Integrity Georgia © 2010. All Rights Reserved

No good thing will God withhold from those who walk with integrity. Psalm 84:11

Chair:

Mr. Michael Wood

Dr. Fred Richter

Mrs Sarah Riggle

April 2, 2012 Newsletter

+October 8, 2011-10th ANNIVERSARY GALA, Savannah

+07/30/2011-Board Meeting, Statesboro

+5/3/2011-INTEGRITY USA PRESS RELEASE

+12/18/2010-HOLY, REASONABLE, ENFORCEABLE-Second meeting with Bishop Benhase

+12/3/2010-St. Stevens’ Ministry gearing up for HIV/AIDS Red Ribbon Ball in Augusta

+9/28/2010-Integrity Leader Challenges Archbishop

+9/21/2010-An Ad Hoc Committee forms at St. Paul’s, Savannah

+Amazing Day, Amazing Witness, Susan Russell

NOTE! Dec 18th Integrity Mtg at St.Anne's Tifton with St. Margaret's Moultrie as co-sponsor

+Pride Events Around the Diocese-Integrity was There

+FAQ on the recent Prop 8 court decision-Rev Canon Susan Russel

+At West Point, Hidden Gay Cadets Put in Spotlight

+7/10/2010-Meeting with Bishop Benhase

+The 2010 HIV/AIDS retreat fund drive was a success!

Treasurer:

Co-Chair:

Ms. Kay Smith-Riggle

Secretary:

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A Message from Integrity GA Co-Chairperson, Fred Richter....

Brothers and sisters,

With the recent release of the proposed Rite of Blessing (http://houseofdeputies.org/blessingexcer pts ), including extensive accompanying materials, we have much to be thankful for, and much to reflect on. If you haven't already begun reading (the "excerpt" is some 82 pages long), I recommend you do so. The Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music has obviously taken great pains to prepare for this moment in the life of our Church. Members of the Diocese of Georgia should do no less if we are to provide informed feedback and opinions to the bishop and our other General Convention deputies.

The formal conversation in our diocese began as prearranged table talk at our recent Diocesan Convention. Folks were invited to express to others around their tables their thoughts and feelings about a formal rite of blessing of same-gender unions. Instructed to avoid interruptions or challenges, most folks listened respectfully to what their neighbors had to say. My experience was mildly surprising in that all seven of my table mates expressed varying degrees of affirmation of a rite of blessing of some kind, the sooner the better, in order that we might get on with the perennial gospel work of feeding, clothing, sheltering and comforting the poor. I would like to think that my table was not exceptional in the tenor of its opinions. In closing, the bishop invited all present to communicate with him, the deputies and alternates at the following address: deputies@georgiaepiscopal. org Now that extensive excerpts of the long awaited report have been made public, it is time to do our homework.

Unfortunately, the release of the proposed Rite of Blessing (its official name is "I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing") has put Bishop Benhase, a vocal and demonstrated ally of glbt unions, in a difficult position. While he generally supports and, with the sanction of his previous bishop was celebrant at a rite of union at his last parish, he finds himself at odds with the form which the newly proposed rite has taken. So far, other than expressing disapproval of the Rite as too closely approximating that of Holy Matrimony in our Book of Common Prayer, the bishop has offered no details about his objections. It therefore behooves all of us to become knowledgeable participants in this critical dialogue. Send your opinions to the above address, and mark your calendars for the dates of the six convocational meetings with the bishop and deputies (see From the Field, Vol. 2, #31). For myself, I have begun my reading of the excerpts from The Standing Committee, with particular attention to the Rite itself and the recommended scriptures. And in spite of having many times witnessed the classic Episcopalian rite of Holy Matrimony as an interested observer, I am now studying the marriage rites offered in The Book of Common Prayer (pp. 423-438) with special interest. At this point, I don't feel qualified to guess or make a judgement about what might so trouble the bishop.

If, as he has intimated, Bishop Benhase cannot in good conscience vote for nor, in the event of its passage, support the proposed Rite of Blessing, we must hope that, keeping faith with those of his flock who might seek to have their unions formalized in the Church, he exercises something like the "generous pastoral response" that his former superior, Bishop Chane, exercised in sanctioning the same gender union over which then Rev. Benhase presided. Although he has expressed to me his reticence for such an alternative course of action in his role as bishop, I am hopeful that he might find a prophetic path forward in this important moment in our Church life together. Keep the bishop and our deputies in your prayers.

The potentially good news is that Bishop Benhase is only one of nine voting members of our delegation. We have four clerical and four lay deputies, four clerical and three lay alternates, almost all of whom I have come to know and love as friends in our diocesan life together. While I sincerely hope and pray that they don't share the bishop's reservations (or any other serious reservations) about the proposed Rite of Blessing, and while I will be deeply disappointed by any negative votes cast by our delegation, I cannot see breaking faith with friends whose own conscience must be their guide. All the more important then, between now and General Convention, is our personal testimony to our bishop and our deputies. Finally, beyond mere opinions, we must trust that our lives, lived openly and honestly, are our best witness. "No good thing will God withhold from those who walk with Integrity." Psalm 84:11.

your brother in Christ,

Fred