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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak. (Ecclesiates 3:1,7) For several years now it has been truly challenging for all of us in different parts of the world to live out our Christian faith and dutifully exercise our unique Anglican ministries within the doctrine, discipline and worship of the American Episcopal Church. Certainly what seems obvious to many of us, as we have struggled - albeit willingly - in open dialogue about the Communion's international critical issues, is not only a more profound appreciation of the myriad of related issues surrounding our own peculiar American doctrine, discipline and worship, but also those of other Anglican households who, like us, theologize in both cultural and political contexts. Global Anglicanism is presently embracing the challenges of the inevitable new emerging facets, welcome or not, of a living Anglican faith and tradition. The Anglican Communion, thanks be to God, is alive and well and continuing to grow spiritually into what our Lord truly desires for all his people. We are gaining a clearer understanding and sense of 'Anglican Comprehensiveness,' which historically has been shaped by the unresolved religious and secular issues of the day. This focus ought to take precedence and be accepted as of significant importance for the well-being of all people in Christ's Church above any one of us individually. It is most spiritually gratifying to read that the inspired House of Bishops' Approved Statement of March 12th concerning the upcoming Lambeth Conference evidences this larger focus. In contrast, Bishop Gene Robinson's sincere and open reflections in his recent rather unclear letter to our American House of Bishops seems to fall short of what is important for the benefit of everyone in the Anglican Communion at this time. I have been on public record since Bishop Robinson's election as being openly supportive and concerned about his personal well-being, while at the same time as a pastor, priest, and teacher I have been careful to keep in focus the larger issues that are apart from the personality and person of Bishop Robinson. Bishop Gene's reflections concentrate on his own feelings and on observations related to himself rather than upon the pressing larger critical theological and ecclesiological issues at stake. I have been greatly appreciative of Bishop Robinson's assertion, repeated often since his ordination, that "This is not about me." In that spirit -- which he himself gave voice to -- does not this focus on the person of Gene Robinson now need to end in order to better focus upon the real and critical issues facing Lambeth? It is my pastoral sense that the silent majority of people in the Church at large hope for just this. In declining an invitation to the Lambeth Marketplace, Bishop Robinson would be able not only to take the moral high ground of personal integrity, but simultaneously allow for an unfettered clarity of focus around the Communion's global concerns rather than on the issue of his personal attendance. Yet his statement that "I wasn't going to Lambeth to have another interview with the secular press. It's a theological discussion, it's not a media show" seems naive at best. Of course the secular media are hoping for a circus event in his wandering around "willing to talk with anyone who wants to talk, especially with those who disagree with me" in the very marketplace he first described as "a non-offer". Issues of human sexuality are only the tip of the iceberg. To continue fueling the debate as to whether Bishop Gene's presence is ultimately consequential seems imprudent at this moment in time. Might not the crucial pastoral and theological work that needs to be done at Lambeth toward repairing the divisions within the Communion be better enabled by his absence rather than by his presence? Might not the higher moral and spiritual ground be for Bishop Gene to decline attending Lambeth in any capacity, in a spirit of selfless humility, which would consequently highlight much more effectively the importance of those critical international issues he has now come to represent? After all is said and done, if Bishop Gene chooses not to attend he will still be a Bishop in our Church and the controversial debate over issues of sexuality will continue far beyond this Lambeth Conference. So, we should stand together in reassuring Bishop Gene that it's ok for him not to go. There will no doubt be other times and places more appropriate for him to say what he sincerely feels needs to be said on these issues. Therefore, let us all encourage our brother in Christ not to go to the Lambeth Marketplace, but to take the more difficult yet higher spiritual road of standing back before the Church and the world. This is a time to mend, a time to be silent, a time to willingly empty ourselves in serving the common good, as all the Baptized are admonished to do. The Rev. Dr. Michael L. Vono+ |