I Have Failed My Fellow Man

I had the opportunity and pleasure to be seated with the 141st Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. I was an non-voting member, but was given a voice on the floor. I regret that in the flurry of the debate and motions of amendment on Resolution 1 (Diocesan Request for alternative Primatial oversight) I did not use that voice.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh is overwhelmingly conservative and orthodox in its theology. There was no chance that the resolution to seek alternative Primatial oversight was going to be rejected.

A spokesperson for the twelve non-consenting, more liberal, parishes in the Diocese, motioned for an amendment to the resolution that would have provided these twelve parishes the opportunity to remain in Region 3 of the Episcopal Church and to continue to give their regional assessment contribution to the national church as opposed to another Anglican Archdiocese. There were actually two amendments that were proposed that offered this provision and both were rejected with little discussion. I was tremendously disappointed.

These people were simply asking for a concession to be recognized and permitted to continue to walk with the national church while our diocese actually breaks canonical law (so far as I can tell) and they were given no provision.

What distresses me is that those who voted against these amendments today were the same people whom I stood with at General Convention 2003 while those in power (the liberal arm of the church) granted no concession to a weak and powerless conservative voice. I remember our outcry at the decisions made and feeling like we were disregarded out of hand and given no real voice or provision. Now, I find the same situation where we have the opportunity to set the record straight and all I witnessed was what can only be considered as an incredible bout of amnesia. In this Diocese, we are the ones with the power and we refused to concede our ground to the powerless. Depressing to say the least.

This post is a call for the church to stand with the weak and powerless. A call for us all to remember that we are a people who are great on account of our meekness. A people who are strong in our weakness. And this only because our Lord himself took on flesh and was discounted, deserted, tortured, and killed in order that we may share in his victory.

I take the lead of one of my most dear mentors, that it is only when the powerful lay down their rights and power for the powerless that true reconciliation can be achieved.