tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post2422585496763760687..comments2024-02-15T03:32:25.686-05:00Comments on Preludium, Anglican and Episcopal futures: Power, power, who has the power: The Moderator on the Instruments of Unity.Mark Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871096746243771489noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-56804503574656449622008-06-21T16:49:00.000-04:002008-06-21T16:49:00.000-04:00Mark, I think you read the good bishop wrongly. H...Mark, I think you read the good bishop wrongly. He is simply aware that if the church in the West continues to lose numbers, and if the church in the Global South continues to grow at the rate it is, then yes, the balance of power will shift, and it is "inexorable". The whole sexuality debate has nothing to do with it; it would happen anyway. The bishop has the gift of foresight, which is a mark of good leadership.<BR/><BR/>I also think the bishop understands power, at least in the church, far better than most of our other leaders do. He understands that real power comes through relationships -- that power actually comes when others willingly grant it. And +Duncan is simply <B>phenomenal</B> in building relationships with other conservatives in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. <BR/><BR/>I'm afraid that too often our bishops think that titles, positions, money and real estate are sources of power. (Do you all really imagine that our <B>buildings</B> are our assets, and not our people -- even the conservative ones?) I'm afraid that even in the Episcopal Church, the title of bishop will only take you so far. Without trust and respect, there is no real power, no matter what color your shirt is. Didn't Jesus say something about leaders needing to be servants?<BR/><BR/>To be fair, I think the Presiding Bishop knows this as well. She said as much at General Convention. But so far, she has utterly failed to build the relationships needed to turn the tide -- and frankly, I don't see much of an attempt to do so. Someone somewhere noted that there seems to be some incongruity between her pastoral sense and her actions. I suspect something's holding her back; I don't know what it is, but I pity her. Whoever has the power, it isn't her.<BR/><BR/>Yes, +Duncan should make you nervous; he will be a serious challenge to the Episcopal Church. Depose him if you wish, though it won't make any difference: the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Coalition will follow him anyway. Reason and negotiate with him if you can. But also learn from him.RBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16752701681681717163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-41744257654673655072008-06-21T08:18:00.000-04:002008-06-21T08:18:00.000-04:00I don't get why the "who blinks first" strategy is...I don't get why the "who blinks first" strategy is appaling. I've thought the same thing, although I'd put it differently. I'd say that the first group to decide that they can't remain in the Communion is the group that will wind up out of the Communion.<BR/><BR/>JonJonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13323740465436735706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-57127706577740554122008-06-21T07:12:00.000-04:002008-06-21T07:12:00.000-04:00Bishop Duncan's version of history reminds me, sad...Bishop Duncan's version of history reminds me, sadly, of a <A HREF="http://happening-here.blogspot.com/2008/06/imperial-pretensions.html" REL="nofollow">statue of Teddy Roosevelt</A> riding forth to lead the heathen that sits in front of the Natural History Museum in New York City. <BR/><BR/>Pompous and preposterous.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-37498926866120324272008-06-20T23:33:00.000-04:002008-06-20T23:33:00.000-04:00I waded through all 14 pages of Bp. Duncan's openi...I waded through all 14 pages of Bp. Duncan's opening speech at GAFCON, and when I read of the power shift in the Anglican Copmmunion that Caminante quoted, the same thought came to mind, "Why is a white man running this show?"June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-30480784280938806262008-06-20T11:29:00.000-04:002008-06-20T11:29:00.000-04:00"the inexorable shift of power from Britain and th..."the inexorable shift of power from Britain and the West to the Global South cannot be stopped"<BR/><BR/>And if this is the case, then where, oh where, does the Moderator from the WEST, not only that from the northeastern part of the US, fit in? How with the above statement can he think that he will become the head of this fractious body? It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it still be seen as colonialism to have a white man in charge of this bunch?Caminantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610142955176992982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-1055842071858938602008-06-20T11:10:00.000-04:002008-06-20T11:10:00.000-04:00What malcolm+ said...in spades!!!What malcolm+ said...in spades!!!susan s.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03679099677585214433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-53312506109126951402008-06-20T10:00:00.000-04:002008-06-20T10:00:00.000-04:00I think this address is another clear indication t...I think this address is another clear indication that Bp. Duncan has completely lost perspective.Bob Schneiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00003468424818097261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-61431817765291039262008-06-20T09:38:00.000-04:002008-06-20T09:38:00.000-04:00Yes, there really does seem to be a strong concern...Yes, there really does seem to be a strong concern for power at work in GAFCON. Yet, this is all also bound up in matters of sex, because it is disagreement over homosexuality that is at the very core of GAFCON's efforts, as the group's own statements have made clear time and again. <BR/><BR/>So what we seem to have in GAFCON is a strange fixation on sex *and* power. I imagine at least one good book could be - or already has been - written about that!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-80882661972532240892008-06-20T09:12:00.000-04:002008-06-20T09:12:00.000-04:00It sometimes seems to me that the political and re...It sometimes seems to me that the political and religious Right is beginning to look more and more like their old Bolshevik foes. It's all there, tactics of internal subversion, appeals to the inevitability of historical processes, and (on the political side anyway) the party marching together in lockstep behind the Leadership.<BR/><BR/>As George Orwell once said to a pioneering Cold Warrior in 1948:<BR/><BR/>"I don't think you fear the communists so much as envy them."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10326675.post-60767467131440493582008-06-20T01:30:00.000-04:002008-06-20T01:30:00.000-04:00The two things that strike me about Duncan's scree...The two things that strike me about Duncan's screed:<BR/><BR/>1. He repeats the "conservative" lie that Lambeth has conciliar authority. That is pure historical revisionism and utter bovine excrement.<BR/><BR/>2. He is declaring victory. In my experience, the only people who ever declare victory are those who are losing. Winners wait for someone else to declare it. As I read, I pictured the Bishop of Pittsburgh in a flight suit, standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier, "Mission Accomplished" banner in the background.Malcolm+https://www.blogger.com/profile/08469936715413110334noreply@blogger.com