August 2005
May they be brought to complete unity to let
the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have
loved me. John
17:23 (NIV)
Dear All Saints' Family,
As Janet and I prepare to leave for vacation I thought it might be a
good time to catch you up on the state of affairs with the Episcopal
Church as we relate to the Anglican Communion. For reasons I do not
understand, very little has been mentioned in diocesan publications
about the events of recent months but I believe we need to be informed
of our situation as it now stands.
The actions of the General Convention 2003 over
issues of human sexuality endangered the unity of the Anglican
Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury called for a commission to
outline ways for the Communion to remain intact. The Lambeth Commission
published their recommendations in the Windsor Report last year, calling
for the Episcopal Church USA and the Church of Canada to express regret
for our actions, express a desire to remain in the communion, and
enact a moratorium on same sex blessings and Episcopal ordinations of
anyone living in relationships outside of marriage until the entire
Communion comes to consensus on the issue. We were also asked to give a
theological rationale for our actions to the Anglican Consultative
Council (ACC) which is a governing body made up of clergy and lay
representatives for all of the provinces.
Shortly after the publication of the Report, our
bishops met and received it for study. They expressed regret for the
pain they had inflicted. but fell short of expressing regret for their
actions. They also expressed a desire to remain in the Anglican
Communion. Later the Primates of the 38 worldwide provinces met to
endorse the Report and called for the Episcopal Church to voluntarily
withdraw our participation in the ACC until all of the provisions of the
Windsor Report had been met. The Primates also affirmed the Lambeth 1998
resolution on human sexuality, which holds to the traditional teachings
of the faith. Stating that only General Convention has the authority to
act for the Episcopal Church, our bishops met again and deferred any
official action on the Windsor Report to General Convention 2006.
The ACC met in June with representatives from
the Episcopal Church attending as observers only. A split vote affirmed
the recommendations of the Primates and removed the Episcopal Church and
the Anglican Church of Canada from all 'official entitles' of the ACC
until Lambeth Conference of 2008. The ACC also affirmed the listening
process proposed by the Primates. Later in the meeting a seven-member
panel presented the 'rationale' for our actions The Living Church
reported that the meeting turned out to be 'less the the Episcopal
Church's finest hour." We Were asked to explain our actions " from
within the sources of authority as we Anglicans have received in
scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection." Instead the
panel emphasized that our action were prophetic, and, rather than
approaching the subject theologically, turned it into a just issue,
comparing it to the ordination of woman. According to many, the overall
presentation did little to respond to the Windsor
So where are we now? Some are calling the
actions of the ACC a temporary suspension. The decisions made in
response to the Windsor Report at next year's General Convention will
likely either cause us to be expelled from the Anglican Communion or it
will bring us back to unity with the overwhelming majority of Christian
churches throughout the word. Pleas pray for our bishops and delegates
to convention that they make wise and Godly decision. Pray that we "be
brought to complete unity to let the word know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me."
God bless,
Fr. David +
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