Bishop Parsley

Alabama's Bishop Parsley has written his reflections on the Camp Allen meeting here. Here are some excerpts from his letter.

"As a supporter of the Windsor process I must admit that I was disappointed by some of the tone of the Communiqué, which seems inconsistent with much of the spirit of the Windsor Report and was quite different from that of the previous report of the primates' Standing Committee about our General Convention's responses. The covenant process is in its early stages and there is much yet to discuss. "It became clear to the bishops gathered at Camp Allen that the proposal of the primates to establish a Pastoral Council, including appointed bishops from outside our church, to provide oversight within the Episcopal Church is not compatible with our polity. This pastoral scheme outlined in the Communiqué is not workable within our Constitution and Canons, and it was important for us to say this forthrightly."

He seems to indicate that he voted for the bishops' two resolutions – the one asking the Executive Council to reject the plan for a primatial vicar, and the other requesting that the Archbishop meet with the full House of Bishops – but not for the longer, third resolution. He characterizes that third resolution as "somewhat premature and unnecessarily reactive, though much of the content is accurate."

"It is well to remember that this is an on-going process which involves the many-faceted and multi-cultural global community that is the Anglican Communion. It requires a patient and prayerful spirit from all of us. I commend to you a prayer that we have prayed frequently at Camp Allen:

Give to your Church, O God, a bold vision and a daring charity, a refreshed wisdom and a courteous understanding, that the eternal message of your Son may be proclaimed as the good news of the age; through him who makes all things new, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Click here to read Bishop Parsley's entire statement.