Although disappointed that the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided to withhold an invitation to the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops from the only openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, members of Integrity Canada are relieved the invitations come before the June meeting of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada at which resolutions about homosexuality will be discussed.

"This certainly takes some of the pressure off the Canadian Church," said Steve Schuh, president of Integrity Vancouver. "We've been threatened for years with the possibility that Canadian bishops might not receive invitations to Lambeth if the Canadian Church failed to uphold the traditional discrimination against gay and lesbian people. The invitation announcement suggests that supporting same-sex unions – as has been done in Vancouver and many dioceses in the U.S. – is no bar to making the Lambeth Conference guest list."

"Delegates will still need to stand up against other bullying tactics and calls for delay if they want to allow parishes to bless covenanted same-sex unions," Schuh added, "but now General Synod delegates can discuss same-sex unions and vote their conscience without the threat of exclusion from Lambeth hanging over their heads."

Chris Ambidge, convener of Integrity Toronto, commented on the Archbishop of Canterbury's snub of Bishop Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, saying, "It's shameful that an Anglican leader is willing to sacrifice gay and lesbian people to appease the most strident conservative voices. The Lambeth Conference will certainly be talking about gay people in the church, and yet the Archbishop is deliberately excluding the only gay voice."

"Again, they're talking about us, not with us," he said. "Canadian Anglicans must oppose this."

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Primary Source • -- Statements & Letters: Organizations • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • Lambeth 2008

1. BabyBlue wrote: Oops, looks like they forgot to read Canterbury’s statement where he says, ” “I reserve the right to withhold or withdraw invitations ...” bb May 23, 10:52 am | [comment link]

2. Anglican Paplist wrote: I am not sure these people understand what is really going on, eh? May 23, 11:20 am | [comment link]

3. Dave C. wrote: I find it interesting that reappraisers seem concerned with who gets invited or not but don’t seem to give a fig about resolutions, once they are passed. May 23, 11:40 am | [comment link]

4. DonGander wrote: I suggest that this is one of the most revealing of all the articles about the Robinson invitation. Assume that your opposition has it right - at least tactically. I especially note the early invitation. As I do not believe AB Williams is up to a sucker-punch, I assume that Integrity has it right. DonGander May 23, 12:25 pm | [comment link]

5. JackieB wrote: 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops from the only openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion Don’t care that they are gay.  Care that they are practicing. May 23, 1:07 pm | [comment link]

6. Bill in Ottawa wrote: Ifound it very telling that ++Cantuar reminded everyone that he had the power to withdraw invitations. At this point, neither TEC or ACCan have officially responded to the demands in the Dar es Salam communique. As KJS herself pointed out, much can change in the next 14 months. Let’s have some patience. However, I think Integrity Toronto has it wrong. This is more of a threat to GS and the Canadian HoB than waiting until October. It may convince some of the fence sitters to move toward upholding the official teachings. May 23, 4:37 pm | [comment link]

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