Our gift to the Episcopal Church

Since the Episcopal Church, USA House of Bishops met in New Orleans last week , there has been news story after news story describing the current tension between the Episcopal Church, USA and the larger Anglican Communion as a “schism,” “rift,” “chasm,” or “split.” This imagery, suggestive of a kind of a cataclysmic “continental divide,” is troubling on a number of levels.

First and foremost, in such stories LGBT people are regularly seen as the culprit, the outside force tearing the Church apart. Even in credible news sources we are bombarded by headlines such as “Gay Issue Looms over Episcopal Church,” “Episcopal leaders act to avert a schism, vow restraint on more gay bishops,” “Anglican rift grows over gay row.” The suggestion is always that LGBT people are responsible for the breakup of the church. Yet, we are not the ones threatening to leave the church, suing for Church property, or refusing opportunities for dialogue. A more appropriate headline would be “Bigotry issue looms over Episcopal Church.” Despite every attempt at an honest conversation about the Church’s stance on full inclusion, powerful players in the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church, USA have made as much trouble for the Episcopal Church as they can. Indeed, as of Friday the 28th a group of ultra-conservative Episcopalians voted to take the first formal step to leave the Church. If there is a schism in the church, they are the cause.

Second, the regular suggestion of a cataclysmic breakup of the Anglican Communion creates a sense of fear and doom that obfuscates history. As with most institutions, the Episcopal Church’s past has been checkered and its future has always been uncertain. The House of Bishops in the nineteenth century refused to choose sides in the Civil War and Episcopal priests used Scripture to argue for slavery and against it. Indeed, for the entire nineteenth century the House of Bishops refused to discuss race relations at all for fear of political fallout. Yet the real fallout from such cowardliness was an exodus of African Americans from the Episcopal community. The struggle for women’s equality in the Church has been equally hard won. It took a full 50 years after women’s suffrage for women in 1970 to be allowed to serve as deputies at the National Convention, and it wasn’t until 1976 that women were finally allowed to be ordained as priests. Throughout its history those marginalized by the Church have pushed hardest to help it achieve its potential glory. LGBT folks are just the latest in a long list of brave people working to make the Church more accountable.

Third, when LGBT people are perceived as threatening the future of the Church, even those of us working for full inclusion can loose sight of the tremendous gifts we bring to the table. Because of our efforts the Church is beginning to have long overdue conversations about sexuality, and not just LGBT sexuality. We have opened the doors to honest and open discussions in our faith communities about sexuality and sexual morality for all of us. Thanks to us, Church members are also looking deeper at Scripture. It is no longer okay to say, “God condemns gay people” and quote a few Bible passages out of context. Our advocacy demands that the Church take a closer look at the biblical text and contemplate the rich language of justice, compassion, and love for the neighbor in addition to the passages so often used to oppress us. Finally, through example we are teaching others the courage to stand up to bullies. In particular, the ministry of the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, exemplifies the mighty power we can have when we speak with heartfelt conviction for justice.

Change never happens without a struggle; our struggle will in the end make the Episcopal Church more honest and more accountable to the Gospel and the community for which it serves.