Bishop Jim Kelsey

I've just learned from one of the sisters of the Community of St. Francis that the Rt. Rev. Jim Kelsey, bishop of Northern Michigan, has died in an automobile accident. +Jim was a third order Franciscan and bishop-visitor of the Community of St. Francis. He joined us at St. John's for worship recently while in town for the sisters' chapter meeting.

I had the good fortune to be at the same table as Bishop Kelsey for worship at General Convention last summer. I found him to be wise, gentle, and firm in his faith, exercising his teaching office in a pastoral and inspiring manner. +Jim was a staunch ally of LGBT folks and a great advocate for the ministry of the baptized. He will be greatly missed. Please pray for Bishop Kelsey, his family, and his diocese.

May his soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

+Newark Speaks On Lambeth Invitations

This was posted on Integrity News. I'm grateful to Bishop Beckwith for his forthright speech and transparency, as well as for his solidarity (and that of other bishops) with Bishop Robinson. My hope is that all of the duly consecrated bishops of the Anglican Communion will end up at Lambeth. - Fr. John

Statement in response to the 2008 Lambeth Conference Invitation

June 1, 2007

For the past two weeks, I have been in regular phone and email conversation with several members of the House of Bishops. We began talking and writing because of our concern that the Archbishop of Canterbury has announced that our colleague and friend, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, will not be receiving an invitation to the Lambeth 2008 Conference, which gathers together all the bishops of the Anglican Communion every ten years. We drafted a letter expressing our disappointment and concern. In that letter we also articulated our hope - that this season of confusion and distress, which has "threatened the bonds of affection" in the Anglican Communion, might be resolved through thoughtful conversation and mutual respect.

In a conference call this afternoon, we decided not to send out our letter. As Gene Robinson has told us, there is a lot of diplomacy going on between the Archbishop's office and the American Church, which may - or may not, create a different ecclesiastical climate and result in invitations to all bishops in good standing in the Church (which certainly includes Bishop Robinson, who was duly elected, consented and consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal church). We also acknowledged to one another that there is great confusion in the wider church about our polity. Unlike most of the rest of the Anglican Communion, which appoints their bishops - we elect ours.

So we decided not to send out our letter - yet. Ours was a decision of strategy. We want to wait a bit to see if the diplomacy will lead to a different, and more satisfying resolution. But as we debated issues of strategy, I could feel my commitment to radical hospitality deepen, and I could hear it in my colleagues. Jesus had a passion for radical welcome - and a disdain for those who were unwilling, or unable, to embrace it. Jesus' invitation extends down through the centuries to include the rest of us. All of us. Welcome should beget welcome. We shouldn't settle for anything less.

+Mark M. Beckwith