Looking towards the General Convention

by the Right Reverend Thomas Clark Ely, Bishop of Vermont
Mountain Echo, June 2003

On July 28th Ann and I will leave for Minneapolis to join our diocesan deputation and the other bishops and deputations of the Episcopal Church for the 74th General Convention. This will be my first General Convention as a bishop. In 2000, I was a deputy from the Diocese of Connecticut. As we head to General Convention, I am mindful of the many important matters that will be before us as we meet around the theme of Engage God’s Mission. Two matters that directly affect our church’s mission and ministry to, with and by gay and lesbian persons have already gained broad attention. I thought it would be helpful to be clear with you about my thinking regarding these matters.

The first is the election of the Reverend Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire. By our Episcopal Church Canons, the General Convention must vote its consent to this election before his ordination and consecration can proceed. There are nine other recently elected bishops whose elections must also be confirmed by General Convention. The New Hampshire election has drawn the most attention of these ten, because Gene is living in a committed relationship with his partner, Mark Andrew.

Many of us in Vermont know Gene through his ministry as Executive Secretary for Province One. I have known Gene for over twenty years, since our early days of youth ministry together. More to the point, the people of New Hampshire know Gene and his ministry. After following the same canonical procedures that Vermont did when you elected me to serve as your bishop, the Diocese of New Hampshire elected Gene Robinson to serve as their bishop. I believe Gene will be a fine bishop, and I intend to give my consent to this election. Our Diocesan Council and Standing Committee have both voted and communicated their support of this election and have sent their congratulations and best wishes to our neighbor diocese to the east. I am mindful that not everyone in the Diocese of Vermont will agree with me on this matter, and I welcome conversation with those who hold a different point of view.

The second matter of importance in our engagement of God’s mission among gay and lesbian persons is the church’s blessing for those living in faithful, committed same gender relationships. Proposed legislation would authorize the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to draft a liturgy (or liturgies) for the blessing of same gender relationships for inclusion in the Book of Occasional Services. The next General Convention in 2006 would then vote whether to approve the proposed liturgy.

Since all proposed legislation is first referred to committees, it is impossible to say at this point exactly what legislation (if any) will be debated and acted on at General Convention with respect to this matter. None the less there is, and will continue to be, considerable discussion around this topic.

Let me be clear about what I desire in this regard. My deepest longing is that we will find a way through this conversation that is affirming of the full inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church and of their ministries that are already so much a part of who we are as the Episcopal Church here in the Diocese of Vermont and beyond. That means, among other things, finding a way to offer the Church’s blessing upon persons living in committed same gender relationships. From my perspective, there is simply too much at stake for the church not to move forward in this direction. The tension between continuity and innovation will always be part of who we are as God’s people on a journey, and now is one of those times when we need to heed and embrace God’s word from the prophet Isaiah, “Behold I am doing a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it.”

My other desire is that the Episcopal Church not experience deeper separation and division as a result of offering pastoral ministry to our gay and lesbian members. The way for that to happen is not to force people to go to a place they are not yet ready to go, but rather to make provision for those who are prepared to move forward to do so with integrity and without fear of reprisal. Perhaps if those who in good faith do not believe the church should move forward in this area of pastoral ministry could “suspend judgement for a season” it would allow the space we need in order to let the Holy Spirit “lead us into all truth,” as Jesus promised.

The ministry of gay and lesbian persons, lay and clergy alike, is significant in our diocese and for that I give thanks. Likewise, it is pastorally important for us to move forward with clarity about the church’s blessing of those who wish to be joined in civil unions in our congregations. Therefore, in consultation with the Standing Committee and members of our General Convention Deputation, I am establishing a Task Force on the Blessing of Persons Living in Same Gender Relationships. The charge to this Task Force is to advise the Bishop and the Diocese regarding next steps in response to the actions of General Convention regarding the blessing of persons living in same gender relationships. I have asked the Very Reverend Kenneth Poppe, Dean of the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul and President of the Standing Committee, and Anne Clarke Brown, one of our Vermont Lay Deputies to General Convention, to co-chair this Task Force.
I want this Task Force in place prior to General Convention so that they are ready to meet following the convention. If the Minneapolis General Convention decides to move the Church forward in this matter, the Task Force will advise us on how we might do so most appropriately in Vermont. If the convention does not move the Church forward in this matter, then the Task Force will advise us on what direction we might take as a diocese with regard to the pastoral needs of our diocese and its people. Because of the good and effective track record of ministry with and by gay and lesbian persons, I believe the Diocese of Vermont is uniquely poised to offer leadership to the larger church in this matter. I will take an active role in this work of this Task Force.

As we head to General Convention, I ask your continued prayers for our diocesan deputation and me. We are hard at work reading through and digesting the volumes of reports, recommendations and resolutions that will come before us in Minneapolis. Knowing that you are holding us in your prayers means so very much to us.

Faithfully,
+Thomas