Second Meeting of Committee on Priesthood, Sexuality Held
Diocesan Press Service. December 20, 1974 [74358]
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A second meeting of the Presiding Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee on Priesthood and Human Sexuality was held at the Episcopal Church Center on December 7, to continue a discussion of these two issues. The first consultation was held on September 14.
One goal of the group is the communication of resources so that the entire Episcopal Church will be well informed on the various issues involved in the Church's ministry concerns at the Minnesota General Convention in the fall of 1976.
A large part of the all-day meeting was devoted to the making of a wide range of suggestions for the shaping of two books or "mosaics" -- short, concise essays on the two themes, priesthood and sexuality -- which the Seabury Press plans to publish in the fall of 1975.
" The ultimate goal" of the ad hoc committee, Presiding Bishop John M. Allin said, is not "to publish two mosaic volumes " but to provide a vehicle "to move the church forward toward its destination. " The task of the committee, he said, is not "to determine the destination. "
The participants in the consultation, in cooperation with The Seabury Press, are continuing to develop criteria and collect material for the two books, which will include extensive bibliographies.
Bishop Allin has invited anyone interested to suggest resources and to submit articles for consideration. Manuscripts submitted for consideration should be no more than ten, double spaced, typed pages and should be accompanied by return postage. All communications regarding the volume on priesthood and the volume on human sexuality should be sent directly to: The Rev. F. Reid Isaac, The Seabury Press, 815 Second Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017.
Those attending the December 7 consultation were: Dr. Roy W. Battenhouse, professor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.; Dr. Robert McAfee Brown, professor of religious studies, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.; Ms. Verna J. Dozier, assistant director, Public Schools of the District of Columbia, department of English, Washington, D.C.; Ms. Jean Mancini, National Center for the Diaconate, Evanston, Ill.; the Rev. Herbert Ryan, S.J., Jesuit Community, Loyola University, Los Angeles, Calif.; Dr. Robert E. Terwilliger, director, Trinity Institute, New York, N. Y.; the Rt. Rev. John T. Walker, Suffragan Bishop of Washington, D. C.; and the Rev. Paul M. Washington, Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, Pa.
From the Executive Council staff were: The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop; Mrs. Ruth Cheney, executive for program; John C. Goodbody, executive for communication; the Rt. Rev. Richard B. Martin, executive for ministries; the Rt. Rev. Milton L. Wood, executive for administration; and Walter H. Boyd, press officer.
Also attending were: Werner Mark Linz, president, The Seabury Press, and Ms. Jan Pierce of The Episcopalian, Philadelphia, Pa.