"Scripture is central to our lives as Anglicans," said the Rt. Rev. Douglas Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire, to the annual convocation of Province 1, yet, "The Bible became a symbol of division rather than unity at Lambeth." Bishop Theuner told 180 participants at Mont Marie Conference Center, Holyoke, Mass., Nov. 19-20, that the Lambeth experience lay behind the choice of the theme, "The Bible: Who Knows What It Means?" "We cannot," he said, "come to scripture without interpreting it ourselves."

The Rev. Roger Ferlo, rector of St. Luke-in-the-Fields Church, New York City, said most Episcopalians know the Bible has authority, but "how it is supposed to wield it is uncertain. Lambeth didn't help. Lambeth did not recognize the real authority scripture has." Instead, it "distorted biblical authority. It rendered it authoritarian and the result was sinful and deeply un-Anglican, and it diminished all of us. True authority is not about diminishment but about growth."

The Rev. Mitties M. DeChamplain, Trinity Church professor of preaching at the General Theological Seminary, speaking on "The Word Preached and Heard," said, "Preaching is about making communion from the pulpit."

Opening Saturday morning's discussion on "The Bible: Holding us together or driving us apart?", the Very Rev. George R. Sumner, Jr., dean of Wycliffe College of the Toronto School of Theology, described scripture's authority as its power to call the church back to its fundamental marks of oneness, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity.

Timothy Sedgwick, professor of Christian ethics at Virginia Theological Seminary, spoke about the interplay of authority and faith, of purpose and practice, and how each is understood in light of the other. Describing his understanding of the ends and purposes of human sexuality, Mr. Sedgwick said that in scripture, marriage is living in covenantal terms of faith, love and justice, and being bound to care for one another. Sex is placed in this context of love and care for one another. He said he has come to see that the "covenantal vows of lesbians and gays draw them into divine love and they can be called an embodiment of divine love."