The July 18-22 bishops' meeting in Los Angeles will seek “a final settlement” of the current dispute, The Living Church has learned. The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, will host a gathering of up to two dozen bishops from across the theological spectrum at a facilitated conversation that organizers hope may lead to an amicable settlement of the Episcopal Church’s current troubles.
Among the participants at the five-day event will be the Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb of Southwest Florida. Jim DeLa, communications director for the diocese, told TLC the gathering was “an extension of discussions at the last House of Bishops' meeting at Camp Allen. They felt like they needed to continue that conversation and needed someone who could facilitate,” Mr. DeLa said. Bishop Lipscomb was unsure who would facilitate the conversation, but said the group might seek someone from another denomination.
One bishop, who told TLC he had not decided whether he should attend, said he had not received an agenda and that “the invitation simply said it was to discuss a final settlement.”
A second bishop, who said he would be unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, confirmed he had been “invited to a meeting whose stated intent was to help sort out the complicated relationship between parishes and dioceses and properties.”
Division of assets “is one possible outcome,” but not the purpose of the meeting, Jim Naughton, communications director for the Diocese of Washington, told TLC last week.
One of the organizers of the five-day meeting told TLC the agenda had evolved since the House of Bishops’ spring meeting at Camp Allen as “positions have hardened” among some bishops following the Feb. 24 primates’ communiqué. He said others within the House of Bishops were hopeful the crisis could be averted without recourse to courts of law, and that an amicable way forward, one that respects the moral consciences of all in the Church, could be found.
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Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.