Executive Council Responds to the Bishops' Statement

From Episcopal Life:

As it concluded its three-day fall meeting at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dearborn, Michigan, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church thanked the House of Bishops for its efforts that resulted in a statement to the Anglican Communion issued in September.
However, Council Resolution NAC026 said that where the bishops' statement called "particular attention to the application of [General Convention] Resolution B033 to lesbian and gay persons, it may inappropriately suggest that an additional qualification for the episcopacy has been imposed beyond those contained in the constitution and canons of the church."

Resolution B033, passed by General Convention in June 2006, calls upon diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction "to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."

The House of Bishops September statement acknowledged that "non-celibate gay and lesbian persons are included among those to whom B033 pertains," but did not describe any other category of persons to whom the resolution applies.

The Council, the church's governing body between meetings of General Convention, said in its resolution that "broader impact" of B033 has been to discourage "the full participation by lesbians and gay persons in the life of the church and enshrine discrimination in the policies of the Episcopal Church."

Finally, the Council acknowledged "with regret the additional pain and estrangement inflicted on lesbian and gay members of the church" and the council pledged "to work toward a time when our church will fully respect the dignity of every human being in all aspects of the life of our church"...

Dennis has provided us with the text of the Executive Council's resolution:

Resolved, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, expresses its appreciation to the House of Bishops for undertaking the monumental task of trying to clarify the conflict between the canons of the Episcopal Church and the demands raised by the Dar Es Salaam communiqué, and be it further

Resolved, the Executive Council affirms with the House of Bishops the essential and renewed study of human sexuality as noted in the “listening process” of the Lambeth Conference of 1998, and be it further

Resolved, that the House of Bishops’ statement exacerbated feelings of exclusion felt by many of the lesbian and gay members of our church by defining Resolution B033 from the 75th General Convention to include lesbian and gay people, and be it further

Resolved, that by calling particular attention to the application of B033 to lesbian and gay persons, it may inappropriately suggest that an additional qualification for the episcopacy has been imposed beyond those contained in the constitutions and canons of the church, and be it further

Resolved, that while B033 focuses on the consent process for bishops, the broader impact is to discourage the full participation by lesbians and gay persons in the life of the church and enshrine discrimination in the policies of the Episcopal Church, and be it further

Resolved, that the Executive Council acknowledge with regret the additional pain and estrangement inflicted on lesbian and gay members of the church, and we pledge to work toward a time when our church will fully respect the dignity of every human being in all aspects of the life of our church.

Thanks, Dennis.

Mark Harris, a member of the Executive Council, offers some commentary on another matter addressed by Council; their response to the Draft Anglican Covenant. Episcopal Life offers the text of Council's response here.

J.