Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention, November 3, 2007

“What’s the difference between Jurassic Park and the Church of England? Well, one’s a fantasy land populated by dinosaurs . . . and the other’s a blockbuster film.” So Assistant Bishop Henry Scriven introduced his homily for Morning Prayer and lent one of the few moments of light relief to today’s proceedings. I find myself writing up the account of today’s proceedings with a rather different perspective from that of yesterday, and I am grateful to Henry for what he has contributed throughout this convention period.

Much of today’s agenda involved routine canonical changes to which few raised objections. A proposal to penalize parishes that failed to submit parochial reports by denying seats to their clergy and lay deputies was sent back to committee after several clergy protested that not every clergyperson in a parish was responsible for the parochial report. A change to clarify the role of the assistant bishop was approved unanimously, Bishop Henry abstaining! A revision of a very detailed canon on the roles of the diocesan archivist and historian to give more leeway to the diocesan leadership was approved despite objections from former members of the diocesan archives and historical commission. A proposal to require annual parochial audits was amended to assure delinquent parishes of seat and voice but no vote. Another proposal to formally define the standing committee as the ecclesiastical trial court (which it currently is under national canons) was sent back to committee on the grounds that a formula needed to be developed to ensure that standing committee did not end up filling the dual roles of judge and jury. Until such a constitutional amendment is introduced, however, standing committee must continue to perform that function. Also returned to committee was an amendment that would have defined a process for planting new churches that placed little emphasis on consultation with the leadership of existing parishes (at least in the eyes of critics) and left matters almost entirely to the bishop (who makes the final decision in any case) and the standing committee.

It was in the matter of the twenty-sixth (and final) recommendation that debate took an unexpected turn with a proposal that the right to request the ayes and nays on a proposition be subject to the approval of a majority of those present and not – as is currently the case – to the request of any ten clergy and ten laity. It was argued that in the current climate, voting decisions will be compromised by external pressures (including the possibility of legal action). After I had unsuccessfully recommended that the proposal be sent back to committee (and the objections were very vocal), I found myself joined by Harold Lewis of Calvary (not a surprise, though not precisely the ally I would have sought). Then, in one of those remarkable displays that periodically occur at our conventions, Bishop Duncan surrendered the chair and came down to address us directly. This, he said, was one of the rare occasions where he and the rector of Calvary Church agreed. The elections of people are secret and for good reason, but votes on matters of principle require us to stand for what we believe. We had found a way to avoid a roll call in this convention (and Father Lewis had concurred with this), but if a majority always got to decide roll call votes, it was likely that there would never be any.

Father Jeff Murph of St. Thomas, Oakmont, then offered as an alternative a modification of the existing rule of order to require that the twenty persons requesting a roll call represent at least five parishes. There followed a most revealing set of exchanges, with several of the leading Evangelicals present insisting that the climate of intimidation and threats against diocesan leaders necessitated a firewall for faithful leaders. Roll call votes, maintained Whis Hays were being used as a form of harassment by the minority. Even if votes themselves are not actionable, someone else pointed out, they may be used to show a pattern of conduct elsewhere. Those opposing the amendment fell into two camps: liberals and moderates who argued the need for it to be possible to show publicly their opposition to conservative innovations (one moderate clergyman argued that any ostracism that derived from such votes would be social in nature, not political or legal); and conservatives who argued that the majority’s support for the amendment seemed to be derived from a position of fear not of blessed assurance. Allowing the minority to go the extra mile was an essential part of the process in which we are currently engaged. Their voices did not prevail, and the amendment passed.

One of the more interesting presences at this convention was John Guernsey of All Saints, Dale City in Virginia, now a bishop under Uganda, who spoke at the Friday evening dinner and preached at the closing Eucharist. While I thought it an unwise move to bring a bishop of the International Convocation to a (still) Episcopal convention, I confess to being pleasantly surprised. His addresses spoke beyond the present divide and directly linked the works of the evangelism to the work of Christian service. “John Guernsey is the bishop I would like to be when I grow up,” Bishop Duncan declared to us.

At this point, I wish to switch from the strictly narrative to the personal. As has now been noted in my earlier posting, I was in error regarding the necessity of a two-thirds majority vote for Resolution One (I plead as my excuse that I heard someone with a track record in the Diocese remark upon it in my district meeting and took it on faith instead of consulting the canons.) I find at the end of two very long days that I am troubled. I am no more troubled about my vote than I was before; amidst a multitude of evils I believe it to have been the right choice. What concerns me is the temper that I see emerging among the majority, of which I still consider myself a member. It is a temper of loyalty at all cost, to person and practice as well as to principle. It is a temper that speaks to the solidarity of the elect and has little time for the more quirkish orthodox spirits that inhabit this Diocese. One almost wonders if the spirit of fear is less a fear of what those outside can do to us and more of how reliable our fellow conservatives will be.

I believe there are measures of orthodox Christianity and that they should govern our leadership choices. Sadly, it would seem, we are now demanding a ‘higher’ standard. As I listened to some conservatives speak today about the climate of intimidation, I couldn’t help but feel that they were missing the point of Bishop’s Duncan’s sermon yesterday in which he reminded us that Christians are called to suffering and ostracism and rejection. If a decision is ‘right,’ why should it alarm us to be called upon to state it? What price conscience, without cost? If our enemies behave badly – and some of them have done and are doing so – it does not exempt us from behaving well. I am loyal to my Bishop in large measure because I believe he has a better sense of balance than some of those who proclaim themselves to be his most loyal supporters. I disagree with some of his judgments, but I have never faulted his sense of pastoral care.

Let us at least be clear among ourselves. We are witnessing the passing of something that was at the core of Anglican identity here in Pittsburgh and at the core of Anglican witness in the United States until now. The loss will not simply be the loss of liberal friends but will almost certainly be the loss of assurance and perhaps of the orthodox ‘diversity’ to which we have been so long accustomed. It behooves those who know that beyond the veil there is perfect freedom, to remember the rest of us who will walk that way certainly in uncertainty, perhaps in pain, because they know that to remain where they are is much the more perilous.

For my lords, it may well be that we shall perish utterly in a black battle far from the living lands;

so that even if Barad-dür be thrown down, we shall not live to see a new age. But this, I deem,

is our duty. And better so than to perish nonetheless – as we surely shall, if we sit here –

and know as we die that no new age shall be.

Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention, November 2, 2007

The Feast of All Souls has now concluded and Resolution One has passed. We have opened the way to seeking membership in another province of the Anglican Communion, should delegates so decide a year from now. But how significant a single vote can can be. We passed it 109-24 in the clerical order (the usual supermajority), but by 118 to 58 in the lay order (with one abstention). One switch from "aye" to "nay" and we would have lacked the requisite two-thirds majority. Make what you will of that. (As is noted in the comments to this report, I was in error on this point. A simple majority at two successive conventions is all that is required.)

There was a certain aptness in beginning proceedings with the stirring lyrics of Frank Mason North's Social Gospel hymn "Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life," for truly all those present yearned for the healing for their hearts of pain. A call was made - in light of the letter from the Presiding Bishop to Bishop Duncan - that the rules be suspended insofar as to eliminate the requirement for roll call votes. From opposite ends of the spectrum, Harold Lewis of Calvary and Whis Hays of Rock the World Youth Alliance endorsed this motion.

Bishop Duncan then spoke on the text from 1 Thessalonians 5:24 ("He who has called you is faithful and he will do it"). We had come, he said, to a "fork in the road." Speaking of the rejection of attempts to implement alternative primatial oversight, he declared the conflict over Mark Lawrence to be symptomatic of the refusal of the Episcopal Church ever again to allow a conservative diocese to elect a bishop of its choice. "We are divided in essentials without prospect of short-term resolution." The views expressed by the minority within the diocese - though reflecting a desire to be true to the Gospel - had only polarized matters further. The alternatives now were mediated separation or the scandal of continued litigation. "There are two roads, mutually exclusive, between which all must decide or default to choose." The pain of those caught in the middle was no less real for that, indeed it was "heartbreaking," as much for himself, who had been in the Episcopal Church a mere three generations, as for those on the progressive side whose family connections stretched further back in time. He offered four behaviors for the time ahead:

Pray - even praying God's blessings on our enemies will transform us as well as them.

Forgive - do not dwell on hurts. Remember those areas of ministry on which we can unite, such as the Wilkinsburg youth ministry. Here he introduced, for the first time, the notion that Trinity Cathedral might exist as neutral space and a common asset for Anglican and Episcopalian alike, and pledged to ask its chapter to develop plans to function in this manner "if we choose it"

Do the Mission - here he admitted that he had tried to do this, despite the distraction of the conflict. He noted that the convention theme was "Taking Christ's Love to our Neighbors," a worthy goal for a troubled time.

Trust - here, he turned to the themes of Celebrate 250 (the diocesan celebration of 250 years of Anglican and Episcopal witness in the region scheduled for 2008). We have lived through revolution, rebellion, civil war, epidemic, fire and flood, strikes, depression and global conflict. On May 31, 1889, the Johnstown Flood (here in the city where we are meeting) took more lives than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. One-third of the parish of St. Mark's, including the rector and his family, died in that tragedy. And yet still Anglicans have continued to proclaim the only hope of the world, Jesus Christ.

With a little gallows humor, he concluded with the acknowledgment that this might be his last convention, even as he read aloud his brief but pithy response to the Presiding Bishop's warnings. "Even if you don't agree with me," he concluded with a grin, "I know you love me. As I do you, even if I don't agree with you." Vintage Duncan, when all is said and done.

Retired dean, George Werner interposed at this time to give his own take on the Mark Lawrence affair, insisting that everything he had seen led him to the conclusion that the Presiding Bishop had gone out of her way to try and secure his confirmation at the first attempt. Bishop Duncan thanked him for his insights.

A short interlude on the budget followed, with only two observations from the floor; a pro-forma objection from progressives about reductions in social spending and one from your humble correspondent. Without going into details here (since no action was taken upon it) it irks me that, given we will be expecting our clergy to take marked cuts in salary in the next couple of years, that a similar gesture was not made by the leadership team of the diocese (or at least a freeze at the 2006 level of remuneration). To hear statements from the director of administration about bringing the episcopal salary into line with comparable jurisdictions also grated on me in the sense that most of the jurisdictions with which we want to be compared are in the Third World. Financial as well as theological expectations are surely going to have to change. Ah well, it's interesting being part of the awkward squad for a while.

Without further ado, Resolution One (to modify Pittsburgh's constitution) was brought to the floor. The rector of Ascension, Oakland stated that this move was the right course of action. "We will not be bullied," he said, "or sued or dialogued into submission." One of his clerical colleagues, who shared his theological concerns, mourned that there was no "third way" that is fully Windsor-compliant. We have not yet reached the tipping point, he insisted, "We are choosing to make our road across the wilderness in which we find ourselves." From Calvary, Harold Lewis expressed surprise at the many 'erroneous' views of what Calvary intended by its lawsuit. Calvary's perspective was merely one of concerted opposition to the "gay abandon" with which Bishop Duncan had sought to detach the diocese from The Episcopal Church since 2003. The present convention was merely another step on that road. A professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary described how she came to Anglicanism from the Salvation Army "looking for the Church." She feared for her daughters, she said, one of whom had become Orthodox and another of whom was refusing to be confirmed in the present mood of uncertainty. A lesbian member of Redeemer, by contrast, spoke of how her life had been transformed by the love shown her within the Church. Her parish, she said, was unanimous in opposing any sort of separation.

At this point, Resolution Two (seeking re-accession to The Episcopal Church's constitution and canons) was introduced as a substitute. The mover, Joan Gundersen, called the portrayals of the theology of the Episcopal Church leadership caricatures. She described how she had gone through a parish division as a child: "It is painful; no one escapes the pain." She believed there was a place at the table for conservatives and moderates as well as liberals. The rector of St. Martin's, Monroeville retorted by citing the cases of Pike and Spong and the failure to depose either for their pronouncements against orthodox Christian teaching. Today, he noted, the Presiding Bishop stood ready to depose the Bishop of Pittsburgh for standing for the orthodox faith. The substitute resolution was then voted upon and defeated and debate returned to consideration of Resolution One.

For the motion, Geoff Chapman, rector of St. Stephen's, Sewickley, spoke of the failure of the drive to bring about renewal in the Church that began in the 1970s. The resolution was, he said, "a desperate measure in a desperate time." On behalf of Calvary Church and Calvary Camp, Leslie Reimer invited conservatives to take a bold step and not to hide behind legal representations that confused many people as to what constituted the Episcopal Church. The rector of All Saints, Rosedale, indicted what he viewed as the principal contribution of Episcopal theologians today, namely "the metaphor of Jesus Christ." Such a metaphor, he said, saves no one. If nothing is done, authentic Christianity will continue to be coopted. A lay member of Calvary took issue with the way in which the theology of the Presiding Bishop had been denigrated and urged the Diocese to extend an invitation to her so that she might speak for herself. One of the most moving observations came from Jay Geisler, rector of St. Stephen's, McKeesport. Speaking in support of Resolution One, he nevertheless asked what Jesus would say of this gathering and would he not weep at the cost? The close was provided by Brad Wilson, rector of Fox Chapel Church. What is the opposite of catholic? he asked the delegates. Those tempted to answer Protestant would be wrong, for the opposite of catholic is sect. "The faith belongs to the whole church," and we do not have the right to change doctrine as we do discipline. On that note, debate was closed and the ballots were cast.

Today the constitution, tomorrow the canons. A chapter of Anglican history has closed. Who can predict what our future will be. Pray for us all in this tumultuous season!

Pressing on by Day and by Dark: Thoughts on the 142nd Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh

These are momentous days, our Bishop reminded us in his September 11 pastoral. The rubber has hit the road as Pittsburgh’s Episcopalians (if only for a little longer) take stock. As one who has spent the last two years chronicling 250 years of Anglican and Episcopal activity in southwestern Pennsylvania, there are times when this moment seems but the inevitable culmination of fifty years of national cultural shift and regional religious realignment. Today’s orthodox standard bearers (or, if you prefer, neo-Puritan revolutionaries) follow in the footsteps of Austin Pardue and the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer, Sam Shoemaker and the Pittsburgh Experiment, John Guest and Trinity School for Ministry, and others whose lives have shaped the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh: Festo Kivengere; George Stockhowe; John Howe; John Rodgers; Alden Hathaway. “We stand where we have always stood,” Bishop Duncan declares. It might be more accurate to say that the course set in the past half-century has remained broadly on trajectory, for renewal has been partial and growth has been impeded both by the poor demographics of the region and by human failing. Many in the Diocese share the Bishop’s theological concerns but heartily wish that he could confine himself to stating his views and refusing to allow any deviation from the apostolic faith within the boundaries of Pittsburgh. If this jurisdiction of the Church remains unsullied, so the argument runs, why compromise local relationships by bringing such divisiveness to a head?

In conversation with a clerical acquaintance last Sunday, I found myself reflecting on what I – as a voting delegate – am being called upon to endorse on Friday. I view the proposed amendments with considerable ambivalence; from a catholic perspective, they seem somewhat lacking. In some respects, the Bishop’s assertion that we stand where we have always stood is misleading. The leadership team, after all, admitted that they came to the conclusion that not to do anything would be more divisive than to act. Waiting in the wings are parishes like St. Stephen’s, Sewickley, ready to follow the example of Christ Church, Plano or the CANA churches. A holistic strategy that endeavors to keep one step ahead of parochial secession is offered as an alternative, yet that very admission speaks to our divided state. Can we really trust in Common Cause to remain common over the long haul? Can we be sure that those of us who secede will be of one mind as to our ultimate foreign affiliation? This may only be a preliminary step, but once that Pandora’s Box is opened, it may become all too apparent that orthodox unity is as fragmentary now as it was in the 1970s. And just around the corner, I don’t doubt, are a bunch of canon lawyers ready to take down the Diocese in the courts.

At the same time, I can’t help thinking of friends from Montana whom I first met at Hope and a Future in 2005. Then members of an Episcopal parish, they now belong to Christ Church Anglican in Butte, a mission of Uganda. They saw the writing on the wall and left without their property to begin the work of converting the world in another place. I ask myself, how catholic it is for those of us in hitherto ‘safe’ jurisdictions to praise them for their faith, yet offer them nothing in the way of institutional support. A few years ago it was accepted that an ACN bishop who offered pastoral care to such a group was likely to find himself facing a presentment for boundary crossing; hence, the African ‘incursions.’ It does not seem right that we should continue to stand apart from them indefinitely. The International Convocation was a good beginning, but it left such parishes isolated from their brethren still within The Episcopal Church. So on Friday, I expect to vote in favor of the proposed changes to constitution and canons, but I will do it without the conviction that I would wish at such a time as this. Not because I feel it is disloyal to my commitment to The Episcopal Church, for loyalty must be to doctrine as well as discipline, but because, in so doing, I have taken it upon myself to advance a course that will move American Anglicanism away from the catholic model that defined The Episcopal Church from the struggles of the 1870s to the struggles of the 1970s.

There has been much quoting of Tolkien by conservative Anglicans over the past few months. I am reminded of that moment when the Company has been divided and Aragorn must decide whether to follow Frodo and Sam or instead seek to rescue Merry and Pippin from their captors: “And now must I make a right choice and change the evil fate of this unhappy day . . . . My heart speaks clearly at last: the fate of the Bearer is in my hands no longer. The Company has played its part. Yet we that remain cannot forsake our companions while we have strength left. Come! We will go now. Leave all that can be spared behind! We will press on by day and dark!”

Depth Perception

"He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all. Four hundred pictures all on a wall are four hundred times less interesting than one picture; and no one knows a café till he has gone there often enough to know the names of the waiters."

Sinclair Lewis, Dodsworth (New York: Signet Classics, 1967; orig, 1929), 201.

A Provocative Perspective on Evangelicalism

Hardy certainly had an ability to summon up human identity in a pithy paragraph. One of the things I have learned from my time in Pittsburgh is the diversity of Evangelical identity. Even so, there are times and occasions when I find myself instinctively reacting against certain pronouncements by prominent Evangelicals, even when I fundamentally agree with the criticism they're making. I don't know many people who are exactly like old Mr. Clare, but this mindset, I suspect, is not extinct. All of which in no way is meant to imply that the rest of us don't have deficiencies for which we should atone.

"Old Mr. Clare was a clergyman of a type which, within the last twenty years, has well-nigh dropped out of contemporary life. A spiritual descendant in the direct line from Wycliff, Huss, Luther, Calvin, an Evangelical of the Evangelicals, a Conversionist, a man of Apostolic simplicity in life and thought, he had in his raw youth made up his mind once for all on the deeper questions of existence, and admitted no further reasoning on them thenceforward. He was regarded even by those of his own date and school of thinking as extreme; while, on the other hand, those totally opposed to him were unwillingly won to admiration for his thoroughness, and for the remarkable power he showed in dismissing all question as to principles in his energy for applying them. He loved Paul of Tarsus, liked St. John, hated St. James as much as he dared, and regarded with mixed feelings Timothy, Titus and Philemon. The New Testament was less a Christiad than a Pauliad to his intelligence - less an argument than an intoxication. His creed of determinism was such that it almost amounted, on its negative side, to a renunciative philosophy which had cousinship with that of Schopenhauer and Leopardi. He despised the Canons and Rubric, swore by the Articles, and deemed himself consistent through the whole category - which in a way he might have been. One thing he certainly was - sincere."

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (New York: Washington Square Press, 1966; orig. 1891), 168.

Episcopal Church Membership, 2005-2006

Titus One Nine has posted a link to the just-released figures on church membership

http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/6502/

I thought I would post the several comments that I made on that site. (I added four additional non-ACN dioceses on Monday.)

A look at the ACN dioceses is instructive (even allowing for the fact that the graphs are hard to read). The only diocese that can feel a degree of satisfaction in fulfilling the Great Commission is that of South Carolina.

Financial giving is up everywhere except in Dallas (a marked drop since 2005).

Baptized membership is down everywhere except in Fort Worth and Springfield (an increase on 2005) and South Carolina (consistently up since 1997). Quincy fell from 2,800 in 2002 to 2,000 in 2006.

Worshipping attendance is steady in Central Florida, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh and South Carolina, down in Albany (since 2002), Quincy (since 2004), Rio Grande (since 2002), San Joaquin (since 2003), and Springfield (since 2002). Dallas reported a marked decline since 2005 (presumably the effect of the departure of Christ Church, Plano).

In some areas, of course, the general population trend is down, but we still need to be thinking in terms of what makes South Carolina (and perhaps some of the missionary parishes already out there) work, if we’re going to be successful in the post-realignment phase.

Percentage Change in Baptized Membership, 1996-2006 (Approximate Change in Number in Parentheses)

ACN Dioceses

Quincy -33% (-1,000)
Albany -20% (-5,000)
Springfield -17% (-1,000)
Pittsburgh -14% (-3,000)
Central Florida -5% (-2,000)
Dallas No change (grew during the 1990s, then fell back)
San Joaquin No change (grew during the 1990s, then fell back)
Fort Worth +5% (+1,000)
Rio Grande +7% (+1,000)
South Carolina +18% (+6,000)

Selected Non-ACN Dioceses

Pennsylvania -17% (-10,000)
Newark -17% (-6,000)
New Hampshire -17% (-3,000)
Connecticut -15% (-12,000)
Florida -12% (-4,000)
Los Angeles -10% (-7,000)
Southern Ohio -8% (-2,000)
Virginia -4% (-3,000)
Upper South Carolina No change
Nevada +7% (+400)

There appears to have been a decline in Nevada between 2005 and 2006, for whatever reason. One further point to note about the above figures. The distinction between loss and gain seems largely to be one of Rustbelt decline and Sunbelt growth. Two ACN dioceses stand out from this trend, however. Albany’s numerical loss is high and its percentage loss is higher than for Pennsylvania or Newark. Central Florida bucks the Sunbelt trend and posts a loss (perhaps what is happening next door is having a ricochet effect).

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
which I Have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Parish Conversation Begins

Today we initiated the process which all parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh must undergo before diocesan convention meets forty days from now. In many respects, it was an instructive commentary on how our small parish family differs both from those parishes whose congregations are theologically coherent (either in a reappraising or a reasserting direction) and those that are focused solely on their parish life. While our clergy make no secret of the fact that they will preach and teach the "orthodox Gospel," the congregation includes ACN staff and seminarians from Trinity School for Ministry together with long-standing members who would count themselves committed to The Episcopal Church. It is debatable, however, whether it would be fair to call the latter's theology strictly "progressive;" for the most part, a Pittsburgh progressive would be viewed as a moderate or even a moderate conservative in most dioceses. And then there's the fact that, by virtue of being Trinity Cathedral, we are the bishop's church and dependent on the diocese (as currently constituted) for parochial upkeep. That we function at all is testimony to the sacrifices so many parishioners make to keep outreach and hospitality ministries afloat. For those critical of the bishop's present course it must truly be a sacrificial ministry to (for example) serve on the altar guild when Common Cause services occur, yet many of them do; in their place, I'm not certain I could do it with such grace.

Our provost discussed the amendments proposed for November regarding the accession clause to the national constitution (which include a progressive-sponsored amendment that would remove any qualification to our accession). She spoke to Trinity Cathedral's identity as a downtown church "open and accessible to all," a heavily pertinent phrase given the many homeless people to whom our clergy and laypeople minister. She emphasized that she would continue to recognize the diversity of viewpoints in the congregation but would not accept any clergy person onto her staff unwilling to uphold the "orthodox Gospel." She instanced a refusal to authorize any blessing of same-sex unions as one criterion for this - to which one member responded that this had never occurred at Trinity - while pledging pastoral care to any and all who sought it. She also noted that despite past tensions with the diocesan leadership, Trinity had benefited significantly from diocesan grants in recent years for a new sound system, support for her assistant and funds from Celebrate 250 for cleaning the exterior of the Cathedral. Discussion then proceeded to a paper prepared by the rector of Fox Chapel Church on the four options open to the Diocese ranging from absolute submission to diocesan departure (all, interestingly enough, likely to involve the loss of members and funds - there is no 'safe' option). The present lawsuit initiated by Calvary Church (an entirely local affair to which the national church is - as yet - not a party) is costing the Diocese $30,000 a month and is likely to run in the neighborhood of $500,000 by the time it comes to trial.

Throughout the discussion, a degree of civility was shown by all parties, which, one feels, could profitably be employed elsewhere in the Church. Of course, this may be because we are not really concerned - rightly or wrongly - with trying to convince the other side of deep doctrinal error, though we still pray for a miracle in the midst of uncertainty. One parishioner asked bluntly what reason there was - aside from a purely financial one - in trying to stay together when relations had become so bad. She noted that in the town in which she had grown up several of the local Protestant churches had divided over doctrinal issues and had emerged as independent entities better focused on their mission of saving the lost as a result. This is, of course, the classic American Protestant model and the present leaders of CANA and AMIA seem desirous of proving the truth of her statement. Whether it will turn out to be true in the long term remains to be seen. The founders of the Reformed Episcopal Church were similarly optimistic during the 1870s. Other members spoke to the importance of history and tradition in the Episcopal experience and to a commitment to catholicity in its widest sense as reasons why Christians might shrink from separation until the eleventh hour.

Some more conservative members of the congregation who are comparatively new to the Episcopal/Anglican scene warned against a premature rush towards schism. Setting up a new entity to preserve doctrinal purity, they said, was not always as effective at changing the surrounding culture as one might think. "There's got to be some middle ground," one remarked. The senior warden added that nothing currently going on outside the Cathedral was as important as what was taking place within it in terms of worship, fellowship and ministry, though this did not free us from making a decision when a concrete issue was presented. Such a decision would be one for every member as well as for the Cathedral as a corporate unit. All agreed with the remark of one parishioner, who has no desire to see the congregation divide, that the present divisions are not allowing us to move forward in mission, but the question remains as to how to break the logjam.

Given today's announcement of the pending resignation of the Bishop Steenson of the Diocese of the Rio Grande (over concern about the present course of The Episcopal Church) the prospects look far from promising. What I do believe - and said as much at the meeting - is that the rationale for seeking to retain buildings should be predicated upon a congregation's ability to maintain them independently. Absent a negotiated settlement (either diocesan or national), the ultimate obligation of Communion conservatives at Trinity Cathedral is to withdraw if matters look set to go to law. It is no part of Christian stewardship to go into court to try and retain a structure that we cannot presently sustain. The fact that it is the bishop's seat does not, to my mind, make any difference. Perhaps the plurality of Common Cause bishops is actually a good thing. With fewer congregations, bishops may be able to focus more on direct pastoral oversight as their administrative responsibilities decline.

Building Day by Day

We are building in sorrow, and building in joy,
A temple the world cannot see;
But we know it will stand if we found it on a rock,
Thro’ the ages of eternity.

Every deed forms a part in this building of ours,
That is done in the name of the Lord;
For the love that we show and the kindness we bestow,
He has promised us a bright reward.

Then be watchful and wise, let the temple we rear
Be one that no tempest can shock
For the Master has said, and He taught us in His Word,
We must build upon the solid rock.

Frances Jane Crosby (1820-1915)

A Footnote to Pittsburgh's Episcopal History: The Strange Case of Alfred Arundel

For those who imagine that tensions between bishops and clergy are a new phenomenon, let me offer you the case of Dr. Alfred Arundel. After twenty years of dedicated service to historic Trinity Church in Downtown Pittsburgh, the good doctor ‘retired,’ privately complaining that he had been eased out at the behest of well-to-do elements in the congregation who objected to his preoccupation with Christian Socialism. In July 1912, Arundel – who had maintained his canonical residence, despite leaving the diocese – accepted a call to St. Mark’s Church on Pittsburgh’s South Side. That call and Arundel’s acceptance of it were both roundly condemned by the then bishop of Pittsburgh, Cortlandt Whitehead. For almost a year, however, Arundel retained his position, much to the glee of the local press, who found irresistible the combination of colorful personalities, Socialism and ecclesiastical politics.

At some point, I hope to confide the details of the Arundel affair to paper, but for the moment I offer this document as illustrative of another period of existential angst in the life of the Episcopal Church. The author, George Guthrie, was a Pittsburgh lawyer and member of Calvary Church in East Liberty, who had been elected mayor of Pittsburgh in 1906 as the standard bearer of the civic reform faction (or, as Pittsburgh’s machine politicians bitterly called them, “that damned Calvary crowd.”) With Arundel already established at St. Mark’s, the bishop was keen to learn what steps he could take to deal with this case of clerical defiance in his own back yard.

Guthrie’s letter speaks to the political and legal culture of the Episcopal Church almost a century ago. It is interesting that Whitehead – like many other Episcopal bishops of his day (Edwin Lines of Newark was another such case) – was not particularly concerned by Arundel’s Christian Socialism. What bothered him was the latter’s lack of diplomacy with his congregation (a common failing among clerical Social Gospelers) as well as his defiance of the bishop within his diocese.

Thankfully, I am neither a civil nor a canon lawyer and consequently have no knowledge of how corporation law in the state of Pennsylvania has changed since 1912. What I find fascinating is how the relationship between parish and diocese is understood. Guthrie’s emphasis on the parish as the defining unit of the Church (at least in Pennsylvania) would seem to give the lie to the notion that, from the Episcopal Church’s formation in 1789, parishes were uniformly understood to fall under the authority of the diocesan structure. In Pennsylvania – for at least 125 years – they clearly did not, even if this principle was rarely tested in court. Short of a presentment – something Whitehead was clearly loath to pursue, as it would have been assumed to be a consequence of Arundel’s politics – the bishop could do nothing. Worse still, while St. Mark’s could be denied seating at the diocesan convention if that body so willed, Arundel could not.

In a certain sense, both parties in the present conflict might take something away from this little historical episode. Liberals would certainly identify with Arundel, though I’m not certain whether he would have identified with them (my acquaintance with a similar case in Newark in 1916 suggests that many Social Gospelers were fairly moralistic Progressives when it came to the family and sexuality). Guthrie’s advice – in the tradition of Gamaliel (Acts 5:38) – could also be seen as endorsing a call to ‘continue the conversation.’ As noted above, however, the document does seem to dispel the idea of a uniform conception of the nature of the Episcopal Church across the United States from 1789 to the present day. While there may have been efforts to codify uniformity – particularly since the Second World War – these cannot be said to have been in place from the beginning. All along, the Episcopal Church has struggled with a series of identity crises – liturgical, theological and geographic – which make appeals to the traditions of an ‘historic’ Church of the Early National Era of dubious utility.

September 7th, 1912

The Right Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead,

My dear Bishop

I am in receipt of your letter of 22nd ult. and have given it very careful consideration: I have also consulted with Mr. Burgwin on the questions involved.

Permit me to say that during the summer vacation I have thought a good deal about the technical questions to be decided and have on two or three occasions discussed them with chancellors of other dioceses without, however, exposing the particular case involved.

I will be very glad to go over the questions with you when you return; but in the meantime I think it proper to lay before you briefly the very serious difficulties which confront us.

As you will remember, I have resisted the fiction of canonical residence, by which a clergyman who has an actual physical residence in one diocese is permitted to claim a canonical residence in another in which he has no actual residence and where he has no employment or work, or connection of any kind, clerical or otherwise; but you will also remember that I was not able to convince you that I was right in my position.

If the fiction of canonical residence is to prevail, I am afraid that you are practically helpless in this matter, unless you are prepared to have formal charges made against the recalcitrant clergyman.

Having a canonical residence in this Diocese, he does not require your consent or approval to authorize him to take up any clerical employment which may be offered to him in it. Under the laws of the Church, your consent is necessary before a clergyman can acquire a canonical residence in your Diocese; but when your consent is given and he has acquired such residence, you have no power to prevent him from taking up some new clerical position.

We must also recognize the independence and the property rights of the parish involved under the Civil Laws of this State, so long as it does not violate any Canon of the Church.

Much of the difficulty and uncertainty we have with regard to the parishes of the Episcopal Church in this State comes from the fact that we have attempted to assimilate into our Church system some phraseology and functions of the English system of parish government without observing that in England these assimilated parts were not ecclesiastical, but municipal and governmental functions.

As an illustration: In England, as you know, the parish is, broadly speaking, the equivalent of our townships; and the vestrymen are simply those residents of the parish who have the right to sit in the vestry and vote on matters affecting what we would call “Township interests,” but what they call “Parish interests.”

The result has been a very confused situation.

In this State the parish is the unit in our Church system. It can be formed at any time by a voluntary association of individuals for that purpose, who, if they desire, can be incorporated or not as they see fit.

No preliminary authority is required from either the Bishop or the Convention, either for the formation or incorporation of a parish in this State.

The Parish in this State is not the child of the Convention. It does not require for its existence any authority from the Convention. It is not entitled to representation in the Diocesan Convention until its charter and by-laws have been approved by the Convention. But its existence and operation is not dependent on such recognition, so far as the civil law is concerned.

Pardon me if I emphasize the point by reference to another system with which we are both familiar.

In Masonry the seat of authority is in the Grand Master and the Grand Lodge. No Masonic Lodge can be constituted without the authority of the Grand Lodge and the action of the Grand Master; and when a Lodge so constituted dies its warrant and all its properties revert to the Grand Lodge.

There is nothing like this in the Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania.

The Bishop has “ecclesiastical” authority over the clergyman having canonical residence in his Diocese. He may also refuse to visit a parish whose conduct he disapproves; but he has no power to dissolve it or to interfere with the legal administration of its property.

One very peculiar thing in our system of parish government in this State is that generally speaking there is no selection of persons in admission to legal membership in a parish.

The vestry of a parish might refuse to rent a pew to an applicant, or to receive contributions from a particular person; but to do so would be an arbitrary act, and while in particular cases it might be a desirable thing to do, there is no specific warrant for such action. Moreover, if it did not meet with the approval of a majority of members, they could change the policy at the next parish election.

There isn’t anything in the laws of our Church which concerns the qualification of the members of a parish or regulates the right of selection over new members.

The clergyman may repel an evil-liver from communion, but that does not expel him from the parish.

There may be, however, some isolated parishes in which this question is covered by the by-laws; but such regulations are local. So far as the general laws of the Church are concerned a member of a parish is not even required to be baptized.

An acknowledged atheist, or acknowledged Mohammedan, might be a member of a parish with the right to participate in the management of its affairs.

If this recalcitrant clergyman is a canonical resident of the Diocese, he will, as soon as he takes up clerical work in it, be entitled, under the law, to a seat in the Diocesan Convention with all the rights of a member. He cannot be excluded except after trial and conviction on a proper charge. You can, of course, refuse to visit the parish; but so far as I can see that is the limit of your power.

As the church property belongs to the parish, I do not think that a bill for an injunction, as suggested by you, could be maintained by anybody but a member of the parish having a property right to be protected.

Finally, permit to say that even if you had the legal standing to prosecute a bill for an injunction, under the circumstances suggested by you, I doubt the expediency of it.

So long as they do not teach or practice things prohibited by the Canons of the Church, I think it would be a very dangerous step to attempt to interfere with their teaching any social doctrines, however clear we may be that such doctrines are false and improper. Certainly, I know that any such attempt would result in advertising these people and giving them a prominence which they do not deserve, but which is exactly what they seek.

Moreover, if an attempt were made and failed, even though for purely technical reasons, the effect on the public mind would be very disastrous.

As I understand the controversy, your objection to this man is not his teaching of the so-called “Christian Socialism,” (however much you object to it), but to his personal character. If he is to be resisted, it should be on the real ground.

His teachings, if false, will come to naught. They may have a temporary hold; but if false they will die out. The only danger which we have to fear in false theories of government is when the teaching is done in the dark and the advocacy of them is made an honorable badge of freedom.

I have written very fully, as I would like you to have these thoughts in your mind. On your return I will be very glad to go over them with you, and if I am wrong, will, of course, acknowledge my error.

I am,

Very sincerely yours,

George W. Guthrie

Source: Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, RG3/2.2, Box 3T