Bishop: ECUSA-PCUSA separation is a 'scandal' By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Tuesday, February 14, 2006 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bishop Douglas E. Theuner, an ecumenical advisory member of the General Assembly Council, is encouraging Presbyterians to study the paper "Mutual Recognition and Mutual Reconciliation of Ministries" in hopes of a closer relationship between the PCUSA and the Episcopal Church (USA). Douglas E. Theuner Theuner made his pitch to the General Assembly Council during its meeting last week in Louisville. When he asked how people were familiar with the document prepared by Churches United in Christ, only a handful raised their hands. "There's the problem," he said. "You are the leadership and you know nothing about this, and that alone will kill this document." Theuner called the separation of the ECUSA and the PCUSA "a scandal to the gospel." "There are no two denominations so closely related through tradition, theology and history. … It is scandalous to hear you struggle with the same issues," he said. He said the Churches Uniting in Christ document will eventually appear before the appropriate bodies, but not this year, although it is circulating in the form of a study document. Theuner said it was probably "the most significant step forward in church unity we have seen in many years." He said that following an ecumenical study group on the document in New Hampshire, the executive presbyter of Northern New England Presbytery called it a "fine document." Theuner did admit that one word used in the document would kill it in the PCUSA. That word: bishop. "I'm not bad," he said. "I'm a bureaucrat … don't let that one word kill the whole thing. I don't ask you to approve it, but give it a chance." He ended by saying "I love you, you love us, God loves us all and hopefully we all love God. Please find this document and study it. Get it in the consciousness of your church." Theuner is the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. His successor is V. Gene Robinson, who left his wife and children to live with his homosexual partner. His elevation to bishop created shockwaves throughout the ECUSA and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Theuner preached the sermon at Robinson's consecration, saying that Robinson would "stand as a symbol of the unity of the church in a way in which none of the rest of us can." He also fired a conservative priest and had ridiculed conservative Episcopalians, calling them "ecclesiastical nabobs." In a letter to his diocese on Feb. 13, Robinson admitted he was in an alcohol treatment center to "to deal with my increasing dependence on alcohol." "Over the 28 days I will be here, I will be dealing with the disease of alcoholism – which, for years, I have thought of as a failure of will or discipline on my part, rather than a disease over which my particular body simply has no control, except to stop drinking altogether," he wrote. He said this "extraordinary experience of community here will inform my ministry for years to come. I eagerly look forward to continuing my recovery in your midst. Once again, God is proving his desire and ability to bring an Easter out of Good Friday."

Respond to this article

Home · Archives · The Layman · Subscribe to The Layman · PLC Publications Presbyterian Lay Committee · Online book reviews · Feedback · Links