[Bonnie] Anderson said that the group told the archbishop that, while most of the requests from the wider Anglican Communion for the Episcopal Church to do certain things to resolve the current tensions in the worldwide body have been addressed only to the church’s bishops, “we are a church of more than one order of voices.”
“Our great, deep hope is that we would be included in [future] quests, communications and directions” from Anglican Communion leaders, she said.
Williams expressed “frustration” with the Episcopal Church’s three-year legislative cycle, the Rev. James Simons (Pittsburgh) said. “It’s difficult in some cases for decisions to be held for three years for the General Convention to meet, so we discussed some possible scenarios that would allow for a more timely response, at least in the interim, until a permanent response could be made.”
“There was a lot of give and take in terms of trying to think through how we could work more collaboratively in a way that honors each other’s polity,” he added.
“I came away feeling heard, but more importantly I came away with a strong sense of compassion for the difficult position that the archbishop is in trying to lead at a time where a clear path forward is not self-evident,” she said.
I think there is a clear path called Scripture…
Deputy Mike Spencer (Eastern Michigan), who was what he called “the lead-off storyteller” during the meeting, said that the group’s closing message to Williams was “that we’re willing to help him, support him.”
“We wanted him to understand that while we certainly have some expectations, we willing to work if he’s ready to call on us, we’re ready to go wherever he needs to send us,” he said. “It’s easy to want to vilify him — to wring your hands and say ‘why aren’t you standing up for me?’ I think that in the best way he can, for Rowan Williams, he probably is. Time will tell. History will be the final judge.”
I might NOT be wrong, but HISTORY will not be the FINAL judge.
A “cross section”?
You’ve got to be kidding!
I wondered about the “cross section” bit, too. I think some folks were severely under-rerpresented in that “cross section.”
Well, as we learned on the [i]Animal Farm[/i], some sections are more equal than others.