REFLECTIONS FOLLOWING THE ADSC WALKABOUTS
The fourth, and last, of the Walkabouts of the candidates for office of bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, occurred today, 16 September 2021. I made it through all four. I am glad now I persevered through them all because I have a better understanding of the nature of the schism in South Carolina. With that, I say a thank you to the officials of the ADSC who provided us with the livestream of these sessions.
Today's session was essentially the same as the first three. Most of the time the three candidates told us about their personal relationship with God, for the fourth time. I think we have got it by now. It was all vertical, all the time. And, once again, the questions were mostly general and non-challenging.
However, there were two questions that got to serious issues. One asked for the candidate's position on the ordination of women (they meant to the diaconate and priesthood). The ADSC, and its parent, the ACNA, do not allow women to be bishops. All three rushed to say they were in favor. What else could they say since the Anglican diocese allows women as deacons and priests? At the same time, all three rushed to say they understood and respected the opposition to women's ordination. Interesting that they had no problem accepting diametrically opposed positions on women's ordination but could not do so on the issue of homosexuality.
At the time of the schism in 2012, most of the women clergy stayed with the Episcopal Church, for good reason. Since then, in the Anglican diocese women have been treated as second-class citizens. As I recall, Mark Lawrence has ordained two women to the priesthood in his thirteen years as a bishop. The ADSC is a white patriarchy as it has been all along. Women are taught to be submissive.
The subject of homosexuality came up only one brief time when Edgar said he would not preside over a same-sex marriage. The ADSC has an absolute ban on such anyway.
The other worthwhile question asked for their views on racial and social justice and examples of their work on these in the last eighteen months. Finally, a question directly confronted the candidates about their experience with horizontal religion. What have you done specifically to make the world around us a better place? Here they all collapsed. Not one could give a specific example of what he had done for social justice. Outside a few vague references, they mostly talked about their personal relationships with people of color. This wrapped up the Walkabouts appropriately. It spoke volumes.
The Walkabouts are over. So, what are our take-aways from these four sessions? Here is what I see looking back over the last four days. I must hasten to remind everyone, these are just my opinions. I could be wrong. I often am. Anyway, here are my thoughts of the day for what they are worth:
There was very little public interest in these walkabouts. In comparison, the recent Walkabouts in the dioceses of South Carolina and Upper South Carolina drew several times as many viewers to the livestreams. Here is my theory to explain the lack of interest. The ADSC is an authoritarian body, always has been. The schism of 2012 was an act from the top down. It was carried out by no more than two dozen people. It was presented as a fait accompli first to the people and then to the diocesan convention on Nov. 17, 2012. The diocese has been governed the same way ever since. This authoritarianism was magnified when the ADSC joined the Anglican Church in North America, a denomination controlled by its bishops. Lay people are virtually powerless in ADSC and ACNA. So, lay people in ADSC are conditioned to accept decisions made for them. They routinely unanimously approve without question whatever is put before them. If they know they have no power in the decision making, they know there is no point in wasting their time looking at long, boring presentations.
As for the choice of the next bishop of ADSC, I see several important indicators. In the first place, only three candidates were put forth by the search committee. Two of them were clergy in the ADSC. One of them was from outside the diocese. He was the dean of the cathedral church of the Diocese of the Carolinas. The DoC happens to be the overlapping diocese in the ACNA. Its bishop is Steve Wood, rector of St. Andrew's, in Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston.
The two internal candidates were secondary figures in the schism. They were in the diocese at the time of the break but were not parts of the diocesan ruling power structure. (Do not get me wrong. I am not making a judgment on their qualifications to be bishop. They are fine people.) There were several men in the established diocesan power structure who easily could have been put forth as candidates. In fact, I had expected Jeff Miller to be the shoo-in. Given his background, he was the logical choice to assume the chair vacated by Mark Lawrence. The fact that no one of the historic stature of Miller was made a candidate tells us the diocesan power structure decided to move the diocese along a different path. If they were going to continue the structure of the Lawrence regime, they would have picked someone as Miller.
If they are going to move the diocese along a different track, what is it? I suspect it is to merge the ADSC into Wood's Diocese of the Carolinas. The one candidate from the outside is the dean of Wood's cathedral and obviously close to Wood. Edgar would not be the dean without Wood's approval. And so, I expect Edgar is the favored candidate of the ADSC ruling establishment. Given the authoritarian nature of the ADSC, I expect Edgar to be elected and enthroned.
But then one might ask, Why would the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina want to merge with another diocese? Again, I am just speculating on all of this. The South Carolina Supreme Court some day will rule on the local properties. If the ADSC winds up holding the parishes in question, it could possibly continue on as a diocese but it would be very difficult. It is highly unlikely that it will get the legal entity of the pre-schism diocese back. Judge Gergel's order in favor of the Episcopal diocese is on appeal but it is most unlikely the appeals court will overturn it. Gergel's order is virtually appeal-proof. With the central diocesan structure lost, the ADSC would need support from the outside. Union with Wood's bunch would make sense. Even more sensible would be if ADSC loses in SCSC and winds up with just the six parishes that have already been awarded to it. With no central diocesan structure and only a handful of local churches, merger with the Diocese of the Carolinas would be logical. So, it seems to me that merger with Wood's diocese is the path that the ADSC leadership has probably chosen and I see it as perfectly sensible. Hence, Edgar is the candidate to beat.
I would not be surprised that, if Edgar gets elected, the two dioceses would soon merge and Edgar would become the bishop suffragan under Bishop Steve Wood. If this were not the wish of the ADSC power structure, I think we would see a different slate of candidates today.
Now, let us turn to the issue of what the Walkabouts tell us about the state of the schism. Here is what I see. Again, these are only my opinions:
---The split came from a division of vertical and horizontal religion. The ADSC is thoroughly vertical.
---The vertical attitude of ADSC has hardened since the break. The prevailing attitude in ADSC is that of the Pharisees. We are right and God is on our side; anyone who disagrees is wrong and not on God's side.
---The schismatics cannot leave alone the Episcopal Church. As a survivor of a bitter divorce, they cannot stop blaming the other party for what went wrong.
---The chance of reconciliation between the Episcopal Church and the breakaways is more remote than ever.
---If the Episcopal Church regains the 29 parishes in question, it will be hard-pressed to rebuild the parishes. After so many years of hardening anti-Episcopal attitude among the breakaways, parishioners who remain in the returning parishes will not likely be happy campers.
---The Episcopal Church has lost a great many communicants of the pre-schism days. A large share of these, probably the majority, will not return to the Episcopal Church. The Church should plan accordingly.
Soon, both the Episcopal and Anglican dioceses of South Carolina will have new bishops. A new age will begin for both. Here is a good opportunity to make a change for the better. As Christians first, they should find new ways to love one another.
The schism in South Carolina is a grievous scandal because it is a rupture in the body of Christ. If the two sides cannot find ways to end this scandal, they should find ways to accept and respect each other. The schism should not have happened, but it did happen. That does not mean, however, that it has to go on happening. Nearly nine years of hurt, strife, and destruction is anathema to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I suggest as a starting place for the two sides to attend each other's consecrations of bishops. The Episcopal diocese should invite the three candidates for bishop of the Anglican diocese to attend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley's ordination/consecration as the new bishop of the EDSC on 2 October. In return, the Anglican diocese should invite Woodliff-Stanley to the ordination/consecration of their next bishop. I know at first it sounds ridiculous, but it is not. Stop and think about it. We have to start somewhere. Even if the recipients do not accept the invitations, the invitations themselves would be a step in the right direction.
God knows the good people of South Carolina have learned the hard way it is not easy being a Christian these days. It is definitely not easy being an Episcopalian or Anglican these days. Yet, here we are and here we must persevere in what we believe God would have us do. And, what we must do is to keep the two great commandments: love God and love one another. If we do not do that we have no right to the name we bear.
One of my favorite hymns was a favorite of my college chaplain from the 1960's, Lex Matthews. He and the chaplain from near-by Florida A & M integrated every public place for fifty miles around Tallahassee in the most dangerous time of the civil rights movement. They risked their lives every day. He knew how hard it was to be a Christian but it never occurred to him to do anything else:
"They Cast Their Nets in Galilee"
1. They cast their nets in Galilee
Just off the hills of brown;
Such happy, simple fisher-folk,
Before the Lord came down.
2. Contented, peaceful fishermen,
Before they ever knew
The peace of God that filled their hearts
Brimful, and broke them too.
3. Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
Homeless, in Patmos died.
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
Head down was crucified.
4. The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod.
Yet, brothers, pray for just one thing-
The marvelous peace of God.
