This book - Centro de Estudos Anglicanos

CHANGING TIMES 137most qualified person to lead GCSP, Hines believed that his relatively conservativeapproach to social issues would be detrimental to the radical program Hinesenvisioned. Caution’s dismissal and the insensitive manner in which it was handledbrought an immediate outcry from African American clergy in northeasterndioceses. Their feelings of anger and betrayal quickly sparked the creation of anew organization, now called the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), in February1968. The clergy who founded the UBE resolved that their organizationalways would fight for the full inclusion of African Americans at every level inthe church’s decision-making process. 17Hines’s second error was underestimating the ability of his fellow bishops toundermine decisions of the national Episcopal Church. Although a local bishopwas supposed to be consulted whenever a GCSP grant was distributed within thegeographical boundaries of his diocese, GCSP staff understandably resisted thiscourtesy because they did not want conservative whites in southern diocesesinterfering with their program of black empowerment. Conservatives argued,however, that because the Episcopal Church was a federation of independentdioceses, the central administrative staff in New York had no authority to act ina diocese against the wishes of its bishop. As a result of this fundamental disagreementover the nature of power in the church, national meetings of the denominationsoon became the scenes of strident debates between conservativeswho objected to GCSP grants to radical groups and liberals who supported thebasic focus of the program. Opposition to GCSP came not only from individualbishops but also from the newly formed Foundation for Christian Theology. Organizedat a parish in Victoria, Texas, the Foundation was dedicated to presenting“a Christian challenge to those who presume to . . . involve the Church in thesocial, political, and economic activities of our times.” Quickly gaining a nationalconstituency, the organization became a persistent critic of Hines and other liberalchurch leaders. 18This polarization over social issues reached a crisis point when the churchassembled for a Special General Convention in August 1969. Because so muchbusiness had remained unfinished following the 1967 General Convention, thedenomination temporarily interrupted its pattern of triennial gatherings and scheduledan additional meeting during an in-between year. The 1969 convention hadbarely come to order, however, when it was interrupted by a group of blackmilitants demanding that the Episcopal Church hear their concerns. Declaring thatwhites had no right unilaterally to set the agenda for the whole denomination,Paul Washington, rector of the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, spokeeloquently in favor of giving the militants a hearing. When whites objected tothis idea, Washington led a walkout of African Americans from the conventionfloor. Although some black deputies left with reluctance—this was the first GeneralConvention to include significant numbers of African American representatives—thedemonstration had its intended effect. The agenda having shifted awayfrom the discussion of internal denominational affairs, delegates turned their attentionto issues in the larger society. According to one liberal priest who was at