Communiqué from May 15th Meeting with the Presiding Bishop
Episcopal News Service. May 22, 2001 [2001-126]
A group of bishops and other leaders met with the Presiding Bishop at the Episcopal Church Center on May 15, 2001, to express their concern for the place of a continuing conservative witness in the life of the church.
The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin, asked for the meeting, and was joined by the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, and the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy. The bishops were accompanied by the Rt. Rev. Donald Parsons, retired Bishop of Quincy; the Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan, Jr., Bishop of Pittsburgh and chairman of the American Anglican Council's Bishops' Advisory Council; the Rev. David Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and president of Forward in Faith; and Mr. Charles Nalls, executive director of the Canon Law Institute, and attorney for the vestry of Christ Church, Accokeek, Maryland, in their dispute with the Rt. Rev. Jane Dixon, Bishop of Washington pro tempore. The Rt. Rev. Douglas Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire and chair of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice; the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Bishop of Virginia and convenor of the Resolution A045 Task Force; and David Booth Beers, chancellor to the Presiding Bishop, were present at the Presiding Bishop's invitation.
The meeting provided a candid expression of views concerning the dispute at Christ Church, Accokeek, Maryland, which the bishops who had requested the meeting viewed as symbolic of a rapidly-deepening rift between conservative Episcopalians and a perceived majority willing to resort to exclusionary practices in key dioceses. Pleas that a creative way forward be found in the Accokeek situation (in order that the unity of the Episcopal Church might be preserved) and suggestions on how to do so were discussed.
In light of the dynamics of the Accokeek dispute, where, to the Bishops who asked for the meeting, the principle of diocesan sovereignty appears as the ultimate principle, searching questions were raised about coercive implementation of General Convention Resolution A045. The diocesans of Fort Worth, Quincy, and San Joaquin stated their assessments that Task Force visits would be disruptive and triangulating in the lives of their dioceses. The Presiding Bishop sought to reassure the bishops that the Executive Council, in its appointment of the task force, had a temperate spirit in which they wanted the church to move forward with the ordination of women in all dioceses, but in ways that respected the theological integrity of the various dioceses.
A significant amount of time was spent discussing suggestions made by the Primates at Kanuga and the subsequent Pastoral Letter issued by the ECUSA House of Bishops regarding sustained pastoral care, commonly referred to as extended episcopal oversight or flying bishops. The urgent need for sustained pastoral care for traditional Episcopalians was emphasized as an attempt to prevent further departures from the Episcopal Church. The perception of an increasing rate of loss of catholic, evangelical and charismatic members to other ecclesial bodies was put on the table by those who had asked for the meeting.
The entire group shared hopes that ways forward could be found through these and other sources of friction, ways to strengthen the bonds of unity in the church.
After nearly two hours of conversation, which all agreed were candid, courteous, and fruitful, the group adjourned with the Presiding Bishop's blessings.