Steve Waring
11/09/2007
With the election of a new diocesan bishop on the agenda tomorrow (Nov. 10), clergy and lay delegates to Diocese of Chicago's two-day convention in Wheeling decisively approved a resolution calling on General Convention 2009 to overturn the moratorium on the consecration of partnered homosexual candidates to the episcopacy.
“By approving this resolution we would join a growing list of dioceses who have voted to uphold the canons of our church,” said the Rev. Ruth Meyers, professor of liturgy at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, prior to debate. “It does not endorse a particular candidate for tomorrow’s election.”
There are eight nominees on the ballot for the election of a bishop. One is a partnered lesbian. The House of Bishops, meeting in New Orleans in late September, affirmed that the bishops would “as a body” honor Resolution B033, which calls on standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise caution before granting consent to the consecration of a partnered homosexual candidate.
About 15 people followed Ms. Meyers to the podium to speak to the motion, nearly all in favor of adoption, including the Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean and president of Seabury, who described B033 as bad legislation theologically and a violation of church law. The resolution also runs the risk of politicizing the consent process, he said.
After Dean Hall spoke, the question was called. The results of a voice vote were not conclusive, so Bishop William Persell asked delegates to vote by standing. Supporters of the resolution appeared to outnumber opponents by more than two to one.
The margin for approved was closer in a vote on resolution calling for inclusion in the Book of Occasional Services of a liturgy to observe the loss of a companion animal, but the result was the same. That resolution survived a motion to table. Convention approved all six proposed resolutions. Two others pertained to clergy compensation. Another called for continued support for communities and people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The last resolution approved called for creation of a diocesan anti-racism commission.
In his final address prior to retirement, Bishop Persell said the struggle over human sexuality had consumed a considerable amount of his episcopacy. He listed a number of other objectives, such as preventing the war in Iraq, a just peace for the Palestinian people, immigration reform and global warming. He questioned whether the diocese might have been more effective in achieving those goals if it had not spent so much time debating sexuality.
The church is going through “a time of turmoil,” Bishop Persell said, noting that the Anglican Communion was probably in “for a long struggle.” He said The Episcopal Church had an important witness to make in the Anglican Communion, and he urged the diocese to remain engaged with its overseas partners.
“Our message of full inclusion is the gospel message,” he said. “Jesus reached out to those on the margins of his society and we must do the same.”
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