You are here: Home > Bishop's Pages > A pastoral communication about General Convention

A Pastoral Communication
from
The Right Reverend Dean Elliott Wolfe
Ninth Bishop,
The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas
July 18, 2009

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, held in Anaheim, California, has finally drawn to a close. I, along with an exceptionally devoted group of deputies from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, participated in a demanding two-week schedule of meetings, worship, education and debate that began early each morning and ended far into the night. The Episcopal Church’s General Convention is the process whereby we revise our Constitution and Canons and determine our budget and mission priorities for the next three years. This meeting brought together approximately 140 bishops and 830 deputies from the 14 countries of our Province, along with visiting representatives from the worldwide Anglican Communion. Thousands of people attended worship and educational events, including a significant group of youth and young adults.

The primary benefits of this Convention (like any other such gathering) are the friendships that are established and the relationships that are solidified. By spending time together and by speaking face-to-face with people with whom you disagree, you begin to see things from a new perspective, and you come to more fully respect and appreciate the very different worldviews you encounter.

There were far too many issues discussed at this year’s General Convention to summarize them all in this brief communication, but I would invite you to go to Episcopal Life Online (www.episcopal-life.org) for a full explanation of all the matters we addressed in Anaheim.

From my perspective, there were two main issues on which the Convention came to agreement.

First, the budget….

We agreed to make a radical change in The Episcopal Church’s triennial budget, reducing the asking from dioceses from 21 percent to 19 percent over the next three years. This budget, produced in the light of current economic realities, reflects a growing desire to implement ministry at the most local level. Thirty employees (out of a total of 180) will be laid off from the Episcopal Church Center in New York and at satellite offices around the country. The members of the Program, Budget and Finance Committee (including our own Larry Bingham) believe this budget represents a constructive and innovative approach to the challenges facing our church in the 21st century, an approach already being utilized in our own diocese.

Second, the General Convention came to substantial agreement on two resolutions which attracted most of the media’s attention…

We agreed, by a significant majority, to Resolution D025, which….

• Encourages dioceses to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion;
• Reaffirms our financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and our full commitment to the Inter-Anglican budget;
• Reaffirms the value of “listening to the experience of homosexual persons” as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2008;
• Recognizes that gay and lesbian persons who are living in life-long committed relationships “characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect” have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church;
• Affirms that God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church; and
• Affirms that God’s call to the ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church is a mystery that the Church is attempting to discern.

Additionally, we agreed by a wider majority to Resolution C056, which…

• Acknowledges the changing circumstances in the United States and in other nations as legislation authorizing civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions;
• Calls for an open process for the consideration, collection and development of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships;
• Invites participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations and individuals who are engaged in such theological work and invited theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion;
• Resolved that bishops, particularly in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church; and
• Resolved that Convention honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality.

I voted in the affirmative on both of these resolutions after participating in extensive discussions in an effort to moderate the original language and make it possible for as many bishops as possible to come to agreement. I believe these resolutions, as amended, describe a present reality that should be acknowledged. I also believe that while these positions may not represent the feelings or theological perspectives of some in our diocese, they express a generous orthodoxy that I believe we will come to appreciate over time. These resolutions do not, in my mind, constitute a departure from our desire to be in greater relationship with the Anglican Communion, but rather a realization that all relationships must be based in honesty.

As long as I am your bishop, there will always be a place for those who come to different conclusions about these issues. Our diversity of experience and perspective are signs of our strength in the Body of Christ and not a weakness. I pray that the gay and lesbian people in our diocese will see these resolutions as hopeful signs, and I pray that those who disagree with these actions will believe their perspectives are honored and deeply valued as well.

After an experience like this one, I would wish every one of you could have been witness to the grace-filled, complex and highly-nuanced conversations that have now ended up summarized in brief newspaper headlines or in simple voting tallies. Please continue to pray for me as I seek to lead from the transformational center, and please pray for our beloved church and every single one of its members.

In Christ,

The Right Reverend Dean Elliott Wolfe, D.D.
Ninth Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas