Along with electing a new bishop today, the 2007 Convention of the Diocese of Chicago also passed the following resolution:
WHEREAS our Lord “is not one to show partiality” (Acts 10:34-35) and calls us to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19);
WHEREAS our baptismal covenant call us to “respect the dignity of every human being;”
WHEREAS undue discrimination limits the ability of the faithful to elect qualified persons to leadership, including the position of bishop;
WHEREAS Title III, Canon 1, Section 2 of the Canons of The Episcopal Church clearly states that “No person shall be denied access to the discernment process for any ministry, lay or ordained, in this church because of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age;”
WHEREAS Resolution B033, if interpreted to mean that a person living in a same-sex partnership should be excluded from consecration, stands in conflict with Title III, Canon 1, Section 2 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT
The Diocese of Chicago calls upon the 76th General Convention to abide by the canons of The Episcopal Church;
to respect the responsibility of each diocese to prayerfully discern the will of God in calling leaders;
to refrain from restricting the potential field of candidates on the basis of sex and sexual orientation;
and thus to repeal Resolution B033.
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10 comments:
Those who opposed this resolution who spoke on it objected that this question is one for General Convention, not for a Diocesean one, and that it seemed mostly aimed to stick a thumb in the eye of the Anglican Communion (their phrase, not mine) more than anything else. A supporter of repealing B033 stated that he thought it was more of an ill-spirited move by the liberals showing that they could outvote the conservatives.
They were having a hard time crediting their own conclusions. I wasn't.
And of course, adopting a course of ordaining sexually active homosexuals was routinely describe with loaded terms such as "moving forward" and "progress". The people supporting the resolution described the spectrum of positions on the matter as if the full spread was "moving forward now" vs. waiting. It's one thing not to hold a different opinion on the matter; it's quite another to refuse to recognize that any other position or the people who hold them exist. I guess the famous request for "listening" only goes one way.
We have a new bishop, BTW. Jeffrey Lee. He wasn't my first choice, but I've no particular objection to him. Two ballots - the official over-under was 4, since that's how many ballots they gave us. I'll save further comment to see if you were going to blog about that separately.
ronf ... re: comments on Bishop elect Lee were posted much earlier today on this blog ...
http://inchatatime.blogspot.com/2007/11/new-bishop-for-chicago.html
As far as repealing B033, I believe it IS for the dioceses to speak their mind toward General Convention ... eleven or twelves have already done so. Good for Chicago for joining in. And let's not start on ill-spirited moves by majority parties to "show" they can outvote minority perspectives.
B033 was wrong in Columbus and it's wrong now and it will be overturned in Anaheim.
Susan,
Your certainty about repealing B033 in Anaheim suggests that your ongoing conversation with the Holy Spirit and legislative strategists has concluded. Are you ready to now admit that you advocate for an official service of marriage for use by homosexuals in the new Prayer Book?
allen ... I think you may have been part of the inspiration for my sermon on "Sound Bites and Sadducees" for tomorrow.
What I am ready to "admit" is the same thing I've been jumping up and down about for as long as I've been jumping up and down about such things: Nothing short of the full inclusion of the LGBT baptized into the life and ministry of the church is good enough for us or for Jesus.
The hows and whens of achieving that goal are still revealing themselves. And in the meantime, the more important question is how are we seeking and serving Christ in another, respecting the dignity of every human being and proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ Jesus.
Susan,
Glad to help.
Are you ready to now admit that you advocate for an official service of marriage for use by homosexuals in the new Prayer Book?
Well I am! (But you can relax, allen: I'm "just a person in the pews", w/ zero clout whatsoever---beyond my fervent prayers, that is! ;-/)
However, I would phrase it as such: when it's time for BCP revision (and it's surely coming soon, I would think, after almost 30 years), I would advocate merely for certain "pronoun additions" in the current "Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage". That's all.
The only major problem I see with the resolution is that it seems to be based on an erronious reading of the canons. Canon III.1.2 clearly indicates that the right to enter the discernment process doesn't extend so far as to provide a right to ordination, election, or (by extension) consecration.
Additionally, B033 doesn't directly address who can stand for election as a bishop; it addresses the consent process that follows election. Granted it may influence who gets electioned, but it isn't clear that that influence is in violation of the canons of TEC.
Jon
Rev. Susan,
You know, sometimes you wonder if you were at the same event. What the gentleman said, as near as my notes are accurate, was that he did not like the resolution portion of the convention because he felt it did nothing but show the conservative 'we can out vote you.' He had no doubts about being for the resolution none-the-less.
I for one, do not 'admit' I want a change in liturgy so that all unions are blessed, and no State marriages are performed -- I proclaim it! We should stop helping the States discriminate against people, be they old women facing loss of social security, or single gender couples. We should start blessing all who proclaim their family within the larger family of the church.
We will get there. The road is not easy.
FWIW
jimB
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