Anglican Episcopal Crisis Meeting Draws Near

A large group of diocesan bishops are scheduled to gather to discuss the relationship of the Episcopal Church in the USA with the Archbishop of Canterbury and other primates within the worldwide Anglican Communion at a consultation this month in Texas, USA, according to the Living Church Foundation.

|TOP|The gathering, at Camp Allen, will see nearly two dozen diocesan bishops contemplate the future of the US Episcopal Church.

It has been reported that the number of bishops who support the objectives of the meeting is expected to grow rapidly after details become public, according to several people involved in planning.

The meeting, which will take place from 19 to 22 September, is being organised for diocesan bishops by the Bishop of Texas, the Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, according to the Living Church Foundation.

In a statement posted on the diocesan website, Bishop Wimberly said the purpose of the consultation is to provide individual bishops and their dioceses with a way to maintain an “unimpaired relationship” with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other primates of the Anglican Communion.

“Since this summer’s General Convention, I have sought a way in which I might help lead our diocese and, with other bishops, The Episcopal Church through the circumstances facing our Church today,” Bishop Wimberly said.

|AD|“My intention is to stay within The Episcopal Church and remain a part of the Anglican Communion even though I don’t believe General Convention’s response to the Windsor Report was sufficient.”

Two members of the Church of England’s House of Bishops will help oversee the gathering. The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester, and the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, will attend with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, according to Bishop Wimberly.

Since the conclusion of the 75th General Convention in June, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Rowan Williams has been consulting widely as to the adequacy of the response to the Windsor Report by General Convention.

In response to the July Convention, Dr Williams has said the Episcopalians had “not produced a complete response” to Anglican concerns.

In fact, the General Convention, rather than allaying fears and divisions, actually increased tensions when the June meeting elected Katharine Jefferts Schori - an outspoken supporter of gay relationships - as the Church's next Presiding Bishop.

Since then, 7 conservative dioceses, including Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, have rejected Jefferts Schori's leadership and asked Williams for oversight elsewhere.

Some individual parishes have also announced plans to leave the American Episcopal Church, which has about 2.3 million members.

Dr Williams has already proposed a new two-tiered system for the Communion, to keep those churches with the traditional biblical views on homosexuality as full members and to offer a lesser role to those with new ideals on the matter.

Though the idea has received praise from some corners of the Communion, there is still a large proportion of the Church who say they cannot accept being in “communion” with those promoting Scripture in a way that is in complete contrast to their own beliefs.