Power Play Will Fail
Bishop William E. Swing, retired
Episcopal Diocese
of California
Episcopal Life, July 2007
There was the picture in the
newspaper (Sunday, May 6): Archbishop Peter Akinola and Bishop Martyn Minns.
Neither was born, schooled, ordained to the priesthood in the United States nor
consecrated bishop according to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal
Church. But here they were, determined to overthrow the Episcopal Church, USA,
and to replace it with themselves and a small number of American colleagues.
Their aim is not to reform the Episcopal Church or to set up a permanent
parallel authority. They intend to become the sole authorized Anglican presence
in American. The other side of that coin is that they intend for the Episcopal
Church to be cut off from the Anglican Communion and set aside.
It’s
quite a bold American strategy for an Englishman and a Nigerian. In a brief
time, they want to undo what it has taken many generations of Americans to
build.
This is way beyond theology or scriptural interpretations. This
is a naked power play that is reminiscent of colonial aspiration in other
centuries. Instead of England colonizing Nigeria, we are looking at a picture of
a Nigerian and an Englishman trying to colonize the United States, with their
unique brand of Anglicanism from an evangelical point of view.
These two
people who have not been part of a longstanding American experience smile
triumphantly as they embark on a plot to take away our birthright, our heritage,
our Anglican connection, our ministries to the poor, our official prayer book
tradition, our schools, churches, agencies and our resources.
These two
bishops and their colleagues are enjoying the first spoils that arise from our
family struggle over human sexuality. But what they don’t realize is that they
have touched and trampled on the taproot of our faithfulness to the mission of
Jesus Christ in the United States that goes 400 years into the earth of this
country. The Episcopal Church will withstand this assault from across the ocean.
And our mission will endure, God being our helper.
Titling this essay "Power Play will Fail" instantly sets the tone of this piece as something out of a Baghdad Bob speech - "There are no Coalition tanks in Baghdad!"... as they roll through the streets behind him.
Neither was born, schooled, ordained to the priesthood in the United States nor consecrated bishop according to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
True as far as it goes, but The Rev. Minns has spent the last twenty years in America as a parish priest - over twice as long as our presiding bishop Katharine Schori has even been ordained. It's beside the point, though, because there are two bigger problems: Bishop Swing's statement smacks of a desperate and ugly form of Episcopal nativism, and barely-concealed racism; plus it attempts to cast Akinola and Minns as the sole conspirators in a nefarious plot. Swing a) ignores the fact that the global Anglican orthodox movement consists of several more archbishops (Orombi, Kolini, Nzimbi, Gomez, and Venables come to mind immediately), and many more prominent priests, bishops, and bishops-elect (Atwood, Guernsey, Murdoch, Duncan, Iker, Schofield, Ackerman, et al); and b) makes the same mistake as those on the political left who continually try and demonize George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Halliburton as responsible for the direction (presumably bad) America has taken: Ignoring the fact that a majority of voters - over 50 million - elected these men to office... twice. Similarly, Peter Akinola and Martyn Minns would not have met with the success they have, had they not been supported by a large number of orthodox Episcopalians. If the only support Akinola and Minns had gotten was from... Akinola and Minns... then Swing wouldn't be writing about them.
Their aim is not to reform the Episcopal Church or to set up a permanent parallel authority. They intend to become the sole authorized Anglican presence in American. The other side of that coin is that they intend for the Episcopal Church to be cut off from the Anglican Communion and set aside.
This statement is accurate. It is also not a secret. I'm sure Bishop Swing's intention here is to frighten the Beloved Moderates with images of an English interloper and a scary black man "overthrowing" their beloved Episcopal Church, but what Swing perhaps misses is that the Beloved Moderates haven't lifted their heads for three decades while gays, lesbians, and neo-pagans have defiled their once-noble church; what makes the bishop think they'll lift their heads when two men talking about faithfulness to Jesus Christ walk onto the scene and say there's a problem that needs addressing?
It’s quite a bold American strategy for an Englishman and a Nigerian. In a brief time, they want to undo what it has taken many generations of Americans to build.
More ugly nativism and barely-concealed racism. And what has happened to the Episcopal church has indeed taken a long time, but it's not what a critical mass of orthodox Christians would characterize as "building"; it's crystal clear to these folks that what the Episcopal left has been doing lo these many years is destroying: Destroying our witness to seekers and faithful alike, to our children, and to ourselves. It has got to stop, and if it takes an Englishman and a Nigerian to spark the fire, then so be it.
The rest of it is just not worth fisking. Just think Baghdad Bob and you've got the whole picture. Think of Winston Churchill's "we shall defend our island" speech, only with a reversed sense of morality, and you can see what Swing is trying to do. Remember that this is in print in the current issue of Episcopal Life. It is not a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle or even a post to the diocesan web site. 815 has effectively endorsed this letter by allowing its publication. So get ready: the theme of the coming months looks to consist of attempts to scare Beloved Moderates with references to the sinister foreigner and the scary Negro, come to defile our pretty white church.
Disgusting, but I'd be lying if I said I was surprised.
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Posted July 02, 2007 at 8:37 am
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