"There is much to appreciate in the hard and devoted work done by General Convention, and before that, by the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, in crafting the resolutions. This and the actions taken today show how strong is their concern to seek reconciliation and conversation with the rest of the Communion.

"It is not yet clear how far the resolutions passed this week and today represent the adoption by the Episcopal Church of all the proposals set out in the Windsor Report. The wider Communion will therefore need to reflect carefully on the significance of what has been decided before we respond more fully. "I am grateful that the JSC of the Primates and ACC has already appointed a small working group to assist this process of reflection and to advise me on these matters in the months leading up to the next Primates' Meeting. "I intend to offer fuller comments on the situation in the next few days. The members of Convention and the whole of the Episcopal Church remain very much in our prayers."

*****

June 21, 2006

Orthodox Bishops' Statement: General Convention Actions Inadequate

TO THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD:

We, the undersigned, Bishops of the Episcopal Church make the following statement: In the wake of the action by this House granting consent to the consecration of Canon V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, many of us in this House made an appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Anglican Communion "to intervene in the pastoral emergency that has overtaken us."

That appeal was heard and the Archbishop called for an extraordinary meeting of the Primates on 1516 October, 2003. The Primates spoke forthrightly and unanimously about the consequences that would ensue across the Communion in the event that the consecration went forward, warning that it would "tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level."

They also called for the formation, under a mandate given by the Archbishop, of the Lambeth Commission on Communion. This General Convention has now given its response to the recommendations of the work of that Commission, known as the Windsor Report.

Now, once again, we find the need to speak candidly. The responses which the Convention has given to the clear and simple requests of the Lambeth Commission, the clear and simple requests indeed of the Anglican Communion, are clearly and simply inadequate. We reaffirm our conviction that the Windsor Report provides the way forward for the entire Anglican Communion, the ecumenical relationships of the Communion, and the common life of a faithful Episcopal Church.

Further, we have agreed to submit ourselves to the Windsor Report's requirements, both in what it teaches and in the discipline it enjoins. We have not changed in our commitment. Sadly, because of statements made by members of this House at this Convention, we must question whether this General Convention is misleading the rest of the Communion by giving a false perception that they intend actually to comply with the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

We therefore disassociate ourselves from those acts of this Convention that do not fully comply with the Windsor Report. It is our intention not only to point to the inadequacies of the General Convention's responses, but to declare to our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the Communion that we continue as The Episcopal Church in this country who uphold and propagate the historic faith and order we have come to know through the Anglican heritage of apostolic teaching and biblical faith; who desire to be fully a constituent member of the Anglican Communion; and who are ready to embrace and live under the Windsor Report without equivocation.

Accordingly, we repudiate the actions of the General Convention of 2003 which have breached the bonds of affection within the Communion. We bishops have committed to withhold consents for any persons living in same gender relationships who may be put forward for consecration as a bishop of the Church. And we have refused to grant authority for the blessing of sexual relationships outside Christian Marriage in our jurisdictions.

We intend to go forward in the Communion confidently and unreservedly. Our chief concern now is to fulfill our charge as bishops of the Church of God in the Anglican tradition to "guard the faith, unity and discipline" of the Church. Pastoral care and apostolic teaching must not only be given to our own dioceses, but to all the faithful in this country who seek apostolic oversight and support.

We will take counsel together to fulfill our service on behalf of faithful Anglicans in this country, both clergy and laity, and to proclaim the Gospel and build up the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we seek the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates and Bishops of the Anglican Communion as we do so.

The Rt. Rev. Keith Lynn Ackerman, Diocese of Quincy
The Rt. Rev. James M. Adams, Jr., Diocese of Western Kansas
The Rt. Rev. Peter H. Beckwith, Diocese of Springfield
The Rt. Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan, Diocese of Pittsburgh
The Rt. Rev. Daniel W. Herzog, Diocese of Albany
The Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, Diocese of Fort Worth
The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., Diocese of South Carolina*
The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Diocese of San Joaquin
The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Diocese of Dallas*
The Rt. Rev. Henry W. Scriven, Diocese of Pittsburgh
The Rt. Rev. William J. Skilton, Diocese of South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. C. FitzSimons Allison, Retired
The Rt. Rev. William J. Cox, Retired
The Rt. Rev. Alex D. Dickson, Retired

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 * Drafters of the original statement

Open Letter from Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) June 22, 2006

An Open Letter to the Episcopal Church USA

We, the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), meeting in Kampala on 21st 22nd June, have followed with great interest your meeting of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA in Columbus.

We have been especially concerned by the development of your response to The Windsor Report, which has been reported to us quite extensively.

This is something for which we have earnestly prayed. We are, however, saddened that the reports to date of your elections and actions suggest that you are unable to embrace the essential recommendations of the Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué necessary for the healing of our divisions.

At the same time, we welcome the various expressions of affection for the life and work of the Anglican Communion. We have been moved by your generosity as you have rededicated yourselves to meet the needs of the poor throughout the world, especially through your commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

We have observed the commitment shown by your church to the full participation of people in same gender sexual relationships in civic life, church life and leadership. We have noted the many affirmations of this throughout the Convention.

As you know, our Churches cannot reconcile this with the teaching on marriage set out in the Holy Scriptures and repeatedly affirmed throughout the Anglican Communion. All four Instruments of Unity in the Anglican Communion advised you against taking and continuing these commitments and actions prior to your General Convention in 2003.

At our meeting in Kampala we have committed ourselves to study very carefully all of your various actions and statements. When we meet with other Primates from the Global South in September, we shall present our concerted pastoral and structural response.

We assure all those Scripturally faithful dioceses and congregations alienated and marginalised within your Provincial structure that we have heard their cries. In Christ, The Most Rev. Peter Akinola, on behalf of CAPA

23rd June, A.D. 2006

A Pastoral Letter from Moderator, Bishop Duncan

TO ALL THE BELOVED OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION NETWORK:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

A new day is dawning. It is a new day for all of us who understand ourselves to be faithful and orthodox Anglicans, whether within the Episcopal Church or gone out from it. It is with sadness, but also with anticipation, that I write to you now that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church has provided the clarity for which we have long prayed.

By almost every assessment the General Convention has embraced the course of "walking apart." I have often said to you that the decisive moment in contemporary Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion history occurred at General Convention 2003. At that time, in the words of the Primates, the Episcopal Church took action that would "tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level."

Since that time, the tear has widened. While we had hoped that this Church would repent and return to received Faith and Order, General Convention 2006 clearly failed to submit to the call, the spirit or the requirements of the Windsor Report.

The middle has collapsed. For that part of the Network working constitutionally within ECUSA as over against the dioceses represented by the thirty progressive bishops who issued their Statement of Conscience, we are two churches under one roof.

Even before the close of Convention, Network and Windsor bishops began disassociating themselves from the inadequate Windsor resolution, and thus far one Network diocese has formally requested alternative primatial oversight.

More initiatives are underway. Pastoral and apostolic care has been promised without regard to geography. All I can tell you is that the shape of this care will depend on a very near-range international meeting.

Other actions will follow upon continuing conversations with those at the highest levels of the Anglican Communion.

Over the course of the month of July, many of the things we have longed for will, I believe, come to pass or be clearly in view for all. The Anglican Communion Network has never been more united. We are gaining strength, both domestically and internationally.

This is the time for biblically orthodox Anglicans to hang together, supporting one another in solidarity, in prayer and with expectancy. My prayers are with you all, especially those whose plight is most difficult and whose patience is most worn. Pray for me and for all the leadership in Network, Episcopal Church, and Anglican Communion, and most especially for the Archbishop of Canterbury in this crucial moment in modern Anglican history. Again I say to you that a new day is dawning. Faithfully in Christ Jesus,

The Rt. Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan
Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network
June 23, 2006

Letter from the AAC President Following the 75th General Convention of TEC June 23, 2006

Dear Friends,

We have just returned from the 75th Convention of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA). The American Anglican Council (AAC) went to Columbus to work for clarity, and I believe we witnessed ECUSA make their choice. The worldwide Communion asked for simple, unambiguous compliance with the Windsor Report, specifically an expression of regret for decisions made in 2003 and subsequent actions, as well as moratoria on consecrations of non-celibate homosexuals and same-sex blessings.

The Episcopal Church did not deliver.

Instead, both the House of Bishops and House of Deputies bowed to intense pressure from the Presiding Bishop to pass B033, a resolution characterized by ill-defined language with no provision for enforcement or accountability. The legislation "called upon" standing committees and diocesan bishops to "exercise restraint" by not consenting to the election of individuals whose "manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church." Why was this legislation not cast in Windsor language? It was clear that neither house would have approved Windsor compliance wording.

Biblically faithful bishops denounced B033, accurately assessing the resolution as "misleading the rest of the Communion by giving a false perception that they intend actually to comply with the recommendations of the Windsor Report." According to Associated Press reports, John Chane, Bishop of Washington, immediately declared that the resolution was "non-binding" and that "he would not follow it." This is no surprise. If past performance is the best indicator of future behavior, we can expect the Episcopal Church to continue its revisionist trajectory with no regard for the Anglican Communion.

In addition to the unsurprising fudge on consecrations of bishops, the Episcopal Church simply refused to address the matter of same-sex blessings. Dodging the issue with a claim that ECUSA has not authorized official rites, General Convention ignored the fact that same-sex blessings are occurring on a regular basis all around the country, performed in churches by Episcopal clergy and bishops. In addition, numerous dioceses have developed, or are in the process of developing, rites of same-sex blessings.

The election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as presiding bishop - arguably the least experienced as priest or bishop, and possibly the most liberal - is an affront to the Anglican Communion. Before the election, her record was clear. At the 2003 General Convention, she voted against a resolution affirming basic tenets of Christian faith and the authority of Scripture, and supported V. Gene Robinson's confirmation as well as blessings of same-sex unions. In the days following her election as presiding bishop, her personal theology has been exposed even more clearly.

In her first sermon as presiding bishop-elect, she referred to "our Mother Jesus." In interviews, she expressed her version of the Gospel: "Now the Bible tells us about how to treat other human beings and that's certainly the great message of Jesus. To include the un-included." She has also stated that homosexuality is not a sin.

When the global primates were gathered in October of 2003 in Lambeth Palace to deal with the chaos resulting from Gene Robinson's confirmation as bishop, she was in her Nevada Diocesan Convention pushing a same-sex blessing resolution for her diocese. This does not argue well for her having a sensitivity to the larger Communion, or even caring.

When asked about life after death, Jefferts Schori responded: "But what's important about your life? What is it that has made you a unique individual? What is the passion that has kept you getting up every morning and engaging the world? There are hints within that, about what it is that continues after you die."

Such statements indicate clearly that Jefferts Schori is committed to a belief system which is fundamentally contrary to Scripture, Christian teaching and Anglican doctrine. There is no other way to interpret her words.

What will be the Communion's response? The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a brief statement, noting that the Communion will have to carefully review the decisions of General Convention 2006. Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) also issued an open letter saying, "...reports to date of your elections and actions suggest that you are unable to embrace the essential recommendations of the Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué necessary for the healing of our divisions." Global South primates will meet in September and will offer their "concerted pastoral and structural response."

CAPA primates also sent a strong message to the orthodox in America: "We assure all those Scripturally faithful dioceses and congregations alienated and marginalised within your Provincial structure that we have heard their cries."

Brothers and Sisters, despite their best efforts to feign Windsor compliance, ECUSA has made its choice, and now we must unite and act to ensure a biblically faithful expression of Anglicanism in America. Whether you are in ECUSA, are in the process of disaffiliating, or are under oversight of another Anglican province, we are committed to assisting you to go from strength to strength. The war is over; it is time to build the church.

In Christ,

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson CEO and President, American Anglican Council

June 27, 2006 The American Anglican Council's Comments on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Statement on "Challenge and Hope" for the Anglican Communion The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued his reflections today on the future of Anglicanism, emphasizing that this statement is not designed to preempt the Anglican Communion's "necessary process of careful assessment of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) response to the Windsor Report."

Archbishop Williams describes his goal as defining a vision for "what kind of Anglican Communion we wish to be and to explore how this vision might become more of a reality."

We at the American Anglican Council are grateful for the Archbishop's careful and insightful analysis of the complex issues facing the Communion and support significant action to incorporate the spirit of his statement.

In noting the fact that the Episcopal Church acted unilaterally not only in the Anglican Communion but also within its own province, Archbishop Williams emphasizes that there are consequences for sacramental actions outside the bounds of Anglican faith and order: "Some actions - and sacramental actions in particular - just do have the effect of putting a Church outside or even across the central stream of the life they have shared with other Churches.

It isn't a question of throwing people into outer darkness, but of recognizing that actions have consequences - and that actions believed in good faith to be 'prophetic' in their radicalism are likely to have costly consequences." Archbishop Williams also recognizes ECUSA's failure to comply with the Windsor Report and Primates (February 2005 Dromantine Communiqué).

The revisionist trajectory of the Episcopal Church is clear and uncompromising. "The recent resolutions of the General Convention have not produced a complete response to the challenges of the Windsor Report, but on this specific question there is at the very least an acknowledgement of the gravity of the situation in the extremely hard work that went into shaping the wording of the final formula," the statement reads. ECUSA clearly abandoned basic Christian doctrines of Christ and salvation as well as marriage and sexuality at the 2003 and 2006 General Conventions. ECUSA has, therefore, made its decision to walk apart from Anglican faith and order.

We applaud the Archbishop's clear assessment and his call for necessary structural changes embodied by "constituent" and "associate" churches centered upon a covenant with an "opt in" mechanism. We view this as a positive direction for the biblically faithful minority currently within ECUSA, and we commit to assist in an "ordered and mutually respectful separation between 'constituent' and 'associated' elements" of ECUSA. We view this proposal as the way to ensure clear theological and doctrinal unity based on Anglicanism's traditional view of the supremacy of Scripture. Archbishop Williams' vision offers a long-range direction for the Communion to consider and act upon.

We urge the Anglican Instruments of Unity to act expeditiously to incorporate this vision. While a covenant process will be years in the making, nevertheless, we in America have an urgent need for temporary emergency pastoral protection through cross-provincial oversight.

The Diocese of Fort Worth has requested alternative primatial oversight, and we anticipate that a number of other dioceses will follow suit in the near future. The leadership of the American Anglican Council prays for and urges immediate implementation of such requests.

Relief delayed is relief denied. In addition, we hear daily from individuals and congregations who are seeking help in leaving the heterodoxy of ECUSA and who have lost heart for Anglicanism. Many laity departing ECUSA are leaving quietly, going to Rome, independent churches, or most sadly, no church at all.

This week, the largest church (in average Sunday attendance) in ECUSA, Christ Church, Plano, announced its decision to disassociate from the Episcopal Church. We fear tens of thousands of individuals will be lost from Anglicanism forever unless immediate, though interim, intervention is provided.

The face of Anglicanism has been changed, and it behooves us to be creative in the midst of the restructuring process before us. The situation in the American church is rapidly deteriorating, and it is critical to act now in order to prevent the "balkanization" of the entire Anglican Communion.

Canon Roseberry and Christ Church Plano seek to disassociate from ECUSA

June 27, 2006

My Dear Friends,

I am thankful for the many prayers and expressions of support that you have offered Fran and me during these past two weeks. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, as difficult as it was, achieved clarity and showed a direction and corporate mission for ECUSA that is unmistakable.

I would invite you to read the daily posts I wrote from Columbus found on our website. By God's grace, the Convention has given your Vestry and me clarity as well. Over the past three years many laypeople, clergy (including myself) and bishops have worked zealously to communicate the clear choice that was before the General Convention; however, the Episcopal Church has not only broken the faith and apostolic witness but appears determined to continue in that path. We cannot go with them.

Christ Church has been a mission of Jesus Christ for the last 21 years. In those years we have seen a blessing from God and an energy that continues to this day. We are very thankful for this and we also sense a deep call to be right stewards of this mission and ministry.

Our commitment to this biblical faith and apostolic ministry is secure thus that we find it necessary to take bold steps to protect our mission and provide for the future of our ministry on our property. Therefore, at a specially called session on June 23 and 24, the Vestry unanimously agreed to the following statement: The mission of Christ Church is to make disciples and teach them to obey the commands of Christ.

The direction of the leadership of the Episcopal Church is different and we regret their departure from biblical truth and the historic faith of the Anglican Communion. As the vestry of Christ Church, we declare our intention to disassociate from ECUSA as soon as possible.

We are thankful for the shepherd role of the Right Rev. James Stanton and his standing in the Anglican Communion, and we regard him as our apostolic leader. We assure the clergy, staff and congregation of Christ Church that throughout this process we will continue to worship, teach, pray and study as we have in the past with renewed and vibrant commitment to the mission of Christ Church.

Over the next few weeks we will explore the ways that this separation will be best realized. Both the vestry and I will keep you informed and updated as needed, and you can be assured of our prayer and definite actions. We likewise would request your patience and prayers. But rest assured that our church is Anglican now and will always be within the great historic family of the Anglican Communion.

You should know that our bishop is aware of our decision and is very supportive. As we move forward together I ask for your prayers, support and blessing on the work ahead of us.

In Christ,

The Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry,
Rector

END