To say that The Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican Communion have faced challenges in recent years regarding their official positions on same-sex marriage would be a broad understatement. But the Diocese of Central Florida has a continuing voice in the conversation around this topic, and the Rev. Phyllis Bartle, rector of St. Jude’s, Orange City, will play a crucial role.

In October 2022, Bartle received notice of her appointment to the Task Force for Communion Across Differences in The Episcopal Church. This group, which continues the work of the 2018 task force of the same name, of which the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer was a member, is charged with the duty of seeking “a lasting path forward for mutual flourishing” consistent with TEC polity and the 2015 “Communion Across Difference” statement of the House of Bishops.

As specified by the General Convention in appointing the task force, half of its 12 members hold a view that “marriage is a commitment between a man and a woman” (Book of Common Prayer, 422) and half hold that marriage is a “covenant between two people” in the presence of God (Resolution 2018-A085).

“I’m honored,” Bartle says of her appointment. “I’m extremely excited with a little bit of trepidation.” However, she recognizes that both her long-term experience as both a priest and a senior deputy to the General Convention have prepared her for the task ahead.

“I read through the blue-book report that came out of the most recent General Convention,” Bartle said. “I’m glad they put the current task force together, because I think it’s going to be important.” Although the previous task force accomplished a great deal, she believes more work remains, including a practical element, the how-to of the path forward.

“I hope that I can bring the practical into it,” she said. “We can do all these proposals of how our lives ought to be, but bringing people together peaceably is a very different story.”

Bartle pointed to the 2008 diocesan Clergy Conference, when it became clear that some churches were going to leave the diocese over the marriage issue. “I remember how heartbreaking that was for me personally, because most of the clergy that were leaving were friends,” she said. “But yet God didn’t call me to leave. … I think it’s like a divorce. I hope we can find a way to keep the church from divorcing yet again.”

“I am a biblical conservative; that is, I believe that the Bible is our footstool and our nailing place and where we stand for all decisions,” she said. “And while I respect the fact that different people understand it differently, I think the mandate for traditional marriage is pretty clear in the Bible.”

The 2024 Task Force for Communion Across Differences held a get-acquainted meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, in November. Bartle was not able to attend because of a previously planned trip with her husband, the Rev. Ed Bartle, priest-in-charge at Holy Spirit, Apopka. However, a Zoom meeting was held in January to flesh out the major topics to address in the coming months. Rev. Phyllis volunteered to serve on a subcommittee that met, also via Zoom, near the end of March and walked through the ordination process, elections and transitions.

A follow-up in-person meeting of the entire task force is planned for April, once again in Baltimore. As Rev. Phyllis serves, she will seek to uphold her biblical principles, including Christ’s call to love. “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a sanctuary for saints,” she said. “We’ve all got our own brokenness.”