I Tried to be Chill but You’re So Hot that I Melted: General Convention Day 3

The Presiding Bishop’s Opening Comments

I quote from KJS’ opening comments to the 76th General Convention:

The overarching connection in all of these crises has to do with the great Western heresy – that we can be saved as individuals, that any of use alone can be in right relationship with God. It’s caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of all being. That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention.

A specific verbal formula such as, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord . . . .”?

So continues the slide into theological vapidity of the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church; and indeed, this church.  Are you really surprised?  She’s the same theological wonder who in her innagural sermon three years ago spoke of the church being “conjoined twins” and then made reference to “our mother, Jesus.”   Her words and this theme continued through the House of Deputies President, Bonnie Anderson’s comments, as well as Michael Battle’s remarks at the opening legistlative session of the HOD.  Phil Ashey, COO of the American Anglican Council, has a wonderful critique of the PB’s opening statement. Make sure you read it.

This, my friends, is the issue: we (orthodox Christians) have been mistaken; Jesus is not who He says He is; not who Scripture has revealed Him to be and not as the church has understood Him to be.  A complete re-writing of the faith is the issue and has been underway; not homosexuality – which I have always believed to be a cultural smokescreen for the revisionists/re-appraisers (one simply has to look at how the GLBT community has been jerked around by their supposed friends all these years).

A prophetic sign?  This morning as I walked into the Convention Center I noticed this sign, hmmm:

The Presdient of the House of Depututies, Bonnie Anderson, leading us through our first legislative session:

The Rev’d Jim Simons chairing the committee on the Dispatch of Business.  Jim was the consultant to the Diocese of South Carolina during our episcopal search process.  He is a deputy from the re-constituted Diocese of Pittsburgh and was/is one of the leaders of the Pittsburgh mutiny against Bishop Duncan.  Very sad:

World Missions and BO33

Here’s the set-up for the Legislative Committee, World Missions, that I am assigned to monitor.  You’ll see our own retired Suffragan, Bill Skilton (blue shirt) sitting next to Bishop Wolf and Gay Jennings.  Bishop Wolf and Deputy Jennings chair the committee representing the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, respectively.

Silly me, I thought that a committee entitled “world missions” might actually talk about the proclamation of the Gospel message to the ends of the earth.  And, maybe they will.  But not just yet.  Instead, here is a sampling of the resolutions set to appear before this committee:  equal access to discernment process for transgendered persons; several resolutions seeking to overturn or supersede resolution B033 (a moratorium on same-sex blessings/ordinations passed in 2006); affirmation of full participation in the Anglican Communion for all Lesbian/Gay/Bi-sexual and Transgendered persons.  And, that’s just the appetizer.  I’ll keep you appraised on these as they move through committee and onto the floor.  The only connection I can make between these topics and world missions is that passage will effectively END any credible efforts at world mission.

One side note: Interestingly, when the Archbishop of Canterbury walked into this legislative session the topic under consideration immediately shifted to Resolution D057: “Five Marks of Mission”.  When members of committee objected as to the reordering the agenda and questioned the chair as to the rationale for the out-of-order consideration of the this particular resolution, the chair responded by saying, “I thought the ABC might rather hear us discuss the mission commitment of the Episcopal Church”.  I’d like to hear someone around hear discuss, and affirm, that Jesus it THE way, THE truth and THE life.

Opening Eucharist

Here’s a pic from the opening Eucharist.  KJS, herself, is the preacher (the red vested figure at the center of the pic).  To my knowledge, members of the SC deputation either did not attend the Eucharist, or, like me, departed after she preached and before Communion (By 2006 Standing Committee resolution and overwhelming Diocesan Convention affirmation, The Diocese of SC remains in broken/impaired communion with the National Church):

Bonus

Finally, on a personal level, the highlight of my day was catching up with The Rev’d Paul Minor.  Paul, a chaplain the the Guard, was a classmate of mine at Seminary.  He and his wife, The Rev’d Cheryl Minor, are the godparents to my son, Nick.  Their first-born, Rachel-Anne was born three days after our son, Tim, our Middler year of seminary:

Good night from Anaheim.