Cherie Wetzel, Editor THE ANGLICAN VOICE, reporting from New Orleans
Good morning! The press is still “in blackout” from the House of Bishops’ final meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury. They have a 3 hour session this morning, and we were told that everyone will have a chance to speak: the bishops, the Archbishop, and all of the invited guests. The invited members of the Primate’s Council are the Rt. Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis of Egypt, the Most Rev. Dr. Phillip Aspinall, Australia, the Most Rev. Dr. Barry Morgan, Wales and Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori.
The invited bishop members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will also be given time to reflect on the situation and advise the House. They are the Rt. Rev. John Paterson, Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand, the Rt. Rev. Kumara Illangasinghe of Sri Lanka and the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga of Malawi. There are 6 lay and clergy members of the ACC here, including a female canon from England. (Yes, they are
wandering the halls with the rest of us.)
The House of Bishops’ meetings are conducted at tables of 8. Each table is made up of different theological points of view, different sizes of dioceses and different geographical regions in the US. The usual practice is that after a subject is presented, the table discusses that subject and then writes comments or conclusions. Each table presents their comments to see if the House has reached consensus. All of the guests above, with the exception of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who sits on the dais with the Presiding Bishop, were seated yesterday at a table with our bishops. From what I understand, exchanges and conversation flowed at each table.
You know human nature. When news is withheld, rumors run rampant. Yesterday was no exception, even in the press room. Since there are no real facts to give you about how the meeting is going or what may or may not be already decided, let me assure you that as soon as we have hard facts, I will get them to you. We have a press conference
with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop at the end of the afternoon
session today, roughly 4:30. After that, the Archbishop will leave New Orleans and return to England.
Please pray that he is able to get out of New Orleans, as a tropical storm appears to be
approaching. It is expected to at least temporarily close the airport. The Primate’s
Council members and the ACC members are staying for the weekend for their own meetings. It is not known if they will publish their own statements about our Church’s positions on the issues requested by the Primate’s Dar es Salaam Communiqué last February.
Bishop Rob O’Neil, Colorado, made an elaborate statement yesterday at the press briefing that the work of the 2006 General Convention with regard to the Windsor Report issues, was submitted to a small sub-committee appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury that approved their actions and said the church had met the requirements of the Windsor Report. He then confessed that he didn’t know why the Primate’s
communiqué was so negative and oppositional to TEC. They had been given a pass, he explained, and that was undone later in the Primate’s meeting. He spoke as if this outcome was a complete mystery.
My experience at the Executive Council last spring was that they were fully willing to name primates as the protracted antagonists against TEC. And those names always sound like swear words.
One of my largest concerns about this meeting is that every living retired bishop was invited to come. Many retired bishops such as Barbara Harris from MA and Jane Holmes Dixon, (no, Bishop Spong is not here) who started the House on this trek some 10 years ago, are here. And, true to form, they are very vocal about many issues. Bishop Harris was in the bar last evening, telling everyone - all bishops and their wives - that the African bishops had no right to tell us what to do because many of them are polygamists. It is true that this was a problem at the 1988 Lambeth Conference; the Africans resolved this issue on their own by Lambeth 1998 and it is no longer occurring among the clergy. It is sad that one of our first African American bishops continues to slander other bishops so intentionally. The bar was full and she spoke with great authority. No one questioned her statement - or her enmity.
There is much to pray about! More this evening. Cherie Wetzel reporting from New Orleans
