Network Bishops and Affiliates Urge Full Compliance with Windsor
On Wednesday night, June 14, in the Hyatt Ballroom in downtown Columbus, more than 1,500 people came to hear those who wished to testify before the Special Committee 26 on the resolutions of the Windsor Report concerning the blessing of same-sex unions, expressions of regret, election of bishops in same-sex relationships, and the appropriateness of same-sex blessings. Seventy people were given two minutes each to speak to the committee. Nearly 40% of those who testified were conservative voices.
Network bishops and affiliates as well as others who care deeply about our ties with the broader Anglican Communion are united in the belief that these resolutions fall far short of what the Windsor Report actually requires and pleaded for clarity and honesty as the church chooses to walk with or apart from the Anglican Communion.
The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network and Bishop of Pittsburgh - “I believe, with the greatest of heartbreak and sadness, that the day has arrived where those who have chosen the Episcopal Church because of its catholic and evangelical reliability, and those who have chosen the Episcopal Church for its revolutionary character, can no longer be held together. For which Episcopal Church will the Committee, and then this Convention, decide? The future in Communion rests only with the former of the two. It cannot be both ways into the future. We’ve reached a moment where it is very difficult, indeed I think we’ve reached an impossible moment, in holding it together.”
The Rt. Rev. John Howe, Diocese of Central Florida – If our resolutions are not in fact Windsor-compliant, we will in effect be choosing to walk separately, no matter how loudly we protest otherwise.”
The Rt. Rev. William Skilton, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of South Carolina – “I said in 2003 that the damage would be irreparable. Now, the church is damaged, hurt, in this country and beyond. Here I am in 2006, and what I plead for is that this church affirm completely the Windsor Report so that we can come back together.”
The Rt. Rev. John Lipscomb, Diocese of Southwest Florida – “The Windsor Report’s recommendations are the place where healing can begin.”
The Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon, Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina – “Where is the clarity? Where is the honesty? Windsor uses clear language like ‘moratorium’ which are not present in these resolutions. Our relationship with the Anglican Communion is in separation, moving towards divorce. Let’s be honest, let’s be clear.”
A deputy from the Diocese of Albany – “If we want to truly repent, which is my hope and the hope of many, let us say so. If it is the mind of the church not to repent, say that. Together or apart, but honestly.”
Of the representatives from the Anglican Communion present at the Convention as visitors who were able to bring a perspective from the larger communion worldwide, Archbishop John Sentamu made the most emphatic plea: “Will it be sufficient?” Archbishop Sentamu, asked. “I am doubtful. Why? These resolutions do not meet the standard. You must be careful. You need to ask, do these resolutions show us Christ? Do they show the marks of our own affliction as part of the body? Do they show us to be those whose tears are wiped away when Christ returns? Friends, we follow a crucified savior. In Anglicanism, truth and unity are not separate. I am not sure that your resolutions will create the space necessary for communion. If they do not, you must strengthen them.”
The Windsor Report is the product of a special commission called for by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, in response to the actions of the Episcopal Church USA’s General Convention in 2003. The Windsor Report recommendations call for a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, a moratorium on the election of bishops in same-sex relationships, and a statement of regret for having taken these actions which have “torn the fabric” of the Anglican Communion.