A Pastoral Letter to the Congregation of Pohick Church
from the Rector and Sr. Warden

February 4 , 2007

Dear Fellow Pohickians,

As Rector and Sr. Warden, we are writing to you about the ongoing controversy within our denomination—and Pohick’s position within this debate. By so doing, we do not profess, of course, to represent the individual beliefs of every member of the congregation. Rather, we present here the collective position of the Clergy and Vestry after prayerful reflection upon Scripture, and following consultation with the congregation, Bp. Jones, and each other.

From Scripture, we understand our congregation to be members of the larger Body of Christ, as well as individually members of it (1 Cor. 12). Here, St. Paul ’s profound image of the church especially underscores the interdependence of individual Christians, an interdependence that, even in the Apostle’s day, was true both locally and internationally. It is preeminently through our corporate worship, reflection upon Scripture, and missionary labors that Christ is made manifest both to us and to the world.

We also understand that, as the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14 ), Jesus Christ is the rock upon which the Church universal is built (Luke 6:46 –49). Through our baptisms, we join with Christ in his death and resurrection, open our hearts to the redeeming and sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, and commit ourselves to a life of discipleship under his Lordship (BCP 302–5).

Accordingly, as part of “following in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship” (BCP 304), we commit ourselves in the Apostles’ Creed to a belief not only in the Triune God, but also in “the holy catholic Church.” That is, when questions of theology and ethics arise, we seek guidance from the councils of our church at its highest level. There we look for our bishops to discern the mind of Christ through their reflections upon Scripture—reflections that are informed by God-illumined reason, the traditions of the church, and the experiences of the larger body of Christ.

As a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church (USA) has hitherto sought such guidance through its participation in the meetings of the Lambeth Conference. The present controversy over issues of human sexuality stems from our denomination’s departure from that fellowship through some of the actions taken at the 2003 General Convention. This was readily acknowledged in a resolution of regret adopted at the most recent General Convention in 2006 (A160).

That resolution served as a partial response to the recommendations of the 2004 Windsor Report, commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury the previous year as a means of forging a way past the impasse that had arisen. This Report also called upon our denomination to enact a moratorium on the election and consent of bishops living in same-sex relationships, as well as upon public rites of blessing over such unions. While doubts remain about the 2006 General Convention’s commitment to these moratoria, in his meeting with the Vestry in January of this year, Bp. Jones expressed his view that a broad majority within the House of Bishops will abide by them.

On the diocesan and local levels, the 2005 Council of the Diocese of Virginia overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that embraced the findings of the Windsor Report—an action that was fully supported by Pohick’s delegation. Bp. Lee likewise affirmed this Report, as has our newly elected Bishop Coadjutor, the Very Reverend Shannon S. Johnston.

More recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury has acted on yet another recommendation of the Report: the creation of an international Committee charged with drafting an Anglican Covenant to be considered at the next Lambeth Conference in 2008. The envisioned Covenant will make more explicit the expectations of member churches within the Anglican Communion, and it is sure to do so with an eye towards the present controversy. The drafting Committee has already met once and has reportedly made good progress in its work.

Despite these hopeful developments, several congregations in our diocese have felt by reason of conscience that they could not wait for these processes to reach their final stages. To date, fifteen of them (including several former missions of Pohick Church) have voted to leave the diocese and affiliate with one of the African branches of the Anglican Communion.

Although the votes have led to a feeling of liberation for many parishioners in these congregations, they have also resulted in hurtful divisions within several of them. Moreover, these actions have set the stage for protracted property disputes that will likely prove to be very costly. Finally, the crossing of diocesan and provincial jurisdictions disregards another of the Windsor Report’s key recommendations. And while one might argue that such disregard is warranted for a church in a diocese whose leadership has rejected the Windsor Report, that clearly is not the case in the Diocese of Virginia.

At the Vestry Forum on December 17, these points came out in several of the small group discussions. And while it is probably fair to say that a majority of the parishioners involved in these discussions were not pleased by the actions of the 2003 General Convention (though some were), there seemed to be a consensus that our congregation not do anything as rash as the fifteen departing congregations. At the same time, many felt that the Vestry needed to be more proactive in addressing this situation, though in a manner that did not detract from Pohick’s present ministries.

In view of all the preceding considerations, the Vestry at its retreat in January mapped out four steps to be taken. The first two centered on communicating with the congregation these reflections and deliberations through a Pastoral Letter (this document) and in a Vestry Forum to be scheduled for February 4. While the initial hope was to have the letter out in advance of the forum, the demands of other responsibilities on the Rector and Sr. Warden made this impossible. Instead, the Forum date was advertised through other channels, with the letter to be released concurrently.

The third of the steps to be taken was for the Vestry to begin work on a Position Statement that expressed in a concise but meaningful manner the several points contained in this Pastoral Letter.

The final step adopted is for the Vestry to explore potential future scenarios in this international debate, with contingency options mapped out for each. This endeavor will be undertaken by the Planning and Policy Commission, chaired by the Sr. Warden. It should be noted that the Rector agreed to this step only if such planning were clearly understood by the congregation to be a means of facilitating open, proactive engagement, as opposed to spearheading some sort of subversive plot to lead Pohick Church out of the diocese.

Through all of this, the Clergy and Vestry will endeavor to keep the parish informed of new developments, while continuing to focus on our primary mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our local communities. We ask for your prayers and support in the months ahead, as we seek to successfully navigate our parish through these turbulent waters.

Faithfully,

The Reverend Donald D. Binder
Rector

Mr. Thomas S. Mayberry, Jr.
Sr. Warden