I write to you with a heavy heart, knowing that, in some instances, our bonds of fraternal affection and respect have been strained by an action of our General Convention: namely the consent to the election of the bishop-elect of the Diocese of New Hampshire.  I am keenly aware that for many of you this is clearly contrary to a plain reading of Scripture, and in the contexts in which you live, it is unthinkable.  Should you be of that view, our action would say to you that the Episcopal Church has gone beyond the bounds of what is morally acceptable.

This view, as you are aware, is shared by some in my own church.  In fact, 18 of approximately 175 bishops in attendance at our General Convention stood to object to the consent to the election.  I have been in contact with a number of these bishops, and in the days ahead plan to explore how we are called to live with divergent points of view in a way that will not undermine the mission we share.

It is difficult for me to know just what you may be hearing and not hearing about our General Convention, and I hope that it is not simply the urgent voices which speak of crisis or extreme pastoral emergency.  The mission of the church was the primary focus of the General Convention, and one of the most important aspects of our work was a strong and clear acceptance of our call to be active ministers of global reconciliation.  It is my hope that leading the church to live out this commitment in very active and practical ways will be the focus of my final three years as Presiding Bishop.

I am aware that some of our bishops and others are promoting the establishment of an alternative structure to the Episcopal Church, a notion that has been put forward in a variety of ways – including soliciting the support of some Primates – since the 1998 Lambeth Conference.  My own sense is that one of our Anglican gifts is to contain different theological perspectives within a context of common prayer.  This is not a matter of compromise but of acknowledging that the “truth as in Jesus” is larger than any one point of view.  A church unable to make room for difference in how Scripture is understood and how Christ’s work of reconciliation is to be carried out could be in danger of neglecting the continuing unfolding of God’s truth worked among us by the Holy Spirit.

I see my ministry now as helping our church to find a way forward that both preserves the unity of the church and honors the deeply held divergent points of view among us.  I know many of you are all too familiar with divergent points of view in your own provinces, though the presenting issues may be quite different from the ones I have to face.  One of the gifts of our Primates Meetings has been the opportunity to appreciate the different contexts in which we minister and to bear each other’s burdens.  I need not tell you how difficult it is for me to be a chief pastor at this time, and I ask for your prayers for me and for our church.

As much as I would have preferred that the attention of the Convention, and indeed the media, be focused elsewhere, I am now obliged to ask what potential gift is buried beneath the surface of this present situation.  One of the prayers I say daily contains the phrase: “I am ready for all, I accept all.”  Therefore, I find myself asking God to show me how this occasion might be used for the good and to build up the life we share in Christ.  It is my firm conviction that in the open space of God’s mercy the present moment may yield a blessing.

I am grateful to Archbishop Rowan for his leadership, and for calling us together such that we might share our views and concerns with an eye to finding a way forward that honors both our provincial realities and struggles and our oneness in Christ.

I write now in the hope of answering some questions a number of you have raised.  First, I must say in strongest possible terms that if I believed in any part of my being that the consent to this election was unfaithful to an authentic way of reading Scripture and contrary to the leading of the Holy Spirit, I could no longer serve as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. I pray that – as most of you have come to know me over these years – you know I firmly believe, as you do, that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God and contain all things necessary to salvation.  My life is rooted and grounded in this understanding.

Unfortunately, the difficulty before us is not about some of us believing that Scripture is the inspired Word of God and others not believing it is.  How we have been shaped and formed as Christians and the context in which we live have a great deal to do with how we interpret various passages in the Bible and the weight we give them in making moral decisions.

In my opening address to the General Convention I said:  “We have heard people on both sides of a number of contentious questions say that their particular view is in accordance with Scripture, whereas the opposing view is not.  There is no such thing as a neutral reading of Scripture.  While we all accept the authority of Scripture, we interpret various passages in different ways.  It is extremely dishonoring of the faith of another to dismiss them as not taking the Bible seriously.”

One very appropriate question is: why did I give my consent to this election?  I did so for several reasons.  First, it is incumbent upon me as Presiding Bishop to honor the life of my own church and the canonically prescribed election process of a diocese.  In the past the Presiding Bishop has given his consent to the election of bishops whose theological points of view were at variance with his.  I think here of three bishops opposed to the ordination of women.  In all cases the Presiding Bishop was chief consecrator, even though he strongly supported women in ordained ministry.

Second, and very important, to my mind consent does not mean we now have clarity about the matter of homosexuality in the life of our church, and a vote to consent is not about this larger question.  The matter is far from resolved and there are strong opinions on every side.

There have also been questions about the resolution passed by our Convention concerning “Rites: blessing of committed same gender relationships.” The original form of the resolution called for the authorization of the development of rites for the blessing of same sex unions, which would then have been considered by the General Convention in 2006.  This was rejected.  Here I and many others were mindful of the Primates letter following our meeting in Brazil.  The resolution Convention passed recognizes the reality of a variety of local pastoral practices, without either endorsing or condemning the same, and calls for “continued prayer, study and discernment” under my direction.  It is important to note that this in no way relates to Holy Matrimony, about which our teachings are clear.  I say this because some reports following Convention falsely indicated we had departed from the teachings on marriage. I see the question on blessing same gender relationships as a quite separate matter from that of consenting to the New Hampshire election.

I hope this letter helps to clarify the actions of our General Convention and my own views, and supplies answers to some of the questions you have raised.  It is my prayer that you will see what has occurred in the life of the Episcopal Church in its complexity, and not dismiss it as an instance of infidelity to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or disregard for the bonds of communion we share.

Please know that if you have further thoughts or queries I am most eager to be in conversation with you in whatever way is most convenient for you.  Your counsel and wisdom will be important to me over these next months.  You can telephone me at 212.716.6276, fax at 212.490.3298 or email via stolley@episcopalchurch.org.

“Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.”  These words of St. Paul give me strength and courage and open me continually to the mystery of God’s ever unfolding ways.  May they sustain us all in the ministry we share, which is none other than Christ’s continuing ministry of reconciling love.

Your brother in Christ,

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA