Cherie Wetzel, Editor THE ANGLICAN VOICE, reporting from New Orleans
Good Morning! The newspapers and email inboxes are filled this morning with different people’s “takes” on the meeting yesterday. These are the most salient points: “The ‘full response’ that the Episcopal presiding bishop promised could be anything from a clear-cut promise to comply to an outright rejection of the request from the other presiding bishops.” By Bruce Nichols and Ed Stoddard, Reuters News Service.
“My expectation will be that the bishops will say that the proper authorities of our church have already spoken,” said Bishop Stacy F. Sauls of the diocese of Lexington, Ky. “But I don’t expect after it a hammer coming down on us from others in the communion.” Neela Bannerji, The New York Times
“He did not believe that anything had changed from any of the positions – ‘it's what it has been’ and "I don't think any minds were changed or a new understanding was reached.. The glaring reality is the anomaly of a church that has not changed its teaching -- and a bishop consecrated outside of that teaching."
“Much of the remaining discussion, Bishop Stanton believed, would be over discerning whether there was ‘anything new we can say’ or with trying to find some language that would express something more. But ‘everyone is so invested in their position’ that he does not believe that there is much possibility in that happening.” Sarah Hey, Standfirminfaith.com
I spoke informally (which means I cannot quote them or use their names) with bishops last evening in the hotel bar. Yes, this is a great place to talk to people. These three bishops, all part of the House for more than 8 years, felt that the statement by Bishop Mouneer Anis, Egypt, [attached below] was hysterical rhetoric that always comes from the continent of Africa. Messages of that nature are automatically dismissed, just as a teenager tunes out his/her parents’ admonitions. The two Anglican Consultative Council women who addressed the House were also dismissed. Both were from Africa, and not South Africa, which is the only African province favorable towards TEC.
So, whom would they actually listen to? Well, The Archbishop of Canterbury was a definite maybe. All felt that he left the meeting without actually telling them that TEC has a decision to make that will have consequences on their future participation in the Communion. There are no “lines in the sand.”
Now, this opinion has been widely debated by the members of the House. Some felt that the Archbishop did issue a direct challenge to change or be set aside. They are the members and friends of the Network. But, I believe the majority would agree that there was “no line in the sand.” All must remember that the Archbishop speaks with such a high degree of diplomatic language that you always have to read carefully.
As an example, “…I hope that the House, equally, has understood more fully what those questions and proposals [Dar es Salaam Communiqué] were meant to achieve…. Despite what has been claimed, there is no ‘ultimatum’ involved… The ACC and Primates Joint Standing Committee will be reading and digesting what the Bishops have to say, and will let me know their thoughts on it early next week. After this, I shall be sharing what they say along with m own assessments, with the Primates and others, inviting their advice in the next couple of weeks. I hope these days will result in a constructive and fresh way forward for all of us. ++Rowan Cantuar, Opening Remarks for Joint Press Conference with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, September 21, 2007
Ok, so that translates into, “This is why the communiqué was written the way it was, and don’t get your unders in a wad because of the strong language used. And no, you won’t be kicked out by failing to agree. My opinion will be joined with those of other guests at this meeting and we’ll let the others in our body know what we concluded. That will take about a month. Maybe then, we can get on with planning a way forward.”
That final line is most important. It does seem to indicate that invitations to Lambeth issued to TEC will not be withdrawn, even if they fail to give an “appropriate” response to Dar. The Archbishop seems to hope that a compromise can be achieved that will not result in the fracturing of the Communion. He was given fairly honest response by this House and if he still believes that, and does not see their position is intractable, and oppositional, then God help us! Or perhaps, he just hasn’t raised teenagers yet…….
I received a reply from Odessa Elliott with regard to Bishop Barbara Harris’ comments in the bar on Thursday evening, re: polygamy and African bishops and how that practice discounts their ability to correct the American church. It seems that the 1988 Lambeth Conference, which dealt with this practice of Animists and Muslims in Africa, concluded that remarriage, especially among clergy, was acceptable. Some felt that it was the same as polygamy, since Scripture and our own Book of Common Prayer, advises that these vows are not to be “put asunder.” Bishop David Gitari, Kenya and others took an active role in correcting these assumptions within the African portion of the Communion.
Below is Bishop Mouneer Anis’ address to our House. As the only Global South member at this meeting, I felt he spoke with clarity and precision.
Address of Bishop Mouneer Anis, September 21, 2007, New Orleans LA USA
Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt
With North Africa and the Horn of Africa
President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican province of
Jerusalem and the Middle East
To the House of Bishops in New Orleans
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you so much for inviting me here to come and listen to you and for giving me the opportunity to share my heart with you. I am very aware of my own shortcomings and weaknesses, but every word I want to say is out of love and concern for the unity of the Church of Christ.
I do not come with great authority, nor am I the Primate of a Province with a great number of Anglicans; I do however come from a region where Christ walked and where the Church was borne. I come representing the Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
The Church in this region has faced many challenges since the first century. Our brothers and sisters in the early centuries were ready to sacrifice their very lives to stay true to the Faith they received from the Lord and His Apostles. Their blood was not in vain; rather it became the seed of the Church all across our region. Many disputes and heresies took place in our region. In face of all the challenges, persecutions, and heresies our ancestors: people like St. Athanasius, St. Clement, Origen and Cyril from Alexandria, along with Tertullian, Cyprian and St. Augustine from North Africa-- kept the faith of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are constantly learning from our ancient martyrs and forebears how to serve the Kingdom of God faithfully.
Today our Anglican Church in the Middle East still lives within a very exciting and challenging context. We live among the Oriental Orthodox, the Greek Orthodox, the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims. We greatly value our ecumenical relations and continue to work for unity.
We also deeply respect and appreciate our Muslim friends and value our interfaith relations while in no way compromise our faith. I have to tell you that many of these relations were severely strained after your decision to consecrate Gene Robinson as Bishop in 2003. We are seen as the new heretics and this has hindered our ecumenical and interfaith relations as well as our mission in the region.
My friends, like you, we want to be relevant to the culture in which we live. More importantly, we want to be salt and light to our societies. That is not an easy calling but it means we must remain distinct and humble at the same time. Without being distinct we cannot be salt and light; without humility we will not represent the One who said, “I am meek and lowly in heart”. We are also continuously challenged whether we should allow the culture to transform the Apostolic faith we once received, or if we should allow the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform our culture as it has in the past. As we struggle to answer this question we must never divorce ourselves from the faith that countless men, women and children died to protect. I believe that if we faithfully serve the Church of Christ, He will continue to fulfil his promise that the gates of Hades will not prevail against her.
.
Rupertus Meldenius said ''In essentials, unity; in non essentials, liberty; in all things, charity''. Our hope is to be united on the essentials of faith which are defined only by the whole church. We are not in any way trying to impose rigid views on you. Like you we celebrate diversity, but we believe that such diversity should not be unlimited and should not contradict the essentials of our faith. We are not schismatic, but we are diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We want unity by not unity at any expense.
Anglicans are aware with humility that we are not ''the” church but we are one member of the body of Christ, the one Holy Catholic Church. We proclaim this every week in our churches. This places upon us the responsibility to listen to and respect our ecumenical partners.
My friends, you may believe you have discovered a very different truth from that of the majority in the Anglican Communion. It is not just about sexuality, but about your views of Christ, the Gospel and the authority of the Bible. Please forgive me when I relay that some say you are a different church, others even think that you are a different religion.
I understand that it is difficult for you in your context to accept the standard teaching of the Anglican Communion. This is why you refused to accept Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10. You also ignored all the warnings of the Primates in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Your response to the Windsor Report is seen by the Primates as not clear. You cannot say you value being member of the Anglican Communion while you ignore the interdependence of the member churches. The interdependence is what differentiates us from other congregational churches. I would like to remind you and myself with the famous resolution number 49 of the Lambeth Conference of 1930 which declares “ the Anglican Communion is a fellowship of churches that "are bound together not by a central legislative and executive authority, but by mutual loyalty sustained through the common counsel of the bishops in conference.”
With respect, I have to say that those who would prefer to speak of laws and procedures, constitutions and canons, committees and process: you are missing the point! It is our mutual loyalty and fellowship, submitting to one another in the common cause of Jesus Christ that makes us of one Church one faith and one Lord.
It is clear that your actions have resulted in one of the most difficult disputes in the Communion in our generation. You may see them as not core doctrinal issues. Many like me see the opposite but the thing that we all cannot ignore is that these issues are divisive and have created a lot of undesired consequences and reactions. For the first time in centuries, the fabric of our Communion is torn. Our energies have been drained and our resources are lost; and it is difficult for both of us to continue like this.
My friends, if you really believe that the truth revealed to you is different from that shown to the rest of the Communion, then you need to uphold that claim with boldness even at the risk of losing unity. If you think it is right and necessary to ordain and consecrate practicing homosexuals and that you should bless same sex partnerships or even marriages, you should be true to what you believe is right and accept the consequences.
However, if you appreciate being members of the global Anglican family, then you have to walk along side the members of your family. Those who say that it is important to stay together around the table, to listen to each other and to continue our dialogue over the difficult issues that are facing us are wise. We whole-heartedly agree with this, but staying around one table requires that you should not take actions that are contrary to the standard position (Lambeth 1:10) of the rest of the Communion.
Sitting around one table requires humility from all of us. One church cannot say to the rest of churches “I know the whole truth, you don’t”. Archbishop Rowan reminded us in his paper “Challenge and hope” that “the whole truth is revealed to the whole church.” Sitting around one table requires that each one should have a clear stance before the discussion starts. It also requires true openness and willingness to accept the mind of the whole. We do not have to be in one communion to sit around one table. We do so when we dialogue with the Roman Catholic, the Orthodox and with other faiths. It would be extremely difficult to sit around one table when you have already decided the outcome of the discussion and when you ignore the many voices, warnings, and appeals from around the Communion.
Today I appeal to you to respond with great clarity to the requests were made in Dar es Salaam. If you accepted the Primates' recommendations, would you be able to give assurance that the Executive Committee and the General Convention of TEC would ratify your response? It is the responsibility of the Bishop to guard the faith as we promise during our consecration. In many if not in most parts of the Communion and the historic churches, present and ancient, matters of faith and order, is the responsibility and therefore the authority of the Bishops to safeguard and teach.
If you don't commit yourself to the Dar Es Salaam recommendations, would you be willing to walk apart at least for a period during which we continue our discussions and dialogue until we reach a common understanding, especially about the essentials of our faith? Forgive me when I say that for many of us in the Communion, we feel that you have already walked apart at least theologically from the standard teaching of the Communion.
I know that you value personal freedom and independence. The whole world learns this from you. You need to demonstrate this by securing freedom for the American orthodox Anglicans who do not share your theological direction. Show your spirit of inclusiveness when you deal with them. I am afraid to say that without this more and more interventions from other provinces is going to happen. No one wants this.
I pray for wisdom and grace, for myself, as well as for you, and I pray that God will lead us both in the right direction. Remember the illustrious history of God’s church and remember future generations who will sit in judgment on us. Remember also that the whole world is waiting and watching what you do.
Please forgive me if I have said anything that offends you.
May the Lord Bless you.
+ Mouneer Egypt
The rest of this day is community work and vacation. The bishops are assigned to several different work projects and will do than until at 2:30. The rest of the day is free, and since the expected Tropical Storm went ashore last night in Florida, it is 85 and sunny here today. Rain may come tomorrow; or it may not. I am visiting several work sites this afternoon and will not have a post this evening. As some of you know, we have been hit by a report to AOL that my emails are Spam and they have cancelled my ability to send email to all AOL addresses. Please pray that those who have requested daily emails and are not receiving them will understand the dilemma and my inability to correct it. Angry emails keep coming to me, but even the response to that email is blocked and returned. OYE! Cherie Wetzel reporting from New Orleans
