Friday, February 23, 2007

• AAC Statement on the Primates' 2007 Communiqué
• A Message from Canon David Anderson, AAC President
• Press Release: AAC Lifts Inhibitions
• Responses to the Communiqué, Domestic and Abroad

AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL STATEMENT ON THE PRIMATES' 2007 COMMUNIQUE

February 23, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The American Anglican Council (AAC) expressed this week its gratitude for the work of the Anglican primates during their meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, held Feb. 14-19, 2007, and applauded the strong stance taken in their final communiqué as well as the progress made on developing an Anglican Covenant.

“This is the most important decision taken by the global Anglican Communion since the last Lambeth Resolutions were issued in 1998,” said the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, AAC president and CEO. “The clock is now running on The Episcopal Church, and it is running fast.”

The primates’ communiqué, issued later than expected on Monday, Feb. 19 due to last-minute deliberations, issues an ultimatum to The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States with regard to its stances on human sexuality. In particular, the church is given seven months (until Sept. 30, 2007) to convey its definitive position on the blessing of same-sex unions and the elevation to episcopal orders of a candidate living in a same-sex relationship.

“The meeting in Dar es Salaam moved TEC firmly into the penalty box, which they will not emerge from without a true, 180-degree turn from the behavior and theology that has become the norm in many parts of the U.S. church over the past several decades,” Canon Anderson said. “Fudging the issues is no longer possible because the primates are ‘on to’ TEC and understand that they have been saying one thing and doing another.

“Before this meeting, many primates could not fathom that the bishops and presiding bishop would play fast and loose with their words in order to deceive the primates or avoid sending a clear message,” Canon Anderson continued. “Now, a clear message is demanded, and if it is not given, the church will suffer the long-threatened consequence of losing full membership in the worldwide Anglican family.”

The AAC was especially pleased with portions of the communiqué which gave special recognition to the unique positions of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) and the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA); under the primates’ recommendations, these groups, led by American-based bishops, will be allowed to continue operating separately from TEC, and are recognized as legitimate parts of the Anglican Communion. In addition, the AAC applauded the communiqué’s demand for a stop to all litigation within TEC, and urged TEC both nationally and at the diocesan level to take this admonition seriously.

“The communiqué is a workable document, despite some difficult areas,” Canon Anderson said. “The proposal for a pastoral council and primatial vicar, for example, contains some rough spots that will be of particular concern for congregations linked to overseas dioceses that are not part of AMiA or CANA. Nevertheless, the document is strong overall, especially for its reaffirmation of Communion-wide teaching on sexuality and the concrete nature of its recommendations for the U.S. church.”

Canon Anderson also expressed support for the developments made on the Anglican Covenant and believes that once it is refined and finalized over the next several years, it will serve as an important unifying factor for the Anglican Communion.

In a related development, the AAC also announced this week its formation of a Communiqué Compliance Office, which will monitor TEC’s acts of compliance and non-compliance with respect to the primates’ requirements throughout the period leading up to the Sept. 30 deadline.

“As a non-ecclesial body, the AAC is in a unique position to function as a watchdog on TEC’s compliance with the demands of the Dar es Salaam communiqué,” Canon Anderson explained. “Over the coming months, the newly created office will continuously gather information from around the United States and provide monthly accountings to the primates so that there is no doubt where TEC stands when the clock runs out.”

The AAC asks that anyone with pertinent information on TEC compliance to the communiqué’s demands send that information to the AAC by email or U.S. Postal mail.

A MESSAGE FROM AAC PRESIDENT CANON DAVID ANDERSON 

Friday, February 23, 2007
Atlanta

Dearly Beloved,

I believe that this most recent Primates’ Meeting changed the course of Anglican Church history. The 2003 Primates’ Meeting at Lambeth Palace, which led to the Windsor Report, and then the subsequent 2005 Primates’ Meeting at Dromantine, Northern Ireland, progressively tightened the pressure on the U.S. Episcopal Church (TEC); but both of those meetings were also part of a learning curve for many of the primates. They could not fathom that TEC bishops and its presiding bishop would lie and deceive them, or play fast and loose with words such that the clear intent of the global primates would be avoided. The meeting that ended this past week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, built on the primates' cumulative knowledge and moved TEC firmly into the penalty box, with a clock that runs out in seven months (on Sept. 30), by which time a satisfactory answer is demanded. Left unclear is who will serve as judge and jury to determine the adequacy of the compliance, as well as what punishment is appropriate or what exoneration is deserved.
 
In Dar es Salaam, the plans for a common communion service, and for a joint photo of all attending primates gathered together smiling, didn’t happen. Nine primates refused to take communion with U.S. Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, seven by absenting themselves from the service and two by not receiving. The seven were public about their absence; the two were private and quiet about their not receiving. These decisions gave notice that primary, not secondary, issues were at stake at the meeting, and portended the serious problems to come on agreement over what to do with TEC’s behavior and how to write the final communiqué. Additionally, the lack of a photo of everyone all happily together - and even of a photo showing just the brand-new primates seated together - were indicative of the same tension.

The primates’ final communiqué itself is a good and workable document in its final form, even with some difficult areas. The document - which was signed and agreed to by all primates present, including Jefferts Schori - speaks to issues pertinent to not only the “Windsor Dioceses” of TEC, but also all American Anglican congregations under overseas jurisdictions. The decisions by the primates and expressed in the communiqué are the most important since the last Lambeth Resolutions were issued in 1998.

Will TEC meet the deadline for initial compliance? Will the monitoring of TEC show the church to be living up to the communiqué, or reverting to dissembling and deceit?  The issues are divided into several areas:
 
1. TEC’s Misconduct: This area applies to behavior with regard to same-sex blessings, as well as the consecration of a sexually-active homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson, and the failure by TEC to adequately address the Windsor Report requests at its 2006 General Convention. TEC is directed to answer appropriately through the House of Bishops by Sept. 30, 2007. Failure to respond appropriately would likely have immediate Lambeth Conference 2008 consequences for TEC, or at least for a large portion thereof.
 
2. Litigation Over Property: Although the document's words are phrased as if both sides were busy litigating, in actuality, it is TEC nationally and her Episcopal dioceses that are litigating. These lawsuits must stop, the communiqué says . . . we will see. The communiqué also states that the orthodox must stop taking TEC property when they leave the church and diocese -  that is easy. The Dennis Canon needs to be exposed for the fraud on the church that it is. When the deed says the title is in the name of the bishop or diocese, a parish has a problem. When the deed and title is in the name of the parish corporation under state law, then the property should belong to the parish. I suppose the orthodox must not claim diocesan office buildings, camps and conference centers, and other diocesan- or TEC-titled property as theirs. Among the orthodox, there will probably be some winners and some losers as far as the property issues go, since in some states and dioceses few parishes are incorporated separately and have their names on the titles, even though they often paid for the property. This will be a difficult area. One good feature is that, in ownership disputes, TEC is “...not to deny use of that property to those congregations.” This should mean that Bishop John Howard (Florida), among others, can’t order orthodox congregations out of their properties even though they are claiming the properties based on title deeds.

Unfortunately, Bishop Howard is, we are told, preparing to evict one parish from its property the first week in March. Additionally, as the ink was still drying on the communiqué in Tanzania, Bishop Neil Alexander of Atlanta was initiating a lawsuit against the individual vestry members of St. Andrew’s-in-the-Pines Church (Peachtree City, Ga.), which recently left TEC. Also, in the Diocese of Virginia, Bishop Peter Lee was expanding his lawsuit against the northern Virginia congregations that have left. Perhaps in coming weeks they will comply with the communiqué, perhaps not.
 
3. Churches Under Overseas Jurisdictions: This area begins with the issues of those churches that have left TEC to come under overseas jurisdictions, two of which now have American (not overseas) bishops as their own bishops. Those with American bishops, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) and Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), are given separate recognition and special options in the communiqué, and this will become important as soon as the Pastoral Council and Primatial Vicar (both proposed and described in the communiqué) are in place. At that time, all the non-AMiA, non-CANA congregations are to go back under “Windsor” TEC bishops for Episcopal oversight: “Congregations or parishes in current arrangements will negotiate their place within the structures of pastoral oversight set out above ” (p. 10). This has a certain directive quality about it that is in response to the criticism from TEC of the overseas bishops’ interventions and border crossings. Now, why a church under AMiA, CANA, Uganda, Bolivia, or any overseas diocese would want to give up its current bishop and go back under a TEC bishop, even an orthodox TEC bishop - and thus back under the system that once oppressed and even deposed them – is hard to comprehend. This transition could take place soon if the Pastoral Council and Primatial Vicar are chosen soon, or the process could be stretched out for some time. My guess is that it could happen sooner since it is in the best interests of Jefferts Schori, the “Windsor” bishops and the primates.
 
With American bishops in place, CANA and AMiA are recognized as constituting a special situation requiring a different approach. The communiqué says, “...the Pastoral Council should negotiate with them and the Primates currently ministering to them to find a place for them within these provisions” (p. 10, emphasis added).
 
Parsing it out carefully, the instructions for non-AMiA, non-CANA overseas congregations are directive (“will”), and the burden to follow through is on the congregation; the directions for CANA and AMiA are suggestive (“should”), and the burden is on the Pastoral Council. In reality, as mentioned above, I cannot imagine any of the overseas, AMiA or CANA churches wanting to go back into TEC, even if they are under a Windsor bishop, because that situation puts them legally as well as spiritually under a compromised denomination.

Now, a word about the so-called “Windsor” bishops: Besides the Anglican Communion Network bishops, there are quite a few bishops of generally conservative beliefs who feel they are “Windsor” bishops also. There needs to be a refinement of the term and a clarity about who qualifies as “Windsor” before any of the churches are given to them for oversight. If a “Windsor” bishop has initiated lawsuits against orthodox congregations or inhibited or deposed orthodox clergy in his/her own diocese, the bishop needs to publicly repent of the action(s), drop the lawsuits, and restore to regular status any clergy who were unjustly inhibited/deposed, even if those clergy are already in other Anglican provinces. Failure to address these issues will build sin and folly into the “Windsor” bishops’ new responsibilities. Repentance and restoration offer a new and trustworthy relationship ahead. Let's do this right and honor our Lord.

Finally, the American Anglican Council (AAC), as a non-ecclesial Anglican body, is in a unique position to function as a watchdog on TEC compliance with the Dar es Salaam Communiqué demands on the Episcopal Church. Therefore, as described in today's statement released to the media (above), the AAC is setting up (now, in Atlanta) a Communiqué Compliance Office (CCO) to monitor TEC’s actions and compliance with, or failure to comply with, the items listed in the document. The CCO will gather information from around the United States, compile it, and provide a monthly accounting to the primates and the Anglican Communion. We will need your help to gather the documentation and ask that you forward pertinent facts to us beginning now. Send them to us via email to compliance@americananglican.org or, if necessary, by snail mail (Attention: Communiqué Compliance Office).

Blessings and peace in our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ,

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson
American Anglican Council President and CEO

AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL LIFTS INHIBITIONS

February 23, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The American Anglican Council (AAC) announced today that the 21 recent Virginia inhibitions are null and void and declared them lifted. When the clergy from two of the three Episcopal dioceses in the state of Virginia were declared inhibited in January by the current bishop of middle and northern Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, the clergy he acted against had already transferred to other Anglican jurisdictions.

Subsequently, Bishop Lee has defaulted on his agreed Protocol that he and other Diocese of Virginia representatives worked out with representatives of the churches investigating departure. With the filing of litigation against 11 churches by the bishop and Diocese of Virginia, the Protocol seems to have been unilaterally dishonored and abrogated, raising many questions about all agreements between the congregations and the diocese. In addition, Bishop Lee's failure to discontinue the litigation following the Anglican primates' specific request to do so in their recent Dar Es Salaam communiqué demonstrates even further a lack of respect for not only Anglicans within his own state but also for the Anglican Communion and its leaders world-wide.

AAC President Canon David C. Anderson announced today that, after a careful examination of the facts, the inhibitions imposed on the 21 Virginia clergy associated with the departing congregations were baseless and without jurisdiction, and therefore have been lifted.

Asked by what authority the AAC could lift the inhibitions, Canon Anderson replied: “By what authority did Bishop Lee attempt to impose the inhibitions on clergy belonging to Uganda and Nigeria? Those faithful clergy are now declared Uninhibited for Christ!”

RESPONSES TO THE COMMUNIQUE, DOMESTIC AND ABROAD 

Notes: Please refer to the links for the full text of each response. This is only a sampling of responses so far and is not intended to be comprehensive.

U.S. Bishops' Responses:

The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth:
"...The Primates of the Anglican Communion concluded their six-day meeting in Tanzania on Monday, February 19, by issuing a unanimous Communiqué that points the way forward in these troubled days in the life of our Church. I commend it to you for your careful reading and study. While the meeting avoided a formal schism, it recognized that serious divisions still confront us and called upon The Episcopal Church to take specific actions to heal the breach in relationships caused by actions of our General Convention and a number of our bishops..."
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The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Central Florida:
"...In a spirit of humility and submission to Godly spiritual authority we gladly accept the 'Schedule' offered by the primates, as the Communion's response to our request for Alternative Primatial Oversight. While our request was far more robust than the Schedule, we acknowledge the spiritual authority of the primates' in this crisis and receive their intervention with gratitude. We pray and trust that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church will facilitate the rapid appointment of the members of the Pastoral Council, hopefully by Easter."
Full Text

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh:
"...It is not perfect and there are a number of potential obstacles. We will enter in good faith. The Primates spent so much of their meeting on our concerns that we can do no less in response to their best assessment of a path forward. What we have is an interim proposal for an interim period with interim structures, while the Episcopal Church majority has one last opportunity to turn back from its 'walking apart'..."
Full Text

The Rt. Rev. Kirk Smith, Bishop of Arizona:
"...I know that many who have worked so hard for the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church will see this as another step backward. It is, and my heart breaks because of it. However, I believe that we are at a moment in our history when we must remain together, doing our best to place the needs of the other before our own. As I have often said to you before, I am committed to a fully inclusive church, but I am also committed to remaining part of the larger Anglican Communion, even when I find it hard to agree with my brothers and sisters in other parts of the world..."
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The Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, Bishop of Atlanta:
"...My principal concern has to do with the request of the Primates for clarity and specificity from our House of Bishops with respect to the consent process for the election of bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions. This is problematic quite apart from one’s personal stance on these matters. The request of the Primates does not present a problem in many parts of the Anglican Communion where the provincial House of Bishops largely dictates the positions of the church on all matters. However, to assign such a role to our House of Bishops, to the exclusion of the laity and clergy represented by the House of Deputies, does not respect the unique features of the polity of The Episcopal Church..."
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The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of California:
"...The inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the full life of the Church is a matter of justice: as we are all part of the world, and the kindom of God is like a net laid over that same world. All on the earth are connected by this net, whether perceived or not. Actions of justice and injustice reverberate throughout the whole, promoting either integrity, remembering, and shalom, or diabolic isolation. ...The Episcopal Church should make every effort, including an extraordinary meeting of the two houses, and redoubled efforts to help the other provinces of the Communion understand both our theology relating to marriage and human sexuality and our polity. We should make these efforts, and at the same time not compromise the essentials of theology or our polity..."
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The Rt. Rev. William Persell, Bishop of Chicago:
"As bishop of Chicago I will not sacrifice the gifts we enjoy as an inclusive church so that we might conform to a doctrinal uniformity that is antithetical to our historic identity and experience. I will continue to invite gay and lesbian Christians into the full life and ministry of our diocesan community, and celebrate their gifts of ministry and covenanted relationships. Admittedly, there are those within our Church, both in our diocese and the larger Communion, who prefer we suspend our efforts at full inclusion for the sake of a seat in the Communion’s councils. That approach, which we engaged in 2005 by our voluntary withdrawal from the Anglican Consultative Council, and institution of a moratorium on episcopal consents, has done little to increase sympathy and understanding of our church culture and experience among our critics. To continue in this fashion would undermine our integrity as a Spirit-led community, and constitute a moral injustice for our gay and lesbian members. I, for one, am not prepared to make that sacrifice. I continue to be profoundly grateful for the contributions of our gay and lesbian members, lay and ordained, in our diocesan life..."
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The Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, Bishop of New York:
"Bear in mind, the General Convention has legislative authority in our church and the House of Bishops can only speak for itself. I look forward to working with others to discover if there are ways in which we might give the assurance which our brothers and sisters around the world have requested. It is my hope that through that process, our relationship across the Communion will broaden and deepen.
    "However, I feel that I need to add an important caveat. Over the years I have been prepared to make certain accommodations to meet the concerns of those whose view of the Gospel promise differs somewhat from my own. I am fully aware that those accommodations have not been uncontroversial. Now, I want to make it abundantly clear that I am not in the least prepared to make any concession that strikes at the heart of my conviction that gay and lesbian people are God’s beloved children..."
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The Rt. Rev. John Chane, Bishop of Washington, D.C.:
"Regarding the recommendations to the Episcopal Church, I am willing to be persuaded that a temporary compromise on issues of governance may be necessary to keep the Anglican Communion intact. However, under no circumstances will I support a moratorium on the consecration of individuals living in same-sex relationships to the episcopacy, and under no circumstances will I enforce a ban on the blessing of same sex unions in the Diocese of Washington, if that, in fact, is what the Primates are asking us to do..."
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The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop:
"The recent meeting of the Primates in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was a challenging one. ...The current controversy brings a desire for justice on the one hand into apparent conflict with a desire for fidelity to a strict understanding of the biblical tradition and to the main stream of the ethical tradition..."
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Responses Abroad:

The Most. Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury:
"...Whether it can all come together remains to be seen. But the leaders of the Communion thought it worth trying - not because enforced unanimity matters more than anything, but because the relations and common work of the Communion, especially in the developing world, matter massively. And also because the idea that there might be a worldwide Christian Church that could balance unity and consent seems worth holding on to, for the sake of the whole Christian family and even for the sake of human society itself..."
Full Article

The Most Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda:
"...Since the dramatic and unbiblical decision of TEC in 2003, a number of congregations in America have appealed to the Church of Uganda to provide a safe place of refuge for them. Ten of our Bishops are now providing ecclesiastical oversight to more than 20 congregations in America. I want to assure our Bishops here and our congregations in America that we stand with you. You are safe and secure in the Church of Uganda. We will not abandon you or repatriate you until there is truly a safe and Biblically faithful ecclesial entity in America. That has been our promise, and we stand by it.
    "We continue in full fellowship and Communion with the members of the Anglican Communion Network, the Anglican Mission in the Americas (a mission initiative of the Church of Rwanda), the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (a mission initiative of the Church of Nigeria), and on an individual basis with those Bishops and Dioceses who have explicitly put policies in place that prohibit the blessing of same-sex unions and the consecration of bishops in same-sex relationships, according to the Windsor Report..."
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