by Herb Gunn

[Anaheim, Calif: July 17, 2009]

By the time General Convention began on July 7, more than a dozen pre-filed resolutions addressed the action of the previous General Convention (2006) that has been relished and reviled for three years: B-033. That statement of restraint impacting the election, consent, and consecration of bishops, approved in the waning hours of the 75th General Convention, opened the way for the Episcopal Church bishops to attend the Lambeth Conference in the hope of strengthening the bonds of affection across the Anglican Communion. But the Resolution B-033 threatened to leave deeply strained the bonds of affection between bishops and deputies when they gathered again in General Convention.

The World Mission Committee took up the entire package of resolutions, held open hearings, and two special sessions on the floor of the House of Deputies during which deputies paired off to discuss their personal experience following the approval of B-033 three years ago. The final result was a single resolution—D-025—that the committee recommended as the best way forward and the House of Deputies passed.

The House of Bishops discussed the matter at length, made modest amendments, and returned the legislation to the House of Deputies where D-025 was approved again. Both votes in the House of Deputies were by a 2-1 margin in the procedure of voting by orders that raises the bar beyond a simple majority.

World Mission Committee Member Ian Douglas, deputy from the Diocese of Massachusetts who has served on each of the Windsor-related task forces and committees, explained throughout General Convention that the committee had three options: repel or reaffirm B-033, strengthen the canons that cover access to ordination, or merely state the present reality of the Episcopal Church. The committee, said Douglas, chose the final option.

“I am very moved by the way the deputies on the world mission legislative committee were able to trust the process including the Committee of the Whole sessions and the legislative hearing,” said Douglas, who is also a member of Executive Council and the Anglican Consultative Council. “Based upon what we heard and experienced in these sessions, were able to come together in an effective, positive, forward-looking manner and I believe that the work of this committee was both faithful to and led by the Holy Spirit.”

In response to published stories citing the Archbishop of Canterbury concern stemming from reports he received about General Convention, the two presiding officers of General Convention, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and President of the House of Deputies Bonnie Anderson, issued a letter to him. The letter provided an explanation and clarification of Resolution D-025 pertaining to human sexuality issues and the Episcopal Church’s commitment to the Anglican Communion. The letter was also sent to the communion’s 38 primates.

“We understand Resolution D-025 to be more descriptive than prescriptive in nature—a statement that reaffirms commitments already made by the Episcopal Church and that acknowledges certain realities of our common life. Nothing in the resolution goes beyond what has already been provided under our Constitution and Canons for many years.”

The presiding officers emphasized that D-025 has “not repealed” Resolution B-033 that was passed in 2006. B-033 urged restraint in consenting to the consecration of bishops whose “manner of life” might present challenges for the rest of the Anglican Communion.

Several Diocese of Michigan deputies weighed in at the conclusion of General Convention, representing the breadth of opinion on the legislation and whether it repels or merely moves beyond B-033.

“I believe that D-025 is an honest reflection of who we are in the Episcopal Church,” said Dan Appleyard, rector of Christ Church, Dearborn. “We are fully committed to being members of the Anglican Communion, engaged in the mission of bringing peace, justice and reconciliation to the world and to people near and far. It also fully articulates our commitment to the LGBT community in all orders of ministry. For me the resolution has integrity and truthfully expresses our identity as Episcopalians and Anglicans in this Province of the Communion.

“General Convention had taken significant action—perhaps a first step—to bring the Episcopal Church into the 21st century and to reverse some of its hypocrisy around the issue of full inclusion,” said Pete Ross, lay deputy and member of St. Clare’s, Ann Arbor. “I think this will go a long way toward making our denomination more appealing to the young adults in our society who have long said, ‘You say one thing but do another.’ I would add to that that it is always difficult for an institution as large and complex as The Episcopal Church to institute change; sort of like trying to make a U-turn with the QE2 at flank speed.”

“D-025 is a clear statement of self-definition and an act of honesty and integrity,” said Brad Whitaker, deputy and rector of Christ Church, Grosse Pointe. “I believe this statement affirms our love and desire to be humble members of the Anglican Communion and says without question our recognition that one’s sexual orientation and expression thereof in a life-long relationship is not an impediment to being elected and consecrated a bishop.

“Does it repeal 2006 B-033? Perhaps not for some. Yet, even B-033 is in and of itself an ambiguous document. The passage of this statement [D-025] allows us to be who we are as well as serve as a witness of love to the world,” said Whitaker.

“Personally, D-025 gave me the individual opportunity to move beyond the painful position of voting to support B-033 in 2006. I am in love with my Church and our witness to Christ’s love for the world.”

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