Thoughts on General Convention

In case anyone wonders, I thought it good to publish some musings on General Convention, recently completed in Anaheim.

1. While it is important to welcome all people, sinners and saints alike, to God's Church to hear the good news and find salvation and strength, the so called "inclusion resolutions" seem to represent a departure from the traditional Christian understandings of Scriptural authority, Holy Matrimony, and holiness of life. They also would seem to be a clear repudiation of the repeated call of the Anglican primates for individual provinces to not break the bonds of affection between us by unilateral actions.

2. I agree with Bishop Jefferts-Schori that God has given His Church guardianship of Word and Sacraments, and would add that He has entrusted to her the work of bringing the nations to Christ. I would agree with the traditional understanding expressed by Cyprian (I think), who said that there is no salvation outside the church. I would also agree that many people have undervalued the role of the Church in our salvation. But I found the Presiding Bishop's remarks about personal relationships with Jesus to be very troubling, and contrary to all that I have experienced and known in the Bible; especially when taken in the context of some of her earlier statements about the unique mission of our Lord.

3. For some time, I have struggled with the tendency of many in the Episcopal Church, and in Western Christianity in general, to redefine the traditional understanding of Scripture. The resolution stating that certain parts of the Christian Scriptures are anti-Semitic seems to represent a flowering of this undervaluing of the Bible as the revealed Word of God and the rule of our life.

4. I deeply appreciate the example of the traditionalist bishops at General Convention, who have consistently acknowledged the need for traditionalists to stay within the Episcopal Church not only as missionaries, but because a strong Catholic ecclesiology demands it. In their positions I find strength in some very difficult and trying times. I also appreciate the respect that many of the non-traditionalist bishops offered to the theological minority.

5. I come away from all I have read about the Convention with an increased resolve to live within the spirit of the Windsor Report and the Anglican Covenant as promulgated by the Archbishops of the communion. I commit myself to attempt to lead a godly, righteous, and sober life in keeping with the clear teachings of Scripture. And I pray that God will give me strength, wisdom, and humility, to speak and write clearly and plainly as I seek to be the watchman at St. John's Lancaster.