Photos from this morning's Eucharist

Worship is a big part of what happens here. Thought I'd post a few photos of this morning's service.

How many deacons does it take...? Quite a few, apparently.















Worship here takes quite a tech team.


















After the sermon, people discuss the sermon at small tables. People from each deputation are assigned to scattered tables, so that people have the opportunity to share their discussion with a diverse group.


















As I posted a few days ago, there are some children here. In this picture, they are receiving communion.



















Other days, the music has been a bit exotic (at least by Rhode Island parish standards, I suspect). Today's music was stiff-upper-lip-Anglican-choir-and-organ.
















The organ console is on loan from Trinity, Wall Street. More about the organ here.


















Cleanup is a whole different ball of wax in this scale. Bet your local altar guild doesn't have a massive trolley to load up with a zillion chalices.

Windsor response rejected by deputies

In a move that found the most conservative and liberal dioceses united, the House of Deputies roundly defeated resolution A161, which would have asked for a moratorium on the election/consecration of openly gay and lesbian bishops. The resolution would have also asked bishops not to authorize the blessing of same-sex couples.

Here are the vote totals. In the lay order, there were 38 yes, 53 no, and 18 divided dioceses. In the clerical order, the vote was 44 yes, 53 no, and 14 divided votes. The Rhode Island deputation voted against the measure in both orders.

This move will displease some overseas observers, and it was opposed by the most conservative associations in this country. However, conservatives voted against the resolution, perhaps seeking grounds for a breach or perhaps because they thought the measure did not go far enough. The dioceses of Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, and Springfield, among others, joined in the no vote.

Here is the full text of the rejected resolution.

This too is vanity

There are many leaflets floating around, offering propaganda and humor of many varieties. I found a sheet on the chair next to me in the House of Deputies. I don't know where it comes from, if you know, please let me know. Anyway, here it is:

Daily Office Reading, from the Book of Conventions

I, Alternatus, attended the Convention in the city of the Navigator. And I said I will give myself to Wisdom. I will buy many books in the Exhibit Hall and learn all there is to know. And I spoke to the marketer of books, who said that the wisdom is in the selling, for there is no end to marketing. And behold, this is vanity.

So I said I will learn the ways of power, and vote to change all things. But no matter how many buttons I pushed, there was no end to voting, and I saw that this was vanity, and a striving after wind.

So I gave myself to pleasure, and said I will go from hospitality suite to hospitality suite, and I will drink wine, both red and white, and eat brie, and maybe some nuts. And I did this until my head was swollen. And behold, this was vanity, and it gave me much wind.

So I gave myself up to despair, and became a beggar on the streets. I received the prayers of many, and $1.37 in change, and also a bus token. And this too was vanity.

And what I have learned: take pleasure in the work God has given you to do; love your neighbor; and the bathrooms outside the House of Bishops are much cleaner.

Here endeth the Reading.

WR debate heats up

Here's a roundup of some writing and reporting on the debate yesterday on issues related to the Windsor Report. ENS has a brief article about the aproval by the House of Deputies yesterday of a measure that would have the Episcopal Church regret "straining the bonds of affection"and the efforts to get the language lined up so that both bishops and deputies will approve it.

Canon Kendall Harmon has written an article for the web entitled "What Do Conservative Episcopalians Want?" in which he argues forcefully for the approval of resolutions that would comply wholly with the requests of the Windsor Report. He also adds that conservatives "are hurting, we are being caricatured and misrepresented, and in a church which claims the mantle of inclusion." Having read his blog, I can say that it works both ways. Perhaps in all these debates, we would do well to realize that most of us are acting in good faith, and that all of deserve to be treated with dignity.

The Rev'd Nick Knisely, deputy from Pennsylvania, raises an interesting contradiction in the current version of one of the resolutions. It says that we won't consecrate openly gay or lesbian bishops, and then there is an apology for the hurt this will bring to gay or lesbian people. Here is Nick's point:

Truth: We’re not really telling the truth here. We’re apologizing for something even as we do it. If we’re not sorry enough to stop, then we shouldn’t apologize. If we have to apologize for something in advance, then we shouldn’t do it.

This point was also made several times yesterday by representatives from the youth contingent in the House of Deputies. Nick has great notes on the debate among the deputies yesterday. Worth reading.

WR resolutions progressing through both Houses

Today both bishops and deputies took up the legislation that gets to the heart of the Windsor Report response. Nothing has passed both houses yet. Debate in the deputies was, while I listened, civil but sharply contrasting.

It's still too hard to guess exactly how things will end up. Based on my reading of the current state of the resolutions, and what I hear from deputies/bishops, here are some safe guesses:

• we'll indicate regret for breaching (or straining) the bonds of affection within the Anglican communion by our actions in 2003
  
• we'll basically promise not to elect/consecrate openly gay or lesbian bishops for a while
• we'll make sure that gay and lesbian voices are heard in all this
• we'll clarify the provision of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral oversight
• we'll apologize to gay and lesbian people for the hardships they've suffered in the church

Of course, the language will be subtle, and nuances of meaning are everything here. Whatever we do, I predict that it will be a compromise position that will be somewhat satisfactory and somewhat frustrating for those on the edges of the conversation -- at all ends.

As things are approved, I'll post here. When I see good media reporting of the subtle world of this legislation, I'll post that too.

Video features online

I should have posted this a few days ago, but I didn't realize these things were online. Every day of General Convention, the Episcopal News Service produces a nightly newscast. It's shown on the cable system of the local hotels.

You can watch the videos too. I commend the one for Sunday, June 18, which gives a good flavor of the day. You can also view the first press conference with the Presiding Bishop-elect.

Reactions to Jefferts Schori election

Many reactions have poured in regarding the Presiding Bishop-elect, the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori. Our own Bishop Wolf told me that Jefferts Schori is "fair, honest, and bright." I only had 10 seconds with the Bishop in the hallway, so I'll try to get more of a statement soon -- and also her reaction to other events of the Convention.

ENS has a story, entitled "Anglican leaders react favorably on Jefferts Schori election", which summarizes reaction from several primates. ENS also has some more background information on Jefferts Schori and the election yesterday.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a statement today. He writes, in part, "I send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes as she takes up a deeply demanding position at a critical time. She will bring many intellectual and pastoral gifts to her new work, and I am pleased to see the strength of her commitment to mission and to the Millennium Development Goals." The rest of his statement is online.

The Very Rev'd Sam Candler, dean of the cathedral in Atlanta, issued a statement which sees this election in the context of conversation with the Anglican Communion. Unsure of how the legislative response to the Windsor Report will turn out, Candler says this: "Thus, the Episcopal Church is choosing to respond incarnationally, with flesh, as is proper for any church who is part of the Anglican Communion. And the Episcopal Church is responding in a way that is faithful to our local expressions of Christian faith. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory famously advised the first Archbishop of Canterbury not to impose upon the new church in England customs which were unfamiliar to them: "Choose, therefore, from every Church those things that are pious, religious, and upright..." You can read his full statement on the Diocese of Atlanta's blog.

Conservative reaction has been as expected. The Anglican Communion Network has issued a statement, and Bishop Iker of Fort Worth has some things to say. Iker also read out a statement in the House of Bishops today, in which he appeals to the Archbishop of Canterbury so they won't have to answer to a woman. "The bishop and the standing committee of the diocese of Ft Worth appeal in good faith to the ABC, the Primates of the Anglican Communion and the Panel of Reference for immediate alternative Primatial Oversight and Pastoral care following the election of Katherine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church." Here's the report on that.

More as they come...

UPDATE: The last link, above, is broken as I write this. The Stand Firm in Faith website seems to be down. I'll leave the link up, hoping they fix the problem.

Media Exclusive! Info on the House of Deputies

So I got curious about a couple of things. A press colleague steered me to a staff member at Church Center, who was able to get answers on two burning questions.

What's the deal, I wondered, on the president of the House of Deputies wearing academic regalia? The Very Rev'd George Werner says that this has been the custom since 1970, when the president then began wearing a doctoral gown. Werner just continued the tradition.

Also, inquiring minds wondered to which passage of scripture the Bible on the podium was opened? Werner writes, "I turn the page every day to a favored piece of scripture…they have included Luke 15, Luke 19, Acts 15, Galatians 5, Philippians 4."

So, dear readers, there it is. A scoop for the Episcopal RI blog!

Pictures from today

Today was, well, historic. Our new leader, our Chief Pastor, Presiding Bishop, and Primate will be Katharine Jefferts Schori. This day was alive with the Holy Spirit. I can't really put the mood here into words, so I'll post a few photos here. You can click on any of these to make them larger (that's true for almost all the photos on this blog). Tomorrow, when I've had some sleep, I'll try to do some writing.

At 3:01 p.m., the president of the House of Deputies announced that there had been an election. Some time later, maybe about 3:30 or so, after the consecration committee had OKed all the paperwork, the name was read out. The mood was jaw-droppingly ecstatic, as I posted.

After some testimony and affirmative speeches (and one dissenting speech, despite three invitations for negative speeches by the president), Jefferts Schori (now known as the Presiding Bishop-elect) was ratified by the House of Deputies as the next PB. This required the consent of lay and clerical deputies. The votes, by the waym were by diocese. In the lay order, it was 94 yes, 8 no, and 7 divided (this means that in a diocese with four lay deputies, two voted yes and two voted no). In the clerical order, the vote was 98 yes, 9 no, and 4 divided.

Once the overwhelming vote total was determined, Jefferts Schori was escorted in. The standing ovation bordered on joyous pandemonium.

Here is Jefferts Schori walking toward the podium.
















She addressed the House of Deputies for a few minutes. Here she's pictured at the podium with Presiding Bishop Griswold, President of the House of Deputies Werner, and her husband, Richard Miles Schori.



















Jefferts Schori was greeted by a looonnggg standing ovation. Here is most of our deputation from Rhode Island (the other deputy on the floor at the time was blocked from my view by a TV camera).














The place was pretty full. In addition to the thousand or so usual suspects (deputies, volunteers, and the press), several hundred visitors filled the gallery. Here you can get a flavor for the crowd. The foreground is the press area, the deputation area is on the left, and the gallery is in the background. It was standing room only.
















Once she started speaking, people listened intently. This is just a fraction of the visitors who were in the room.












After she spoke with the Deputies, the Presiding Bishop-elect had a press conference.




















Lots of people were present for the press conference. Just to my left were two female bishops. In the foreground is Bishop Barbara Harris, and Bishop Gayle Harris is in the background. Barbara Harris is the first female Anglican bishop, and Gayle Harris is a suffragan bishop in Massachusetts now.















Just before the press conference for Jefferts Schori started, David Anderson had his own impromptu media gathering for anyone who cared to listen. Anderson is head of the conservative American Anglican Council. I'll post some reactions from them and other people unhappy with the PB choice tomorrow.


















At the end of the conference, we got to give the whole Schori family a taste of the paparazzi. They stood on the platform while we all snapped and flashed away. From left to right: Richard Miles Schori, the Presiding Bishop-elect, their daughter Katharine Johanna Schori, and their daughter's husband--whose name I don't have handy here at 1 a.m. Will try to find it. Sorry.

Legislative news today

So pretty much all the buzz here in Columbus is the thrill (or for some, the shock/disappointment) of our next Presiding Bishop.

I don't want to ignore several developments on the legislative front today.

• The House of Deputies joined the House of Bishops June 18 in supporting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and urging parishes, missions, congregations and dioceses across the Episcopal Church to work for their implementation. The MDGs are an eight-pronged declaration that has at its core the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015. [ENS] Read the whole story.
  
• The Title IV disciplinary revisions are likely to be referred to an interim body (that's church-speak for a committee that meets between Conventions) for consideration at the next GC in 2009. Pretty much no one liked the proposed revisions, which I covered earlier. Here's the story from today.
• The Rev'd Canon Naim Ateek, director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem, delivered a keynote address June 17 at Trinity Church, Columbus, during which he and four other Anglican peacemakers received awards from the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF). Ateek, who received one of EPF triennial John Nevin Sayre Awards, is well known for his advocacy of non-violence. In his address, he praised the partnership of the Episcopal Church and EPF, affirming "our shared work and hope for peace and reconciliation for all the people of Israel and Palestine." [ENS] Read the rest.

All the big action, in terms of mainstream news attention, will be the next two or three days, as the Houses take up the Windsor Report responses. Look for all the scoop here.