Rowan Douglas by Divine Providence Archbishop of Canterbury Primate and Metropolitan to all to whom these presents shall come Greeting

Whereas it has been represented to the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in February 2005 that certain parishes have been unwilling to accept the direct oversight of their diocesan bishops and that certain dioceses are in dispute with their provincial authorities

Almost 90 percent of members and their pastors were ordered by the Northwest Texas Diocese to leave St. Nicholas' for dissenting with the Episcopal Church's stance on homosexuality by naming a gay bishop in New Hampshire, among other things.

"But the homosexual issue is just a small part of a greater crisis," said the Rev. Jonathan Hartzer, associate rector. "The greater crisis is cultural accommodation at the expense of biblical Christianity."

It decided 12 years ago to conduct a study into its members' views on sexuality. After years of research, a report, Pilgrimage of Faith, will be debated at the conference in Torquay. The Times has seen an early draft, which shows that, although some Methodists take the traditionalist line, most agree that the Church should be " welcoming and inclusive" and should not turn people away because of their sexual orientation.

Of these, 281,751 - or 82 per cent - are found in the northern dioceses of Connor, Down and Dromore, Derry and Raphoe, Clogher and the archdiocese of Armagh. Yet they have only 52 per cent of synod members.

The imbalance is even more striking when one realises that dioceses pay levies into central funds according to their size. Under the current system, this means that synod representation is not linked to taxation.