'One in Jesus Christ' at General Convention
By the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, Bishop Coadjutor
My first General Convention was as a deputy for the 2000 meeting in Denver. As a newcomer, it took a while, but I soon became comfortable as the pace of work took over. I was most impressed by the sheer range of witness and ministries that our Church was considering. That was reinforced by the preaching, particularly at the daily Eucharist. It was all extremely uplifting.
Of course, the sexuality debates were to the fore and although I feared deep divisions would hijack the Convention and its broader work, in the end things seemed to me to work out rather harmoniously—even in disagreements. As I have reflected about 2000, I can say that the spiritual leadership at the time had everything to do with this tone. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold’s meditations at each Eucharist were both challenging and reassuring, and the Convention’s chaplain, the Rev. Frank Wade, was nothing less than brilliant and profoundly moving in each message he gave to the House of Deputies.
My experience of the Convention at Minneapolis in 2003 was altogether a different matter. The consent to the election of a partnered homosexual to the episcopate was so much the focus that I was frustrated by what seemed to me to be tunnel-vision on both sides. I observed and sought to mediate not just division but outright hostilities. I sympathized with the deep personal convictions of faithfulness, yet over those days I became strongly discouraged by the deep rooted conflict in the Church, not only within the Episcopal Church but also within the worldwide Communion.
By the time I returned home, I realized that that the program for our newly outlined priorities for mission was being widely ignored in the fallout from the Church’s disagreements over homosexuality. All of this made me begin to ponder long and hard about the appropriate nature and purpose of the General Convention.
When I returned as a deputy for Convention 2006 in Columbus, Ohio, it was with mixed feelings. But the fact that this Convention was to see the election of a new presiding bishop won the day. The anticipation was palpable. When it was announced that Katharine Jefferts Schori had been elected, both screams of joy and gasps of shock could be heard. I was grateful to witness history. Her manner—her eloquence, her quiet strength and her calming affect—was compelling. Little could I have ever imagined that less than one year later, she would lay hands on me to consecrate me as a bishop.
Now, I look toward my first General Convention as a member of the House of Bishops. I know that my experience will be very different from my times as a deputy. I cannot but imagine that the House of Bishops will be an easier place to be—if only for the difference in size. But it is more than that; it is also about the real community that the bishops share because of our ability to meet as a body twice every year. It has not taken me very long to feel truly comfortable with my fellow bishops in a personal way. That is a good place to be when doing the Church’s work.
It is possible that we could see the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies showing pointedly different visions for the way ahead at this time. The deputies might well be more “activist” while the bishops could be more moderating. As a result, one House may contradict the vote of the other on a couple of occasions.
What I’ve tried to show in sharing memories of my past three Conventions is not only that the General Convention is complicated in its processes, issues and accompanying emotions but also it is always very much a “mixed bag.” It is messy. There are ups and downs all along the way. Some things unite while other matters divide. A single outcome will be inspiring to some but anathema to others. And, I do have several questions about the Convention itself: Is the Convention now simply too big to do its work in a substantive way? Has it become something it was never intended to be? Is such a meeting a proper forum for complex theological questions?
In all of this, it is easy to lose perspective. When that happens, one cannot see the big picture—a more accurate understanding of the Church’s life. My counsel to one and all is never to allow one matter to overshadow everything else. A good many “trigger” issues will be discussed. This will surely include same-sex blessings, non-celibate gays and lesbians in the episcopate, our relationship to the Anglican Communion and maybe un-baptized persons receiving communion. As important as these issues are, as passionate as people are on one side or the other, not one of those subjects trumps the fact that we are all one in Christ Jesus—even if in spite of ourselves.
|
