September Meeting in New York
The following statement was released on August 18 by the Anglican Communion Office:
Following consultation with the Presiding Bishop the Archbishop of Canterbury
has asked Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia and Bishop John Lipscomb of Southwest
Florida to convene a small group of bishops from the Episcopal Church (USA) to
meet together to discuss some of the difficult issues facing the Church and to
explore possible resolutions. Along with Bishop Griswold, those invited include
Bishop Katherine [sic] Jefferts Schori, Bishop Bob Duncan, and Bishop Jack Iker.
The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion will also attend. The first
meeting will be taking place in New York in the first half of September.
The story has also been reported, with considerable background, by Episcopal News Service.
Response of The Episcopal Majority
We have just received word of the meeting being convened in New York under the auspices of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
For some time now we have been dismayed at the actions of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to wit:
- the Archbishop’s quick disapproval of the actions of our General Convention;
- his approval of a "two-tiered" Anglicanism;
- his continued support (implicit or explicit) of those forces in The Episcopal Church seeking our displacement within the Anglican Communion;
- his support - through his appointment of legates - of a gathering of so called "Windsor bishops," those who have themselves denounced our General Convention; and
- his support of the missionary endeavor in America (CANA) under the auspices of the Church of Nigeria, despite the fact that such an effort was explicitly forbidden by the Windsor Report which the Archbishop otherwise upholds.
- to deny any “alternate primatial oversight” for Episcopal dioceses;
- to oppose firmly the CANA initiative;
- to make clear that our sincere attempt at moderation at General Convention has been rebuffed by forces at home and abroad; and
- to affirm once more the consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson and the legitimate right of homosexual persons to all the Sacraments of this church.
posted by Lisa Fox at 8/19/2006 02:26:00 PM
9 Comments:
This is just great ... well done and about time the REAL Episcopal Church started speaking out in rebuttal to the radical religious right trying to hijack it away from us!
One question ... how does one "sign up" as a supporter????
We might want to think about developing some White Papers about the issues involved in both the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion. Bill Coats has provided a good start. How can we make those kinds of Papers happen? (Is there a decision-making body in the Episcopal Majority?)
Fred, do you mean by "the REAL Episcopal Church" what it largely is now, or do you mean what it had been for a couple of centuries before the radical secular left hijacked it away from us?
*sigh* so this is what goes on everywhere I look--the right vs the left. I'm somewhere to the left of center myself, but I don't go bezerk when somebody else in my church--or my government--has a different opinion. In things relegated to Caesar [and it's getting more czar-like every day--my opinion] I can vote the bums out. In things relegated to God, I reckon the new commandment is still in good operating order. So what do you say we all hold hands and find something else to talk about--e.g.,the things we have in common--until Love can help us sort through the things we are so afraid of?
Interesting, the true religious right would hardly view orthodox anglicans (those you deem the religious right) as being conservative at all. Being a libertarian at heart it is interesting to note that the left doesn't realize it is out of the mainstream, just as much as any fundementalist baptist.
I guess you could argue that Jesus wasn't "mainstream". Others would argue he isn't part of the left's "mainstream".
What is the consensus of the East and West? I guess that put's the religious left out of mainstream Eastern and Western Christianity. The proof is in the Bishops of the entire church not just the North American Church.
The catch is, that if the ABC were to do the things requested, the global south primates would leave. It would be the end of the Anglican Communion. As much as the author of this piece probably would love for that to happen, it is not what the ABC desires, I think, and so unlikely. In fact, I think ECUSA has only two choices; either to compromise with the orthodox and allow some form of separate province or oversight, in which case it will be eased out of the commmunion at some point or other, though I'm not sure it would care by that time, or to refuse any compromise, in which case either the ABC, the global south, or the orthodox diocese themselves, or some combination of the above, will start some new jurisdiction without their consent, leading to the choice of ECUSA taking it or litigating to punish the orthodox.
I think a mutually acceptable separation without coercion, as the ABC has asked for, would be the better route. But as evident from this website, there are a lot of folks who want to feed the lawyers.
For the past few weeks I've been reading the essays posted on thie "Episcopal Majoryity" website. Then I checked out those who've signed their names as supporting this web site. I hate to break it to ya, but most of youse guys who have written essays claiming to be "moderate" are definitely not moderate. As one of the few people with a truly moderate philosophy in the Episcopal Church I must point this out to those of you liberals who think you are a moderate: "The Emporor isn't wearing any clothes!"
As another duck on the pond suggested (and I am right of center, but traditionalist): You, Lisa Fox, and Hugh Tudor-Foley, and so many of the others--you are so, so, so confused and so far away from Jesus Christ and what is important for today's world in terms of what Christianity "does" for someone and what is important in Christ and Christ's teachings and being "saved" etc. Being a presence--this whole blog and many comments just prove how lost modern, leftist, social-political, secular, vague Christian agendas are--lost and mis-directed...
Your comment is quite amusing. For the humor value of it, I have allowed it to post here.
You call several of us out by name and you spew some vague convictions, but ... alas ... you post anonymously. If you wish to speak on behalf of YourLordAndSaviorJesusChrist, I would expect you to "own" your comments.
And so, dear Anonymous, that consigns you to the hell of those who refuse to claim Christ Jesus in public. If you want to be taken seriously, then sign your name. Until and unless you do so, you will remain a laughingstock.
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