Who's not listening?

George Conger writes an excellent article. I post it below followed by Susan Russell's (President of Integrity) response and mine to hers.

Here's George:

"US Bishops at Lambeth"
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by George Conger
[The Church of England Newspaper]

THE ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury and his senior advisors met privately at last week with eight American bishops at Lambeth Palace to discuss the Windsor Report and the Episcopal Church’s forthcoming June 13-21 General Convention. The May 24 meeting is the latest in a series of gatherings held by Dr Williams with English, American and overseas Church leaders to keep the conversation on the unity of the Anglican Communion alive.

General Convention — the governing body of the confederation of dioceses that make up the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) — will offer ECUSA’s formal response to the recommendations of the Windsor Report, setting out what it sees as its relation and responsibilities towards the Anglican Communion. Dr Williams has warned ECUSA that it cannot dictate the terms of its membership in the Anglican Communion, and that there will be consequences — as yet unspecified — for the actions of the 74th General Convention, unless it responds to the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

Discussion of the Windsor Report and its recommendations will come to Convention through the 61-page report “One Baptism, One Hope in God’s Call” prepared by the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.The April 7 report recommended the Church “exercise very considerable caution” in electing bishops “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church,” but stopped short of a moratorium on gay bishops requested by overseas leaders and traditionalists within the Episcopal Church.

The Commission also recommended bishops not sanction public liturgies for the blessing of same-sex unions. However the current practise of private unofficial ceremonies would be permitted through the rubric of offering appropriate “individual pastoral care for gay and lesbian Christians”. General Convention will consider the commission’s resolutions to slow but not halt the push for gay bishops and blessings alongside a resolution submitted by Newark lay delegate, Dr Louie Crew, that would change references to “man and woman” and “husband and wife” in the Book of Common Prayer to “two persons”. This would permit clergy to solemnise the weddings of “same-sex couples in those civil jurisdictions that permit same-sex marriage.”Archbishop Williams, however, has cautioned Convention not to end the House of Bishop’s moratorium on consecrating ‘gay’ priests to the episcopate or permitting rites for the blessing of same-sex unions until the Communion is of common mind.

“I believe if there is ever to be a change in the discipline and teaching of the Anglican Communion on this matter it should not be the decision of one Church alone,” Archbishop Williams said on February 17. The actions of the 2003 Convention were “seen in the Communion as the decision of one Church which has consequences and repercussions for others that they have not fully owned themselves,” Archbishop Williams said. He said the Anglican Communion “will expect reaction to what has been said around the Communion” from the General Convention. “On a matter where traditionally where there has been a very clear teaching” there must be “the highest degree of consensus for such a radical change”.

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace told The Church of England Newspaper the May 24 discussions were of a private nature and no statement on the deliberations would be forthcoming. However sources familiar with the gathering stated the discussions were in line with the Archbishop’s oft repeated desire to keep the conversation within the Church going forward. Progressive deputies to General Convention had criticised the meeting, fearing it was a ‘strategy session’ to usurp the constitutional authority of General Convention — a charge sources familiar with the meeting tell The Church of England Newspaper is unfounded.

Participants at these prior meetings stated Archbishop Williams’ private words have not differed from his public statements, citing his commendation to the last gathering of global Anglican leaders at the World Council of Churches in Brazil.

“When we say we need each other I am not talking about money. I am talking about spiritual maturity. The enemy of spiritual maturity is that the spirit says we can do without,” Dr Williams told Anglican delegates to the WCC on February 17. “We need each other. It is worth working at,” Archbishop Williams stated.


COMMENTS

revsusan said...
So much for a comprehensive "listening process," eh?

6:25 PM


BabyBlue said...

What page is the Listening Process on in the Windsor Report?

Are we talking about the Lambeth 1.10? I thought all the American progressives rejected Lambeth 1.10 - or are we just picking out the bits we like and tossing the rest?

Either we accept Lambeth1.10 or we don't. Our actions at the 2003 General Convention clearly stated to the worldwide Anglican Communion that we rejected Lambeth 1.10. Why suddenly bring up one bit that suits us and not the rest?

This is the main issue before us. General Convention picked the bit of Lambeth 1.10 we liked and rejected the rest, using one of the most high-handed arguments possible - that we had a personal revelation from the spirit that what the Scriptures and the Church has taught regarding sexual immorality was wrong and God is doing a a very special new thing as revealed to the very special American Church.

Here is the entire resolution, in case we've forgotten:

Lambeth 1998
Resolution 1.10 'Human Sexuality'
This Conference:
 commends to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality;
 in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage;
 recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Many of these are members of the Church and are seeking the pastoral care, moral direction of the Church, and God's transforming power for the living of their lives and the ordering of relationships. We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ;
 while rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;
 cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions;
 requests the Primates and the ACC to establish a means of monitoring the work done on the subject of human sexuality in the Communion and to share statements and resources among us;
 notes the significance of the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality and the concerns expressed in resolutions IV.26, V.1, V.10, V.23 and V.35 on the authority of Scripture in matters of marriage and sexuality and asks the Primates and the ACC to include them in their monitoring process."

Does this sound like the Episcopal Church? No. And the majority of those sitting in General Convention in 2003 did not want this. The Anglican Communion responded. Now it's our turn.

Who's not listening?