CNN on "ECGC" (Episcopal Church General Convention 2009)

Monday, July 20, 2009

Click here to watch CNN video clip on – An Inch At A Time: Reflections on the Journey – Rev. Susan Russell

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Integrity Eucharist Slide Show

Photos of the July 10th Integrity Eucharist ... a DVD is "in the works!" Click here for slide show

Thanks to Cam Sanders (All Saints, Pasadena) & Don Anderson (Diocese of Los Angeles) whose photos are included here along with those of our own staff and volunteer photographers. A great witness to a great celebration! Learn more on - An Inch At A Time: Reflections on the Journey – Rev Susan Russell

Episcopal leaders affirm new policy on same-sex blessings, By Duke Helfand - Los Angeles Times

Capping a 10-day convention in Anaheim, leaders of the Episcopal Church agreed Friday to consider marriage liturgies for same-sex unions and to give bishops greater latitude in meeting the spiritual needs of gay and lesbian couples.

V. Gene Robinson, center, and other bishops now have more latitude in meeting the spiritual needs of lesbian and gay couples in the Episcopal Church. Photo

The new policy marked a second victory for liberals after the church gave final approval Tuesday to a measure ending a de facto ban on the ordination of gay bishops…

"In adopting this resolution, it is not our desire to give offense," they wrote. "We remain keenly aware of the concerns and sensibilities of our brothers and sisters in other churches across the communion. We believe also that the honesty reflected in this resolution is essential if indeed we are to live into the deep communion that we all profess and earnestly desire."

… "I think we are learning more about each other's contexts," she said of the relationships in the communion. "We know more about what it means to be a Christian in Pakistan or North India or Kenya."

"What has happened at the convention are signs of the health and vigor of the Episcopal Church," said Bishop J. Neil Alexander of Atlanta. Read complete article on Los Angeles Times

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An Inch At A Time: Reflection on the Journey – Rev. Susan Russell

Bishops Vote for Generous Pastoral Response on Blessing Same-Sex Unions

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

There was no room at the inn this afternoon for press in the House of Bishops. The reporter from the LA Times was the last one in and had to run around pleading for a chair until an extra one was brought up. Only the question of blessing same gender relationships could bring such excitement after the passage of D025.

Bishop Ely opened the session by explaining that 26 bishops met together early and late for an extended indaba-style conversation in two two-hour sessions. As a result of that conversation five bishops wrote a substitute resolution. Bishop Jones presented the resolution and the bishops then took another twenty minutes for conversation.

The substitute resolution was wordsmithed for a while. The biggest change was taking out the idea of having liturgies developed in the next three years to be considered at the next General Convention.

So what are we left with –

1) local option – in other words each bishop can decide what is appropriate especially given the different legal situations. This has been the situation informally and unofficially but now it’s out in the open.

2) The collection and development of theological and liturgical resources.

This seems to reflect a sentiment mentioned several times by bishops over the past week, that we need to develop our theological ideas BEFORE we develop liturgies, not the other way round. It also provides some breathing space for the more conservative.

We’ll see what the Deputies do. Our rendering of the final text is here;

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, that the 76th General Convention acknowledge the changing circumstances in the United States and in other nations, as legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions that call forth a renewed pastoral response from this Church and for an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships; and be it further...

…Resolved that bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same gender marriage civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church, and be it further

Resolved that this convention honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality and be it further

Resolved that the members of this church be encouraged to engage in this effort. Read complete posting on Walking With Integrity

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An Inch At A Time: Reflection on the Journey – Rev. Susan Russell

Leading the Way of Christ - The Episcopal Church LGBT bishops - Rev. Susan Russell

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 IntegriTV GC2009-Day 6: Beyond B033, Youth, Looking Back and What Would You Say to the Church

Yesterday the House of Deputies passed a resolution that moves beyond the de facto moratorium on LGBT bishops in the Episcopal Church. Watch some of that discussion and hear Susan Russell's take on it. See how convention-goers answer the question, "What would you like to say to the church?" and find out what 2 youth ministers from Utah have to say about the 76th General Convention. Learn more & View video clip - Walking With Integrity

Learn more - An Inch At A Time: Reflection on the Journey - Rev. Susan Russell

National Religious Leadership Roundtable applauds Episcopal House of Bishops decision to end ban on gay bishops - Read more

Episcopal church to affirm gay clergy By RACHEL ZOLL - AP Associated Press - "And the Vatican, Benedict XVI ??? "

NEW YORK (AP) — The Episcopal Church moved Monday toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop.

Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships.

Lay and priest delegates to the meeting had comfortably approved a nearly identical statement, and were expected to adopt the latest version before the meeting ends Friday.

Leaders of the Anglican Communion have been pushing Episcopalians to roll back their support for gays and lesbians since 2003, when the U.S. denomination consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. Anglican body.

Robinson's election brought the 77 million-member Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism. Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province called the Anglican Church in North America.

To calm tensions, the Episcopal General Convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop. No other Episcopal bishops living openly with same-sex partners have been consecrated since then.

Drafters of the latest statement insisted that the resolution only acknowledges that the Episcopal Church ordains partnered gays and lesbians and is not a repeal of what was widely considered a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.

"The constitution and canons of our church as currently written do not preclude gay and lesbian persons from participating," in any part of the church, said the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, on the committee that drafted the statement. "These people have responded to God's call."

However, the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity, said in a statement Monday night that the declaration "effectively ends" the temporary prohibition on gays in ministry. Integrity called the vote "another step in the Episcopal Church's `coming out' process."

Read more By RACHEL ZOLL - AP Associated Press

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Advocate.com Episcopalians Vote to End Gay Ban By Julie Bolcer

The bishops of the Episcopal Church voted on Monday at the church’s convention to open “any ordained ministry” to gay men and lesbians, following a similar vote by the House of Deputies, the legislative body of laypeople and clergy, on Sunday, reports The New York Times. If approved, the resolution could end the three-year old moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed in the wake of conservative outrage over the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the American branch. Read more – Photo - Advocate.com

Learn more - An Inch At A Time: Reflection on the Journey - Rev. Susan Russell

Two Bishops of Rochester Offer Different Messages To The Church

ANAHEIM, CA. While the Bishop of Rochester, NY, The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh today called for the full inclusion, justice and equality of gays and lesbians, whom he referred to as " saints of God” a senior Church of England Bishop, Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali, called on homosexuals to repent and "be changed."

Bishop Singh, in a video interview released by IntergityUSA on You Tube today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28kJgG89RN0), referred to the LGBT faithful as "saints of God." Bishop Nazir-Ali, speaking on the occasion of gay pride in London, said "The Bible’s teaching shows that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the way to express our sexual nature." He went on to add that if people believed differently, they did not belong in his church.

"Holding differences in tension has historically been a specialty of Anglicans," said the Rev. Susan Russell president of IntegrityUSA. “The church that made room for being both protestant and catholic at the communion rail in the 16th century can surely make room for being gay and straight together in the 21st."

"At the end of the day, what matters isn’t our sexual orientation but our theological orientation – and no child of God should ever be asked to make the choice between being honest about who they are and being accepted by their church. Jesus’ message was “the truth will set you free" not "become something you’re not to be accepted by the God who created you."

"We are in the final countdown to our witness in Anaheim and our message is that nothing short of all the sacraments for all the baptized is good enough for us or for Jesus – and we give thanks for the ministry of bishops like Prince Singh whose work and witness incarnates God’s inclusive love to ALL the God's beloved human family."

The Rev. Susan Russell is available for comment

Contact: Louise Brooks, Director of Communications, 626-993-4605

Read more Walking with IntegrityUSA