Two Episcopalian Ministries

The purpose of this research is to examine the contrasting views of military chaplaincy of the Episcopal Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which the different views of each ministry have recently emerged, and then to discuss the history and position of the Episcopal Church on providing ministry to Episcopal military personnel and their families, the role and ministry of the Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, and the role and ministry of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and its view of military chaplains and chaplaincy.

When on March 24, 1990, Charles Keyser was consecrated as Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, the ceremony, held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., brought to the surface a controversy of religious values within the Episcopal ministries. Representatives of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship interrupted the consecration ceremony to stage a brief protest, in which EPF Chair Ann McElroy read a statement that urged the Presiding Bishop and the policymaking bodies of the Episcopal Church to not only stop the consecration but abolish the office of Suffragan Bishop for the armed Forces altogether. The protest was not unexpected, for the EPF's views of the office of Suffragan Bishop appear to have been common knowledge. Nor was it particularly disruptive, for written into the ritual of the ordination of a Bishop in the Book of Common Pr

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the bishop and his staff. Our priests and laity sometimes get lost among the "general Protestant" spectrum within the armed forces. Denominational identity is important to both chaplains and laity and should be fostered. The proposed jurisdiction would also break down some of the present separation among the three services, since it would gather representatives of all services into one convention. A separate jurisdiction might seem to work against the ecumenical thrust of the chaplaincies. However, the unity of the body of Christ depends on the faith and integrity of each of its members. Diversity of gifts can be affirmed and celebrated as long as we hold to the one spirit who is the common center. . . A separate jurisdiction need not impair the ecumenical dimension of ministry within the armed forces, but could enhance it. Also, ecclesiastical jurisdiction might encourage good stewardship (Study Commission, 1976, p. 16). On this view, the BAF could facilitate a programmatically peripatetic role for the Episcopal ministry visavis the military. A spiritual population boundary rather than a physical geographic boundary would define the limits of this specialize diocese. One builtin difficulty with this concept was the fact tha

Category: Philosophy - T