Posted on 03/20/2007 3:18:50 PM PDT by Huber
The primates’ Feb. 19 communiqué and its Sept. 30 deadline for a response from the House of Bishops have been topics of discussion from the outset of the House of Bishops’ March 16-21 meeting at the Camp Allen Conference Center near Houston. This is the first time the bishops have gathered since Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected during General Convention last June.
The communiqué was also addressed by Bishop Jefferts Schori in plenary during a question-and-answer session on the primates’ meeting. While no response to the communiqué is planned for this meeting, sources present told The Living Church a number of bishops believe the request is improper. Several bishops have argued that the primates do not have the authority to dictate a specific course of action, nor can the bishops bind The Episcopal Church to its recommendations. Objections have also been raised to the use of 1998 Lambeth resolution 1.10 on human sexuality being made a benchmark for the Communion.
The strength of the opinions offered in opposition to the Dar es Salaam communiqué do not necessarily mean that its rejection is certain, one bishop told TLC. This first meeting allows for a “venting” of opinion, he stated.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and study of environmental sustainability dominated plenary discussion during the opening days of the meeting. On the first full day of the meeting, the bishops heard a presentation on a theological rationale for supporting the MDGs. Led by the Rev. Ian Douglas, professor of world mission and global Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School, the bishops explored a preferential option for the poor and the role The Episcopal Church can play. The 75th General Convention named the MDGs a “stated mission priority.”
Bishop Jefferts Schori informed the gathering of her decision to accede to the advice of her chancellor, David Booth Beers and void the election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence as Bishop of South Carolina. That announcement was made March 15. Of the 57 consents received from the standing committees, seven were in improper form including some that were unsigned, she noted.
The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, acting Bishop of South Carolina, stated he expected the diocesan convention will meet soon and re-elect Fr. Lawrence.
The proposed Anglican Covenant was scheduled to be discussed Monday following plenary presentations by the Rev. A. Katherine Grieb, associate professor of New Testament at the Virginia Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Ephraim Radner, rector of Ascension Church, Pueblo, Colo. Both are members of the international task force preparing a draft version of the covenant.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. I figure that in about 50 years, TEC will resemble the Bolivian army..One ++, several hundred +, a thousand or so priests, and about 10,000 weekly attendees, and a few thousand empty, decrepit churchs
The bishops just walked away from the Anglican Communion:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_84148_ENG_HTM.htm
This calls for a new thread!
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