In a nutshell. . .

We were able to clarify that neither he nor anyone else gets disciplined in our church for beliefs. . .

Bishop Leo Frade, Diocese of Southeast Florida

Wow, just wow.

H/t to Stand Firm.

Bishop Lee of Virginia also did not consent to inhibition of Bishop Duncan

From The Lead [boldface mine]:

I along with the two other most senior active bishops in the House of Bishops were asked by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to review the evidence and give consent to moving forward with the inhibitions of the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin on the charge of abandonment of the communion of this Church. I gave my consent for the inhibition of Bishop Schofield. It is clear that by his actions and their result he has abandoned the communion of this Church. I did not give my consent for the inhibition of Bishop Duncan at this time. The Diocese of Pittsburgh, which Bishop Duncan leads, has not formalized any change to their membership within the Episcopal Church. I do not take either of these actions lightly, the giving or withholding of consent to these inhibitions. I fear that Bishop Duncan’s course may be inevitable. But I also believe that it is most prudent to take every precaution and provide every opportunity for Bishop Duncan and the leadership of the Diocese of Pittsburgh to turn back from the course they seem to desire and instead to remain in the Episcopal Church.

The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee
Bishop of Virginia

Bishop Wimberly of the Diocese of Texas also did not consent to the inhibition of Bishop Duncan (Pittsburgh), but Bishop Frade of the Diocese of Southeast Florida did consent.

Stand Firm: Report from the field: David Peoples writes about Southeast Florida’s post-HOB meeting

From Sarah Hey at Stand Firm [boldface mine]:

I continue to be amazed at the courage of traditional Episcopalians, both clergy and laity, in all areas of the Episcopal church.

From the email bag and posted with the sender's kind permission:

The post-HOB meeting was uneventful. Three bishops (Frade, Schofield, and Sed) gave their very favorable impressions, both of the atmosphere and outcome. While they expect lingering opposition from some of the Global South Primates, they feel certain that the HOB did enough to satisfy more than a clear majority of Primates, thereby avoiding any discipline. All three mentioned several times that this was simply a pause until GC '09. Frade, in particular, said that he fully expects GC '09 to approve a same sex liturgy and lift any moratorium on consecrating homosexual bishops. In what I took to be a change from the generally "neutral" pronouncements he tends to make in public, Bishop Frade was quite clear that he intends to personally work for those outcomes at the next Convention.

After the meeting I privately approached the bishop in order to resign from the Diocesan Executive Board, effective immediately.

Read it all.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

From the MiamiHerald.com:

Rift over gay clergy cools down for now

Four years after a feud erupted in the Episcopal Church over the appointment of a gay bishop and the formal blessing of same-sex unions, a surprising thing happened at the church's House of Bishops assembly in New Orleans last week: The dispute appeared to cool -- for now.

''I say it was nothing short of a small miracle,'' says Bishop Leo Frade, of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.

But that doesn't mean vocal opinions don't remain on both sides of the issue.

Earlier this year, the leaders of the Anglican Communion, the worldwide overseer of Episcopal churches, demanded its U.S. church not install any more gay bishops, stop blessing same-sex unions and try to install more conservative bishops to accommodate more traditional church members. [Not sure where this last point came from - ed]

Liberal clergy opposed the demands. Conservative clergy sided with the Anglican Communion and its leader, Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury.

In the end, both sides issued a statement to the Communion and the Anglican Church's 38 primates -- archbishops or regional presiding bishops -- agreeing in spirit to the demands of no more gay bishops and same-sex unions for now, but gently rejecting Communion input on future U.S. nominations.

The concessions won't jeopardize the status of V. Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire whose 2003 election started the controversy. Nor does it invalidate blessings previously given at same-sex commitment ceremonies.

''I can't tell you how, but we all came together on this one,'' says Frade, who attended the New Orleans assembly. In the end, the vast majority of the bishops . . . voted for the statement that we presented to the church's 38 primates.''

Still, not all South Florida Episcopal clergy agree that the statement and concessions healed the rift or that it eliminates the possibility of a future church split.

''It is wonderful news that the Episcopal Church in the United States remains intact. But to me it was sort of like putting a Band-Aid on the sun,'' says Father Orlando Addison, rector of St. James in the Hills Episcopal Church in Hollywood.

``It just wasn't enough. The truth is the bishops and priests on either side of this issue are no closer to agreeing. This statement simply puts things off till the next general assembly of the church in 2009. [By which time, I will be long gone! - ed]

``Hopefully then [2009?? He's kidding, right?] we can come to a resolution. But I fear we won't, and the church will split.''

That fear received a small boost Friday when Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, unsatisfied with the New Orleans compromise, announced he wanted to form a splinter church.

The problem, Addison says, is that both sides disagree on how literally to take the Bible, which some conservative clergy say condemns homosexuality. . .

. . . Episcopal clergy like Father Sharrod Mallow, rector of All Saints Church in downtown Fort Lauderdale, argue that talk of an eventual church split is hype.

''The church is not going to split, not now, not at the next assembly,'' Mallow says. ``I'm amazed at what I hear -- especially in the media -- about our impending destruction. It's just not true.''

Read it all. As I've said before, it never ceases to amaze me how each one can see it through his own prism and ignore the rest.