What agenda did emerge? When the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked this question at the closing press conference, he immediately referred to the statement of the Windsor Continuation Group that came at the beginning of the conference.
\nThis called for a complete cessation of
\n(a) the celebration of blessings for same-sex unions,
\n(b) consecrations of those living in openly gay relationships and
\n(c) all cross-border interventions and inter-provincial claims of jurisdiction<\/p>\n
The group writes that \u201ccessation of activity. .. applies to practices that may have already been authorised as well as proposed for authorisation in the future. \u201c The agenda also included the Pastoral Forum, for which bishops from overseas jurisdictions in the United States had not asked.<\/p>\n
Had this agenda been discussed with the Primates, or endorsed by the conference? The closing presidential address had enumerated these and received a standing ovation, but not from the Presiding Bishop of TEC who stood with arms folded.
Some bishops probably saw from afar this attempt to produce an agenda out of what were only styled as reflections. The Moderators from the Churches of North and South India, Pakistan and Bangladesh issued their own statement as the conference ended. As other bishops had claimed to represent over half the church going Anglicans, they claimed to \u201crepresent nearly a quarter of the human race practicing and living all the major faiths of the world\u201d\u009d. In other words, they knew what they were talking about in inter-faith matters. They applauded the walk of witness on world poverty but concluded that this \u201cwill mean an equitable sharing of resources within the Communion\u201d\u009d. They were saddened and disturbed by the \u201d\u02dcfractured nature of the Anglican Communion\u2019 which \u201cseems primarily to have been caused by the issue of human sexuality\u201d\u00a6\u201d\u00a6We acknowledge the biblical norms on human sexuality and urge that within the Anglican Communion this may be upheld for the effective witness of the Gospel.\u201d\u009d They ask that \u201cour differences, self-justifications and arrogant attitudes may be crucified and that we all experience the power of the resurrection for the transformation of our life together in the Communion.\u201d\u009d Primates from the Global South, the Council of Anglican Province of Africa Bishops and the Bishops of Egypt also made public statements as the conference ended. Did this flurry of \u201d\u02dcminority reports\u2019 represent a frustration at not having any opportunity to express a common mind and a protest against the Conference leadership?<\/p>\n
Missing most glaringly from the Reflections are the presence of sin and disobedience in the leadership of the communion, clear disobedience to revealed truth in Scripture and a total avoidance of the issues of power in any relationships local or global. Mere repetition of being gracious and not rushing to judgment is the ploy that unethical power uses to mask its strategies of continuing hegemony.<\/p>\n