What happened today?

I tried to “live-blog” what happened this morning and afternoon as we acted on A161 – the key chunk of the Windsor Report as it came out to the floor for action. I couldn’t manage it. There was too much raw emotion and a feeling of frustration on the floor of the House. I have notes, but after a few minutes I decided to just sit and listen. You can find accounts of what happened in detail in other places.

It didn’t pass, but not for the sorts of reasons that people might think.

People voted against this because it did not use the specific language of Windsor. People voted against it because it was unfair to GLBT people. We voted against it here in the Diocese of Bethlehem for a number of reasons – and some of our deputies for two or three reasons at the same time.

But what this vote does not represent is the mind of the Episcopal Church on this matter. The fact that it did not pass was as much a function of the legislative and parliamentary reasons as it was a vote on question at hand.

I do not believe that the Episcopal Church wants to walk away from the Communion. I do not believe that this vote can be used to show our intentions either way. The vote shows only that a legislative solution will not work in this moment of history.

-Nick