wfn.org | Communiquè from May 15th meeting with the Presiding Bishop

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2001-126

Communiquè from May 15th meeting with the Presiding Bishop

     A group of bishops and other leaders met with the Presiding Bishop at the 
Episcopal Church Center on May 15, 2001, to express their concern for the place 
of a continuing conservative witness in the life of the church.

     The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin, asked for the 
meeting, and was joined by the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, and the 
Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy. The bishops were accompanied by the 
Rt. Rev. Donald Parsons, retired Bishop of Quincy; the Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan, 
Jr., Bishop of Pittsburgh and chairman of the American Anglican Council's 
Bishops' Advisory Council; the Rev. David Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good 
Shepherd, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and president of Forward in Faith; and Mr. 
Charles Nalls, executive director of the Canon Law Institute, and attorney for 
the vestry of Christ Church, Accokeek, Maryland, in their dispute with the Rt. 
Rev. Jane Dixon, Bishop of Washington pro tempore. The Rt. Rev. Douglas Theuner, 
Bishop of New Hampshire and chair of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice; 
the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Bishop of Virginia and convenor of the Resolution 
A045 Task Force; and David Booth Beers, chancellor to the Presiding Bishop, were 
present at the Presiding Bishop's invitation.

     The meeting provided a candid expression of views concerning the dispute at 
Christ Church, Accokeek, Maryland, which the bishops who had requested the 
meeting viewed as symbolic of a rapidly-deepening rift between conservative 
Episcopalians and a perceived majority willing to resort to exclusionary 
practices in key dioceses. Pleas that a creative way forward be found in the 
Accokeek situation (in order that the unity of the Episcopal Church might be 
preserved) and suggestions on how to do so were discussed.

     In light of the dynamics of the Accokeek dispute, where, to the Bishops who 
asked for the meeting, the principle of diocesan sovereignty appears as the 
ultimate principle, searching questions were raised about coercive implementation 
of General Convention Resolution A045. The diocesans of Fort Worth, Quincy, and 
San Joaquin stated their assessments that Task Force visits would be disruptive 
and triangulating in the lives of their dioceses. The Presiding Bishop sought to 
reassure the bishops that the Executive Council, in its appointment of the task 
force, had a temperate spirit in which they wanted the church to move forward 
with the ordination of women in all dioceses, but in ways that respected the 
theological integrity of the various dioceses.

     A significant amount of time was spent discussing suggestions made by the 
Primates at Kanuga and the subsequent Pastoral Letter issued by the ECUSA House 
of Bishops regarding sustained pastoral care, commonly referred to as extended 
episcopal oversight or flying bishops. The urgent need for sustained pastoral 
care for traditional Episcopalians was emphasized as an attempt to prevent 
further departures from the Episcopal Church. The perception of an increasing 
rate of loss of catholic, evangelical and charismatic members to other ecclesial 
bodies was put on the table by those who had asked for the meeting.

     The entire group shared hopes that ways forward could be found through these 
and other sources of friction, ways to strengthen the bonds of unity in the 
church.

     After nearly two hours of conversation, which all agreed were candid, 
courteous, and fruitful, the group adjourned with the Presiding Bishop's 
blessings.