Reflections
on General Convention 2006

By the Rev. Karl D. Ruttan

I love the Gospel story appointed for today. It is the story of Jesus in the storm. He got into a boat on the sea of Galilee and was moving to the other side to preach the Gospel to some new folks.  He must have been very tired because he fell right asleep.  A huge storm came up and the frightened disciples frantically awakened him: “Do you not care that we are perishing,” they asked.  “Peace, be still” he said to them, and to the winds.  And the storm ceased and all was calm.

This is such a wonderfully human and intimate story.  It has been so reassuring to me when I face the storms of life- as I hope it has been for you.  When the winds of fate howl around us, and  the chaos is about to overwhelm, and we cry out to God or Jesus or to fate- “Help me!”  Sometimes, just sometimes, if we are still, and fall deep into our faith we can hear that still small voice that says, “Peace be still.”  We have that inner assurance that we are not alone, we are not in charge of the world, and that our God will see us through.

This story speaks to me on so many levels.  When I am filled with fear, this is one of the passages that I often turn to find some comfort and reassurance.  It reminds me that Jesus is with me, I am not alone, but  that he may seem to be asleep.  What seems so overwhelming and terrifying from my human vantage is not so very significant after all in the eyes of the Christ.

The passage tells the marvelous power of the holy one of God:And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" 

Just as God spoke the word in Genesis calling out over the waters of chaos, and brought  order, creation, and life, so Jesus the Word speaks forth and brings new life, new creation into each moment of existence.

This passage was written by Mark the evangelist a generation after Jesus’s death.  It  has great significance and reassurance for the early church which was facing persecution and trials. Perhaps they wondered if Jesus had abandoned them. A ship or boat has traditionally been a symbol for the church.  Like Noah’s Ark, the church is the safe haven from the storms of the world.  Churches are often designed as a boat turned over in mooring, with the rafters recalling the hull of the ship.  The connection to the early church is apparent.. In a time of persecution,  Mark reminds his readers: “Do not be afraid, have faith.”

As you know I have just returned from General Convention.  This passage is a wonderful encouragement as we conclude our work. This year’s General Convention was an amazing experience for me.  At times my heart would burst in enthusiasm and love for this church.  At other times I would be a slough of despair wondering if our church was about to be shattered on the rocks.  I wondered if we could maintain the tension between a stance of welcome and inclusion while keep the community together.

I saw marvelous and encouraging signs.  Sunday’s election of Katharine Jefferts Shori the Bishop of Nevada as the Presiding Bishop was an indication of our church’s commitment to inclusion.  As I have learned more about her incredible gifts for leadership and reconciliation, I have no doubt that she has the faith, the presence, and the integrity to lead us into the future.  She is the first woman to head one of the provinces of the Anglican Communion.  In the Episcopal Church we call our chief Bishop, Presiding Bishop- that is the one who presides in the House of Bishops.  Most other  provinces call their chief pastor Archbishop. Her election may be a challenge to some jurisdictions which have not yet accepted the ordination of women or the role of women as Bishops.

When I arrived in Columbus, I experienced a great deal of energy and enthusiasm from many, many people.  I felt a sense of hope that we could work through our differences.  Everywhere I heard talk of reconciliation.  As we went through the week, I appreciated the richness of our worship.  Each morning we would gather for Eucharist and discuss the appointed Bible readings in small table groups.  The convention was remarkable for its beautiful richness.  There were young and old, people of every color from all over the world; we worshiped using many different languages and music from around the world.  One theologian in our church commented that the challenge for the Episcopal Church today is to move from a mono-cultural church to a multi-cultural church.  The Episcopal Church has jurisdictions in 18 countries- many in Latin America.  In addition we are partners in a world wide communion with Anglican churches in almost every country.  

We had a strong youth presence– and once again- I was so impressed with the quality of our youth and young adults.  I talked with young people in their twenties who had served as part of the Young Adult Service Corps serving the church in places such as Pakistan, Taiwan, and Honduras. Many of these young people return home with a new zeal in the church- one was appointed as theologian at Yale Divinity School- many others seek ordination. Our future is in good hands!

I attended the Integrity Eucharist which is the group supporting full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our churches- and it was powerful. Bishop Robinson’s sermon was extraordinarily moving; the spirit was everywhere apparent.

After Sunday with only three days left, things began to get tense.  The House of Deputies had not responded to the Windsor Report recommendations.  These are the recommendations prepared by a international committee suggesting ways to move forward in dialogue despite the differences in our church around the issues of sexuality.  After a committee struggled for a week crafting resolutions with carefully balanced language, the resolutions finally came to the floor.  It soon became apparent that the language not acceptable to the most liberal or the most conservative in the church and it was defeated.  I was crushed and discouraged. I wondered if the church could hold together; yet I knew that the majority wanted to find a way forward.  But there seemed no hope.  I feared we would leave the convention with no responses to the recommendations of the Windsor report and the world an the  Anglican Communion would interpret that as meaning we did not care about our place in the world wide church.  I was extremely conflicted wanting the convention to affirm the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our church and at the same time wanting to keep in communion with those who disagree with this positions.  I wondered if a compromise could be found or if we doomed to walk separately. I feared our church was about to be dashed on the rocks.  During that time I kept an icon of Jesus at our table in the House of Deputies. I continually asked for guidance- and came to recognize that no matter what happened Jesus would not abandoned us and we would be held in his love.
 
On the last day of Convention, Bishop Frank Griswold called for a joint session of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops.  He said:

“When I became your Presiding Bishop eight and a half years ago, I called the church to the costly discipline of conversation. At that time I pointed out that the word conversation and the word conversion come from the same Latin root. I said that to enter into conversation deeply, and with an undefended heart, opened the way to conversion. By conversion I did not mean one point of view capitulating to another – but rather a new way of seeing one another and recognizing Christ in one another. The conversion of which I spoke had less to do with a change of mind and more to do with a change of heart.”

He went on to say for our voices to be heard at all, we most show our willingness to listen and to respond in good faith  to the concerns of the Anglican Communion.  He indicated that in his conversations to date there has been considerable movement-but that our work is not yet over. Therefore he proposed a resolution calling for restraint in consenting to the consecration of Bishops whose manner of life will cause a challenge to the wider church and further strain our communion. 

Many were stunned.  It was extraordinary for the House of Bishops and the Presiding Bishop to take such action in the affairs of the House of Deputies. The debate began with strong advocates on both sides of the issue. Then we  received word that Bishop Schori, the Presiding Bishop-elect wished to speak to us.  Her words were powerful.  She compared further strain on the relationship between the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion as similar to separating conjoined twins.

"Ethically, one cannot proceed to separate two conjoined twins until one is reasonably certain both can survive on their own and live full lives. I don't think we're certain that the two offspring are capable of living separately and healthily," she said.

"My sense is that the original resolution is the best that we're going to do today," she added. "But I can only support it if we understand that it's not slamming the door.

She said that this is only a step in the process- the dialogue will continue and she reiterated her support of full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church.

The resolution was adopted in the House of Bishops and was confirmed overwhelming in the clergy and lay orders.  But there was no rejoicing- it was hard to find such a hard felt compromise which was not fully satisfying to any.  Later we learned that the Presiding Bishop had said that, without such an action the Episcopal Church would not be invited to the Lambeth Conference which is  the meeting of all the Bishops of the Anglican Church in 2008.  I also learned some of the most conservative in the church did not want us to take action because they wanted the Episcopal Church to be kicked out of the dialogue so they could claim to the continuing Episcopal Church.

Yet the dialogue continues and the church survives. Many will see this as a setback for gays and lesbians. Many feel hurt and disappointed. Conservatives will see this as not going far enough in meeting the language of the Windsor Report. In other actions, gay and lesbian rights were endorsed in many ways by this convention and most certainly will continue to move forward in our church. 

At the end of the day- I want to say to you how proud I am to be an Episcopalian.  We dealt honorably and faithfully with difficult issues: issues of inclusion and unity.  I will say this is no perfect church- but when I heard all the stories of mission in our church- of all the outreach and faithful engagement with the poor, the outcast, the lonely the hungry in so many diverse communities and cultures- we are a church with a mission.  We affirmed our commitment to the millennium goals of giving to eradicate poverty around the world.  We are a church with a great and faithful witness.  We are in that boat with our savior Jesus- and everybody is welcome. I thank God that we are church that faithfully and very publically debates issues that most challenge our world and that we take action.  God bless our Episcopal Church.