From the Office of Public Affairs:
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church concluded its retreat meeting at Camp Allen in Navasota, TX on March 9.
Offering an overview are Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut and Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe of Central New York.
The bishops received reports on the issues of sexual harassment and abuse, and of gun violence. Addressing the issues raised by the #metoo and #timesup movements, Duncan-Probe said while
There are many ways we could approach that; there are answers, but then there’s also responses, and one of our approaches has been just to respond in an adaptive and pastoral way.
The listening event scheduled at General Convention was unanimously chosen by the bishops to replace their usual gala dinner, Duncan-Probe said, adding that while it is only a beginning to addressing the problems of sexual inequality and abuse in the church, it is “a heartfelt and deeply pastoral one.”
Douglas addressed the bishops’ conversations around gun violence, which began with a letter from the parents of a victim of the recent Parkland, FL school shooter. “We need to join with the youth of our nation,” Douglas said, reflecting on a unanimous statement received by the bishops on how to respond to the renewed discussions taking place around the country. Douglas reported that the bishops again were unanimous in calling for support of days of prayer and action tomorrow, March 14th, the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting, and of the March for our Lives events taking place across the country on March 24th.
Both topics, Duncan-Probe said, are matters of evangelism, as the church considers what Jesus and the gospel have to say about the problems within and around us that demand a response from the Episcopal church.
Watch the bishops summarize the rest of their retreat meeting here. Find further Cafe coverage of the bishops’ meeting here.