wfn.org | Episcopal leader responds to primates open letter

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

99-035
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold responds to the open letter from 
primates of the Anglican Communion

For: Colin F. Bazley; David M. Gitari; Richard H. Goodhew; 
Emmanuel M. Kolini; Ghais A. Malik; Donald L. Mtetemela; Maurice 
W. Sinclair; Moses Tay 

My dear brothers:

Thank you so very much for your letter of fraternal concern 
regarding the reception of Lambeth resolutions on human sexuality 
and the authority of the Bible in some parts of the Episcopal 
Church in the United States. Joining me in this response are the 
nine members of my Council of Advice, each of whom was elected by 
that bishop's domestic province.

We have just concluded a meeting of our House of Bishops at 
which we noted how important it is when questions arise in the 
body of Christ for members of the same - and especially bishops 
and primates - to deal directly with one another, lest second hand 
information or biased reporting distort or misrepresent our 
actions or points of view. We are therefore responding to each of 
you directly, in the peace of Christ.

As bishops of the Episcopal Church and members of the 
Anglican Communion, and in light of our time together at the 
Lambeth Conference, we are aware that what happens in one part of 
the Communion can affect other provinces because of the very 
different historical and cultural contexts in which we seek to 
live our lives in response to the gospel. The bonds of communion 
which we enjoy with other provinces are precious to us, and the 
mutual sharing of the gifts between us is both a privilege and a 
blessing.

We write to emphasize to you that within the Episcopal 
Church USA, as in other provinces of our Communion, there exist 
divergent opinions on the question of homosexuality. The four 
understandings of homosexuality articulated in the Lambeth report 
on Human Sexuality, and quoted below, accurately described the 
opinions held among us. There are: 
* "those who believe that homosexual orientation is a disorder, 
but that through the grace of Christ people can be changed, 
although not without pain and struggle;"
* "those who believe that relationships between people of the 
same gender should not include genital expression, that this is 
the clear teaching of the Bible and of the  church universal, 
and that such activity (if unrepented of) is a barrier to the 
Kingdom of God;"
* "those who believe that committed homosexual relationships 
fall short of the biblical norm, but are to be preferred to 
relationships that are anonymous and transient;"
* "those who believe that the Church should accept and support 
or bless monogamous covenant relationships between homosexual 
people and that they may be ordained."
We therefore find ourselves in a process of discernment and 
"testing the spirits" and are instructed by the observation and 
wise words of His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury in a letter 
addressed to one of our primates, and which I have his permission 
to quote. 

"First, let us remind ourselves that in reality the 
discussion at Canterbury was the very first time the bishops as a 
body had discussed it [homosexuality] at any length. A Resolution 
was passed that indicates where bishops stand NOW on the issue; it 
does not indicate that we shall ever rest there. That MAY be the 
case - but who knows? "Second, the debate showed - and showed me 
more powerfully than I had ever seen  before - that argument and 
controversy solves nothing. "We need a new kind of `conversation' 
- one that begins with respect for the integrity of another and a 
willingness to study the scriptures together, to reflect on our 
experience - including the experience of homosexuals - and to 
share in a process which attempts to put into practice what the 
writer Joseph Monti once called `The Church as a community of 
moral discourse'. It is  time we got a discourse going and started 
discouraging the polemic and bitterness that is around."

Therefore, in answer to your concerns, and in the interest 
of fostering conversation and "moral discourse" and an even 
greater relationship of affection and understanding, we invite 
each of you to visit those parts of our church which cause you 
concern so that you may inquire and learn directly what has 
animated certain responses to the above mentioned resolutions. 

Such visits will afford you the opportunity not only to query some 
of our bishops and representatives of their dioceses but also to 
listen to the experience of homosexual persons, which is mandated 
by the  Lambeth resolution on human sexuality. I will be hoping to 
hear from each of you in order that we might plan visits for you 
such as I describe.

It is our fervent prayer and earnest hope that occasions of 
concern become opportunities for us to  learn from one another to 
our mutual enrichment, in the name of the risen Christ, and in the  
power of the Spirit of Truth who alone can guide us into all 
truth.

With the love of God in our hearts and the upbuilding of the 
body of Christ as our hope, we invite you, in the words of Jesus 
to, "Come and see."

Yours ever in Christ,
Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate

J. Clark Grew II, Bishop of Ohio
Robert H. Johnson, Bishop of Western North Carolina 
James E. Krotz, Bishop of Nebraska
Julio C. Holuguin, Bishop of Dominican Republic
Jack M. McKelvey, Bishop Suffragan of Newark
Robert D. Rowley, Jr., Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania
Richard L. Shimpfky, Bishop of El Camino Real
William Smalley, Bishop of Kansas
Douglas Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire