On the Scene

Phoenix

THE Episcopal general convention, a ten-day triennial affair, began this year as a masterpiece of damage control carried out by the bishops in multiple closed-door executive sessions. As a consequence, the early days were marked by serenity and extreme politeness, though with an undercurrent of tension. This tension was not lessened by the sanguine press releases of the Episcopal News Service, which reported fully and frequently on everything, stating outright that the one subject on everyone’s mind was sexuality. But in the final days, the controlled serenity began to break down. The end brought the very real possibility of there becoming two Episcopal churches, one traditional and one freewheeling radical, as many participants, both lay and clerical (including bishops), signed a declaration of conscience stating that they could not go along with some of the convention’s decisions.

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H. N. Kelley

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Phoenix

THE Episcopal general convention, a ten-day triennial affair, began this year as a masterpiece of damage control carried out by the bishops in multiple closed-door executive sessions. As a consequence, the early days were marked by serenity and extreme politeness, though with an undercurrent of tension. This tension was not lessened by the sanguine press releases of the Episcopal News Service, which reported fully and frequently on everything, stating outright that the one subject on everyone’s mind was sexuality. But in the final days, the controlled serenity began to break down. The end brought the very real possibility of there becoming two Episcopal churches, one traditional and one freewheeling radical, as many participants, both lay and clerical (including bishops), signed a declaration of conscience stating that they could not go along with some of the convention’s decisions.