St. James pastor: No solutions in report

Deepa Bharath

An Anglican commission’s sharp criticism of the Episcopal Church

USA’s liberal views on homosexuality does not affect three breakaway

churches’ legal tussle with the diocese they seceded from, the rector

of St. James Church on Via Lido said Monday.

The Lambeth Commission report released Monday urged the Episcopal

Church to express regret for ordaining Gene Robinson, an openly gay

man, as the Bishop of New Hampshire and asked that the church put a

moratorium on the future consecration of gay bishops and the blessing

of same-sex unions.

Three Southern California churches -- St. James, All Saints’ in

Long Beach and St. David’s in North Hollywood -- seceded from

Episcopal Church USA this summer. While the other two churches said

homosexuality was the major issue for them, St. James consistently

maintained that for it the main issue was that the national church

hesitated to accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior and failed to

acknowledge the supremacy of the Bible.

The churches placed themselves under the Diocese of Luwero in the

Anglican Province of Uganda, Africa. The Diocese of Los Angeles sued

the churches, saying the church buildings and surrounding properties

belong to the diocese. The commission report also said bishops of

other Anglican dioceses must stop interfering with parishes that are

under a different diocese.

The commission’s report has no bearing on the situation between

the churches and the diocese in Southern California, because it

doesn’t offer immediate solutions, said Praveen Bunyan, rector of St.

James.

“It’s a series of recommendations, which is fine ideologically but

are far from reality,” he said. “The reality is that the actions of

the Episcopal Church are causing schisms worldwide and distress to

churches like ours.”

The report offers no remedies to resolve the situation, Bunyan

said.

“It’s like your house is on fire and they’re offering you a

10-year plan to save the house,” he said. “That’s not going to work

for us.”

J. Jon Bruno, the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles, will not

comment on the commission’s report for the time being, a spokeswoman

for the Diocese of Los Angeles said on Monday.

Bunyan, however, said he was happy to see that the commission

established a theological foundation -- based on biblical passages

calling homosexuality a sin -- for why it believed the actions of the

Episcopal Church relating to the ordination of Robinson were wrong.

“It only affirms that what we’ve done is right,” he said.

Bunyan also criticized the commission for chiding the African

bishops who, he said, came to the aid of the struggling American and

Canadian churches that were unhappy with the direction the Episcopal

Church was taking.

“They did not interfere,” he said. “We sought their help, and they

lent us a helping hand. Instead of thanking them for preserving the

unity of the Anglican church by keeping us within the Anglican

Communion, the commission has criticized them. It’s sad.”

The commission, headed by Archbishop Robert Eames, the Anglican

primate of Ireland, also called for an international “Anglican

covenant” that would require that the 38 provinces surrender some of

their autonomy. The Episcopal Church USA is one of those provinces

that make up the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Bunyan said he expects a strong dissent to the commission’s report

from the primates or the archbishops in charge of the 38 Anglican

provinces, when they meet in February.

“That’ll be the one to watch,” he said. “The Lambeth Commission

has no real authority.”

Pastors of local Episcopal churches said it is going to take them

a while to read and digest the Lambeth Commission’s report.

Peter Haynes, rector of St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal

Church in Corona del Mar, said it would be months before members of

the Episcopal Church begin to discuss the issues highlighted by the

report.

He understands the commission’s sharp criticism of the ordination

of Robinson, Haynes said.

“The Lambeth Commission in 1998 said, ‘Don’t do it,’ and we went

ahead and did it anyway,” he said.

But Haynes was quick to add that he, personally, supports the

Episcopal Church’s philosophy to encompass all populations, including

homosexuals.

“We did the right thing, but we did it at the wrong time in the

wrong manner,” he said.

Barbara Stewart, rector of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in

Costa Mesa, said she agreed with Haynes on that issue.

“But [like the Episcopal Church USA], if I have to err, I’d rather

err on the side of being inclusive than not,” she said.

Stewart, like many Episcopalians, believes the Bible’s

condemnation of homosexuality must not be taken at face value.

“They’re missing the context,” she said. “Our 21st century

American world is not the same as the 1st century Middle Eastern

society, which was the backdrop for the Bible.”

Stewart said she hopes the issue will blow over just as the

ordination of women to priesthood issue in the late ‘70s did. Four

Southern California churches seceded from the Diocese of Los Angeles

over that issue.

“But people gradually began to accept it or just agree to disagree

about female priests,” Stewart said. “Hopefully, the same will happen

to the homosexuality issue.”

Both Haynes and Stewart said they don’t see the Episcopal Church

USA changing views about ordaining gay priests despite what the

Lambeth Commission report has to say.

Haynes said he doesn’t believe that it will lead to the

excommunication of the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion.

“It may lead to censure or our limited participation in Anglican

events,” he surmised.

The commission’s recommendations “didn’t seem too harsh,” Stewart

said.

“It’s time for us to realize how we’ve hurt each other,” she said.

“But we also need to figure out how we can live together despite the

disagreements. We need to get past these issues so we can continue to

be a church.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or by e-mail at

[email protected].