General Convention Editorial by Bishop Poulson

Why I'm More Hopeful About The Episcopal Church
 
The 81st General Convention is behind us, and, somewhat to my surprise, I find myself more hopeful about our Episcopal Church than I've been in a long time. If I’m honest, I’m someone who treasures the ministry on the ground in my diocese, especially with our congregations, and only somewhat begrudgingly accepts that my role comes with a wider Church component! But I left this General Convention hopeful about our denomination. I'm hopeful not because we have found a clear way through or around the enormous obstacles to mission and even our survival (we haven't), but rather because I see signs that we are more ready to do the hard work to which God is calling us, and more clear in what that work looks like. I see this in several areas.
 
Leadership
 
The tenure of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has been remarkable. His preaching and witness have been (and still are) ablaze with the light of the Gospel, the love of Jesus always in his heart and on his lips. Through a tumultuous season, he not only held much together, but gave The Episcopal Church a nationally (and internationally) recognized voice. It was a joy to celebrate him in so many different ways at this Convention.
 
But I find a different kind of inspiration in our new Presiding Bishop-elect. In a first ballot election, the House of Bishops has shown our confidence in the Right Reverend Sean Rowe, and in his vision for churchwide structures, budgets, and staff re-oriented to resource mission in dioceses and congregations (instead of the other way around). His decision to forego a large installation service in favor of a scaled down ceremony strikes just the right notes. Taken together, our Presiding Bishop-elect and President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris represent not only a major generational shift (both are in their 40’s), but also deep experience in various efforts to reform our churchwide governance in recent years.
 
Vitality
 
As a bishop who has prioritized congregational vitality in our Diocese of Oklahoma as our main focus, I was greatly encouraged by resolution A044 (“Develop Sustainable Congregational Revitalization Ministries”). Not the typical resolution asking for a new staff “desk” or large grant, this requests much more: that we look honestly at our decline, and make vitality a top priority, by gathering data and recommendations, and convening conversations that lead to action. The resolution actually asks that the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies “take personal responsibility for convening the bodies needed to begin this work.” I am grateful to the Committee on Congregational Vitality and Data-Driven Initiatives not only for the resolution, but for gathering a large group at the Convention itself for a time of sharing and support. 
 
Structure
 
Not only do we have churchwide leadership who are going to prioritize a thoughtful evaluation of our governance, budget, and staffing, but we also saw a continuing trend of dioceses prayerfully merging. The new dioceses formed in Wisconsin and Michigan, and the elevating of Navajoland to missionary diocese were both spiritual and strategic decisions that I believe will bear much fruit, by God’s grace. In each instance, the joy on the floor was palpable. Our Church still probably has too many dioceses and too many bishops, but this was a solid move in the right direction.
 
Politics
 
Like some others, I am not a big fan of how much time and energy we spend at General Convention on a variety of resolutions on matters of politics and world affairs that will likely have little impact, beyond pleasing the activists on the one side and alienating those on the other side. We passed our share of these resolutions this time. But after a lot of back and forth, the main resolution on Israel, Palestine, and Gaza (D013) came via a compromise, crafted by a small group from both houses (a conference committee). Not everyone was happy, but I appreciated the effort to come up with a statement many of us could get behind, grounded in faith and acknowledging the tragic complexities of the situation. Some of this effort came from the extraordinary move of taking time in the House of Bishops for actual conversation and discernment at tables (as we had done in Baltimore two years’ prior on the topic of Prayer Book revision).
 
Inclusive and Credal
 
Not just in our legislative work, but in our worship and even in the feel of several conversations I had, it seemed to me that our Church has mostly settled into a stance of sacramentally inclusive but grounded in the theology of the creeds. All the sacraments for all the baptized (including marriage and ordination) is now the accepted reality in virtually all dioceses (including, I am happy to say, my own) and the General Convention moved forward on marriage equality in the Prayer Book with almost no dissention. At the same time, I didn’t detect much of the “fingers crossed during the creeds” joking that I used to hear often in the Church a decade ago. To me, inclusive and credal is both theologically sound, and a winsome message as we share God’s love with others.
 
Conclusion
 
The challenges ahead for The Episcopal Church are massive. Our half-century of decline shows no sign of slowing, and was likely accelerated by the pandemic. Even as some extended theological battles in our denomination are coming to an end, new divisive issues are beginning to show themselves. 
 
Can we discern new ways, with God’s help, to restore more vitality to our Church at every level? Can we actually begin to wrestle with our bloated meetings, budget, and staffing on the church-wide level, either to cut back or reform? What will be our place in the ever-changing Anglican Communion? Will we keep gracious space for theological minorities, and continue to allow the centrality of both the teaching and the liturgies of the 1979 Prayer Book for those who cherish them?

If our main purpose is to keep our eyes on Jesus in order to follow him, it matters what else gets our attention. At this moment, I feel hopeful that this Church that I love is taking steps in the right direction.
 
Poulson Reed, OA (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma)