RE: [HoB/D] Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite (Professor of Chicago Theological): Lies We All Tell

[Louie Crew <lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu>]

Here is a draft version that our House of Bishops might have adopted
with far less duplicity:

===a rough draft alternative to the statement the HoB adopted:

Our General Convention is the only body authorized to make the  policy that
you demand of us. Any change made in that policy must await the next meeting
of General Convention, in 2009.  General Convention in 2006 set our current
policy with resolution B033, '....quote it all'

We honor the fact that repeatedly you have shared with us and with the world
your disagreements with The Episcopal Church.  It is important for all to
listen to their critics.   We will continue to take your criticism
seriously, even when we determine that we disagree.  Our final decisions
must be our own, not decisions forced on us.

In times of great tension, it is best to speak within the constraints of our
Constitution. The Constitution of the ACC does not give you the power to
force decisions from any of the provinces of the Communion.  Ultimatums and
deadlines are not helpful. Gamaliel offered a much more cogent strategy with
which to respond to novelty.

We deplore the steady demonization of lesbians and gays in many parts of the
Communion.  In that regard, ..... [use the part of the New Orleans statement
that asks the ABC to invite +NH]

We deplore the abandon with which most primates have treated their repeated
pledges to listen to lesbians and gays.

[Add here the statement from the New Orleans document regarding invasions of
episcopal boundaries.]

It is no accident that Jesus was known as a wine-bibber and friend of
sinners.  TEC may or may not be wrong in our inclusion of lgbts, but we are
absolutely right that God loves the whole world, especially those who are
marginalized and despised.  Join us in trying to find fresh ways to share
that ancient Good News.

=======end of the rough draft

The HoB statement in New Orleans went beyond B033 in important particulars.
B033 did not claim that lgbts are equal in the church; the HoB statement
used doublespeak in claiming we are.  That false claim is having devastating
impact on lesbians and gays not only in TEC but in the Communion.  My
mailbox overflows with mail from people in great anguish over such
duplicity.  It is not new or unbearable to treat us as second-class; it is
unconscionable to claim to treat us equally.

The House of Bishops statement sends a much more chilling inhibition to
nominating committees than did B033.  I speak as a co-chair of a nominating
committee that worked under B033 before the HoB statement. B033 left wiggle
room as to whose manner of life presents a challenge to the world; the House
of Bishops statement names lgbts.

I was the first on the floor to speak when B033 was introduced, and I
opposed it, noting that B033 is a flagrant sin against the Holy Spirit by
presuming to tell God whom God may or may not choose.  The New Orleans
statement makes it even more explicit that lbgts are the direct, indeed the
only named target.  The New Orleans statement follows months of even more
intense shaming of lgbts throughout the world.

Louie, Newark deputation