Friday, September 22, 2006

AAC response to Kigali Communique / Camp Allen Bishops letter

The American Anglican Council Commends Bold Kigali Communiqué Issued by Global South Primates

September 22nd, 2006 posted by kendall at 3:15 pm

Global South Primates pledged bold intervention to address the crisis within the Anglican Communion at their meeting Sept. 19-22, 2006 in Kigali, Rwanda. Noting the “slow response from the Panel of Reference” for congregations and dioceses requesting alternative oversight, Global South Primates agreed in this week’s meeting to a three-pronged action plan designed to support biblically faithful Anglican dioceses and congregations in North America, commending them for their “courage and consistent witness.” The communiqué outlines plans for alternative primatial oversight, the Anglican Communion Primates meeting in February 2007, and the formation of a new ecclesiastical structure in the United States.

According to the communiqué, the Global South Steering Committee has been charged to “investigate their appeal in greater detail and to develop a proposal identifying the ways by which the requested Primatial oversight can be adequately provided.” Noting that some Primates will not recognize Katharine Jefferts Schori as a Primate and that others will be “in impaired communion with her as a representative of The Episcopal Church,” the Global South Primates propose that another bishop be chosen by biblically faithful dioceses, congregations and clergy to represent them at the 2007 Primates meeting. Finally, the Global South Steering Committee, in consultation with the Anglican Instruments of Unity, will develop a proposal for formation of “what will be recognized as a separate ecclesiastical structure of the Anglican Communion in the USA.”

“The Kigali Communiqué is an action plan attesting to the Global South’s visionary leadership in a time of chaos and crisis in our beloved Communion,” said the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, American Anglican Council (AAC) President and CEO. “It is sure to inspire and encourage biblically faithful Anglicans in North America—this is what we have hoped and prayed for since 2003.”

The Kigali gathering, representing over 70 percent of the Anglican Communion’s active membership, affirmed its commitment to the “abiding truth” of Scripture, to proclamation of the Gospel, and to the Anglican Communion as “part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” In addition, the Primates pledged to celebrate and protect Anglican identity as well as support an Anglican Covenant.

Canon Anderson commended the Global South for these components of the communiqué: “The Primates are moving beyond temporary intervention to create long-term solutions such as a covenant and a new ecclesiastical structure, while consistently affirming the authority of Scripture and apostolic faith,” he said.

The Global South meeting was hosted by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini and the Anglican Province of Rwanda, whose Christian witness has contributed to the post-genocide healing of that nation. Noting that Rwanda was “abandoned by the world” as genocide raged, Global South Primates pledged, “Never Again.” The Primates also emphasized the devastating results of political unrest, particularly in Darfur, Sudan, and urged the Anglican Communion and the international community to “stand in solidarity with the men, women and children” in Darfur.

“The primary focus of the Kigali meeting was the ongoing work of Christ’s mission and ministry in the midst of enormous challenges, including HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, and dangerous conflicts in the Global South,” Canon Anderson said. “It is humbling that they have chosen to offer their unwavering support for us as they gathered to discuss such critical issues in their own provinces.”

Episcopal bishops meeting in Texas send letter to House of Bishops

September 22nd, 2006 posted by kendall at 1:59 pm

(ENS)

Twenty-one bishops sent a letter September 22 to their colleagues in the House of Bishops following a meeting held by the letter’s signatories at the Episcopal Diocese of Texas’ Camp Allen Conference and Retreat Center. The text of the letter is reprinted in full below.

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Full story and statement:

A Letter to the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church
St. Matthew’s Day, 2006

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

We, the undersigned bishops, have met together at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas from September 19-22. We understand ourselves to be catholic bishops within the Anglican Communion and have met to contribute to our future life within this Communion. We are writing to you as fellow bishops in The Episcopal Church, in the knowledge that many others in our Province and around the world have expressed an interest in this meeting.

We have gathered with a common desire to work for the unity of the Church, as well as for the integrity and vitality of our own Province and the Anglican Communion as a whole.

We are grateful for the helpful briefing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to us through the Bishops of Durham and Winchester. 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.

We confess our faith in Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life – the faith that is uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures, set forth in the catholic Creeds, and to which the historic Anglican formularies bear witness.

We are committed to the conciliar character of our Communion. Consistent with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Holy Cross Day letter to the Primates, it is our clear sense that General Convention of 2006 did not adequately respond to the request made of The Episcopal Church by the Communion through the Windsor Report and the Primates at Dromantine. These requests include explicit moratoria regarding church discipline and order. We express our regret, on behalf of ourselves, for those actions with which the Windsor Report was concerned.

We accept and affirm the Windsor Report and view adherence to it as furthering the vocation to heal the breaches within our own Communion and in our ecumenical relationships. Furthermore, we endorse the recommendation of the Windsor Report, as supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the development of an Anglican Covenant.

The Windsor Report properly belongs within the larger framework of Anglican teaching, as expressed, not least, in successive Lambeth Conferences, including the resolutions of Lambeth 1998 (among which is Resolution 1.10). We understand this to be the mind of the Communion for teaching and discipline.

We recognize that many congregations within The Episcopal Church need a safe space within which to live out the integrity of their faith in compliance with the Windsor Report. We also recognize that there are some congregations that do not accept the provisions of the Windsor Report. We pledge ourselves to work with our Episcopal colleagues to care for all God’s people in our dioceses.

Within our group are needs for various levels of response to the conflicts in the church. While here we have worked diligently to achieve unity across these lines. We recognize the need of some among us for an alternative primatial relationship. This recognition does not weaken our fundamental theological and ecclesial commitments. Rather, our unity has strengthened them, and for this we thank God.

It is our hope and prayer that through our fellowship we can contribute to the renewal of our Province’s life within the Communion. We invite others who share our concern and position to join us in our common work on behalf of the church, and we plan to meet again early in the new year. We hope that those of you who share our commitments will find yourselves able to join us then, as we continue our work.

We ask for your prayers and assure you of ours.

In the name of Christ Jesus,

The Rt. Rev. Mark L. MacDonald
Diocese of Alaska

The Rt. Rev. William H. Love
Diocese of Albany

The Rt. Rev. John W. Howe
Diocese of Central Florida

The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton
Diocese of Dallas

The Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker
Diocese of Forth Worth

The Rt. Rev. Michael G. Smith
Diocese of North Dakota

The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little
Diocese of Northern Indiana

The Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr.
Diocese of Northwest Texas

The Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan
Diocese of Pittsburgh

The Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman
Diocese of Quincy

The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf
Diocese of Rhode Island

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson
Diocese of Rio Grande

The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield
Diocese of San Joaquin

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon
Diocese of South Carolina

The Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb
Diocese of Southwest Florida

The Rt. Rev. Peter H. Beckwith
Diocese of Springfield

The Rt. Rev. Bertram N. Herlong;
Diocese of Tennessee

The Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly
Diocese of Texas

The Rt. Rev. James M. Adams
Diocese of Western Kansas

The Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson
Diocese of Western Louisiana

The Rt. Rev. Gary R. Lillibridge
Diocese of West Texas

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