Convention contemplates "The Waiting Game"


Waiting, on both the Lord and earthly leaders, was definitely on the minds of many who attended the 28th annual convention of the Diocese of Western Louisiana held at the Holiday Inn Convention Centre in Alexandria, Louisiana, October 12-13.

Western Louisiana is a "Windsor Compliant" diocese, one of the few in The Episcopal Church, which has chosen to comply with the agenda set forth in the Windsor Report, a document produced by the Anglican Communion that details what The Episcopal Church must do to maintain communion with the rest of the Anglican Church in the wake of the consecration of V. Gene Robinson as a bishop.

Since Western Louisiana accepted Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson's leadership to vote Windsor Compliance in October 2006, the crisis in the worldwide church has deepened. At a meeting of Anglican Communion Primates in February 2007, a detailed and specific communiqué was issued that listed the actions The Episcopal Church must take to remain in unbroken communion with the rest of the Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church's efforts to formulate its response to the Primates' demands was finalized at a meeting of the House of Bishops in New Orleans, September 25-30, just days before the September 30 deadline set by the Primates.

Meeting October 12, with no formal response yet made by the Primates, Convention was awash with speculation about what may be ahead for The Episcopal Church and especially the Diocese of Western Louisiana.

In his address to Convention delivered Saturday morning, October 13, Bishop MacPherson tackled the uncertainties of the current situation and the stress that it has caused in the diocese. "If we are going to take seriously our call to discipleship, we must be about God's business in proclaiming the Gospel, not beating up one another over issues of the Church at the expense of ministry. My brothers and sisters in Christ, if we do not stand firm and in concert with one another and do the work of Jesus in this place, then we have succumbed to the will of the devil!

"As your bishop, and I have said this before and am going to say it again, I will not permit the ministry that God has called us to share in this place to be derailed and run off the track. I stand here before you this day very mindful of the examination and oath that I took eight years ago this past Tuesday in the context of my ordination and consecration as Bishop within the Church Catholic.

"Permit me to share those words with you: My brother, the people have chosen you and have affirmed their trust in you by acclaiming your election. A bishop in God's holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ's resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ's sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.

You are called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.

With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

"These words, offered on October 9, 1999 are indelible upon my heart and remained such as I came into the ministry of this diocese. They bear the same depth of commitment this day, and as I shared in my Pastoral Letter of September 27, 2007, 'As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.'" [Joshua 24:15]

Bishop MacPherson restated his position and that of the diocese. "I stand before you with the continued commitment to lead us in a path of faithful fulfillment of the Gospel. The mandate for this is undergirded by the expressed position of this diocese through the action of the past few conventions, and the response made through the five Reconciliation and Healing gatherings held in the convocations this past summer.

"Over and over again the people of the diocese, and representing a wide spectrum, have voiced the desire to be an integral part of the Anglican Communion in keeping with the constituent membership of The Episcopal Church. Many have expressed the importance of this, and the concern about wanting to remain in Communion with the Anglican Communion and See of Canterbury."

He dealt with the calls by some for new affiliations with a variety of different groups that have sprung into existence since the beginning of the crisis. "I realize some would like to see us affiliated with this group or that group, but when you truly look at other groups, and other options at this time, you will find the direction they feel called to follow is no more definitive than that which is before us. At this moment they do not have anything specific to identify with, and we do not have anything specific that we can act on, other than being called to be about the ministry of being 'disciples making disciples.'

"It may be my Benedictine contemplative spirituality, or that of a faithful, stubborn Scotsman, but in keeping with my responsibility as Bishop for all the people of this diocese, I cannot act precipitously and won't. From the beginning the process has rested in the reaction of the Primates to the response of the American church. We must, and I will repeat, we must see where the fulfillment of the process we have been engaged in leads us. We went forward with the Primates date of September 30 to the House of Bishops, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has asked the Primates to respond to the response made by the Bishops of The Episcopal Church no later than October 31, 2007. In conversations with others, and what I have heard, I am confident the answer will be clear."

He alluded to the urging by some for immediate action, with no provision made for the response of the Anglican Primates. He also pledged action when a clear course can be determined. "What difference will the next eighteen days make? Most important, we will know the decision of the wider Communion with respect to our place within. And it is important to know, that since my return from the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, I have personally communicated with the Archbishop of Canterbury about my concern for the continued recognition of us as a Windsor-compliant diocese, and have reiterated that which I shared with him and the Primates in Dar es Salaam about remaining in full communion with the Anglican Communion and See of Canterbury.

"In keeping with this, some have expressed concern about having to wait until our diocesan convention next year should there be action the diocese would want to take. Please know, if action on the part of this diocese is needed on this matter or anything else, the Diocesan Constitution and Canons [Article IX, Section 1] provide for the Bishop to call a special meeting, and I will do so.

"If something like this arose, please bear in mind that while we would be able to form a direction forward at this time, changes to the Articles of Incorporation and Constitution can only take place in an annual meeting of Convention, and require adoption by a two-thirds vote at two consecutive annual conventions." [Article XIII, Section 1 Diocesan Constitution and Canons]

Bishop MacPherson was quite candid about actions of the House of Bishops, and the criticism expressed by some, of his part in those deliberations. "Looking at the recent meeting of the House of Bishops in New Orleans, the reports on the reception of the House of Bishops' response to the Primates Communiqué have been mixed thus far. You already know that I feel the response was inadequate and did not clearly answer the three basic questions that were asked of us. You also are well aware from my Pastoral Letter of September 27 of my action. As shared, much effort was made in the closed sessions, but not to any avail.

"A small number of people have sought a further explanation from me about my confessed 'silence.' To this I will simply state, the critical explanation about my position came as I stood before the Primates of the entire Anglican Communion in Tanzania and made my statement which in turn reverberated across the wider Church.

"Further, if my demonstrated position and the things that I have said and done for the past eight years do not suffice, I am sorry, but as for now I must, in the words of Jesus, 'be about my Father's business.' [Luke 2:49]

"One writer in the diocese likened me to Peter and his denial of Jesus in the courtyard, but quickly pointed out that Jesus still loved him. While that analogy was painful for me, I could not help but be mindful of Jesus' later words to Peter at the time of his confession, 'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.' [Matthew 16:18]

"Brothers and sisters, the ministry of this diocese that we share, is built upon this rock, and in keeping with Jesus' words, no power shall prevail against it. I am reminded of this on many Sunday visitations as we sing those powerful words of 'The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.'" [Hymn 525 Hymnal 1982]

He spoke with passion about the shape of ministry that lies ahead. "If we are going to build upon the foundation that has been placed before us, we must be people of vision, for as the Book of Proverbs declares, "Where there is no vision, the people perish ..." [Proverbs 29:18]

"This vision began to unfold last year as we were called to a year of reconciliation and healing. I didn't know how this would be lived out when I shared this with you in my convention address, but I did know that if we were going to be a part of building up the kingdom of God in this place, we needed each other, and we needed to know each other.

"Out of that vision a training event involving 45 people emerged, and after three days of intense work, we embarked upon the convocational gatherings. I am pleased to say that more than 650 people participated in these events, and out of this came positive energy for our Lord's ministry in this diocese. My thanks go out especially to Judge Dee Drell for chairing this work, and for all those who gave so very much of their time and treasure to bring this to be.

"Much insight has been gained out of this work, along with a greater sense of how the people of this diocese want to share in ministry, and this will be something we will build upon for some time. The challenge however, is going to be in truly sharing in ministry and not just talking about it in small groups. I say this as several of the participants raised the question of us having more conferences and small groups in the future, and yet, several attempts in doing this in the past couple of years have received a negligible response. I will speak to the vision that I have for the new year momentarily."

After specifically detailing ministries currently active in the diocese, the Bishop turned his attention to a new vision. "It is with glad heart that I share with you that in the early new year a diocesan-wide conference will be offered under the leadership of the Commission on Evangelism. This event is being designed to reach out to every congregation in the diocese and will feature a noted international evangelism leader. The conference will not be unto itself as the participants will not only be challenged to discipleship, but will go home with materials to share with their congregation. It is our prayer that in the following six months each congregation, utilizing the materials from the conference, will explore how each of you 'proclaim the Gospel ... proclaim your faith' in your respective settings.

"It is not enough to just talk about what is needed, we must provide it, and this begins with each of us personally allowing Jesus to be seen in our lives. Through this, each of our congregations can more fully live into being a beacon for Christ in your communities. Or as heard in the Sermon on the Mount, '... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.' [Matthew 5:16] "

In addition to the materials, members of the Commission on Evangelism will be available to assist you in this endeavour. The work accomplished will be shared as we all gather for diocesan convention next year, and continue to build upon this work through the much desired small group settings with one another. I urge you to be mindful that this conference is part of that which many of you requested be offered and in turn make a commitment to participate. If we are truly serious about wanting to build up the Body of Christ, we will be mindful of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, and wherein we read that 'the body does not consist of one member but many.' [1 Corinthians 12:14]

"My prayer is that we will not only draw upon the reconciliation and healing work of this past year, but will build upon it: to allow this to be a bridge into a greater ministry of being 'disciples making disciples.'"

Citing the need for the diocese to go forward together, the Bishop said: "Brothers and sisters in Christ, if the mission of discipleship to which God calls us to in Western Louisiana is going to be not just talked about, but done, we must go forward together in faith. As we are reminded through the words found in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, '... faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.' [Hebrew 11:1]

"May we, in faith, be mindful of the further words in the Letter to the Hebrews, 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.'" [Hebrews 12:1-2]

Vote by Oders defeats resolution
Later Saturday morning Convention dealt with a resolution reported by the Resolutions Committee with no recommendation for passage or rejection. (See accompanying resolution.) After vigorous debate, a request for a secret ballot by orders was made and approved by Convention. A vote by orders is a vote in which the votes by Clergy and Lay delegates are tallied separately. Passage requires an affirmative vote in both orders. The results of the ballot, reported shortly before the mid-afternoon adjournment of Convention were: Lay Order: 70-53 for adoption, Clergy: 19-24 against adoption. The motion failed to gain Convention approval.


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