Philadelphia: Saturday, 26 July 1997

We Anglicans, particularly Episcopalians of the USA, are a passionate bunch. We have our hot button issues, matters of vehement difference and disagreement are known. Should you have forgotten them, these hot button issues seem to concern:

• Sexuality: codes of behavior, standards for Christian marriage or commitment, the nature of homosexuality, the blessing of same-sex unions and/or the proposed development of rites of blessing for them; standards of sexual behavior for Bishops, priests, and laity; methods of preserving grace and honor in our most personal relationships.
• Women in the Church: ordination of women to the priesthood; open access to the processes leading to the ordination of women in our dioceses, the role of women in the Church in general; the ontological nature of gender difference.
• The Nature of Authority: of Scripture, of polity, the bishopric, of the ordained ministry, the role and voice of the laity, of the role of General Convention in our governance, and our relationship to the other members of Christ's Church in the World--the Body of Christ, alive.
• Money: how we get it, whether we give it or not, and how we use it for the benefit of the whole Body fairly and wisely; where and how shall the money be used?
• Balancing the Demands of Tradition and Change: how is consensus reached between the precious "wine and bread" of our tradition and history, and how do we discern the urgings of the Holy Spirit in our particular time and multi-cultures? What shall define us as this communion of the apostolic and catholic Church? What of the three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason?

The ongoing conversation of the Church (using the word "conversation" here in its philosophical sense) speaks through our worship, but also through our chosen programmatic efforts. We all strive to bring the Gospel forth into the world, but there are many ways to do this. Passion runs high within our affiliations made by interest and preference. Wars begin, battles are fought, feelings wounded, friendships torn apart. And yet, we are of God. And surely God mourns for us all.

In the remainder of this series of articles I shall attempt to describe the means by which the General Convention addressed the various topics I have noted above. Again, for factual details, let me refer you to http://ecusa.anglican.org/gc97/ (the official church coverage) or to http://anglican.org/online/, a directory of all coverage.

[Editor's note: dfms.org is an in-crowd nickname for ecusa.anglican.org; it stands for Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, which is part of the legal name of ECUSA]