We, the undersigned laity and clergy of the Episcopal Church, offer the following as a testament to our concern for the life and witness of our church and its membership in the Anglican Communion. The God-given bonds of affection that unite us to one another are based in the prior unity of love that is God\u2019s own Trinitarian life; for this reason, our corporate life should continually strive to be an icon of this same love. At the present moment, we are particularly mindful that \u201cGod was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself\u201d\u009d (II Cor. 5:19), and that because of this we have been given a \u201cministry of reconciliation\u201d\u009d (II Cor. 5:18). It is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will give the Episcopal Church a renewed awareness that at the heart of our common mission lies the ministry of reconciliation, which endeavors \u201cto restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ\u201d\u009d (BCP Catechism, p. 855).<\/p>\n
To that end, we<\/p>\n
Affirm that evangelism lies at the heart of the Church\u2019s mission, understanding evangelism to subsist in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls all people to repent from sin, to be united in the Body of Christ through baptism, and to be continually discipled in the communion of the Church.<\/p>\n