[Here is a letter I wrote to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church]
Your Grace, dear Presiding Bishop,
I am writing to you today to ask you to reach out to the Diocese of South Carolina and to find a way out of the looming crisis. I am doing so as an openly gay priest in the Anglican Communion, who has performed blessings of same-sex couples. But, I am especially doing so as a member of the Body of Christ.
Over the last decades there has been a lot of changes in the church. And thanks be to God! We have moved towards a fuller embrace of women in all orders of the church and in every ministry. And we have also moved to a fuller inclusion of GLBTQ folk in the life of the church. And again: Thanks be to God.
Yet, we have done so at high cost, which so far I was able to accept as prophetic.
However, I do believe we have reached a point now where we must redirect our energies: I believe we have come to a place where the Spirit calls us to prayer and to the hard work of reconciliation.
No, there is no turning back. But maybe we need to allow for others to catch up...
I do not agree with a number of theological convictions held by the Bishop of South Carolina. Heck, he probably wouldn't ordain me. Still, I am imploring you: Without the Diocese of South Carolina the church will be poorer, much poorer. We need them and they need us.
When the North American Churches started to discern the movement of the Spirit many years ago, I was hopeful: Yes, I wanted for people like me to be less fearful, less closeted, and more able to live into who and what God created us to be.
[And] I was hopeful that our way of dealing with the crisis will be a witness to the world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed us to something quite different. I was hopeful we could show the world what it means to be friends and children of the living God, what it means to become truly human as we see others despite of our strongly held convictions as sisters and brothers. And I am still hoping. Are we going to be different from the cultural war exploding all around us?
I hope and pray that the Spirit will guide you and Bishop Lawrance to find a way out of this current crisis. For the sake of our common mission. For the sake of the church's witness and unity. And for your own sake.
Yours in Christ,
Markus Duenzkofer
