Well, another battle lost.
The final non-courtesy resolution for vote today
(and a contentious vote at that) was the
following:
We, the 30th
Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, are deeply saddened by the
actions of the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in abandoning the
"historic faith and order" (Preamble of the Book of Common Prayer) as part of
the Anglican Communion. In confirming the election of a person sexually active
outside of holy matrimony and in choosing to bless sexual relationships outside
of holy matrimony, the Episcopal Church has denied the plain and simple teaching
of scripture, and has acted apart from the family of the Anglican Communion in
its moral teachings on marriage and
sexuality.
We are further
saddened that the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA, Frank Griswold, and those bishops
who participated in the consecration have ignored the heartfelt plea of the
Communion not to proceed with the scheduled consecration of Canon Gene Robinson.
They have ignored the clear and strong warning of the detrimental consequences
for the unity of the Communion which was contained in the Statement from the
Primates Meeting of October 15 and 16 which was unanimously assented to by the
thirty-seven Primates present including the Presiding Bishop of
ECUSA.
We call for all
members of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America to stand in
opposition to these actions against the unity of the Church in the Anglican
Communion.
This was
replaced by the following
resolution:
Resolved that
we, the 30th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, deeply regret the
wounds to our Communion and to our members experienced since the 74th General
Convention of The Episcopal Church. We call upon all members of The Episcopal
Church and of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego to refrain from harmful words
and deed, to approach each other with a spirit of repentance and forgiveness, to
engage in open and prayerful dialog, and to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit
to lead us through this time of trial into truth and
unity.
The replacement was
passed 122-118.
What was highlighted at
today's convention, and during conversations regarding these resolutions, is
that a significant percentage of those who hold that what happened at the 74th
convention were wrong hold that simply because we acted without the consent of
the Anglican communion. They see nothing wrong, in particular, with ordaining a
gay man, or a non-chaste man (or woman) of any kind. If that is all that is
holding them back, then they will soon join the rest and the Diocese of San
Diego will become yet another diocese where we bend to every wind of
doctrine.
Hopefully a bit later I will
post a few opinions regarding some of the comments made during the
debate.
Posted: Saturday - February 07, 2004 at 12:00 PM
