Our Commitment to Partnership in the Gospel: A Word to the Church from Executive Council
Episcopal News Service. February 14, 2005 [021405-2-A]
[The official Spanish translation of "Our Commitment to Partnership in the Gospel: A Word to the Church" from the Executive Council can be found online at: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_58445_ENG_HTM.htm]
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Executive Council has begun its part in the consultative processes called for by the Windsor Report. We recognize that it will be a long pilgrimage as we press on to the goal of reconciliation and healing. We urge all of the Episcopal Church to join us in this process of considering the report and growing in communion with each other and with the whole Anglican Communion.
As the representatives of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church between its meetings, we are responsible for carrying out the mission and ministry approved by the previous General Convention. We are therefore deeply concerned that "our current difficulties [may have a] negative consequence … on the mission of the Church to a suffering and bewildered world." (Windsor Report, Foreword, p.6)
The Council, consisting of elected laity, priests and bishops, reflects the diversity in the body of Christ which is The Episcopal Church, a multinational and multicultural church that includes a broad spectrum of views on the General Convention actions that led to the Windsor Report. We regret the pain and lost opportunities for ministry caused, both at home and abroad, by those actions.
Because of our particular ministry, the Council is mindful of our need to listen to and learn from other provinces in the Anglican Communion. We welcome every chance to hear from guests from other provinces as they share glimpses of their realities and observations of the Council's work. Council's work in many ways is a reflection of our commitment to be in partnership with our Anglican brothers and sisters. At every meeting, our International Concerns Committee deals with issues such as covenants with newly autonomous provinces, encouraging global mission relationships, and advocating for peace and justice policies such as global debt relief. Our National Concerns Committee deals with refugee ministries, combating racism, developing socially responsible investment policies, and approving Jubilee Centers to minister to the poor and marginalized in this country. The Congregations in Ministry Committee supports congregational development and such parish ministries as evangelism, Christian education, youth work, and theological formation. The work of the Administration and Finance Committee includes identifying resources to provide grants to our overseas dioceses and others outside the U.S. for their mission work. Thus we aspire to be faithful, in all that we undertake, to the "gift and divine expectation" of communion with God and one another in Christ. (Windsor Report, Paragraph 5, p.12)
At each meeting, as we approve companion relationships between dioceses of the Episcopal Church and dioceses of other Anglican provinces, we rejoice in the opportunities such relationships give our dioceses and congregations to develop real understandings of and appreciation for their fellow Christians living out Christ's mandate in other cultures and contexts. We know the best way truly to know one another is to work side by side, listening to one another's hearts. The bishops have that opportunity at Lambeth Conferences, but Christ calls all of us who have been baptized into the same deep love and mutual support.
We believe, with our House of Bishops, that another important communion building step would be to undertake the Communion-wide study of human sexuality recommended by Lambeth Conferences since 1978. Such a study "would be a sign of respect for gay and lesbian persons in our common life and of our ongoing pastoral care for them." It would permit more sharing of their ministries and contributions which have enriched our church for many years. (House of Bishops letter, January, 2005)
In the Council, despite our differing views, we strive to incarnate the gift of communion, by focusing on mission together, by listening to each other, and by daily worship and Bible study. We have seen the same bonds holding the diverse center of our church together over the last two years despite the anguish felt by many on all sides of the issues. We trust that through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and in our sisters and brothers throughout the Anglican Communion we will build new relationships of mutual responsibility and interdependence. (Windsor Report, Appendix Three/5, pp. 74-77)
In this season of Lent, we commit ourselves to "self-examination and repentance," as our liturgy for Ash Wednesday invites us. We also pray, in the words of our Collect for Wednesday in Holy Week, that "God may give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed."
The Executive Council
February 11 – 14, 2005
Austin, Texas