A Letter from some US bishops to GAFCON

Posted by Kendall Harmon

As requested we have carefully studied the Reflections of the Windsor Continuation Group – in particular the section that refers to our ministry within the North America. We offer these comments....

4. As was also the case with the statements from Dromantine and Dar es Salaam we reject the moral equivalence that is now explicitly asserted between those who continue to support the blessing of same sex unions and the ordination of persons involved in same gender unions in deliberate violation of the teaching of the Communion and those who are offering pastoral oversight for those alienated by these actions.

5. We have consistently observed that the current leadership of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada have embraced a theological and doctrinal stance that is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Communion and more specifically that of our host provinces and our individual bishops, clergy and congregations. Consequently we can envision no way in which we could be part of Pastoral Forum in which either Church exercises any leadership role.

6. While we welcomed the comments of the Windsor Continuation Group that “ways of halting litigation must be explored,” those of us who are the subject of pernicious litigation initiated by The Episcopal Church find these rather tentative comments fall far short of what is needed for us to even consider any serious engagement with the proposed structures. Until the litigation is halted and a settlement achieved there is no possibility that we can enter into any formal agreements with any representatives of The Episcopal Church.


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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Common Cause Partnership • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008 • Windsor Report / Process

5 Comments
Posted August 29, 2008 at 3:30 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Eugene wrote:

Slight correction: these Bishops are not US Bishops.  They are Bishops of the Anglican churches of
..Kenya
....Uganda
......Southern Cone
........Nigeria
..........Rwanda
They may reside in the US but they are not US Bishops (yet)

They do not identify themselves as US Bishops do they?

Sorry to be picky, but we ought to be careful who we call US Bishops.

This is the headline used for this on the GAFCON website, for the record, although I added the word “some.”  But you rightly underscore the question of where they are “resident” is in some sense quite tricky.

August 29, 4:58 pm | [comment link]
2. BabyBlue wrote:

What perhaps is significant is that it was the Primates Council that identified them as U.S. bishops.  The letter was included in their Communique under the heading Letter from US bishops to GAFCON. 

bb

August 29, 6:24 pm | [comment link]
3. Chris Hathaway wrote:

Eugene, is the bishop of Ecuador (TEC) a US Bishop? TEC now sees itself as an international church, not just the church of the US (note what was dropped from its name). So what defines a US Bishop?

August 30, 7:44 am | [comment link]
4. Jeff in VA wrote:

Fwiw, I read “US bishops” as meaning people who actually live in the U.S., regardless of where they are “resident.”  There’s a clear appellation for Episcopal bishops (“TEC bishops”) that can be used to clear up any confusion.

I mean, for that matter, +Martyn is an English bishop…

August 30, 8:17 am | [comment link]
5. Eugene wrote:

(when speaking about the Anglican mess) A US Bishop is a Bishop of that Anglican Province that is in the US.

August 30, 3:04 pm | [comment link]
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