EPISCOPAL URBAN CAUCUS PERSISTS IN POLITICAL EXTREMISM

Approximately 130 people attended the 2004 Episcopal Urban Caucus meeting—including the Rt. Rev. Robert Ihloff of Maryland; several staff members from the Episcopal Church Center, such as the Rt. Rev. Arthur Williams and Maureen Shea, director of the Washington Office; and activists like the Rev. Susan Russell (Claiming the Blessing) and the Rev. Michael Hopkins (former president of Integrity USA).

Once again, the Caucus's rhetoric on the war on terrorism—and especially the war in Iraq—was notably extreme. Among the registration materials was a February 9, 2004 article from the far-left magazine The Nation, titled "The New American Century" by Arundhati Roy.

Roy's piece frames U.S. foreign policy as "neo-imperialist," driven by "the New Racism" and corporate greed. One particularly inflammatory passage—endorsed by the Rev. Canon Ed Rodman, Canon Missioner for the Diocese of Massachusetts and a Caucus coordinator—states: "To applaud the U.S. Army's capture of Saddam Hussein, and therefore in retrospect to justify its invasion and occupation of Iraq, is like deifying Jack the Ripper for disemboweling the Boston Strangler."

Roy further compares Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to Thanksgiving's "pardoned turkey"—a rhetorical slight suggesting token inclusion amid systemic oppression: "A few carefully bred turkeys—the local elites of various countries, a community of wealthy immigrants, investment bankers, the occasional Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice…are given absolution…The remaining millions lose their jobs, are evicted from their homes, have their water and electricity cut, and die of AIDS."

ECHOES AT THE EPISCOPAL PEACE FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON

Much of this critique resurfaced at the Episcopal Peace Fellowship luncheon—a longstanding side event to the Urban Caucus. The keynote speaker was Elizabeth McAlister, a longtime peace activist with over four years in prison for acts of civil disobedience (including trespass on U.S. military bases to protest nuclear weapons).

Her speech painted a sweeping indictment of U.S. policy abroad: war, environmental destruction, and economic exploitation. She claimed the Iraq War stemmed from racism and greed, and asserted that U.S. actions—both military and through UN sanctions—had caused 1.5 to 2 million deaths in Iraq.

She also delivered dire environmental warnings: "Degradation of the earth is nearly complete… We control the snows and rains and weather."

Notably absent from her remarks was any acknowledgment of the 9/11 attacks—or the broader war on terrorism—as context for the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. In fact, observers noted her speech closely resembled one she gave at a 2000 conference—two years before 9/11.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: RODMAN'S CALL TO ACTION

In his keynote, Canon Ed Rodman voiced concern about the Caucus's future, urging attendees to identify new causes to pursue—or risk irrelevance: "If we don't continue to move forward… we might as well declare victory and shut ourselves down."

He proposed globalization and American neo-imperialism as next-stage issues. His closing declaration—"Corrupt systems cannot be reformed. They must be replaced"—was stark, though he offered no specific alternative economic model.

Small-group discussions revealed ambivalence: many participants acknowledged globalization's dual nature but hesitated to defend it. Some leaned toward economic protectionism and an "American-jobs-first" stance.

HOSTILITY TOWARD ORTHODOX ANGLICANS

Anger toward theologically orthodox Anglicans—particularly those opposing the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, non-celibate bishop in the Episcopal Church—was palpable.

Rodman articulated the prevailing sentiment: "It was right for Presiding Bishop Griswold to acknowledge the pain caused by General Convention—but I have a hard time recognizing that pain because it is self-inflicted by their misogyny and homophobia."

He added he would "like to encourage a few people to move on from the church." Others were less restrained: one attendee, learning of a researcher's affiliation with the Institute on Religion and Democracy, responded with a vulgarity and the epithet "f***ing homophobe."

A recurring refrain among attendees was: "They lost. They need to either leave or get over it."

Yet, rather than engage the crisis head-on, most of the meeting followed the national church's lead: pretending the division did not exist.

—Erik Nelson, Research Associate, Episcopal Action / Institute on Religion and Democracy