The House of Deputies readily agreed Wednesday afternoon to an unusual meeting as a committee of the whole regarding the consecration of any future bishops who are openly gay or lesbian. As approved by the deputies, the discussion will occur on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
 
Amendments by deputies only tinkered with a few details of the proposed discussion. An amendment by the Rev. Gay Jennings, co-chair of the Committee on World Mission, gave deputies time for “facilitated communication” about Resolution B033.
 
The Rev. David Ota of the Diocese of California alerted the house that the proposed time for the discussion conflicted with time it had set aside to elect new presiding officers. House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson asked the Rev. James Simons, co-chair of the Committee on Dispatch of Business, about that conflict. “Oops,” he said, looking sheepish and drawing a comical look of consternation from Mrs. Anderson.
 
The extraordinary “committee of the whole” discussion comes in response to several efforts to overturn Resolution B033, or to render it no longer relevant. That resolution, passed during the closing hours of the 75th General Convention, committed the Episcopal Church to exercise a season of restraint on consecrating bishops “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion,” and to refrain from authorizing a public rite for blessing same-gender couples.
 
Deputies told The Living Church Wednesday that they welcome the chance to discuss the volatile issue without the pressure of a pending vote during the same session.
 
“Hopefully that will provide a more open discussion,” said the Rev. Stephen Schafroth, a new deputy from the Diocese of Eastern Oregon. “I think that’s a stroke of genius by someone, because this is a church of many different opinions. That’s one of the beauties of this church.”
 
The Rev. Canon Neal Michel of the Diocese of Dallas also welcomed the discussion’s less pressured setting.
 
“It’s important to have conversation without trying to convince people,” said Canon Michel, who serves as Bishop James Stanton’s canon to the ordinary. “That’s what I encourage congregations to do all the time.”
 
In other business, the deputies:
  • Approved the Rev. John Tarrant as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of South Dakota and the Rev. Lawrence Provenzano as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Long Island.
 
  • Approved a resolution that sets budget priorities based on hearings held by the Joint Standing Committee on Program Budget and Finance.
 
Douglas LeBlanc reporting from General Convention in Anaheim.
 
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