WELL!!!

I was summarily taken to the woodshed by a Ruth Gledhill of the "Times on Line" in England. She just could not believe that I would not know that the Archbishop of York is a black man. What I read into her comment was something like this: you ignorant silly man. How dare you not know such a thing?

I must admit that I don't spend much time thinking about the Archbishop of York, Canterbury or any other Archbishop in England or anyplace else. I wonder if Ms. Gledhill knows anything about the Bishop of Nebraska?

This has made me think about the fascination that so many Episcopalians have about all things English and the Church of England. I must admit that I had, for a long time, such a fascination with such things. It seems, however, that our fascination works against the immediacy of our responsibility with the Gospel in our time and in our place. The work of the Episcopal Church is not to continue to copy an illusion of worship and mission in 19th Century merry old England but to engage the Gospel of Jesus Christ with vigor and creativity that captures the interest of young Americans in the 21st Century. I value our tradition and our history. We must retain that which is helpful but we must not be trapped in history (real or imagined) that makes the church a hobby rather than a spiritual journey with the crucified and risen Christ.

Convention today debated and voted (by Orders) on a resolution that would change the method of consenting to the election of Bishops. As of this writing, 11:40 PM, we do not know the results of that vote. The issue is this. Under normal situations, Bishops are elected by a diocese and then consent is required by the Bishops of the Episcopal Church and the Standing Committees of the diocese of the Church. If such an election is held in a time specific near the meeting of General Convention the consent must come from the Bishops and the House of Deputies. The resolution considered today would require the consent of the various Standing Committees regardless of the time of election in relation to General Convention. The House of Deputies would not be involved.

Since Ms. Gledhill appears not to be familiar with the term "Dean" I sign off this evening with,

The Very Rev. Thomas J. Hurley
Dean and Rector
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Omaha, Nebraska