Many of the Episcopal Church's orthodox leaders in London who attended the Windsor Report unveiling were disillusioned at the weakness of the reports findings and wording, with one leader saying it was a "weasel effort not to offend Griswold and to keep him at the table." You can expect harsh words in the future, he told Virtuosity.

The day after, orthodox ECUSA leaders seemed numb, angry and disillusioned, with one leader asking, "How do we stop the hemorrhaging of people leaving. One of my married children left the Episcopal Church and now attends a Methodist church?"

All the best efforts of movements like the Network, AAC or Forward in Faith still presuppose that people will stay, but there is growing evidence that many will leave now that the Windsor Report has enough holes in it to drive a Mack truck through, said an Episcopal layman whose parish pulled out of the Diocese of Oklahoma and is now an Anglican church under an African primate.

Hundreds of Episcopalians have written to Virtuosity expressing similar sentiments. "I'm outta here," said one disillusioned Virtuosity reader. "I have drawn the last line in the sand, I am off to join the Antiochian Orthodox Church," said another.

"I will not subject my family to constant harangues by gays to normalize their behavior in this church. I want a safe place for my family. We're gone," said another.

"There is no gospel left in The Episcopal Church," said a Virtuosity subscriber. "Inclusion does not need redemption," said another.

Similar sentiments were expressed in a public debate between US Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and Nigerian Archbishop Joseph Fearon sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

"My part of the Anglican world is a very significant part. Our church has 20 million people. It is very evangelical, there are no smells and bells and over 70 percent have had a personal conversion experience. For us Christianity means a complete change of life. What is not in scripture is difficult to accept. We have a lot of discipline in our church." We are disciplined people, said Archbishop Fearon.

Fearon, an Islamic scholar, said Nigerians are very religious, "and we take our faith seriously. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Our constitution gives a lot of authority to the bishop. The bishops have veto power. We are still in biblical times. The spiritual realm is all over. There has to be a marked difference in people's lives. Things we used to do, we do no more."

Fearon said Christians and Muslims were of equal number in his diocese, "we know what it means to be persecuted, we are a minority and deprived. We find solace in the Christian family."

Acknowledging the crisis in the Anglican community, Fearon said the whole subject of homosexuality is extremely painful in African culture. "Nigerian culture has no word for homosexuality. In the past if you have homosexual tendencies you would go to a native medicine man. It was seen as a disease you went for healing. Now we have become Christians, you can be a homosexual but if you practice it is taking us back to the pre-Christian era which does not accept it. What the Christian hates you want us to accept."

Blasting the Episcopal Church's preoccupation with homosexuality, Fearon cried, "in my culture the subject is a waste of time, we have better things to do. The Bible is clear about this behavior."

"Nigerian Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Muslims do not hate homosexuals because we see it as a sin just as there are other sins like adultery and fornication. There is no hatred. It is our passion for the individual to be saved. We do not hate homosexuals, but we do not condone their lifestyle."

Fearon said there were homosexuals in Nigeria and the church has a ministry to them. "There are many homosexuals among the Muslims especially in the Hausa tribe. There are whole streets full of male prostitutes. Among the rich they practice this thing, but they know society does not accept it and they know Christians do not accept it."

Hearkening back to Lambeth '98 Fearon said that some Western Anglicans accepted polygamy. "While we would not accept homosexuality as the will of God you cannot equate homosexuality with polygamy. Polygamists are not hated, but no polygamist is given any leadership role in the church not even to lead a bible study. He can come to worship but he cannot be a priest or a bishop. Polygamists are also denied holy communion. If you take a second wife you have no access to the sacraments. To equate homosexuality with polygamy is offensive."

In his rejoinder, US Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said homosexuality was a "very layered and complex subject. The context is important. The gospels are articulated in a particular context. The historical reality presses in upon us all. Scripture has many interpretations. The church in Nigeria has one tradition; the church in the US is quite diverse. We have a tradition of pluralism there has never been one interpretation of
Scripture, there are different views held by one and another. There is a large degree of mutual respect."

Griswold said there was a broader interpretation of what it means to say we believe everything that is contained in the Old and New Testaments.

"Our sense of the church is that it gives the give bible a privileged place, but our sense of
identity is derived from our eucharistic and baptismal practice. We experience church in baptism and the weekly Eucharist." Differing ecclesiologies lead us into different directions, he said.

Griswold said the context is not incidental to sexuality, "it is very much part of the public discourse and includes the phenomenon of homosexuality. Homosexual persons are very visible in all areas of public life. Homosexuals should be self disclosing because the culture is self-disclosing."

"In the last 30 years in ECUSA it has been the subject of discussion and debate. Many congregations have come to terms with people who are homosexuals by orientation and who live in partnerships," said Griswold.

Griswold condemned what he called "abusive predatory sinful patterns of behavior."
Homosexuality is a question that is still not resolved. I see integrity in the lives of homosexuals....I see the fruit of the Spirit."

Griswold said that secrecy was the devil's playground. We must bring it into the light, to be purified and made revelatory.

"We do not want to see the Communion fragmented by making sexuality more powerful than it is. The ECUSA is not obsessed by sexuality. The ECUSA takes a role in advocacy and sharing our resources with other members of the communion."

Griswold said the charge of unilateralism had been flung at ECUSA as we have many concerns like disease, HIV/AIDS and condemned the African church for "usurping our concerns with your fixation on this one topic."

FEARON: "Nigeria won't accept funds from the Episcopal Church. It is not bishops posturing; it is people who have sunk to the lowest levels...this is about sin."

GRISWOLD: "I hope we can live with the divisions among us...we can live with a diversity of points of view. People can disagree but for the sake of mission can make common cause together."

FEARON: "Our African traditional religion does not accept same sex relations. If you ask to accept it as a valid lifestyle, we have no gospel to proclaim."

"I ask you what difference has the gospel made? The fact that we have discussions openly is not the point. We have the good news in Christ that you can be different, the Holy Spirit can make the difference. Our understanding of the Christian Faith for us in Africa is that you are not a cultural Christian you must have an encounter with Jesus Christ. I don't find that in what you say."

Fearon said it was impossible to accept money from the Episcopal Church. "In Africa we believe in bitter money and sweet money. With bitter money you question the source of the money. With sweet money you know the source and there are no strings attached. It is painful and hurting for us to reject your money but we prefer sweet money than your bitter money."

Dr. David Martin, world premier sociologist of religion said the problem was a clash of cultures between a permissive liberal north and west and a Christian south and east.

Martin blasted western liberals for trying to respect other cultures, but on sex were firmly judgmental. "The use of the short hand pejorative term 'fundamentalist' and equating tradition with fundamentalism is even worse. Anglican tradition has been liberal and
catholic and evangelical for several centuries. In most of Africa homosexuality will never be recognized let alone tolerated or affirmed, he said.

Asked about the covenant Griswold said ours is a religion of hope. "More unites us than divides us."

FEARON: "I am optimistic about the covenant and being part of this family, it must be taken seriously."

Asked about a time frame, Fearon said that nothing was definitive. "For the African Church we won't leave the communion. We pray for our communion. We must have hope. This church does not belong to the African or Europeans...this is the Body of Christ. I don't see the lord allowing his body to disintegrate."

END