the 150-plus Global South bishops at the Lambeth Conference, representing 17 provinces. And this has just come in from Bishop of Fort Worth Jack Iker: ‘Those Bishops who stand in solidarity with Gene Robinson should withdraw themselves from further participation in the Lambeth Conference. Having failed in several attempts to include Gene in the Conference, his supporters should themselves feel a sense of rejection from the Conference itself. Integrity and honesty would dictate that they should stand with Gene - excluded from full participation in the Lambeth Conference. Is this all talk, or is it backed up by action?’ This represents the hard-line conservative-traditionalist stance at the Lambeth Conference and it is widespread. I wish I wasn’t writing this but things here are really not looking good. The Anglican Communion seems to be falling apart in front of our eyes and it is not a pretty sight.

Lambeth Conference 2008
University of Kent at Canterbury

Sunday July 21 and Monday July 22, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This epistle is being started Sunday evening, however, I will not send it out until tomorrow night in order to include information on our first actual day of Lambeth. Up until now there has not been a great deal to report, and this is evidenced by the comments from home that folks are not seeing much in the media about the Lambeth Conference.

My journey here was uneventful having left Alexandria at 12:25 p.m. Monday a week ago, and arriving at Gatwick Airport, London at 7:00 a.m. the next morning (there is a six hour time difference). At this juncture we were advised that we would sit on the runway for a bit as our assigned gate had another aircraft at it. For those who travel much, you know this can be rather normative. Well, after about an hour, the pilot advised us the aircraft at the gate had a fuel problem and would be there for some time, and rather than hold us longer we were going to be diverted. This diversion went on for some time as we taxied across the United Kingdom. It seemed as though we must have stopped somewhere between Ireland and Scotland, and then were bussed back into the terminal.

The journey from the airport to Kent University in Canterbury was fascinating as shuttle driver got lost numerable times, and those on board the shuttle thought the meeting would take place without us. More important was our prayer that we would be found and eventually end up back home. You can rest assured that our location is now known and God willing, there is a journey to Alexandria in the plans for me come August 4th.

After getting checked in and registered - we are staying in dorm rooms (one person per room and five people per restroom) - we had a brief introduction to the retreat that was going to be the beginning of Lambeth.

We spent the first three days “in retreat” with five talks being presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with the theme focusing on “Bishops and Discipleship. I must state this was good and did provide a pause before the rush of things before us. Every day since our arrival, we have started with Eucharist and Bible study, and I am blessed with a great Bible study group. Not only an opportunity for some sound theological reflection on Scripture, but faithful prayer time. There are eight bishops in each Bible study group and most groups represent bishops from eight different countries.

Early yesterday morning we were loaded up and bussed to Canterbury Cathedral for a service of worship in this grand 1,700 year old historical space with some 650 bishops and primates, to say nothing of the various dignitaries. Elements of the service, with about 2,000 people present, were magnificent, and it was amazing how they got us all in and out so smoothly.

Following Sunday worship at Canterbury Cathedral, we returned to the university campus for lunch and then had our opening session for the introduction of that which is before us. I must state there have been a myriad of rumours as to whether we would be addressing the “creative tension” (and I am not making light of what we are in the midst of in the wider church, but rather, endeavouring to be polite). Based on what we heard in the reporting made to us, we will indeed be dealing with this. Needless to say, this came as encouraging news.

Today was spent with two major portions of the day engaged in our “Indaba” groups, which are each made up of five Bible study groups, thus approximately forty people per group. The design of an “Indaba” group is to provide the setting for a purposeful discussion, and it is in these sessions that we will begin to address the challenges that face our Communion. In between the two sessions today, each of the Provinces met by Province and spent time in a provincial meeting. I will state the meeting of The Episcopal Church consisted primarily of comments, questions, and expressed concerns on the part of some.

Needless to say, this is all very early in a gathering and process that will continue on for another thirteen days.

In keeping with the tenor of the meeting, it is good to report the Communion Partners plan (see last month’s ALIVE!) continues to unfold in a good way, and we are pleased with the development and support of this that is evident here on a number of fronts. As you may have seen, the public media over here is also talking about it. I will share more later on this.

Thus, this is where we are at the end of Day One.

What can you do in Western Louisiana? Please continue to keep me and those participating with me in your prayers. Know also that my day begins and ends each day with prayers for each of you, and thanksgiving for the ministry we share.

Blessings in abundance.

+Bruce MacPherson

The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson
Bishop of Western Louisiana
and President of Province VII

Dear Brad,

Again, congratulations on your 15th wedding anniversary this past week. Susan and I will share our 50th this Friday … with me in Canterbury and her in Alexandria! Sad, as this is a momentous and wonderful day in our lives shared.

With regard to anything to share, as you know we have spent our first three days “in retreat” and this did provide a pause before the rush of things before us. Every day begins with Eucharist and Bible study, and I am blessed with a great Bible study group. Not only an opportunity for some sound theological reflection on Scripture, but faithful prayer time.

Following worship at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday, we had our opening session for the introduction of that which is before us. I must state there have been a myriad of rumours as to whether we would be addressing the “creative tension” (and I am not making light of what we are in the midst of in the wider church, but rather, endeavouring to be polite). Based on what we heard in the reporting made to us, we will indeed be dealing with this. Needless to say, this came as encouraging news.

The Communion Partners plan continues to unfold in a good way, and we are pleased with the development and support of this that is evident here. As you may have seen, the public media over here is also talking about it. I will share more later on this.

Thus, this is where we are on the day in which things will, as you say, “begin in earnest.”

Please know of my prayers for our diocesan family, and my appreciation for the prayers that are being offered for the gathering here.

Blessings in abundance,

+Bruce

The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson
Bishop of Western Louisiana
and President of Province VII

Read it all. I can say the story is pretty close to my own, growing up Episcopalian and being where I am now theologically speaking. Here is just a snippit:

I had jumped the shark, so to speak. As a mainline, PC(USA) pastor I had found myself the guy that I used to laugh about. That mocking derision to the simple-minded folk who actually claimed what I now claimed about the Bible was directed at me. You see, in the mainline church culture, it only works one way: conservatives and evangelicals can turn liberal. But never, never the reverse! A liberal turning fundamentalist is a violation of the contract. Oh well…

While I was personally never a wide eyed crazy liberal, I sure didn’t worry about things like homosexuality and the church and was always glad I was better than the fundamentalists (remember the top ten reasons to be Episcopalian t-shirts floating about? I still have one…)

Now, I are one. With a nagging feeling of embarrassment about the hubris I had toward my fellow Christians.

Now the retreat will soon be over and the Lambeth Conference will begin more in earnest, with dialogue among the bishops wherein I’m sure they will discuss some sort of solution to the Communion’s problems. Rumor has it that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a plan for some sort of canon law up his sleeve. While there are numerous potential problems with this and just about everything that has come out of the Instruments of Unity during the last five years, I guess the thing that really stands out to me is that +Rowan apparently had a plan for General Synod and that just didn’t work out. Ruth Gledhill reported somewhere that +Rowan voted for measures to protect traditionalists, abstained from the final vote on Women bishops, and spent a good deal of his time at Synod with his head in his hands. His suffragan that runs the Diocese of Canterbury, the Bishop of Dover, ended up crying and stating he was ashamed of his church.

When in a majority in the Anglican Church, liberals simply will not compromise. Why? Because women, gays, lesbians, and just plain old liberals are looking for the church’s blessing on who they are, their kinds of “ministries”, and what they believe. They aren’t looking for space in the church for themselves or even a place at the table, but for the church, including conservatives, to say their positions and beliefs are legitimately Christian. Of course, this is the one thing conservatives cannot give in principle. Moreover, they simply cannot be under the authority of someone who holds these kinds of positions and maintain their conscience. It is this Bible-thingy. It says you aren’t supposed to.

The United Methodist Church was confronted with similar stuff at their most recent annual conference, where the liberals, not being able to win a majority, got in a huff when a resolution was rejected that recognized “disagreement”. Recognizing “disagreement” is the legitimacy that it on the agenda, and the first step to achieving the goal. Thankfully, the Methodists rebuffed this, probably because they saw how “recognizing disagreement” ultimately undid the Episcopal Church.

The Church of England General Synod effectively refused to recognize disagreement with traditionalists in the CofE. The liberals clearly understand why they shouldn’t do this. However, over the years, conservative Anglicans have been, well, way too nice on this front and now we are paying the price.

So, I hope my blog readers out there, including not more than a few bishops at Lambeth, will not vote for anything that recognizes “disagreement”, unless it is a courtesy resolution recognizing someone from another church visiting the deliberative body of which you are a part. Firstly, why state the obvious? Secondly, it effectively undoes whatever else the resolution states. Thirdly, the slippery slope has ceased being a logical fallacy in the Anglican Church, but an observable reality.

Do realize that based on information I have from a source close to +Rowan is that +Rowan would like a workable solution to all this, and he is desperate for it. However, I don’t think he is going to get it. It will get mired down procedurally, and the folks will simply vote no.

On a personal note, it dawned on me that Provincial Synod is coming up for Province VII, and then General Convention 2009 in a year, which as I get older seems like less and less time. Lately, I’ve been feeling like, well, not going. Getting a note from my doctor or my wife saying I’m too well to attend these meetings. Of course I am going to go and do my duty. Mostly to vote no at GC2009. No to whatever comes up. That was Bishop Robinson’s strategy to kill my prison ministry resolution in the structure committee, despite the sheer number of sponsors I had on the other side of the sexuality issues signed up on the measure. It came from me, so it had to die, despite the fact that this same resolution was passed at GC2003, with only a few changes made to update it for GC2006.

At one time, I had some hope for reconciliation, after participating in the exercises here in Western Louisiana. I simply don’t think it is possible anymore. I don’t think anyone else really thinks it is possible anymore. If some sort of structural relief were to come in which I, as a conservative, Bible-believing Christian who is about equally evangelical and Anglo-Catholic, could remain in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion with integrity, I would take it. So would a lot of other people, including quite a few solid Episcopal bishops. Frankly, folks, it just isn’t going to happen. I’ll be cheering the loudest if it does. But, it is something the liberals just can’t give.

The only thing Canterbury could do to help this situation is to recognize those who have left TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada as Anglicans as well, and then see which part of the Anglican Communion prospers under the Gamaliel principle. He wouldn’t need anyone else’s approval to do that symbolically. Short of that, I think the Anglican Communion is pretty much over, as is the Church of England.

Can’t believe she hasn’t left.

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana
From the Office of the Bishop
The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson, D.D.

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
July 13, 2008

A Special Lambeth Message

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

This is being written on the eve of my departure for Lambeth, and bears my petition for your prayers for me and the Lambeth Conference 2008. The meeting will begin on Wednesday, July 16 and continue through Monday, August 4, 2008. Bishops from throughout the Anglican Communion will assemble at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England for this important gathering which is held once every ten years.

In looking toward this time, I am most mindful that together we have shared much in the Diocese of Western Louisiana, The Episcopal Church, and worldwide across the Communion. In the midst of creative tension we have sought to be faithful to the mission of the Church and to the work God has called us to be about.

We are not alone in this as there are many in other Provinces of the Communion whom have endeavored to do likewise. The issues before us have been addressed in a variety of ways as we continued to seek a way forward, and waiting for the day on which the Lambeth Conference would address a myriad of issues within and before the ministry we share. A portion of this work is the Anglican Covenant, a document which we have known would be a part of the dialogue and labor of the meeting.
Continue reading ‘Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson - A Special Lambeth Message’