wfn.org | [ACNS] From the ECUSA House of Bishops A Report to the Church

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 4037     |     USA     |	  30 SEPTEMBER 2005

>From the ECUSA House of Bishops, A Report to the Church

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We, the bishops of the Episcopal Church, greet you in the name of the
compassionate and merciful Christ, remembering that, "it is not
ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and
ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake." (2 Cor. 4:5)

Our regular fall meeting of the Community of Bishops and Spouses
convened in Puerto Rico at the gracious invitation of Bishop David and
Senora Maryleen Alvarez. At the 2003 General Convention, the Diocese of
Puerto Rico was received with great enthusiasm as the newest diocese of
the Episcopal Church. The spirited and warm hospitality extended to us
and the tremendous mission being carried out by this community of 37,000
members encourages us greatly. Their ministry to the poor and the
homeless, to the aged and the dying, and to all who are living on the
edges of our common life inspires us. The hospitals and medical centers
established by this diocese are the premier institutions for healing and
wholeness in Puerto Rico. The Diocese of Puerto Rico is the third
largest private sector employer on the island. Our spirits have been
enlightened and lifted by the grace of the Lord so evident in this
portion of God's vineyard.

We arrived in Puerto Rico with the suffering from Hurricane Katrina
foremost on our hearts and minds. Hurricane Rita deepened our concern
all the more. We altered our agenda in order to focus on this ongoing
crisis and our response. On our first day we heard from Duncan Gray,
Bishop of Mississippi, Charles Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana, and Philip
Duncan, Bishop of the Central Gulf Coast, who described the devastation
in their respective dioceses. Six churches and nine rectories in
Mississippi were destroyed. In Louisiana a significant percentage of
churches were damaged, some likely beyond repair. Bishop Duncan reminded
us of the impact of Hurricane Ivan, one year ago, and the continuing
challenges now added by virtue of Katrina and Rita. In the face of such
tragedy, we weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn.

We also heard accounts of valiant and generous responses to this
life-altering crisis, reminding us of God's grace in action and calling
us to heightened action ourselves. We are grateful to God for the
outpouring of generosity throughout our Episcopal Church and through the
work of its agencies. Robert Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief and
Development, reported ERD has raised nearly $6 million to date. Richard
Parkins, Director of Episcopal Migration Ministries, described their
work in assisting those displaced by Katrina and offered ways for us to
share in that ministry. George Packard, Bishop Suffragan for
Chaplaincies, told us of the heroic work being done by Episcopal Church
chaplains who are responding to emergency needs in the Gulf Coast area.
We are profoundly grateful to them for their compassion, courage, and
service, both here and in other parts of the world. Bishop Packard also
announced plans for We Will Stand With You, a response system that will
assist dioceses, congregations and institutions wishing to partner with
congregations in hard-hit disaster areas. More information about this
system and other resources is available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/help.

Our response to the devastation caused by Katrina and Rita, like our
response to the Tsunami, will need to be sustained for years to come. As
bishops we pledge our church and ourselves to join with our brothers and
sisters in this long process of resurrection. The epistle read this past
Sunday reminds us to, "look to each other's interests and not merely to
your own. Let your bearing towards one another arise out of your life in
Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2: 4-5)

Spouses of bishops meeting together framed a response to the needs of
those affected by Katrina, including raising funds for the purchase of
merchandise certificates for clergy families. We rejoice in this
expression of compassion and commitment.

The harsh wind of Katrina exposed fundamental injustices and
environmental neglect and abuse, and blew away any pretense that the
inequities of race and class have been overcome in our nation or among
ourselves. As a Church we must act on our commitment "to strive for
justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every
human being." (BCP 305) Toward this end, we adopted a resolution
"expressing our opposition to the suspension of the provisions of the
Federal Guidelines of the Davis-Bacon Act, which call for the paying of
prevailing wages in federal contracts for relief and rebuilding areas
affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita." A crisis like Katrina
strengthens our resolve to challenge racial, economic and other social
injustices, and to respond to unmet needs around the world, as well as
close to home.

Professor Philip Sheldrake of the University of Durham, England, invited
us to consider reconciliation and discernment not as tasks to be
accomplished, but as processes in which we suspend pre-judgment of
others and ourselves for the sake of learning to embody God's
reconciling action in the world. Such processes invite individuals and
communities of faith to turn our hearts towards one another in all
circumstances, even when our minds may not be in agreement.

We heard encouraging and challenging stories from several bishops
concerning their recent visits to churches in Africa. In addition,
Catherine Roskam, Bishop Suffragan of New York, gave an account of the
June meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Nottingham,
England. She reported on the presentation made by the committee
appointed by the Presiding Bishop in response to the Windsor Report's
invitation to explain "from within the sources of authority that we as
Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and
reasoned reflection, how a person living in a same gender union may be
considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ." (Windsor Report # 135)
We commend this report entitled To Set Our Hope on Christ (available
from Episcopal Books and Resources) to the members of the Episcopal
Church and indeed to the Anglican Communion as part of our ongoing
conversation regarding human sexuality. We continue to encourage the
Church to read and discuss the Windsor Report, and will re-engage our
own conversation about this report at our meeting in March of 2006.

>From Phoebe Griswold we heard a troubling reminder about the overall
status of women in the Anglican Communion, especially within its
decision-making structures. Among the "Instruments of Communion" (The
Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglican Primates, Lambeth Conference of
Bishops, and the Anglican Consultative Council) only 30 of the more than
800 persons involved in those ministries are women. Therefore, many
concerns of women go unheeded, and their ministries are under-affirmed
and not fully supported. In response the Anglican Consultative Council
adopted a resolution which affirms, in part, the United Nations
Millennium Development Goal of equal representation for women in
governance at all levels.

We were greatly blessed by the presence of Michael Nuttall, retired
Bishop of Natal of the Province of Southern Africa, Khotso Makhulu,
Archbishop Emeritus of Central Africa, Michael Baroi, Moderator of the
United Church of Bangladesh, and Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the
Anglican Church of Canada. These eminent guests from around the
Communion contributed to our conversation by their witness of courageous
faith and insight that challenge our understanding of the bonds of
affection which unite us. Our Communion-wide relationships deepen and
strengthen our shared life in Christ and our mission in the world. For
this we are profoundly grateful.

Throughout this meeting, we have been reminded that in sharing the grief
of so many along our nation's Gulf Coast, and in considering our
relationships one to another and within the larger Church, we do so
always bearing hopeful witness to the power of the Resurrection. The
everlasting love of God, in raising Jesus from the dead, embraces the
world's grief within the very heart of God. The Resurrection of Christ
shows us the power of God the Holy Trinity to bridge every divide and
division. The abiding Communion of the Trinity undergirds our common
life and sustains us, together with you, for the service of God's
mission in the world. "Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do
infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation
to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever."
(Eph. 3:20-21)

>From ENS: Report to the Church from the House of Bishops September 27,
2005 - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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