The sad fact is that, on any careful objective reading of the HoB statement, the glass is nowhere near either \u201d\u02dchalf full\u2019 or \u201d\u02dchalf empty\u2019. It may appear to be so on first examination but in fact once one has removed the froth there is little nourishing left in the glass.<\/b> To change the metaphor, what is being offered here are essentially the same TEC sweets the Communion has been offered over recent years only now in a more attractive wrapping and with a stronger sugar coating.<\/p>\n
It is becoming increasingly clear that the American church has already walked too far apart from the Communion and too much of it sincerely believes that it has walked that way led by the Spirit. As a result, despite much prayer and great effort by many, what has been offered by its bishops to the Communion is \u201d\u02dctoo little, too late\u2019.<\/p>\n
The challenge now, with the Lambeth Conference less than a year away, is to discern what this means for the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole. That is a task that cannot be left to the Archbishop on his own or relying solely on advisors at Lambeth and the Anglican Communion Office. It requires the Primates who offered their guidance at Dar to be gathered in some manner so as to provide a common and coherent response to the statement from TEC\u2019s HoB on the basis of their own understanding of the needs and demands we are facing together. There can be little doubt that TEC\u2019s relationship with the Communion still remains as it was declared to be at Dar \u201d\u201c \u201cdamaged at best\u201d\u009d – and that \u201cthis hasconsequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion\u201d\u009d.<\/p>\n