c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Fudge, that most sticky confection, is an apt metaphor for the state of the Episcopal Church, according to the Rev. Susan Russell.

So apt, in fact, that Russell, who heads an advocacy group for gay and lesbian Episcopalians, may bring a batch to the denomination’s General Convention to be held June 13-21 in Columbus, Ohio.

Given the church’s recent turmoil, it might be the Rocky Road variety.

For Russell, the nuanced legislation proposed for Columbus epitomizes the church’s willingness to mix a variety of ingredients. “I happen to think fudge is a grand thing,” Russell said.

But when conservative Episcopalians derisively use the phrase “Anglican fudge,” they’re referring to the church’s mix-it-all-together-and-let-it-sit recipe for holding the denomination together.

At the triennial convention, not only must Episcopal leaders choose a new presiding bishop to guide the 2.3 million-member church through the next nine years, but they must also _ for the first time as a national body _ respond to an international outcry within the worldwide Anglican Communion since the U.S. church ordained an openly gay bishop in 2003.

Perhaps most challenging for the church will be finding a way to leave Columbus intact. Some conservatives are threatening to bolt if things don’t go their way at the convention.

“The question before the Episcopal Church and before the Anglican Communion is, can we stay at the table, the Lord’s table, while we fight about this?” Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, whose ordination set off the outcry, told the PBS program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.”

Priests, bishops and lay delegates will consider at least 11 resolutions dealing with homosexuality and the U.S. church’s relationship to other churches in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Additional resolutions may be proposed at the convention.

Conservatives have pressed the church to fully adopt the so-called Windsor Report _ a reprimand issued by Anglican leaders in 2005 _ that calls the U.S. church to greater repentance. The resolutions scheduled for Columbus mostly stop short on matters dear to conservatives, including the Windsor report.

In asking Episcopalians whether they want to remain a part of the global communion, the Windsor Report calls on Episcopal leaders to express regret for Robinson’s ordination, and calls for moratoriums on same-sex blessings and the ordination of more openly gay bishops.

One resolution under consideration in Columbus urges “very considerable caution” before choosing a bishop whose “manner of life presents a challenge” to the wider church. Another exhorts bishops to not authorize public blessings for lesbian and gay couples, though it does not prohibit the action.

And while apologizing for “the pain that others have experienced with respect to our actions at the General Convention of 2003,” none of the resolutions apologizes for the actual ordination.

“It’s clear there’s going to be a huge battle between obfuscation and clarity,” said Kendall Harmon, a conservative leader in the diocese of South Carolina. “If a fudge is chosen and the Anglican Communion leaders are not happy, that’s going to be a strong choice for further distancing” from the American church, Harmon said.

Some conservatives have already distanced themselves from the seven candidates to succeed Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. According to Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, the de facto leader of the conservatives, four of the candidates have already proven too liberal.

The Rev. Ian Douglas, a professor at Episcopal Divinity School and co-chair of a church panel on reconciliation with the Anglican Communion, said the church will have to find a way to “live with newfound differences in a radically multicultural and global family of churches.”

The candidates for presiding bishop _ essentially the chief executive officer of the church _ hail from dioceses in Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., Las Vegas, New Orleans, Birmingham, Ala., Lexington, Ky., and Bogota, Colombia.

KRE/PH END BURKE