This is Not What the Baptismal Covenant Upholds

Among the things that have many so alarmed about the election of Kevin Thew Forrester to the episcopate -- not merely in Northern Michigan, but for the whole church -- is what looks like a deeply different religion than that upheld and proclaimed by the Book of Common Prayer.  It is not a matter of slight differences - or even a question of pushing the limits of our usual Episcopalian latitude.  No, the faith proclaimed by Fr. Thew Forrester, and it appears to be shared widely in the diocese where he ministers, is intentionally and thoughtfully articulated, believed and put forth.  There is a degree of integrity to it, to be sure.  But, it is not the doctrine or order of the Book of Common Prayer.  Simple as that.  It truly is - something sufficiently different as to warrant being its own denomination.  That so many seem so comfortable with such a deep and categorical departure (this has nothing to do with inclusion my friends) is what bothers so many of us who hold dear to the essential elements of the Christian faith sufficiently and widely-enough put forward in the Quadrilateral of creed, sacrament, scripture and historic episcopate.

The following statement is exactly the kind of articulation of an alternative faith which is normative and fully supported in Northern Michigan - and is exactly the sort of faith which bishop-elect Thew Forrester holds dear.

Please, I invite your comment.

Already One God
On the 19th of February, 2007, the Primates of the Anglican Communion, meeting in Dar es Salaam, released a Communiqué. We, as the Diocese of Northern Michigan, offer our response.

Unity is a Grace

We recognize that a basic challenge to us in the Anglican Communion is centered in our vision of who God is and who we are. In classical theology, we only exist because God exists in us. The ramifications of this insight are both profound and extensive. Unity is not an achievement. Unity is not, in its most basic sense, a work of human hands. Unity is a grace. Unity is a given.

We affirm the theological truth that we are always already one in God; otherwise we would not be. The tragedy of the current moment, which is recurrent throughout history (remember the conflict that led to the first council in Jerusalem), is that we fail to see this unity and so we grow anxious and afraid.

In our anxiety, we tend to confuse the absence of conflict with love. Love is patient and love is kind, to be sure. Love also knows conflict is a part of the human condition, as we respond to God’s invitation to remove any and all boundaries to the scope of God’s eternal embrace.

Listen, Learn, Lead

We acknowledge that our Communion is in conflict. We know this conflict in our parishes, in our dioceses, in our church, in our culture. We often fail to recognize, however, that conflict is not resolved by assuming the agenda of the person across the table and making it our own. Years of interfaith dialogue have taught this truth. Conflict is not resolved by the denial of who one essentially is. Decades of ecumenical dialogue have taught this truth.

Conflict is resolved through honest recognition and respect of who we all are, in our diversity. The Anglican Communion is itself rooted in this mutual recognition and respect among its Churches. Unity may not be collapsed into uniformity, making one parish’s, dioceses’ or Church’s polity or ethics determinative for everyone else.

Because God is always already present, leadership begins with being receptive to what someone has to say. Leadership is about continually learning and being transformed in heart, mind and body. Leadership is a response to this learning, which is a continual movement of the Spirit.

We invite all to God’s table. What we expect, in turn, is that those who come to the table likewise recognize the right, by being children of God, of everyone else to be at the table.

Baptismal Ecclesiology

We proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ that everyone and everything belongs. We are continually being created in the image of God, in whom we live and move and have our being. Baptism confirms this most basic truth which is at once, the Good News: all is of God, without condition and without restriction.

We seek and serve Christ in all persons because all persons are the living Christ. Each and every human being, as a human being, is knit together in God’s Spirit, and thus an anointed one – Christ. Jesus of Nazareth reveals this as the basic truth of the human condition:

God is more in me than if the whole sea
could in a little sponge wholly contained be. ~Angelus Silesius



We strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being, because each person embodies the living God. Life is inherently and thoroughly sacramental, which is why we love one another without condition. We stand with Meister Eckhart who, when he gazed deep within himself, as well as all about him, saw that "the entire created order is sacred" as it is grounded in God. We do harmful and evil things to ourselves and one another, not because we are bad, but because we are blind to the beauty of creation and ourselves. In other words, we are ignorant of who we truly are: "there is no Greek or Hebrew; no Jew or Gentile; no barbarian or Scythian; no slave or citizen. There is only Christ, who is all in all." (Colossians 3:11).

Everyone is the sacred word of God, in whom Christ lives. This baptismal vision of a thoroughly blessed creation leads us to understand the reason for the incarnation in a new way:

People think God has only become a human being there – in his historical incarnation – but that is not so; for God is here – in this very place – just as much incarnate as in a human being long ago. And this is why he has become a human being: that he might give birth to you as his only begotten Son, and as no less. ~Meister Eckhart

Affirmations

Because each and every one of us is an only begotten child of God; because we, as the church, are invited by God to see all of creation as having life only insofar as it is in God; because everything, without exception, is the living presence, or incarnation, of God; as the Diocese of Northern Michigan,

We affirm Christ present in every human being and reject any attempt to restructure The Episcopal Church’s polity in a manner contrary to the principles of the baptismal covenant;

We affirm the full dignity and autonomy and interdependence of every Church in the Anglican Communion and reject any attempt of the Primates to assume an authority they do not have nor have ever possessed;

We affirm the sacramental gift of all persons, their Christ-ness, especially those who are gay and lesbian, and reject any moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions and consents of gay bishops, as it would compromise their basic dignity.

August 11, 2007
Standing Committee
General Convention Delegation
Et. Al.