Bishop Love’s Address to Convention
from the Diocese of Albany website:
[…] As much as I would like to come here this evening and spend the next 20 to 30 minutes talking about all the positive things going on around the Diocese, and there are in fact many positive things for which you are to be commended that I could highlight, I will leave that to others to share in their various reports. Tonight, I need to talk about the crisis that faces this Diocese and Christianity in general. The Diocese of Albany is in the midst of a battle whose outcome is not yet known. The very nature and character of this Diocese as we have known it, is under attack from forces outside as well as within. Each of us must decide how we will respond.
We have all read the final chapter. We know how the war ends — God is triumphant! The question is – whose side will we be on when that final day comes? Will we “Stand Firm in the Holy Spirit, striving together as One” in Christ and His Holy Word, or will we cave under the pressure of political correctness and special interest groups, being driven by the shifting winds of culture and society? Will we speak God’s truth in love, or will we embrace false teachings to the physical, spiritual and psychological detriment of others? Will we be “strong and courageous” as God commanded Joshua as he was preparing to lead the Israelites across the river Jordan into the Promise Land, or will we cower in fear of what others may say or think or do? The decision is ours.
Last summer, with the passage of Resolution B-012 by the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, a ticking time bomb was launched into the middle of the Diocese of Albany, waiting to explode. As the clock ticked away, the level of tension and division between those with differing opinions in the Diocese regarding same-sex marriage intensified. Old wounds were reopened, and much of the goodwill created by the 150th Diocesan Convention and the visit of the Presiding Bishop evaporated. Many throughout the Diocese (Clergy and Laity) found themselves on edge waiting to see how I would respond – some hoping I would give in to the demands of B-012, while the majority prayed I would remain true to the Holy Scriptures and the Church’s traditional understanding of marriage.
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