returning churches

It is with mixed feelings that I have been reading through the Facebook posts of former colleagues and neighbours as they re-enter and reclaim the churches which have been so heavily disputed over the past seven years. For those of you who are not aware of this – The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia felt itself forced into litigation after several congregations broke away from the Bishop and looked for alternative episcopal oversight – not flying bishops as in the UK – but bishops who were from African provinces and who, eventually, consecrated some former Episcopal priests as bishops in a vaguely parallel but more conservative version of the Church of and Anglican Communion – the Episcopal Church USA.
When the Anglican Communion came to look at the precipitating factors, which was the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, a partnered gay man as Bishop of New Hampshire the Episcopal Church’s wisdom was questioned. But what is often conveniently forgotten is that the African Bishops who had crossed their terrestrial boundaries to set up rival Anglican provinces in the United States were also roundly criticized. It was from this report and much chattering by wise people that the Anglican Covenant took shape.
In the Diocese of Connecticut I remember being shocked when I read the that bishop had gone into Churches and changed the locks as soon as congregations began to make dissenting noises – I often wonder whether the former Bishop of Virginia later wished he had done the same thing before the movement deprived him of some key properties and made several continuing Episcopal congregations homeless. The Diocese of Virginia has spent years and millions of dollars fighting the battle. As you can imagine where the Churches are only a few miles from Washington – the centre of the nations political power – politics had its role to play and decisions have been made and unmade in successive hearings with a lot of vitriole on both sides.
My hesitation at the news that the churches are being given back is rooted in a worry that too easily rejoicing can become something else and something rather mean. Having worked in the Diocese of Virginia I saw first hand just how damaging and draining the process of litigation has been. The Bishops and Diocesan staff were often distracted beyond belief and precious Diocesan resources have had to be funelled into lawyers and hearings. Personally clergy have borne a heavy load as they faced leading congregations without churches, in some cases churches with angry, bitter  and very numerically reduced congregations. Even those in more stable churches worked with the cloud over their head and the worry that their wider church family, the Diocese, was not at peace with its neighbour. Not to mention the small minority of major givers in parishes who saw this as a prime opportunity to use their financial leverage to bully their clergy (there is nothing like the level of centralized funding which there is in the UK and clergy who do not tow the wealthy givers line run the risk of finding themselves without money to support their church budget – which, of course, includes their own salary.
It has just not been a healthy time and there will need to be a lot of healing. I have to confess that whilst on one level I was glad the Diocese was fighting its corner I was also frightened of the psychological and spiritual damage which churches were undergoing as a result of so much distraction. More than once I wondered whether bricks and mortar were worth this – of course, I know it is not just bricks and mortar, but the question still hangs around for me – at what point does the Church over-invest itself in claiming right and title – perhaps never, perhaps often.
All in all it has been a hard few years and I do genuinely pray that free from the distraction of legal briefs the Diocese will begin to heal. It will be a long process – these wounds are sitting deep and because for many they revolve around the hard questions of human sexuality they hold huge emotional power.
God bless all those who return to their church home rejoicing, God bless all those who find themselves with no place to be church and God help each to see image of God in each other.