When the Moon is in the Seventh House: Bishop Schori spins the Lambeth Conference as shunning democractic principles for festive hippie "be-in"

Get your buckets of popcorn and drafts of butterbeer and pull up a bean bag chair and watch this whopper of a tale. If you can. We recommend that you play the video above as you watch the video. It's mighty helpful in finding just that right mood for the groovy Lambeth Be-In.

Push play.

The question is - why is 815 holding a press conference anyway? Obviously they are trying to solve a problem, like perhaps big-time litigation damage control? Mutiny in the ranks? Puffing up a bunch of bad news? Deflection from another event next week? Lambeth 1.10 will stand unchanged for another ten years?

The thing is - the problem is staring them right in the face and instead they choose to engage in a centralized PR campaign instead of actually solving the problem. David Booth Beers, call your office. In addition to slamming the international communications revolution called the internet (it's so inconvenient) sniffing that it's just "discarnate communication," the Presiding Bishop publicly disses democracy. So much for democratic principles - it's so overrated! So last century! Or two.

Votes - wait, what did she just say? Rewind video. What? Holy cow, this is is shark-infested waters, there she is, poo-pooing democracy - for what? Things have not been going well? Off with their heads. Is she serious - she dismiss democracy as just a futile exercise of winners and losers. It's staggering.

The word of the day is autocracy.

Remember, Bishop Schori was very clear when she returned from the Primates Meeting in Tanzania last that her focus of TEC will be to outlive and out maneuver the rest of the communion, she made that quite clear. She will wait them out with what she calls conversation. She makes it clear that freedom and democratic voting "leads generally to winners and losers." Yep, she actually said that. Oh for pete's sake. No wonder Thomas Jefferson was not so fond of the Anglican Church of Virginia - what later became the Episcopal Church. Patrick Henry, James Madison, George Mason, and George Washington - forgetaboutit. The amoral stance, that liberty produces winners and losers and so waves it off in lieu of her code word conversation. Time for another viewing of Braveheart.

Conversation means conversion - she says so. And conversion is the ambition of the progressive majority of TEC. Conversation is a political technique, a form of wearing down opposition. The recipients are love bombed into complacency. Watching this video, with the matter-of-fact Delores Umbridgian approach, oh so sweet, so filled with smiles when they know - TEC knows it doesn't have the votes to do legislation. So they subvert the process and reimagine the whole thing. That's called "design." This so-called conversation is a technique and the goal remains clear. If anyone has the courage to stand against this method of tightly controlled dynamics of so-called conversations, watch what happens. Bishop O'Neill may come knocking at your door.

So it's all about conversation and not about decision, not about voting, not about choose you this day and all that, and certainly not about freedom and liberty and doing what is right, and holy, and good. Sorry, martyrs, you goofed.

LATER: It's a new church?

EVEN LATER: Why is Ian talking through a schedule? Does he think the media can't read?

MUCH LATER: There's Rachel Zoll of the AP talking about GAFCON. Wohoo! Is it a threat, she asks? Is anyone going to represent 815? Oh my, the PB - she's "sending" Bishop O'Neil, who is suing anything that moves in Colorado, to "go be with" the Bishop of Jerusalem, as though he's under seize. Talk about PATRONIZING. Poor Bishop of Jerusalem - he needs Bishop O'Neill to come and hold his hand. Scary bishops from Africa and Asia and South America and the Middle East and Australia and the Bishop of Rochester too are coming and the Bishop of Jerusalem needs Bishop O'Neill to look after him. Didn't I see this once on an episode of the Soprano's? I supposed we Anglicans have our own version of the Soprano's - perhaps it's called The Godmother.

Not exactly this one.

"Import conflict," heaven's to betsy. It's not the Bishop of Jerusalem - it's his TEC-funded staff that's gone bunky. Sounds to me like 815 is sending Guido O'Neil to keep an eye on the bishop, lest he step too far out of line. The problem is that GAFCON introduces a two-sided conversation, what a novelty. And if you dare to speak a different view than the Official View, you are stamped as "importing conflict." I supposed every football team in the NFL "imports conflict." The Olympics import conflict. Conflict means people are breathing. What does she fear? Could it be a reality check on d-i-v-i-s-i-o-n. One wonders if she's even read Judge Bellows decision yet. Doubt it.

Ruth Gledhill asks via e-mail about the Anglican Church. Bishop Schori does not like the term "Anglican Church." More vastly different contexts, and stuff like that.

There's Kim Lawton. Gene Robinson is not invited. Will TEC provide opportunities for a meet and greet with Gene? TEC pissed. "We do expect that Bishop Robinson will be present around the edges" and the answer is yes. The bishops in Province One are going to be his Public Relations Team, it seems. And of course, Integrity is mounting a General Convention-style onslaught on Canterbury. And then here comes Ian, who seem to be the resident translator. Wonder if he's found a dictionary yet?

One does get the sense here that 815 is defensive. What's up with that?

Here's Julia Duin via e-mail. About the speaker-guy Brian McLearon. Rowan's fault.

Oh, here we go into this pseudo oneness. A "communion that is in the process of becoming," says Ian. Of becoming what? A mess?

Wow, this is incredibly boring. Oh - wait. The revolutionary nature of tea parties? Hospitality initiative? "Best rest into this?" Where did Ian learn to speak? Go to GAFCON. It'll be funner.

Holy cow, they just showed the audience and NO ONE IS THERE. Good heavens - no one is there. You can hear the echo in the room - but practically no one is there. It's such a stark contrast to this.

Oh here's a question about why is Lambeth having Bible Studies? It's coming from Chicago. "I Am" - the incarnate presence of God in the world. "How do we become God's incarnate presence in the world?"

um, er - did she really say that?

Does she think we're equal to Jesus? How do we see the incarnate God? AHHHHHH!!! Last time we checked his name is still Jesus. But apparently, He's not quite enough for these two.

One wonders if Ian might do well to get a job at Starbucks. Imagine if he made latte's the way he fashions sentences. They'd be filled with froth.

Do we think for a minute that the PB is "diminished" because Martyn Minns won't be at Lambeth? Doubt it.

So Gene is going to be out on the fringe. It's kinda pathetic. If TEC really was serious about making him a bishop, they'd not leave him out in the cold. For Peter Akinola, if you pick on one of his bishops, you've picked on them all. Now that's community.

Kim asks why 815 is sidestepping the issues? Why not plough through them instead of letting them continue to fester? Old processes - wait, voting is an old process? Voting causes hurt? Therefore voting is bad???

Guess all of these efforts in the 60s were pointless?
Dr. King, big time oops.

What is going on up there? What'd they serve for lunch - bowls of stupid?

815 and the progressive West knows it's outnumbered and so the idea of having a legislative session at Lambeth was shelved. Unbelievable.

It sounds like 815 is breaking it to the media (at least those who showed up) and to the rank and file Episcopal Churchians that there is going to be no work done on changing the communion to be inclusive of gays and lesbians. Zipideedoodah. Not going to happen. Lambeth 1.10 stands. And will stand untouched for another ten years. That's what the Presiding Bishop is attempting to deal with in this "press conference." They are trying to deflect the "story" away from overturning Lambeth 1.10 to the bishops now shutting themselves off and having their groovy festive "be in." A closed shop. No hanging shingles, no hanging chads. The rest is on the fringe.

And there we are.

Lambeth 1.10 will not be overturned or revisited. It now stands for the next ten years.

Now that's good news.

Julia is now asking via e-mail "I'm a tad confused, no resolutions voted on?" That's exactly what was said.

"It's not my meeting," said Katharine Jefferts Schori.


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What else can we do? Here's Bob: