Episcopal Press and News
New Task Force Promotes Reconciliation
Episcopal News Service. April 13, 2000 [2000-078A]
(ENS) Hoping to promote reconciliation among Episcopalians, a layman and a priest have announced formation of The New Commandment Task Force, a group whose first mission will be to sponsor four regional meetings designed to find reconciling ways to deal with the church's internal disagreements over issues related to homosexuality.
Dr. Louie Crew of Newark, New Jersey, and the Rev. Brian Cox of Santa Barbara, California, said in a joint statement posted on Crew's website that the regional meetings do not themselves have any legislative authority, but that they hope that the work produced by the meetings will be helpful to the diocesan and national legislative bodies of the Episcopal Church, including the national General Convention and diocesan conventions.
They said that their plan has the support of Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, who told them that he welcomes this initiative, noting that, as the Catechism teaches, "The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ."
Griswold, they said, has offered some financial assistance to help the task force get started.
The men said the concept of the New Commandment Task Force came out of the experience of "The Seattle 22," a group of Episcopalian laity and clergy-liberal, moderate and conservative-that met in Seattle last November to work on the issue of "Searching For Solutions to Potential Schism."
While that group did not complete the task of finding agreed-upon solutions, the Seattle 22 experience convinced the participants that better ways of dealing with serious disagreements were possible, because Episcopalians have far more in common than what is in dispute. The Seattle 22 effort was itself based on the reconciliation and group process principles taught by The Reconciliation Institute in Santa Barbara. The institute was founded by and is led by Cox. The new group derives its name from two biblical passages:
- John 13:34ff: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
- John 15:12ff: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."
Other members of the task force are the Rev. Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California; the Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, canon missioner of the Diocese of Newark; the Rev. Richard Kew, representing the Anglican Forum for the Future; the Rev. Dorsey McConnell, rector of St. Alban's Church in Edmonds, Washington, and Ted Mollegen, lay deputy from the Diocese of Connecticut.
The first regional meeting will be held at Christ Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, May 15-19. The second meeting will take place June 12-16, and two more will be held in the early autumn, at places yet to be determined. Members of the task force are also available to assist any dioceses that want to conduct diocesan meetings of a similar nature.
The task force has invited nominations for participation in the four regional meetings. Nominees should be Episcopalians who hold-or who have held within the last seven years-elective church positions which involve them in regular Episcopal Church activities beyond their parishes.