Keeping Faith in Diocesan Conventions

Tomorrow the Diocese of Minnesota will elect a new bishop. Among the candidates is a partnered lesbian. That reality is there, but seems not to be determinate of outcomes. On the Walking With Integrity website there is a fine sermon by The Rev. David Norgard, President of Integrity. Go read it HERE.

In it Fr. Norgard says, "Whatever the outcome of the election, the Diocese of Minnesota has come out as a church. It has said, “In our family of faith, we have gay brothers; we have lesbian sisters.” That is also essentially what happened at General Convention last summer. The Episcopal Church finally and unequivocally came out. It came out to its mother, the Anglican Communion (and she was not amused, but I digress). It came out to its sisters, the other Christian denominations (particularly the Lutherans…and commendations to them!). It came out to the country and the world at large."

Aside from a small issue - namely that the Anglican Communion is not our mother, but rather our step-daughter - it is a fine statement of the reality of these times.

The Diocese of Northern Michigan is also meeting in convention and working through its own next steps in discernment towards election of a bishop. The last effort ended in the lack of confirmation of Fr. Forrester for a variety of reasons. Among those was some question about the way Norther Michigan thinks about ministry and the office of bishops. So this caring community of Episcopalians is taking to heart the need to be clear about just how it understanding its ministry. Among the speakers is the famous Fr. Jake, who thankfully is making the rounds as speaker these days, showing I suppose, that neither position at 815 or not, or cold or sleet or whatever can stop the World Stopper from his appointed rounds. We wish Northern Michigan well in its continued discernment and creative work on recasting the episcopate for missionary purposes.