Lipscomb prayed that the Episcopal Church could walk together "bearing witness to the transforming grace of God in Jesus Christ [but] if we cannot walk together, I pray that we will be gracious to one another for the sake of the Gospel. Whatever our individual decisions must be, let us bear witness to the transforming power of God that will one day renew and restore all people to unity with God and with one another in Christ Jesus our Lord. Is this not the mission that we share?"

Lipscomb did not say what he or his diocese would do if at GC2006 the Episcopal Church did not fully repent of its decision to consecrate V. Gene Robinson to the episcopacy, but he did say that those who choose to remain must fully embrace the radical claims of interdependence within a global community. "Such individuals, congregations, and dioceses have a rightful and constitutional claim to be the Episcopal Church in the United States."

The entire document can be seen here: http://www.dioceseswfla.org/ezine/jblonwindsor.htm

Reflections on the Windsor Report July 11, 2005

From the Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb, Bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Florida

The Windsor Report is the product of the Lambeth Commission established by the Archbishop of Canterbury in October 2003, at the request of the Primates of the Anglican Communion. The Commission was a formal response to the actions of the Episcopal Church in the United States at the General Convention 2003, confirming the election of Gene Robinson to be Bishop Coadjutor in the Diocese of New Hampshire, and the decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorize rites for the blessing of same gendered unions.

The mandate to the Commission by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams:

1. To examine and report to him by 30th September 2004, in preparation for the ensuing meetings of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, on the legal and theological implications flowing from the decisions of the Episcopal Church (USA) to appoint a priest in a committed same sex relationship as one of its bishops, and of the Diocese of New Westminster to authorise services for use in connection with same sex unions, and specifically on the canonical understandings of communion, impaired and broken communion, and the ways in which provinces of the Anglican Communion may relate to one another in situations where the ecclesiastical authorities of one province feel unable to maintain the fullness of communion with another part of the Anglican Communion.

2. Within their report, to include practical recommendations (including reflection on emerging patterns of provision for episcopal oversight for those Anglicans within a particular jurisdiction, where full communion within a province is under threat) for maintaining the highest degree of communion that may be possible in the circumstances resulting from these decisions, both within and between the churches of the Anglican Communion.

3. Thereafter, as soon as practicable, and with particular reference to the issues raised in Section IV of the Report of the Lambeth Conference 1998, to make recommendations to the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, as to the exceptional circumstances and conditions under which, and the means by which, it would be appropriate for the Archbishop of Canterbury to exercise an extraordinary ministry of episcope (pastoral oversight), support and reconciliation with regard to the internal affairs of a province other than his own for the sake of maintaining communion with the said province and between the said province and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

4. In its deliberations, to take due account of the work already undertaken on issues of communion by the Lambeth Conferences of 1988 and 1998, as well as the views expressed by the Primates of the Anglican Communion in the communiqués and pastoral letters arising from their meetings since 2000.

The following summary of the Windsor Report was provided by the Anglican Communion Office in October 2004, at the time of the release of the full Report. The Windsor Report should be read in full. It is a document in which one section builds upon another, presenting a developing ecclesiology for the Anglican Communion in which recommendations for relationships among the provinces and the governance of the Communion grow out of a deepening theological understanding of our common life and mission.

Section A

The report begins by describing the nature of the relationship into which all Christians believe that they are called by God. This relationship is expressed by "communion" and the way in which this relates to the mission of the Church. It describes how the life of communion works when it is operating well giving a specific example relating to the ordination of women before turning to a description of the current difficulties within the Anglican Communion. This is followed by a description of the underlying tensions which give rise to the current difficulties.

Section B

This section examines the principles which underlie the way in which the Anglican Communion lives its life. It looks more deeply at the importance of communion as a principle of church life before addressing specific elements of church life and ministry as understood in Anglicanism: scripture, ministry of bishops, and the way in which Anglican/Episcopal churches discern God's will together and in their own context.

Section C

The discussion in the first two sections is important, because it is the basis from which the Commission moves to its recommendations on the future life of the Communion. After a segment which gives the history of the central councils or Instruments of Unity of the Anglican Communion, the report offers recommendations on the future working of the Instruments of Unity, and especially the Archbishop of Canterbury to be supported by a Council of Advice. It goes on to consider the legal and constitutional binds which underpin the communion and recommends the creation and adoption of an Anglican Covenant.

Section D

The report then turns to the matters that have disturbed the life of the Communion. It identifies the central issue and offers its recommendations on elections to the episcopate, on public Rites of Blessing of same-sex unions, and on the care of dissenting minorities. In conclusion, the Commission sets its work within the wider mission of the Church.

Appendices

A vital part of the report is its appendices. Appendix One sets out reflections on the operation of the conciliar Instruments of Unity and the Anglican Communion Office. Appendix Two sets out a possible draft of an Anglican Covenant to illustrate what such a document might look like. Appendix Three sets out the documentation behind many recent debaters and decisions of the Communion, and a select bibliography is offered in Appendix Four. At the end of the publication, readers will find a selected thematic index, by which the paragraphs relating to a range of topics may be identified.

Reflection The Windsor Report should be read as a challenge to the entire Anglican Communion. While the Report is occasioned by the crisis created by the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church in Canada (ACiC) it asks each of the Provinces to address concerns of authority, autonomy, and interdependence within our common life. Paragraph 66 of the Report draws attention to comments made by Archbishop Robert Runcie in his opening address to the Lambeth Conference of 1988:

"...are we being called through events and their theological interpretation to move from independence to interdependence? If we answer yes, then we cannot dodge the question of how this is to be given 'flesh': how is our interdependence articulated and made effective; how is it to be structured? ... We need to have confidence that authority is not dispersed to the point of dissolution and ineffectiveness ... Let me put it in starkly simple terms: do we really want unity within the Anglican Communion? Is our worldwide family of Christians worth bonding together? Or is our paramount concern the preservation of promotion of that particular expression of Anglicanism which has developed within the culture of our own province? ... I believe we still need the Anglican Communion. But we have reached the stage in the growth of the Communion when we must begin to make radical choices, or growth will imperceptibly turn to decay. I believe the choice between independence and interdependence, already set before us as a Communion in embryo twenty-five years ago, is quite simply the choice between unity or gradual fragmentation."

Many of the working assumptions of Anglicans who live in a post-Enlightenment/post-modern cultural context regarding the authority and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures are being challenged by our Communion partners. This upheaval also calls us to re-examine our understanding of autonomy as a Province of the Anglican Communion. The Windsor Report provides an opportunity to reconsider in this contemporary context the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the character of bishops and synods, and the Instruments of Unity of Communion life as we approach the work of reconciliation and transformation.

Integrity as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ in a global context no longer allows the Anglican Churches in the West the luxury to assume a position of preeminence in the theological and ethical teachings of the Communion. The provinces in the developing nations of the Global South have emerged as rapidly growing, theologically sophisticated communities offering leadership within the Communion. If we continue to assume the right to teach, we must also accept the responsibility to learn from those who live in a cultural milieu different from our own.

The decisions of ECUSA and the Anglican Church in Canada that have engendered this current crisis have also affected our relationships with our ecumenical partners. Paragraph 28 of the Report calls our attention to the following reality.

"The overwhelming response from other Christians both inside and outside the Anglican family has been to regard these developments as departures from genuine, apostolic Christian faith. Granted, some churches in other denominations have made provision, or are considering making such provision, for the ordination of persons in sexually active same-sex relationships, offering arguments based on modern scientific proposals about sexual attraction, and corresponding, in their proposals, to changes and innovations in civil law in some of the relevant countries. But condemnation has come from the Russian Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, as well as a statement from the Roman Catholic Church that such moves create "new and serious difficulties" to ecumenical relationships. Within our own Communion, some eighteen of the thirty-eight provinces of the Anglican Communion, or their primates on their behalf, have issued statements which indicate, in a variety of ways, their basic belief that the developments in North America are "contrary to biblical teaching" and as such unacceptable."

Our actions have had a profoundly negative impact on ecumenical conversations and relationships, as well as on the mission of the whole Church. In areas of the world in which many Christian communities live as minorities the actions of ECUSA and the ACiC have been detrimental to the work of mission and ministry within other Christian denominations.

To live into the vision of Communion expressed by The Windsor Report requires that we adopt a spirit of humility -- accepting limitations on provincial autonomy in order to live into new possibilities in mission and ministry. The Report calls each province to recognize their interdependence and responsibility as members of the Anglican Communion. The recommendations of the Windsor Report have been received by three of the four Instruments of Unity of the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates Council, and the Anglican Consultative Council have endorsed the Windsor Report which embodies the teaching of the bishops gathered for the 1998 Lambeth Conference (The Lambeth Conference is considered the fourth instrument of unity for the Communion).

For some, the Windsor Report appears to be a departure from traditional Anglican patterns of organization which provided a degree of latitude in the governance of the life of individual provinces. Even at an early stage, however, our freedom was limited by our acceptance of the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Church of England. The work of the Lambeth Commission continues a process set in motion by the 16th century Reformation and the American Revolution. These moments of crisis also brought opportunities for developing new approaches to living out the mission and ministry of the Church.

The Reformation allowed The Church of England to develop an expression of catholic Christianity apart from the Papacy. Anglicanism existed for half a millennium with the Holy Scriptures, read within the context of common prayer, as its central teaching authority. As the Communion grew, we were held together by bonds of affection and affinity. Current circumstances require us to reassess the means for maintaining our common life.

The American Revolution set in motion the possibility of a global communion of autonomous provinces sharing the common heritage of the Church of England. As the various colonial churches attained independence from the Church of England it was necessary for them to develop new patterns of relationship with the Church of England and with one another.

Over the course of the past 100+ years the member Churches of the Anglican Communion have accepted and developed four Instruments of Unity to enhance and strengthen our relationships with one another. These Instruments of Unity have enhanced our ability to pursue a common mission. The Windsor Report is another step toward giving form to Anglicanism as a distinct part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The Church is the Body of Christ. It does not exist as a static entity, but as a living organism where growth and change are inevitable. I have made a commitment to accept and live within the framework of the Windsor Report as part of the process of maturation in our Communion. I encourage the congregations of the Diocese of Southwest Florida to join in such a commitment by resolution of our vestries or bishops committees. I also encourage the clergy of our diocese to make a personal and public decision to support the recommendations of the Windsor Report. We may not agree with all of the recommendations of the Report. This Report is, however, the point from which we will continue our development as a Church in communion with the See of Canterbury.

The Windsor Report is an invitation to a life of discipleship in submission to Jesus Christ and to one another within the Anglican Communion. Such mutual submission bears witness to the reconciling power and grace of God. The members of the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church in Canada must decide if they are able to live in such mutual submission with the other member Churches of the Communion. It is in recognition of this call to humility and interdependence that I turn to the concluding remarks of the Windsor Report:

We call upon all parties to the current dispute to seek ways of reconciliation, and to heal our divisions. We have already indicated (paragraphs 134 and 144) some ways in which the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Diocese of New Westminster could begin to speak with the Communion in a way which would foster reconciliation. We have appealed to those intervening in provinces and dioceses similarly to act with renewed respect. We would expect all provinces to respond with generosity and charity to any such actions. It may well be that there need to be formal discussions about the path to reconciliation, and a symbolic Act of Reconciliation, which would mark a new beginning for the Communion, and a common commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a broken and needy world.

There remains a very real danger that we will not choose to walk together. Should the call to halt and find ways of continuing in our present communion not be heeded, then we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart. We would much rather not speculate on actions that might need to be taken if, after acceptance by the primates, our recommendations are not implemented. However, we note that there are, in any human dispute, courses that may be followed: processes of mediation and arbitration; non-invitation to relevant representative bodies and meetings; invitation, but to observer status only; and, as an absolute last resort, withdrawal from membership. We earnestly hope that none of these will prove necessary. Our aim throughout has been to work not for division but for healing and restoration. The real challenge of the gospel is whether we live deeply enough in the love of Christ, and care sufficiently for our joint work to bring that love to the world, that we will "make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4.3). As the primates stated in 2000, "to turn from one another would be to turn away from the Cross", and indeed from serving the world which God loves and for which Jesus Christ died.

Within ECUSA there will be those who after prayerful consideration conclude that they must be faithful to the decisions of the General Convention 2003 which have strained and in some cases broken the bonds of affection within the Communion. To decide on such a course is to make a conscious decision to walk apart from the Anglican Communion.

There will be others who will choose to accept the recommendations of the Windsor Report and remain in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other Anglican provinces. Those who choose to remain must fully embrace the radical claims of interdependence within a global community. Such individuals, congregations, and dioceses have a rightful and constitutional claim to be the Episcopal Church in the United States.

I pray that we will walk together bearing witness to the transforming grace of God in Jesus Christ. If we cannot walk together, I pray that we will be gracious to one another for the sake of the Gospel. Whatever our individual decisions must be, let us bear witness to the transforming power of God that will one day renew and restore all people to unity with God and with one another in Christ Jesus our Lord. Is this not the mission that we share?

In Christ,

+John B. Lipscomb, D.D.
Fourth Bishop of Southwest Florida