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Griswold Acts Like Nixon
by The Rev. Dr. George Naff Gray, Jr.
VIRTUEONLINE EXCLUSIVE
www.virtueonline.org
When Richard Nixon's presidency swirled with domestic troubles, Nixon successfully shifted America's attention towards foreign policy initiatives. Nixon's foreign policy successes with Moscow and Peking helped him secure a landslide reelection victory in 1972. Frank Griswold, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA), has been acting like Richard Nixon by traveling overseas to shift attention away from his failed leadership of ECUSA.
Two significant events have occurred while Griswold has been away. The first was the Global South meeting of Anglicans in Cairo, Egypt with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams participating. At this gathering, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (the Network) and the "unscriptural innovations" of ECUSA were recognized. These results certainly come as no surprise to Griswold, but he does not want ECUSA to be focused on these acknowledged facts.
Griswold has sought at best to ignore the Network and at worst to destroy the Network through Via Media. Griswold does not want the rank and file delegates of ECUSA's next General Convention to be reminded of the Network or the "unscriptural innovations" that he led General Convention 2003 to approve. Being in South Korea and Taiwan helps Griswold to shift attention away from the Cairo gathering and escalating domestic troubles.
The second news item of significance while Griswold has been away was a report made from his office that thousands continue to leave ECUSA. Membership declines are increasing annually since General Convention 2003. Apparently the ordination of a practicing homosexual bishop and the acknowledgement of blessing same sex marriages have not met with membership gains that were anticipated by Griswold and other ECUSA leaders like George Warner, the President of the House of Deputies. Such loses do not bode well for Griswold's leadership. No one would want its organization focused on such declines, but it is much worse. When the United States was founded, the Episcopal Church was one of the major Christian churches in the colonies. Today on any given Sunday in America attendance at all ECUSA churches combined is below 3/10's of 1 % of the American population. Being away was a very good political move to shift attention away from these membership declines.
Being out of the country during the criticisms leveled during the Cairo meeting and the reporting of membership numbers where adroit political considerations by Frank Griswold. Griswold possesses Nixon's political acumen. As ECUSA races to become an insignificant religious sect in America, it is good religious politics for Frank Griswold to be out of the country. As General Convention 2006 draws closer don't be surprised, if Griswold acts more and more like Richard Nixon politically.
--The Rev. Dr. George Naff Gray, Jr. is the rector of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
