Once again I find myself both in much sympathy with AM but also ultimately unconvinced by their critique. I too believe it would have been best if all the Primates met to evaluate TEC\u2019s response. However, it cannot be denied that there were clearly serious problems \u201d\u201c financial, logistical, political – with that way forward. Indeed, a case can be made that to call such a meeting at this time would have been to put on this Instrument more pressure than it could be expected to bear and be action damaging to the Communion. It is ultimately the Archbishop\u2019s decision whether to call an emergency meeting and he clearly took advice from the Primates about whether this was needed. The consultation with the Primates showed limited support for this way forward. Apparently only 3 of the 26 Primates who replied requested such a meeting! For the Archbishop to call an unscheduled meeting when there was such limited demand would probably be irresponsible, especially if, as claimed, several primates were very hostile to the idea.<\/p>\n
The proposed alternative is one AM describes as the creation of a \u201chand-picked team of supposed specialists to determine the future life of the Communion in all its representative bodies\u201d\u009d. In addition to its rather cynical tone, this description seriously distorts the role of that group according to the letter.<\/p>\n
It is not some separate \u201chand-picked team\u201d\u009d doing its own thing but a group who will work \u201d\u02dcin close collaboration with the primates, the Joint Standing Committee, the Covenant Design Group and the Lambeth Conference Design Group\u2019. The reason it is needed is because, far from \u201cacting alone in this\u201d\u009d, the Archbishop wishes to work collegially on \u201d\u02dcthe unanswered questions arising from the inconclusive evaluation of the primates to New Orleans\u2019. Although clearly different, there are parallels in this way forward with Windsor\u2019s proposed Council of Advice (paras 111 and 112). There is nothing at all to suggest that it will \u201cdetermine the future life of the Communion\u201d\u009d, it will simply \u201ctake certain issues forward to Lambeth\u201d\u009d. Far from determining the future life \u201cin all its representative bodies\u201d\u009d it is, as noted, working closely with those bodies and \u201cwill feed in to the discussions at Lambeth about Anglican identity and the Covenant process\u201d\u009d – a sign, once again, of the importance of attending Lambeth and supporting and shaping the Covenant process.<\/p>\n