Posted on 06/15/2006 5:05:08 PM PDT by sionnsar
Did the Anglican Communion Network fire the first shot?
The opening legislative day of the 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, was marked by a somber, pensive mood in the House of Bishops, as its members prepared for debate on the Windsor Report.
The mood on June 13 was akin to “collectively passing a kidney stone,” one bishop told The Living Church, while a second commented there was a noticeable lack of energy and enthusiasm during the morning and afternoon sessions. While the public face of the meetings was cordial, tensions were high in some corners of the room, with some bishops distressed at the absence of some of their colleagues.Absent from the roll call among the church’s active bishops were the assistant bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Jecko; the Bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. James Stanton; the Bishop of San Joaquin, the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield; the Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker; the Bishop Suffragan of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. William Skilton; the Bishop Suffragan of Albany, the Rt. Rev. David Bena; the Bishop of Taiwan, the Rt. Rev. David Lui; the Bishop of Olympia, the Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner; and the Bishop of Litoral Ecuador, the Rt. Rev. Alfredo Morante.
After answering “present” to the roll call, the Bishop of Springfield, the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, took a seat in the observers’ gallery for the majority of the meeting.
While no public comments were made at the absence of a number of bishops affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network, several bishops told TLC they were very disappointed by their colleagues’ absence, and viewed it as a “snub.”
“There’s nothing to that,” Bishop Beckwith told TLC, dismissing suggestions that the network bishops had boycotted the meeting, noting the absent bishops “should be here tonight.”
I don't know whether this was a deliberate display on the part of the Network or not. But GenCon's been on everyone's mind for some time and everyone has known when and where it would be held. So it is a bit strange to see so many bishops, many of them Network and most of them conservatives, manage not to arrange transportation to get them to C-bus on time for the opening ceremonies.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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