The Episcopal Church is capable of solving its own problems according to the Most Rev. David Mukuba Gitari, Archbishop of Kenya.

Archbishop Gitari attended the House of Bishops' fall assembly in Burlington, Vt., Sept. 20-26. The theme was globalization.

Archbishop Gitari said he and some other African primates are "convinced that the Episcopal Church is capable of solving its problems" and therefore would not consider themselves to be in communion with American priests who have been consecrated to serve as Anglican missionaries to the United States by the archbishops of Rwanda and Southeast Asia.

In commenting on the conference following its conclusion Archbishop Gitari said he was surprised by two things: first that American bishops are not "preoccupied with [the] agenda of human sexuality" as many African bishops had concluded at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. The archbishop said he was also surprised to find that evangelical Episcopalians are not as marginalized today as they seemed during his first encounter with the American church 25 years ago.

The House of Bishops summarized the substance of their discussion on globalization in a pastoral letter titled "On Waging Reconciliation." In the letter, the bishops said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 were a calling to self-examination and repentance.

"Let us therefore wage reconciliation," it said. "Let us offer our gifts for the carrying out of God's ongoing work of reconciliation, healing and making all things new. To this we pledge ourselves and call our church."

Episcopal News Service contributed to this article.