General Convention 2009

(July 13, 2009)
Darby McClellan (Johns Memorial, Farmville), what do you think about this issue? ...............It’s hard to tell what is really going on or what they are talking about.

Kelly Harnett (St Anne’s, Appomattox), what do you think about this issue?............ It’s confusing, and I don’t really understand it.

Adam Lees (Johns Memorial, Farmville), what do you think about the issue?............. There seems to be more than meets the eye on the issue. After having read a timeline of the processes, nothing seemed wrong. After all, every path to allow the Diocese of Ecuador Central to handle its own election were exhausted. However, the biggest complaint seems to be that an Ecuadorian was not chosen along with another allegation that Central Ecuador was not given the full opportunity to take care of the matter itself. The Rt. Rev.-elect Luiz Fernando Ruiz Restrepo comes from Colombia (I found that out during a defense of him by a deputy from that delegation). Ecuador, one of the hemisphere’s poorer nations, has become very nationalistic making any issue remotely related to national self-determination and sovereignty especially thorny. Within the last year, Colombia invaded Ecuador while targeting the second-in-command of the brutal, sixties-era, communist-turned-narcotrafficking guerrilla movement named FARC which triggered an emergency OAS meeting to diffuse the crisis and prevent a war which had the potential of becoming more regional if it started. Thus, you can see some of the tensions embedded in an otherwise straightforward matter.

Quite frankly, I understand the plaints of Ecuador Central. I think it would be more appropriate for an Ecuadorian to occupy the position. However, I think that the House of Deputies should certify the election of Bishop-elect Ruiz especially considering that the Diocese itself made the choice to send the matter to General Convention. He will have his work cut out for him, to say the least. God help him.

Zach McIntire (St Anne’s, Appomattox), what do you think about this issue? .............I don’t think that’s it’s a matter of the bishop being elected but with a conservative Legislature within the church the former bishop should have known that conservative negative majority against pushing it to the house of bishops, I think that he failed to Represent his diocese’s conservatism.
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Note: the House of Deputies subsequently approved the election by a little over 70% of the vote