The following has been included with the permission of:
The Rev. Dr. Kendall S. Harmon
Canon Theologian, Diocese of South Carolina
The Special Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
is set to take place at Saint Paul's, Summerville, on October 2, 2003.
The proposed resolutions from the Standing Committee:
The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
Proposed Resolutions for the Special Convention of the Diocese of
South Carolina
SR #1
Offered by: The Standing Committee
of the Diocese of South Carolina
Subject: Seeking to Live
Faithfully in a Time of Crisis, Judgment and Hope
Whereas the
Episcopal Church is under significant judgment by God and in a period of
crisis which leads to rising confusion and underlines the importance of
respecting conscience, communicating honestly, and behaving charitably,
and
Whereas we understand ourselves to be in part culpable for the
position in which the Episcopal Church finds itself, which leads to an
attitude of penitence and an awareness of our own weakness,
and
Whereas even in times of great struggle God is still fully in
control and working out his purposes in history, and that we believe one
of those purposes to be the refocusing of the church's true priorities,
and
Whereas, the scriptures remind us that, "if the bugle gives an
indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle," as well as to "speak the
truth in love" therefore be it resolved that
The Special Convention
of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina joyfully recognizes itself to
have been given by God the privilege of "constituent membership" in the
"Anglican Communion." This communion, as laid out in the preamble to the
Episcopal Church's Constitution, is understood as a "fellowship" of
churches defined in terms of its membership within "the one, holy,
catholic, and apostolic Church" and "upholding and propagating" the
"historic Faith and Order" of this larger Church, "as set forth in the
Book of Common Prayer" and Holy Scripture; and be it further resolved
that
The Special Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South
Carolina holds that the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church
has exceeded its authority and departed from its constitution, in
confirming the election as bishop of a non-celibate homosexual man and in
permitting same-sex blessings, separating itself from the Anglican
Communion and from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, directly
rejecting its solemn responsibility to uphold and propagate the historic
Faith and Order, as set forth in Holy Scripture and in the Book of Common
Prayer. These acts are held to be in conflict with the Canons of the
Diocese of South Carolina and have no binding effect in this Diocese, and
be it further resolved that
The Special Convention of the Diocese
of South Carolina joins the call of the orthodox bishops and deputies at
the 74th General Convention to the Primates of the Anglican Communion for
intervention in the pastoral and theological
emergency created by the
apostasy of the 74th General Convention, and urges recognition by the
international Primates, of those orthodox dioceses and parishes which
these bishops and deputies represented, as the legitimate expression of
the Anglican Communion and Faith in the United States of America; and be
it further resolved that,
The Special Convention in the Episcopal
Diocese of South Carolina also asks the Primates of the Anglican Communion
to address the matter of episcopal oversight and care, across existing
diocesan boundaries, to those clergy and congregations, committed to the
historic Faith and Order, in dioceses where the offending actions of the
74th General Convention have been approved or implemented; and be it
further resolved that
The Special Convention in the Episcopal
Diocese of South Carolina recognizes that the primary function of the
church upon this earth is to bear the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost
world. "God-changed lives" through the grace of Jesus and the power of the
Holy Spirit is our highest priority. We seek from God a new passion for
the lost, and offer to Him ourselves as instruments of his Good News for
the decades to come. We rededicate ourselves to the task of sharing the
evangel of Christ crucified and raised in our neighborhoods, in our nation
and throughout his world. In this task we believe that the local church as
the embodiment of the diocese is the front line of gospel mission, and so
we commit ourselves to strengthen existing parishes and to plant new
churches committed to the biblical faith and to gospel mission all around
our diocese and beyond. We will particularly pray for geographical regions
where that witness has been diminished or removed.
Accompanying
documentation:
As a reminder in our discussion the following
resolution passed over a year ago pertains to the resolution now being
presented:
DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA 212TH
CONVENTION
Substitute Resolution R-1
Offered by: The Rev.
Mr.s Patrick Allen, Tom Murray, Daniel Clark, Dow Sanderson, Frank
Limehouse, Charlie Walton, Jeffrey Miller
The Episcopal Church in
the Diocese of South Carolina affirms that we have received as a sacred
trust the Faith once delivered to the saints. We believe that the Holy
Scriptures contain all things necessary for Salvation, that the Apostles'
and Nicene Creed are sufficient statements of the Christian faith, and
that the sacred Tradition of the Christian faith has been preserved for us
in the Book of Common Prayer. We believe that it is our bounden duty and
service, in obedience to Our Lord, that the Sacraments should be duly
celebrated, and the Word rightly preached, until His coming again.
Furthermore, we believe that the three- fold ministry of bishops, priests,
and deacons, rightly ordered, is a sign and seal of apostolicity, and a
precious inheritance to be guarded and passed on to the church throughout
the ages.
Therefore, understanding that unity must be found in
truth, we resolve that:
1. We will not use liturgies that depart
from the Historic Faith.
We seek to preserve the inheritance of
common prayer. Liturgies that substitute gender-neutral titles for the
persons of the Holy Trinity threaten this inheritance, and often reflect
notions that have been classically understood as heretical. If the law of
prayer is the law of belief, this is a critical issue. It is not as much
how we worship but who we worship that is at stake.
2. We will not
accept General Convention Resolutions condoning an unBiblical morality.
Confessing our own sins, and in a spirit of deep humility, we
stand with the Church throughout the ages in acknowledging the Scriptural
witness that monogamous Christian marriage is the only and appropriate
context for sexual relations. We reject the divorce culture, promiscuity
of every type, and all behaviors, which depart from the received Biblical
norm. We do so, not in judgement, but because God in His goodness has
given commandments to protect us from harm to body, soul and spirit.
Rejecting certain behaviors as sin does not imply a rejection of persons.
We condemn homophobia, or any behavior that violates our baptismal promise
to respect the dignity of every human being.
3. We will not accept
coercive canons, which contradict the mind of the Anglican Communion.
The decision of the 1976 General Convention to ordain women as
priests was clearly intended as a permissive change. The Anglican
Communion, at its highest level (Lambeth) agreed, stating: Those who
affirm the ordination of women, and those who do not BOTH hold a valid
theological position in this Communion. The General Convention of 1997
ignored this Communion-wide mandate by passing overwhelmingly Canon III
8.1 which requires the ordination of women in every diocese, thereby
unchurching those bishops, priests, deacons and laypersons who believe
what the Church has always believed. While rejoicing in the gifts that
ordained women have brought to this church, we also stand in solidarity
with those who do not believe the Episcopal Church can make such a change
to received Catholic tradition.
This resolution is not intended as
an exhaustive list. Rather, these three issues are singled out because
General Convention already has taken, or has begun to take, action on each
of them that would seem to move the Episcopal Church in a direction more
guided by special interests than by the mind of Christ. We recognize that
we are not in a position to judge. We do not wish to be arrogant. Rather,
we wish to be a witness to our conviction that revealed Truth is a given.
It cannot be changed, voted on, nor amended. We are committed in every way
to remaining a part of the Episcopal Church. We will witness to unity even
as we witness to the higher calling of the Truth we have received.
Passed March 2, 2002
SR #2
Offered by: The Standing Committee of the Diocese of
South Carolina
Subject: Actions of the Presiding Bishop:
Whereas a bishop is called "to guard the faith, unity, and
discipline of the Church;"
And whereas the Presiding Bishop, as
chief pastor of the whole church and first among equals in the House of
Bishops has a particularly strong call to guard the whole church's faith
and unity, and
Whereas the current Presiding Bishop has expressly
used his office strongly to support the ratification of the radically
divisive election of the bishop of New Hampshire before the vote took
place at General Convention,
Therefore be it resolved that the
Special Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina expresses
its profound disappointment about and alarm over the fact that the current
Presiding Bishop has by his own leadership left the Episcopal Church, and
the Anglican Communion, more shattered than when he entered his office.
Explanation:
In an unprecedented move, the
Presiding Bishop wrote not one but two letters strongly favorable to the
election, one dated June 12th and addressed to the bishops of the church,
and the second dated July 22nd and addressed to the Primates of the
worldwide Anglican Communion. He also voted for the election although he
could have chosen to abstain, and during the General Convention process in
the House of Bishops suggested a way of thinking through the concerns
about the New Hampshire election using two sides of a paper related to
concerns of "love" and "fear" which was anything but neutral. We would
remind the Presiding Bishop that he himself said in an interview in
January of this year, that "words are weapons and we [Americans] have used
our language so unwisely, so intemperately, so thoughtlessly ... that I'm
not surprised we are hated and loathed everywhere I go." In the same
interview he went on to insist, ""God's concern is for the world and not
simply for a nation....Too often we narrow down faith to serve our own
immediate concerns and national interests." We believe that in his
leadership of the Episcopal Church in last several months Bishop Griswold
has profoundly betrayed his own standards. In particular, we note with
great sadness that all four instruments of unity in the Anglican communion
expressed their concern about and opposition to what the Episcopal Church
was apparently about to decide BEFORE the General Convention, and that we
as a church expressly committed ourselves at the General Convention of
1991 NOT to act alone outside of a wide consultation with the worldwide
church, and yet we went ahead in the apparent desire to "narrow down faith
to serve our own immediate concerns."
We especially observe the
degree to which, in much of the writing to Anglican leaders the Presiding
Bishop has used in recent months, he has made theological arguments. For
example, in his August letter to Anglican primates written after General
Convention he wrote "I must say in strongest possible terms that if I
believed in any part of my being that the consent to this election was
unfaithful to an authentic way of reading Scripture and contrary to the
leading of the Holy Spirit, I could no longer serve as the Presiding
Bishop of the Episcopal Church." In his July 22nd letter to the same
audience he expressed the belief that "some men and women find that their
deepest affections are ordered to members of the same sex," apparently
suggesting they are divinely so ordered. These are theological statements
suggesting an entirely new teaching of the church in the area of human
sexuality. They completely fly in the face of the Presiding Bishop's claim
that the election of a Bishop in New Hampshire did not involve a change in
the doctrine of humanness by the church. That he has led an American
Church unilaterally to begin to impose such a teaching on the Anglican
Communion is deplorable, but to deny that it is in fact a new teaching is
inexcusable.
We would implore the Primates of the Anglican
Communion to seek detailed clarification from Presiding Bishop Griswold as
to how he justifies this new teaching, with particular reference to the
doctrines of creation, the fall, and the Christian understanding of
marriage. We would furthermore ask greater clarity as to what Presiding
Bishop Griswold plans to do with those in his own church who believe with
all their hearts precisely that "consent to this election was unfaithful
to an authentic way of reading Scripture and contrary to the leading of
the Holy Spirit." He seems to be insisting that those who believe that
should resign, if they should, where should they go, and if they should
not, could he explain why not?
Accompanying documentation:
Resolution Number: 1991-B020
Title: Propose a Pan-Anglican
and Ecumenical Dialogue on Human Sexuality
Legislative Action
Taken: Concurred As Submitted
Final Text:
Resolved, the
House of Deputies concurring, That this Church receive the report of the
Standing Committee on Human Affairs as clear evidence of no strong
consensus in this Church on the human sexuality issues considered or the
resolutions proposed; and be it further
Resolved, That the Office
of the Presiding Bishop now be directed to propose to all provinces of the
Anglican Communion and all churches with whom we are in ecumenical
dialogue that a broad process of consultation be initiated on an official
pan-Anglican and ecumenical level as a bold step forward in the
consideration of these potentially divisive issues which should not be
resolved by the Episcopal Church on its own.
Citation: General
Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...The Episcopal Church,
Phoenix, 1991 (New York: General Convention, 1992), p. 807.
Also:
There are four instruments of unity in the Anglican Communion. The
"Virginia Report" of the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal
Commission (1997) identifies them as:
1. The Archbishop of
Canterbury
2. The Lambeth Conference
3. The Anglican
Consultative Council (the name has recently been changed to the Anglican
Communion Council)
4. The Primates
All four instruments of
Anglican unity warned the Episcopal Church NOT to proceed unilaterally in
approving homosexual relationships.
1. The Archbishop of
Canterbury wrote on July 23, 2002:
"The Lambeth resolution of
1998 declares clearly what is the mind of the overwhelming majority in the
Communion, and what the Communion will and will not approve or authorise.
I accept that any individual diocese or even province that officially
overturns or repudiates this resolution poses a substantial problem for
the sacramental unity of the Communion."
He wrote on May 29,
2003, following the decision by the Bishop of New Westminster to proceed
with the blessing of same sex unions:
"As the recent Primates'
meeting made clear, the public liturgy of the Church expresses the mind of
the Church on doctrinal matters and there is nothing approaching a
consensus in support of same-sex unions.
"In taking this action
and ignoring the considerable reservations of the Church, repeatedly
expressed and most recently by the Primates, the diocese has gone
significantly further than the teaching of the Church or pastoral concern
can justify and I very much regret the inevitable tension and division
that will result from this development."
2. The Lambeth
Conference adopted in 1998 Resolution I.10:
"This
Conference...
"(b) in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds
faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and
believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to
marriage;...
"(d) while rejecting homosexual practice as
incompatible with Scripture, calls on all our people to minister
pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and
to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and
any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;
"(e) cannot
advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those
involved in same gender unions;"
3. The Anglican
Consultative Council said at its meeting in Hong Kong (2002):
"This Anglican Consultative Council...calls upon:
"1. dioceses and individual bishops not to undertake
unilateral actions or adopt policies which would strain our communion with
one another without reference to their provincial authorities;
and
"2. provincial authorities to have in mind the impact of their
decisions within the wider Communion..."
4. The Primates
said at their meeting in Brazil (May 27, 2003):
"The question
of public rites for the blessing of same sex unions is still a cause of
potentially divisive controversy. The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke for
us all when he said that it is through liturgy that we express what we
believe, and that there is no theological consensus about same sex unions.
Therefore, we as a body cannot support the authorisation of such rites."
It is further worth noting this important statement in the
Virginia Report itself:
"There has been an increasing awareness
that certain issues arise that affect the unity of the universal Church.
Issues of faith, the sacraments, the ordering of the ministry, fundamental
changes in relationships with another World Communion and ethical issues
have implications for the life of communion. These need a Communion-wide
mind if a life of interdependence is to be preserved" (4.19).
SR #3
Offered by: The Standing Committee of the Diocese of
South Carolina
Subject: Financial
Intimidation
WHEREAS, there have been increasing reports
since the Lambeth Conference of 1998 of attempts of financial intimidation
by leaders in the Episcopal Church toward Anglican leaders of the Global
South, and,
WHEREAS an egregious example of this was manifest in
the bold testimony of The Most Revd Bernard A. Malango (Primate of Central
Africa), who reported that he was financially threatened by The Rev. Canon
Oge Beauvoir of the Trinity Grants Program. (Because of unflinching
commitment to Gospel faith and practice, Archbishop Malango has refused to
remain silent about the departures from Apostolic teaching in Episcopal
Church), and
WHREAS leaders such as Archbishop Malango face some of
the world's greatest financial pressures in their ministry,
therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Special Convention of the Diocese
of South Carolina deplores any such monetary pressure, and
therefore
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we pledge ourselves to
address, to the best of our ability, the circumstances of those who suffer
such ungodly actions and reprisals.
Accompanying
documentation:
Email from Archbishop Malango (shared with his
permission):
"I am not ashamed to confirm what I was told by Canon
Oge that my Province will not be assisted because of what I am doing. He
said that my participation at the American Anglican Congress in Atlanta,
December last year and what I have been saying publicly was not pleasing
to him and that no financial assistance will be granted to my Province. He
will be dealing with individual Bishops in this Province. If you want to
make it publicly known you can go ahead. It was at Rowan Williams'
Enthronement that he told me this.
Yours Sincerely,
+Bernard"
From "Jesus Loves Me" by Graham Bowley in the
Financial Times, September 11, 2003:
(The) Reverend Daniel
Matthews, rector of Trinity Church Wall Street, one of the richest
churches, told me: "We have many partners in Africa. They are our friends.
But if they decide to separate from the Anglican Church, if that should
happen, then Trinity and its grants programme should have to look
carefully to how it would respond."
From The Washington
Post, September 15, 2003:
The primate of Central Africa,
Archbishop Bernard Malango, said in a telephone interview that his vocal
criticism of the Episcopal Church has led one of the wealthiest U.S.
parishes, Trinity Church at Wall Street in Manhattan, to shut off grants
that previously provided $60,000 worth of computers and communications
equipment.
Malango, 60, has offered to take disaffected U.S.
parishes under his wing. Last year, he enrolled a Philadelphia clergyman
as a priest in his jurisdiction. Now, he said, he is discussing formal
links to an entire U.S. diocese, Quincy, Ill. "My interpretation of
Scripture on the question of marriage is one man, one wife, and it's
between male and female," he said. "I will not give up and will not stop
talking."
The Rev. Oge Beauvoir, who oversees Trinity's grants to
African churches, denied cutting off money to the 700,000 Anglicans in
Malango's province of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. But, he said,
he did have a blunt conversation with the African archbishop in February.
"I said to him that since he's promoting schism in the American
church, I would like to hear from him about where he stands in terms of
our ongoing partnership. Does he want to continue it, or not?" Beauvoir
said. "I'm still waiting to hear from him."
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