Resolved, That the Executive Council, Meeting in Tampa, Florida, Adopt the Following as a Message to the Episcopal Church
Episcopal News Service. February 13, 2004 [021304-1]
A Message to the Episcopal Church
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your Executive Council, meeting during February, 2004, at Tampa, Florida, considered the life of the Episcopal Church in light of the mission initiatives set by the 74th General Convention. We do not underestimate the difficulties that many dioceses and congregations continue to face in light of the decisions made in Minneapolis. It is our hope that all parties will continue their conversations in a spirit of what our Presiding Bishop calls "passionate patience." We must resist the tendency to push for a speedy or easy resolution of our differences, but rather continue the hard work of listening to one another and searching for ways to accompany one another. Only in such ways will we discover the gifts God may have for us in our commitments and disagreements.
In a sermon offered in Spanish at one of our daily eucharists, Wilfrido Ramos-Orench, Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut, struck the theme of our friendship, our companionship, in Christ - a friendship that must be sacrificial and must endure the tensions of our differences. We cannot claim to be friends if we do not struggle to understand one another and to walk with one another despite our differences. Much of the effort in the Episcopal Church in recent months has been to keep open and clear lines of communication with other parts of the global Anglican community and to seek ways in which we can engage God's mission together beyond the present strains in the Communion. We are encouraged that relationships within the Episcopal Church though pressured and stressed by our differing viewpoints have continued to focus on support for the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church.
Our mission and ministry go forward. Among the initiatives we addressed were significant improvements to the Episcopal Church website, the hiring of missioners for the African American and Asian ethnic offices, the commitment to publish church documents in Spanish and French, the adoption of shareholder resolutions, and the sending of missionaries around the world. In addition your Council considered several new initiatives for young adult and youth ministries in response to the budget priorities set in Minneapolis. A representative advisory board of young people, provincial network coordinators and members of Executive Council was established that will advise the Council on additional youth initiatives during the triennium.
The Council is actively stewarding our resources so that we can carry out the program set by the General Convention. The church staff has been encouraged to find ways to widen the circle of participation in the church by pressing ahead with Spanish and French language initiatives and attempts to reach young people and the unchurched.
As your Council, we pledge to take our part in the continuing conversations around the church and to engage with all the members of the church in listening for the voice of God in these days. Our primary concern is God's call to mission, and we press ahead with the work that is set before us. !Adelante!
The Executive Council