Letter to House of Bishops calls for Windsor compliance, pastoral care of all
A group of 21 Episcopal Church bishops said September 22 in a letter to their colleagues in the House of Bishops that they support the Windsor Report, believe that the 75th General Convention 'did not adequately respond' to the report and subsequent statements, but pledged to 'care for all God's children in our dioceses.
The letter also thanked the two Church of England bishops who attended a meeting held September 19-22 at the Episcopal Diocese of Texas' Camp Allen Conference and Retreat Center, north-west of Houston.
'We are grateful for the helpful briefing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to us through the Bishops of Durham (N.T. Wright) and Winchester (Michael Scott-Joynt),' the letter said. 'We have corresponded in turn with the Archbishop and communicated our hopes with respect to continuing in full constituent Communion membership. It is our intention to offer a faithful and dynamic witness within the Episcopal Church.'
The bishops who signed the letter are Mark L. MacDonald (Alaska), William H. Love (Albany), John W. Howe (Central Florida), James M. Stanton (Dallas), Jack L. Iker (Fort Worth), Michael G. Smith (North Dakota), Edward S. Little (Northern Indiana), C. Wallis Ohl, Jr. (Northwest Texas), Robert W. Duncan (Pittsburgh), Keith L. Ackerman (Quincy), Geralyn Wolf (Rhode Island), Jeffrey N. Steenson (Rio Grande), John-David Schofield (San Joaquin), Edward L. Salmon (South Carolina), John B. Lipscomb (Southwest Florida), Peter H. Beckwith (Springfield), Bertram N. Herlong (Tennessee), Don A. Wimberly (Texas), James M. Adams (Western Kansas), D. Bruce MacPherson (Western Louisiana) and Gary R. Lillibridge (West Texas).
In late July, Wimberly issued an invitation to the meeting that he called a 'consultation for bishops.' His invitation said Wright and Scott-Joynt would be coming 'with [the Archbishop of Canterbury's] blessing to discuss with us the nature of our future relation to the See of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion.'
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Article by Mary Frances Schjonberg - Episcopal News Service