General Convention Update: June 14, 2006
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA (GC2006) officially opened on Tuesday, June 13. Both houses, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, will be meeting every day to consider the hundreds of resolutions that pass through the dozens of committees that are meeting nearly around the clock.
An Anglican Communion Network contingent is present, comprised of ACN staff, Network bishops, volunteers, and many Network priests and parishioners who are serving as deputies on site in Columbus, Ohio through June 21. Network staff members and volunteers are engaging people in conversation at the ACN’s exhibit booth each day. The booth features the faces and ministries of the Network – people from 0 to 100 who are members of the more than 900 parishes across the U.S. In addition, four colorful banners depict four of the Network’s ministry initiatives – church planting, children and youth, relief and development, and global missions. “The Message of the Hope & A Future Conference” and the New Wineskins for Global Missions Conference DVDs play continuously on a TV screen at the front of the booth.
“We are present at the convention to talk about a hopeful Anglican future in the United States,” said Canon Daryl Fenton, Network Chief Operating Officer, “We are also here to provide encouragement and support to bishops, clergy and deputies from Network dioceses and parishes,” he added.
“ECUSA has been asked to respond fully to the requests of the Windsor Report,” said Canon Fenton. The report, which requests that the Episcopal Church place moratoria on the election of bishops in same-sex relationships and the blessing of same-sex unions as well as express repentance for its decisions in 2003 to approve same-sex blessings and the election of a bishop in a same-sex relationship, has been endorsed as a way forward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leaders of Anglican churches around the world and the Anglican Consultative Council and the Network Bishops. However, it is far from clear that ECUSA is prepared to do what it has been asked to do There will not be “a vote on the Windsor Report.” Rather, dozens of resolutions dealing with different aspects of Windsor are being grouped together, discussed and considered in preparation for legislative presentation to each of the Houses for their respective votes later this week.
Theologian N.T. Wright has issued a strong statement on the resolutions presently before Special Committee 26, which is posted on the ACN website in its entirety. He concludes that the resolutions, if adopted, will not comply with the recommendations of the Windsor Report. The Network bishops issued a statement regarding Windsor in advance of GC2006 (also posted on the ACN website). Over twenty bishops have now signed the statement which fully endorses the recommendations of the Windsor Report.
During the Convention, the Network is partnering with the American Anglican Council (AAC) and Forward in Faith North America (FiFNA). As they have in years past, the AAC is monitoring the legislative process, working with the media and distributing news and information about the decisions facing the convention. With the Network and the AAC, FiFNA has organized morning Eucharistic services for deputies.