PRESS RELEASE
As a sign of the growing reconciliation movement in the Episcopal Church twenty-two clergy and lay leaders met at St. Alban's Parish in Edmonds, Washington November 8 - 11. Gathering under the theme "Searching For Solutions To Potential Schism" the group, which brought together a sample of key conservative, moderate and liberal leaders in the church, began by sharing their spiritual journeys with each other. Who am I and what does Jesus mean to me? They discovered a common Christ-centered piety amongst themselves and exploded myths on all sides that had caused stereotyping and demonization of each other.
Building from that spiritual and relational foundation the group began to share their perspectives on the conflicts in the Episcopal Church which seem to revolve primarily around the issues of the uniqueness of Jesus, the approach and interpretation of the bible, abortion and the blessing of same sex unions. At one point in the discussion The Reverend Ed Bacon of Pasadena, California challenged the group, "Let's talk about authority of scripture and learn what one another means. Let's get beyond the code words on both sides." Some members of the group insisted on seeing the conflict as identity-based involving two essential communities with differing world views in the same institutional structure. Others disagreed with this analysis as not capturing the complexity of the conflict. The Reverend Canon Elizabeth Kaeton of Maplewood, New Jersey said, "There are not two distinct sides to the crisis in the church; indeed the crisis is multidimensional and complex. There is no consistent uniform "conservative", "liberal" or "moderate" approach. One can hold a conservative position on one issue while being quite liberal on another." Bishop Cate Waynick of Indianapolis pointed out that many people in the pews don't even understand why the conflict is taking place. They are puzzled as to why these particular issues are ones that threaten to cause a schism in the Episcopal Church
As trust began to develop among the participants the discussion became candid, awkward, and at times, even painful and sobering. Feelings of anger, mistrust, marginalization and victimization were vented by both conservatives and liberals. One Generation X leader, The Reverend Beth Maynard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts said, "Infighting has consumed most of the energy of the church all my life, and done immeasurable damage to our pubic profile. As a postmodern watching this conflict from outside, I'm reminded of the over 50% of my generation who are children of divorce. This feels like growing up watching Mom and Dad fight about issues that were real to them, but to us often seemed not to be worth breaking up the family over. I want the family to stay together." The Reverend Brian Cox of Santa Barbara, California, one of the organizers of the event noted, "By Wednesday afternoon it was so painful I felt in total despair in terms of any hope of reconciliation in the Episcopal Church. The differences seemed too deep and too profound. Yet, that evening the Holy Spirit broke through and brought us to a new depth of understanding and respect for each other." Perhaps the spirit of Wednesday evening was best articulated by Dr. Louie Crew of East Orange, New Jersey, another organizer of the event, "Why can't we fight with each other and hold onto one another tightly knowing that each is precious and loved by God?"
When the group asked, "What does reconciliation in the Episcopal Church look like?" they were able to move from defending their different positions to exploring what unites them. Such proposals as the Jubliee Initiative, the Cox Initiative and the Mollegen Report were shared with the participants although not discussed by the group as a whole. By the final morning most participants were cautiously optimistic that reconciliation was possible if conservatives and liberals were prepared to treat each other's fears, concerns and interests as legitimate and in the words of Dr. Stephen Noll of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, "On the part of liberals, it involves a willingness to let the present formularies and liturgies stand and to allow conservatives to follow their sense of godly conscience. For conservatives, it means a willingness to live in a radically pluralistic church without continually acting and speaking defensively, but mobilizing churches to spread the gospel." As the meeting drew to a close there was no definitive plan for reconciliation agreed upon by the group. Nonetheless there was a strong sense among those present that acts, not just statements, of reconciliation need to be moved to a much higher priority on everyone's agenda. The gathering in Seattle did not model a solution, but did model a process of living together in love, bound together by our love for Jesus Christ.
The Seattle 22 included: The Reverend Billy Alford of Augusta, Georgia, The Reverend Edwin Bacon of Pasadena, California, Mr. Roger Boltz of Dallas, Texas, Bishop Bill Burrill of Rochester, New York, The Reverend Paul Collins of Seattle, Washington, The Reverend F. Brian Cox of Santa Barbara, California, Dr. Louie Crew of East Orange, New Jersey, Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Reverend John Guernsey of Woodbridge, Virginia, The Reverend Canon Mary Hays of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Reverend Michael Hopkins of Greenbelt, Maryland, The Reverend Carolyn Jones of St. Louis, Missouri, The Reverend Canon Elizabeth Kaeton of Maplewood, New Jersey, The Reverend Richard Kew of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Bishop-Elect Edward Little from Bakersfield, California, The Reverend Beth Maynard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, The Reverend Dorsey McConnell of Edmonds, Washington, Mr. Ted Mollegen of Glastonbury, Connecticut, Dr. Stephen Noll of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, The Reverend Jan Nunley of Providence, Rhode Island, Bishop Onell Soto of Birmingham, Alabama, Bishop Cate Waynick of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Not in the picture: Paul Collins
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