Patrick Keyser on the take-home lessons on Prayer Book revision: comprehensive BCP revision later, better BCP translations soon, trial-use inclusive BCP language now. “With General Convention wrapped up, some may be asking what was actually decided, especially on the topic of Prayer Book revision. Headlines like ‘Bishops Kill Comprehensive Prayer Book Revision’ (The Living Church) left many with an incomplete picture of what transpired at the 79th General Convention.”
We can resist the urge to fight solely for our own individual perspective and consider first-and-foremost the Body of Christ. We can pray and patiently exercise deep listening across the divide. Try on what the Very Rev. Sam Candler referred to in a presentation to the House of Deputies as the Via Comprehensiva: the wider way where contraries do not always contradict.
When the time came for Committee 13 to hear testimony on resolutions related to marriage liturgies, people came to the microphones and spoke their truth, often with boldness and profound vulnerability, and always with conviction. Some rose to speak of how meaningful it had been for the Church finally to recognize and to bless their relationships. Others rose to express their concern about the impact on ecumenical dialogue that could result from defining marriage as a covenant between two people.
“Our Anglican heritage equips us very well for this way of working together. In and through Jesus, we are committed to one another, not to the idol of like-mindedness. Whatever we face and wrestle over, we find that all we can celebrate together still trumps the dividing lines.”
Print edition: Issue Nine, for Thursday, July 2 In this issue: “Reflecting on Holy Moments” A series of short (and very short) stories. +Feeling the Spirit by the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of Virginia +A Seat at the Table by Ed Keithly, Managing Editor, Center […]
Print edition: Click to read Center Aisle’s third issue, for Friday, June 26, 2015. In this issue: “Marriage Equality: Two Bishops, Two Approaches” by the Rt. Rev. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas and the Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely, Bishop of Vermont “Should Retired Bishops Be Allowed to Vote?” by the […]
The following letter from Bishop Johnston and article from Center Aisle originally appeared in our first print issue of the 2015 convention. The Power of the Center: A Letter from Bishop Shannon Johnston Blessings to you from the Diocese of Virginia, as Center Aisle begins daily coverage of our sixth […]
