Thinking Anglicans

South Carolina has a new bishop at last

Updated

Episcopal News Service has South Carolina consecrates Lawrence as 14th bishop.

The Living Church has South Carolina Celebrates Bishop Lawrence’s Consecration:

… The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, Bishop of East Carolina and president of Province 4, was the chief consecrator. Co-consecrators were: the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., retired Bishop of South Carolina; the Rt. Rev. C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Bishop of South Carolina; the Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester in the Church of England; the Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy; and the Rt. Rev. Julio Cesar Holguin, Bishop of the Dominican Republic.

In all, some 40 bishops participated, including the Rt. Rev. Benjamin A. Kwashi, Bishop of Jos in the Anglican Church of Nigeria; the Rt. Rev. Anthony Burton, Bishop of Saskatchewan in the Anglican Church of Canada; the Rt. Rev. John H. Rodgers, interim dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and retired missionary bishop for the Anglican Mission in the Americas; and the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and moderator of the Anglican Communion Network. The preacher was the Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway, retired Bishop of Pittsburgh. As a young priest, Bishop Lawrence served under Bishop Hathaway. Bishop Lawrence is the first graduate of Trinity seminary to be consecrated a bishop of The Episcopal Church…

And the report later continues:

…In an interview after the consecration with The Living Church, Dean McKeachie referred to a statement he recently published on the internet for insight into the likely near-term future of the diocese. “Our hope in South Carolina is that Mark Lawrence’s consecration, along with the present Archbishop of Canterbury’s willingness to follow his predecessor’s lead, will bear fruit at Lambeth 2008 in a clear and definitive affirmation, on the part of the vast majority of bishops present, that the Anglican Communion is (in Archbishop Williams’ words) ‘truly a gift of God to the wholeness of Christ’s Church’.”

Here’s the text of the sermon preached by Bishop Alden Hathaway.

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JCF
JCF
16 years ago

I really wanna hope for the best (in South Carolina). Looking at this consecration cohort, though, that’s gonna take a MIRACLE!

Re Dean McKeachie statement: Say Wha??? (I need a translation, I think, from Reasserter, to *Anglican*)

Lapinbizarre
Lapinbizarre
16 years ago

Re Dean McKeachie’s reference to the Presiding Bishop’s “litigious chancellor”, the diocese of South Carolina has, since 2005, been plaintiff in a case against the secessionist congregation of All Saints, Pawley’s Island, seeking return to TEC of the church’s buildings & property. All Saints, in turn, has been suing the diocese since 2000.

The situation is further complicated by the consecration of Terrell Glenn, secessionist rector of All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, as a bishop of the Anglican Mission in America.

Robert Ian Williams
Robert Ian Williams
16 years ago

The Good protestant slave owners of Charleston would have rejected Lawerence in 1807, as a crypto-Papist.

In 1907 the segregationist white burghers ( who had no blacks in the Church) would have rejected him as being too high.

In 1957 they would have rejected him, if they had got wind that he would have ordained women..as Lawerence has said he will.

Gene Robinson need not feel so rejected.

drdanfee
drdanfee
16 years ago

Yes one hopes for the best from this new SC bishop; but the hovering signs do not indicate safety and welcome, but rather realignment and risk and danger to all the rest of us who do not wish in good conscience to be so conservatively realigned. I can have Bishop Lawrence as a brother, but not as the pat replacement for my pilgrim’s conscience as a progressive Anglican believer. If Lawrence does not care to do certain difficult types of inquiry and discernment, including certain hot button types of harmonizing among the sciences, ethics, and theology – oh well, that… Read more »

Malcolm+
16 years ago

Bishop Hathaway’s sermon is posted on Tony Clavier’s blog. While clearly a conservative, Hathaway emphatically rejects the tactics of the “conservatives.” He criticizes both sides reasonably even-handedly, and reminds conservatives and “conservatives” that they cannot lead from negativity.

Worth a read.

kieran crichton
kieran crichton
16 years ago

Well, congratulations Bishop Lawrence. No doubt you will be a good and faithful pastor after the Saviour’s own heart. Nevertheless, you did say some mightily careless things during the election process. So to be safe we’ll set the stop watch to see how long you last before the inhibition proceedings begin.

Joe Cassidy
Joe Cassidy
16 years ago

Given that such a cohort was predictable, it illustrates an incredible generosity on TEC’s part. The US bishops gave their assent to Lawrence in spite of their well-grounded misgivings. That consent is juridically the same as was given to Gene Robinson, and is no less costly in so many ways. I just hope against hope that those who have ears will take note of such costly generosity….

Neil
Neil
16 years ago

I am glad people greet this with a sense of hope. Though regret the grudging and miserly way in which they comment. This is clearly the bishop the people want and have chosen, and he represents one aspect of the Anglican tradition that needs to be honoured. And it is lovely so many overseas bishops came along to his consecration.

Merseymike
Merseymike
16 years ago

Not for much longer, though, as I am sure he will be following the refuseniks out of TEC soon.

drdanfee
drdanfee
16 years ago

Long before I came out of the closets in church life, family life, and school – a late bloomer in college, really – I learned the hard way to pay very, very, very careful attention to just what people said, and just how they said it. It is this sort of attention which sometimes turned out to be a matter of survival, though I would preferred to have focused on thriving. Call my posted remarks grudging or miserly then; but the sorts of love the sinner hate the sin preachments of which the bishop is so capable reliably suggested a… Read more »

David C
David C
16 years ago

Not having been to may consecrations, is it common practice to have Bishops from outside the TEC participating?
Just wondering!

Weiwen
16 years ago

while I’m not enthused about the guy from Nigeria, it kind of makes no difference. Mark swore to uphold the canons of the church. IF he breaks them, he is out. I’m willing to trust that he won’t. IF he is willing to act dishonorably, it makes no difference whether the rest of the church gives consent or not. giving consent would then have only hastened the diocese’s departure.

Davis d'Ambly
Davis d'Ambly
16 years ago

“Not having been to may consecrations, is it common practice to have Bishops from outside the TEC participating?
Just wondering!”

David C, it’s not common, but not all that unheard of. Expect to see more of this.

Malcolm+
16 years ago

There were a number of foreign bishops at the consecration of the present Bishop of New Hampshire.

Prior Aelred
16 years ago

It is not unusual to have so many bishops (& foreign ones) participating — it is unusual to have so many bishops participating who consider themselves not to be in Communion with The Episcopal Church (& so few who do).

It seems to be intended as a sign & not an encouraging one.

Jim Pratt
Jim Pratt
16 years ago

David C. It is fairly common to have bishops from outside TEC. At the consecration of Tom Shaw (+Massachusetts), those participating included Michael Peers (++Canada) and Krister Stendahl (+Stockholm, ret.). At the consecration of Gene Robinson, Michael Ingham (+New Westminster), Bruce Stavert (+Quebec) and an Irish bishop (companion diocese) participated. Claude Miller (+Fredericton) is slated to participate (or has) in the consecration of the new bishop of Maine. A bishop of the Philippine Independent Church participated in Frank Griswold’s consecration as Bishop of Chicago. The main criteria is either a companion diocese relationship or other close mission ties between dioceses,… Read more »

Lapinbizarre
Lapinbizarre
16 years ago

Anglican TV has posted the video of the bishop of Winchester’s address to the recent SC diocesan convention. Like Simon’s interview with Ruth Gledhill, it requires the installation of new software, but unlike Simon’s interview it will not download on the pc at which I am currently stationed. One of those who has commented on it at Stand Firm (Scott McCall) States “Bp. Scott-Joynt referred to the “cancer” that is spreading from ECUSA throughout the communion. …… +Winchester also states broadly without details that the cancer has gone to the CofE itself.” http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/9699/ Maybe someone who has better luck with… Read more »

Lapinbizarre
Lapinbizarre
16 years ago

One factor in the South Carolina business that has not been commented on recently is the situation regarding the diocese’s lawsuit against the secessionist parish of All Saints, Pawleys Island (soon to have two active AMiA bishops on its staff – it was commented on Mark Harris’s site that they seem to proliferate like rabbits). This suit is currently on appeal from a lower State court which has ruled that TEC has limited standing in the matter since ownership of the church building hinges on a 1745 deed of gift. It seems clear, however, that but for the deed of… Read more »

Prior Aelred
16 years ago

Lapinbizarre —

Very interesting — all along I have suggested that SC just forget about choosing a new bishop after Salmon & say that Chuck Murphy was right all along (after all, the man consecrated at Murphy’s side, John H. Rodgers, participated in the consecration of Mark Lawrence).

BTW — isn’t Bishop Scott-Joynt an outspoken advocate of liberalizing the church rules on divorce & remarriage (apparently the changes that benefit oneself are good and those that benefit others are “cancer”).

Lapinbizarre
Lapinbizarre
16 years ago

Scott-Joynt is right out of 1950’s central casting, Prior Aelred – Alistair Sim without the sly flair. Sort of guy Americans caught in a Mrs Miniver time-warp adore and think typically English. The bishop’s comment on the British press (I have now been able to connect to the speech) indicate that he knows better.

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