St. Thomas Newsletter, Mar. 15, 2004

Monday

Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

"Provisional" membership in The Network! The Executive Council of the Diocese voted last week to make us "provisionally" a part of The Network. Any decision about this could have and should have waited until the Convention of the Diocese in October, but pressure has been brought upon the Executive Council to take a stand at this juncture. They did. And we are now "provisionally" connected to The Network. Sounds like partially pregnant to me. One either is a part of something or one is not part of that same something. We are now a part of The Network.

A couple of diocesan clergy have asked me what I think about this turn of events. What pops into my mind immediately are the words, "civil disobedience." Except that a more correct version of that phrase in this situation would be "ecclesiastical disobedience." I think it is time to disobey. The decision of the Executive Council is not like the law of the "Medes and Persians" which can never be changed. Even if it cannot be changed come October...and I suspect it will stand in this Diocese...the time for some sort of "loyal oppostion" to this decision and this direction of the Diocese has come. The clergy and laity of the Diocese of Dallas who believe The Network and its intentions wrong must say so and find ways to offer faithful members of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese some opportunity to explore other ways forward during this time of trial in God's Church.

I do not choose to be a part of any group the purpose of which is to purify God's Church or any group whose function is to claim to be some sort of faithful remnant of "right" believers in America seeking to remain in communion with Anglicans across the sea. Pure Churches and right belief both smack of strains of Christianity foreign to the Anglican ethos. Anglicans have never sought to strain out the sinners among us or to claim certain truths essential to believers or else they do not belong. The Network wants to be a place where Anglicans in other parts of the world may plug into the pure, righteous American Anglican remnant and avoid the rest of the American Episcopal Church now sullied by the mere presence of a bishop who is openly gay. They will tell you that the problem is greater than this and it is. They will tell you it has to do with Biblical interpretation. And it does. They are attempting to change the way Anglicans in America and in the West have interpreted Holy Scripture for centuries. Such a change would be fundamental to our Communion's faith, life and understanding of the Gospel.

We either believe God's truth to be a living reality which unfolds anew in every generation or we think, as many in The Network appear to, it is a fixed, immutable block not subject to change of any kind. As I understand Anglicanism, we have always remained open to God's new truth for new ages. Anything else freezes revelation and, in my humble opinion, does the same to the Living God who moves among us still as Spirit, enlivening, sanctifying and bringing forth new life. Yes, I confess, such an understanding leaves everything up for grabs. Surely God cannot be contained by our understanding of God or by our formularies. Surely God must always be "up for grabs," not limited to our definitions.

I must "disobey" the elected clergy and lay leadership of this Diocese and say that I will not paticipate in some limitation of God's ability to bring into being something new in God's Church. I want no part of pretending to be the faithful remnant of true believers in America. Such is the highest sort of hubris. I will not draw the circle tighter to exclude people who are on the margins of society and tell them that they can be baptized but most of the other sacraments of the church are not theirs to enjoy and celebrate.

I will remain faithful to my vows as a priest of the Episcopal Church and strive to make this parish community a place of true welcome to all who cross its threshold.

Article written by the Rev. Stephen Waller, Rector of Saint Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, Dallas, TX.
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