The
Reverend Canon Gregory Cameron
Commission
Secretary
Lambeth
Commission
Anglican
Communion
Dear
Most Reverend Sir and Members of the Commission:
The members of Via Media USA (VMUSA) are
appreciative of your invitation to add our voice to the many you have already
heard. We are also appreciative that you have posted so much of the received material on your website. We will briefly share our
experience and position with you.
Via Media
VMUSA’s allied groups are made up of the full
spectrum of positions within the Episcopal Church. There are those who oppose
the decision made to confirm Bishop Robinson and those who welcome the decision
as a courageous acknowledgment of what has long been a matter of secret
practice. But, as an organization, we have taken no position on the
confirmation. What unites us across our many individual beliefs is Unity
itself. All of us are committed to working to keep everyone at the table
because we continue to believe that what we share is far greater than what
separates us.
VMUSA believes that the via media is a powerful part of our Anglican heritage: not a
“compromise for the sake of peace,” but, as the collect for the feast of
Richard Hooker reads, “a comprehension for the sake of truth.” We embrace our heritage of the middle way, which has found a
generous and charitable path to unity based upon our deepest values, even in
times of bitter controversy. We hope that the Commission will
help us, along with all Anglicans, find the via
media in this moment of controversy.
Finding the via
media requires that all parties step back from the use of combative language
and from precipitate action, especially threats and ultimatums, in order to sit
at table with one another. We hear cries of pain and hurt, but the truth is
that when they are cloaked with threats, there is almost no chance to resolve
the most important question of whether or not people of the same faith can
abide with each other through their differences. VMUSA trusts that everyone, in
this moment of controversy, believes in and loves Jesus and is seeking to serve
him as their hearts, minds, and spirits direct. We would hope that, as the
Commission seeks to find the highest level of possible communion we might
share, it might start with such an affirmation.
The
Commission’s mandate rightly acknowledges this extraordinary moment in the life
of the Communion. There is no formulated, agreed upon international polity for
our Communion; indeed, there is no process in place for formulating polity,
much less for defining policy. A policy may well be needed now, and VMUSA
believes that a call to create an international polity could be a forum for a
lively and vigorous discussion among the provinces of the Communion. However,
at the moment, there is simply no structure for adjudication of this sort of
dispute.
We believe that the formation of an international polity
is most properly framed as a discussion about unity, akin to the one that
brought forth the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. Everyone must be at the table
to ask, among other things: What are the essentials of the faith that must be
believed to be Christian? How do reason, scripture, and tradition work together
to provide authoritative decisions? How will we bring into harmony the issues
that derive from our multiplicity of cultures and their particular challenges?
How will we respect our differences in our forms of internal polity, some
provinces embracing the laity in decision-making and some not? How will we hold
one another accountable? Who will judge whether we have done so effectively? We
have, of course, our own Richard Hooker’s Laws
of Ecclesiastical Polity as a foundation for such a discussion. Richard
Hooker’s work is every bit as relevant to this time of controversy as it was in
the latter sixteenth century.
The present atmosphere, however, is the worst
possible one for making international polity. In the absence of any polity,
making one in reaction to specific incidents is counterproductive in the long
run. The actions of the
Finally, we believe that a clear statement on the
validity of sacraments in disputed times should be developed. It is God who
makes and protects sacraments, with even the best of us little more than
damaged vessels for their delivery. Anglicans have always based their identity
and sense of unity within their worship, and VMUSA believes that this is still
a powerful place from which to grow and renew. Through celebration of the
Eucharist, we separate ourselves from the world for a time to come into God’s
presence. We hear the witness of our ancestors and apply it to the present
moment. We pray for our needs and shortcomings, and we repent of our sins. We
are forgiven, and we are at peace. We walk again amidst God’s mighty acts, and
we participate in his last supper as his brothers and sisters. In receiving his
body and blood, we are in Communion – that is, in unity with God and one
another. Finally, we are sent into the world to serve God utilizing our
particular gifts. In the end, there is unity whether we acknowledge it or not.
VMUSA hopes and trusts that Lambeth will help us
find the sacramental route through this field of controversy. We, who represent
the broadest spectrum of people in the Episcopal Church, know that this is
possible in our small fellowship, and therefore possible in larger ones. You
are constantly in our prayers.
Yours Faithfully,
Via
Media
Christopher I. Wilkins, Ph.D., Facilitator