We, the
undersigned Bishops of this 75th General Convention, in the confidence of the
Gospel and out of love for this great Church, must prayerfully dissent from the
action of this Convention in Resolution B033 (on Election of Bishops). We do so
for the following reasons:
- The process used to arrive at
Resolution B033 raises serious concerns about the integrity of our
decision-making process as a Church. In particular we note that we discussed
a resolution, A162 , on Tuesday, but were never given an opportunity to act
upon it. Instead, we were presented with a different resolution this
morning, and were given only 30 minutes for debate and discussion. This
resolution bears great consequences both for the Anglican Communion and the
Episcopal Church and unfortunately was not adequately discussed.
- Our conversation has been
framed in a flawed paradigm, forcing us to choose between two goods—the full
inclusion in the life of the Church of our brother and sister Christians who
happen to be gay or lesbian and our full inclusion in the life of our
beloved Communion.
- The process that brought about
the reconsideration of this matter failed to honor the integrity of the
House of Deputies by bringing undue pressure to bear on that body.
- Our witness to justice has
been prophetic in this nation and in the wider Anglican Communion on the
issues of the full inclusion of people of color and persons who are
differently-abled. For more than 30 years women been permitted to be
included in the councils of this Church as lay deputies to this Convention
and as deacons, priests and bishops. This witness to full inclusion has
borne the fruits of the Spirit and is incarnate in the faces and lives
around these tables and throughout the Church. The language of this
resolution too much echoes past attempts by the Church to limit
participation of those perceived to be inadequate for full inclusion in the
ordained ministry.
- Any language that could be
perceived as effecting a moratorium that singles out one part of the Body by
category is discriminatory.
We are absolutely
committed to the future of this Communion and the process of healing the strain
that we readily admit and regret exists, and has been exacerbated in our own
house by events today. We must participate in this process with our own
integrity intact and thus we are obliged to make this dissent. We intend to
challenge the rest of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to honor
the promise to include the voices of gay and lesbian in the conversations about
the future of the Communion. We pray for the Church, for our Communion, and for
our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters.
The Rt. Rev.
William Persell, Bishop of Chicago
The Rt. Rev. Joe G. Burnett, Bishop of Nebraska
The Rt. Rev. James Kelsey, Bishop of Northern
Michigan
The Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey, Bishop of
Rochester
The Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Ely, Bishop of Vermont
The Rt. Rev. Mary Adelia McLeod, Bishop of Vermont (retired)*
The Rt. Rev. The Rt. Rev. John
Chane, Bishop of Washington
The Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon, Suffragan Bishop of Washington (retired)
The Rt. Rev. Bob G. Jones, Bishop of Wyoming (retired)*
*was not
present when the statement was read, but supports it
NOTE:
The bishops demonstrated their assent to the statement by standing after
it was read in a closed session of the House of Bishops. Integrity has
sent an e-mail message to each bishop asking him or her to identify whether he
or she stood in support..