Most of the resolutions adopted by the recent Lambeth Conference were hardly noticed. They received little or no publicity as they were overshadowed by the legislation on sexuality. One of those resolutions dealt with "continuing Anglican churches" which have separated themselves from the Anglican Communion. It asks the Archbishop of Canterbury and the primates' meeting "to consider how best to initiate and maintain dialogue with such groups with a view to the reconciliation of all who own the Anglican tradition."

The "continuing churches" are those which separated themselves from the Episcopal Church and other Anglican bodies during the 1960s and '70s over such matters as prayer book revision and ordination of women. Most of them have kept "Anglican" or "Episcopal" in their titles, and their liturgies would be familiar to most current Episcopalians. While it was their choice to leave the Episcopal Church, many of the members of the continuing bodies long for some sort of reunion with Anglicanism.

We have noted some recent activities involving Episcopalians with the continuing churches. The recent eucharistic conference in Victoria, B.C. [p. 7] brought together Canadian Anglicans, American Episcopalians and persons from continuing churches in both countries. And in the Diocese of Fort Worth, the bishop celebrated the Eucharist with bishops from continuing churches.

The effort by the bishops at Lambeth to reach out to the continuing churches is a positive development. If the interest is reciprocal it will be an encouraging sign.