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1) http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ (CaNN Anglican News) "I don't think anybody's hands are tied. There's nothing authoritative about this. It binds no one."-- Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate, ACC (Canada)- CANADIAN DEFIANCE-- B.C. bishop backs same-sex unions despite Anglican report. Remarkably balanced CBC Video report also online. Canadian Primate says "I don't think anybody's hands are tied. There's nothing authoritative about this. It binds no one." Apply, lather, rinse, repeat. And lo, +Michael Peers and +David Crawley smiled broadly, and folded their hands in contentment ... (Various)
2) http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/news203.asp Windsor Report - Anglican Mainstream Response 18th October 2004 A curate's egg' sums up our response. The Report's analysis and
recommendations are good in some parts, but we have serious reservations
about other parts.
The Report should be assessed according to four criteria: do its
recommendations affirm the supreme authority of scripture? Do they
provide for effective discipline? Do they affirm mutual accountability
within the family of churches which make up the Communion? Do they
provide adequate protection for orthodox congregations in revisionist dioceses? On scripture we were glad to see that the Commission reaffirms the classical Anglican position that scripture is our supreme authority in
matters of faith and conduct. The Report also makes clear (para 58)
the importance of the role of bishops as 'teachers of scripture': it
can 'hardly be over-emphasised'. When we depart from what scripture
teaches, hurt and division are always likely to follow.
On discipline the Report's recommendations will have to be more fully developed if they are to achieve what is required - which is more than the self-discipline which calls for expressions of regret and standing
down from meetings. Much will depend on the line which the Archbishop
of Canterbury takes: will he withhold invitations to take part in the Communion's Councils from those who consecrated V. Gene Robinson in the case of ECUSA or have approved same-sex unions in the case of the Church of Canada?
On accountability the Report makes important advances. It makes very
clear that provinces are not entitled to act unilaterally on core doctrinal and moral issues: they have a responsibility, which ECUSA and the Church of Canada failed to honour, to take into account the views
and interests of other churches and dioceses in the Communion. That
clarity we welcome. We are attracted too by the concept of a 'Communion
Covenant' but note that it will take many years to put in place. What
will happen in the meantime?
On protection we are deeply disappointed. The Report's proposals for
delegated Episcopal oversight appear to leave loyal Anglicans who wish to remain faithful to the position of the Communion at the mercy of revisionist dioceses who have failed to honour their responsibilities.
That will not do, and we call upon the Primates to make good their undertaking of October 2003 to ensure that adequate Episcopal care and oversight is provided to loyal Anglicans in such a situation - and the test of adequacy is whether it is acceptable to those receiving it.
We will be undertaking a fuller study of the Report
http://windsor2004.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm
and will publish a more detailed response in a few weeks' time. That will, we
hope, contribute to the process whereby the recommendations of the Report can
be turned into decisions by the Primates and acted upon by the provinces within
their care. Dr Philip Giddings (Convenor), Bishop Wallace Benn, Rev David
Banting (vicar of St Peter's Harold Wood,
3)
www.virtuosityonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1494 http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/news202.asp http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=1178&c=21
Windsor Report - Network Response 18th October 2004 The Anglican Communion
Network and American Anglican Council Respond to the Windsor Report 2004 We are
grateful to the Lambeth Commission for their hard work and dedication to this difficult
task. We have strong concerns, however, about the fact that they call only for
the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) to "express regret" and fail to
recommend direct discipline of ECUSA. We commend the Windsor Report's strong
affirmation of Lambeth 1.10 with its biblical doctrine of sexuality. We also
echo the Commission's deep concerns with the unilateral decisions and actions
of the Episcopal Church as well as the Anglican Church in Canada that have fractured the
Anglican Communion and brought us to this crisis. We see a critical need for a
Core Covenant and applaud this recommendation by the Commission. In addition,
we support the recommendation of a moratorium on the ordination and
consecration of practicing homosexuals and the blessing of same sex unions as
well as the invitation to those who participated in the consecration of V. Gene
Robinson "to withdraw themselves from representative functions in the
Anglican Communion." We understand and embrace the justifiable concern for
the unity of the communion, and we treasure real unity. We cannot in good
conscience, however, support such unity at the expense of truth. We must not
allow a desire to hold the church family together to allow us to maintain the
fatal disease that grips ECUSA and by association, the Anglican Communion. In addition, Section 155 of the Windsor Report
presents a false parallel between permanent and willful changes to Christian
doctrine and temporary pastoral measures provided in emergency situations. We
reject this concept and once again call for permanent structural relief. We are
grateful to those Primates who have provided temporary pastoral accommodation,
at great cost, for faithful Anglicans in America who have been persecuted for upholding the
apostolic faith. We are deeply saddened that within minutes of the
Windsor Report's release, the Presiding Bishop has already rejected its core
presupposition that is the church's traditional teaching on human sexuality. We
call upon Bishop Griswold to express godly sorrow, immediately implement a
moratorium on ordinations and consecrations of practicing homosexuals as well
as the blessing of same sex unions, and we call on all bishops who have
supported the consecration to withdraw from the councils of the church, as the
report suggests. The Episcopal Church is now faced with serious and difficult
choices. They can follow the lead of Bishop Griswold which will ultimately lead
to the demise of the Episcopal Church or they can choose to embrace the core
covenant recommended by the commission, reject false doctrine and preserve
faithful unity. 4) http://anglicanjournal.com/extra/news.html?newsItem=2004-10-18_sds.news Ingham says New Westminster regrets consequences, not actions Conservatives
call report 'toothless' SOLANGE DE SANTIS, ANGLICAN JOURNAL Oct. 18, 2004 - Archbishop Robin Eames
said his Lambeth Commission's report would "have teeth," but
conservative Anglicans blasted it for not being tough enough on churches with
liberal attitudes toward homosexuality and liberal Anglicans thought major
areas were unfair to them. Many individuals and groups, while expressing
gratitude to the commission for its hard work and the resulting unanimous
statement, took it to task. The report called for bishops who have
authorized blessing rites for gay couples to "express regret" for the
distress their actions caused some Anglican churches and that those bishops
consider withdrawing from "representative functions in the Anglican
Communion." The bishop of the Canadian diocese of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, told
Anglican Journal that the diocese "does regret the consequences of our
actions but not the actions themselves." In 2002, the diocese authorized blessing
rites for same-sex couples. "It was not our intention to cause dismay, but
affirm the relationships of gay and lesbian people," said Bishop Ingham,
who added that his three-year term on the Anglican Consultative Council ended
in 2002 and that he is not on any international committees currently. He said the report was incorrect in saying
that the diocese had not consulted with the wider Communion. "I consulted
with the house of bishops, the General Synod and received many submissions (on
the issue)," he said. The report also calls for bishops who
participated in the consecration of openly-gay Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire to express regret and stand
down from international groups. The other Canadian bishop who helped consecrate
Bishop Robinson last November (besides Bishop Ingham), Bruce Stavert of Quebec,
told the Journal that he attended because of a long-standing companion
relationship between his diocese and New Hampshire. He said he does not believe
he has anything for which to apologize. A spokesman for Bishop Robinson said he
did not plan to respond to the report immediately. In the U.S., the conservative American Anglican Council said in
a statement that while it believes in the Anglican Communion, it cannot support
unity "at the expense of truth." While the report called for a
moratorium on the consecration to the episcopate of a candidate who is living
in a gay relationship, the council called for a moratorium on any ordination of
"practising" homosexuals. "We call upon (Presiding) Bishop Frank
Griswold to express godly sorrow," and refuse to allow any blessing
ceremonies for gay couples, the council said. Bishop Griswold, who was in
London for a meeting of the standing committee of Anglican primates, released a
statement saying that the Anglican Communion must acknowledge and make room for
differences with in it and that in the U.S., "we are seeking to live the
gospel in a society where homosexuality is openly discussed and increasingly
acknowledged in all areas of our public life." The leader of a conservative group in Great Britain, Church Society, said the
report is "toothless" and "very ambiguous." Rev. David
Phillips told Britain's Press Association that
the report did not recommend "what you do when people undermine
(communion)." Another conservative group, Forward in Faith North America,
said "there is nothing offered for a world-wide solution to address the
schismatic (split) state of the Anglican Communion."(...) 5) http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ http://anglicanjournal.com/extra/news.html?newsItem=2004-10-18_ms.news Report urges 'expressions of regret' Blessings moratorium recommended MARITES N. SISON, ANGLICAN JOURNAL Oct. 18, 2004 - Apologies from the diocese of New
Westminster and the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) for the
"deep offence" their decisions regarding sexuality have caused to
"many faithful Anglicans," and a moratorium on same-sex blessings as
well as the consecration of gay bishops were among the recommendations made by
a commission to heal current rifts among Anglicans worldwide(...) The commission also urged bishops who took
part in the consecration last November of gay bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as well as those bishops in
New Westminster and ECUSA who have
authorized same-sex blessings to consider withdrawing "from representative
functions in the Anglican Communion." The report said the moratoria will
be in effect "until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion
emerges." The report advised that Bishop Robinson's
"acceptability" as a bishop be "under close review" by a
proposed Council of Advice. It urged Archbishop Williams to "exercise very
reasonable caution in inviting or admitting (Bishop Robinson) to the councils
of the Communion" given "the widespread unacceptability of his
ministry in other provinces." (...)"This report is not a
judgment," wrote Archbishop Eames in his foreword to the report. "It
is part of a pilgrimage towards healing and reconciliation." He warned of
disastrous consequences for ignoring the recommendations. "There remains a
very real danger that we will not choose to walk together. Should the call to
halt and find ways of continuing in our present communion not be heeded, then
we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart." Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, the only Canadian
member of the 17-member commission, said the report does not call for apologies
but, rather, expressions of regret. "'I regret very much that what I've
done has hurt you.' 'I apologize for what I've done.' Those are two very
different statements," she said in an interview. She was reacting to media
reports that the commission was suggesting apologies from ECUSA and New Westminster. She noted that the report does not ask that
ECUSA or New
Westminster
to "express regret" for consecrating Bishop Robinson or for
authorizing same-sex blessings -- only for the consequences of those actions.
"(The commission's) mandate was around what makes and breaks communion and
it was felt that the way in which those actions were taken was what caused
events in the communion," she said. "And equally, therefore, those
who came in to take parishes under their wing were also breaching communion by
not paying attention to the traditions of the church around not intervening and
not consulting." (...)Ms. Barnett-Cowan, who is director of
faith, worship and ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada, said the
commission, in its consultations, heard that the worldwide uproar was not so
much because a gay bishop had been consecrated or that same-sex blessings were
approved but because of perceptions that "North Americans were going ahead
off their own bat just because they want to … that people didn't pay sufficient
attention to the deeply held convictions and emotions of other people." Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the
Anglican Church of Canada, said the 93-page report reflected a "positive
will" to hold the Anglican Communion together. He called the
recommendations "balanced" and "reasonable," but declined
to comment on whether he would advise New Westminster bishop Michael Ingham to accept the commission's
advice. Archbishop Hutchison said he would likely contact
the diocese of Toronto, which meets for a special
synod Nov. 27 to discuss same-sex blessings, though he declined to comment on
what he would recommend to Colin Johnson, bishop of Toronto. The report contained unusually strong language
in its criticisms of ECUSA and New Westminster's actions. "We believe that to proceed unilaterally
with the authorization of public rites of blessing for same-sex unions …
constitutes action in breach of the legitimate application of the Christian
faith as the churches of the Anglican Communion have received it," the
report said. It added that, "there is not unqualified freedom on the part
of any bishop or diocese to authorize liturgical texts if they are likely to be
inconsistent with the norms of liturgical and doctrinal usage extant in the
province's Book of Common Prayer or other provincially authorized texts." The report said that the Canadian General
Synod's motion last June affirming "the integrity and sanctity of adult
committed same-sex relationships," along with the consecration of Bishop
Robinson and the authorization in 2002 of same-sex blessings in New Westminster did not attach
"sufficient importance to the interests of the wider Communion." An
apology for having "breached the bonds of affection" would represent
the desire of ECUSA to remain within the communion, the report said. The commission also called for a common
Anglican covenant and the creation of a Council of Advice that would help the
Archbishop of Canterbury make decisions crucial to the fate of the Anglican
Communion as major prescriptions to arrest a schism in the Anglican Communion. Asked to comment on reactions that the report
has been particularly hard on liberal views represented by ECUSA and New Westminster, Ms. Barnett-Cowan said,
"I think they have to read it against the background of other stories that
were being circulated about what the commission was supposed to say. It didn't
say ECUSA was going to be kicked out. It doesn't say New Westminster or the Anglican Church of
Canada is kicked out. It didn't say there can't be gay clergy."(...) 6) http://www.virtuosityonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1503 http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=3014 10/18/2004 David Roseberry Responds to the Lambeth Commission
report Filed under: * General- kendall @ 5:21 pm My Dear Friends in Christ, I have just finished reading over the Windsor report which was released
today in London. I am in London and while I was not able to
attend the press briefing because of limited space, I was able to secure a spot
in a BBC satellite truck(...) The report is clear that the ordination of
gays/lesbians and the blessing of same-sex unions is NOT Anglican in any way.
The Episcopal Church overstepped itself. It is also clear that the Anglican
Communion is at a crossroad. If the American Church
does not back away from its course, the Anglican Communion will break apart.
The Communion is 'ours' to break. But More is Needed Personally, I am in agreement with the observations
of the Windsor report. It is successful in
clarifying the serious issues. But frankly, more is needed. It has told us what
we already knew: that the Episcopal Church violated the bonds of our Communion
in their recent decisions. It has added a call for ECUSA to express regret for
their action, but it has not called upon it to repent of its error. Regret is
an emotional sorrow…repentance is a substantial change!(...) Sadly, our Presiding Bishop, in a prepared statement
just released, accepts the report, but states that he is not prepared to agree
to any kind of moratorium(...) The story is not over. There is a very important
meeting in Lagos, Nigeria in two weeks. The vast
majority of the Anglican bishops from Africa will issue a response to the Windsor report. I don't believe it
will show any latitude in its reaction to the report(...) But let us not be dismayed or distracted by these
events. Perhaps it is no accident that this report coincides with these important
days at Christ Church, our 40 Days of Purpose. 7) http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/18/anglican_report041018.html B.C. bishop backs same-sex unions despite Anglican
report Last Updated Mon, 18 Oct 2004 17:50:40 EDT LONDON - A report by a commission of the worldwide
Anglican Church criticizing the blessings of same-sex unions in Canada will unite Anglicans, says
the leader of the Anglican Church in Canada. "What's remarkable about the report is that
it's unanimous ... There were very liberal and very conservative members on the
commission ... this will help keep the Anglican family together,"
Archbishop Andrew Hutchison told CBC Newsworld. In the United Kingdom on Monday, the Lambeth commission released a
long-awaited report that called upon all 38 national churches that make up the
77-million-member worldwide Anglican Communion to sign an agreement to support
the church's current teachings. Specifically, the report said the church does not
endorse the decision by the diocese in New Westminster, B.C. to sanction same-sex unions. Some
conservative priests reacted by breaking away from the current Canadian
leadership of the Anglican Church. The report wants a moratorium on gay unions. The report has asked those who gave blessings to
same-sex unions to "express regret" over their actions and to
consider withdrawing themselves from "representative functions in the
Anglican Communion." Bishop of Michael Ingham of the New Westminster diocese said on CBC
Newsworld he apologizes to those who feel offended by the actions of his
diocese but, "the actions we took in our synod are the right ones." Ingham says blessings of same-sex unions will
continue. Richard Leggett, an Anglican priest and professor at
the Vancouver School of Theology, doesn't think the blessings of same-sex
unions will stop. "We are committed in Canada to a three-year process of
continuing the conversation as to what we as a national church will do. We're
not going to make a snap decision and turn back on a process that we've
promised to engage in until 2007."(...) Until there is an expression of regret, those who
took part in Robinson's consecration should consider withdrawing from future
Anglican Communion functions, the report said. The report calls for a moratorium on promoting any
others living in a same-sex union to the bishopric until a "new
consensus" occurs. Written by CBC News Online staff 8) http://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/Portal/Default.aspx?tabid=1&mode=Story&StoryId=48 Last Updated: Monday 18 Oct, 2004, 02:53 PM Bishop welcomes Windsor report Appreciates tone of reconciliation I welcome the report and greatly appreciate that the
report focuses on reconciliation(...)We do regret the consequence of our
actions with sadness. We realize that many have not understood what we have
been attempting to do in this diocese, or have even received news of our
actions with dismay. What we have been trying to do is make the church more
welcoming and open to all Christians, whatever their sexual orientation(...) -Bishop Michael Ingham, Diocese of
New Westminster 9) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3754082.stm BBC UK Last Updated: Monday, 18 October, 2004, 15:43 GMT 16:43 UK US bishop 'regret' over gay split The head of the US Episcopal Church has expressed
"regret" that the appointment of a gay bishop has threatened to split
the worldwide Anglican church. But Bishop Frank Griswold stopped short of the
apology called for in the Windsor Report on the issue. The report called on bishops involved in the
ordination of openly gay clergyman Gene Robinson, to the New Hampshire Diocese,
to apologise. It also called for a moratorium on the consecration
of gay candidates. Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal
Church, Frank Griswold said: "We regret how difficult and painful
actions of our church have been in many provinces of our communion". The report seemed to propose "containment of
differences in the service of reconciliation", he said. "However, unless we go beyond containment and
move to some deeper place of acknowledging and making room for the differences
that will doubtless continue to be present in our communion, we will do
disservice to our mission."(...) 10) http://www.virtuosityonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1504 Windsor Report: A New Chapter In "The Tale Of Two
Religions" Commentary By The Rev. Joseph F. Wilson, The Christian
Challenge, October 18, 2004 (...)And what will certainly not be well taken is
the Report's commendation (in paragraph 152) of the Episcopal House of Bishops'
"Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight" (DEPO) plan, supposedly
aimed at providing alternative episcopal oversight for disaffected churches, in
line with a call from Anglican primates. The DEPO proposal landed with a
resounding thud among conservatives. While it provided that a conservative
congregation alienated from a liberal diocesan bishop might have the services
of a more acceptable prelate, the implementation of the DEPO provisions and the
choice of the visiting bishop is still in the hands of the diocesan bishop, and
the provisions are temporary and revocable.The clear focus of the DEPO proposal
is on maintaining at all costs, despite this provisional procedure, the
canonical and legal relationship between the diocesan bishop and the
parish(...) Church faces split as report fails to heal gays row By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent (Filed: 19/10/2004) The future of the worldwide Anglican Church remained
precarious last night after a report intended to heal divisions over
homosexuality failed to reassure conservatives(...) But a leading conservative, Archbishop Gregory
Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone in South America, said he feared for the Anglican Communion. "Sadly, the speed with which Frank Griswold's
statement came out indicates that the American Episcopal Church will continue
to avoid listening and to push the same agenda which has already split the
Communion. "I am deeply disappointed that the report does
not address the real problems, and I am not optimistic for the future." However, the Rev Chris Sugden, a spokesman for the
evangelical group Anglican Mainstream, said the report was "with the
conservatives". "This is the second yellow card," he said.
"It is a very English slap on the wrists for the liberals. If they do not
pull back, if they do not express remorse*, then they are no longer part of the
Church. That is very clear." *Concise Oxford Dictionary(COD): Remorse: Bitter repentance for
wrong committed COD: Regret: Be sorry for loss of person or thing;
repentance or annoyance concerning thing (left un)done; especially, make
apology or ask pardon for; vexation or disappointment caused by occurrence or
situation. COD: Repent: feel regret or penitence about
something; think with contrition of, be regretful about; wish one had not done 12) http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/38/75/acns3894.cfm ACNS 3894 | USA | 18 OCTOBER 2004 Statement from The Most Revd Frank Griswold,
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, on the Windsor Report 2004
(...)I write to you from London where I am attending a meeting
of the Primates' Standing Committee. (...)Given the emphasis of the Report on
difficulties presented by our differing understandings of homosexuality, as
Presiding Bishop I am obliged to affirm the presence and positive contribution
of gay and lesbian persons to every aspect of the life of our church and in all
orders of ministry. Other Provinces are also blessed by the lives and ministry
of homosexual persons. I regret that there are places within our Communion
where it is unsafe for them to speak out of the truth of who they are. The Report will be received and interpreted within
the Provinces of the Communion in different ways, depending on our
understanding of the nature and appropriate expression of sexuality. It is
important to note here that in the Episcopal Church we are seeking to live the
gospel in a society where homosexuality is openly discussed and increasingly
acknowledged in all areas of our public life(...) As Presiding Bishop I know I speak for members of
our church in saying how highly we value our Communion and the bonds of
affection we share. Therefore, we regret how difficult and painful actions of
our church have been in many provinces of our Communion, and the negative
repercussions that have been felt by brother and sister Anglicans(...) Number: 5739 Date: Oct 15 Church of England Newspaper UK Windsor Report Calls for an Apology* The Lambeth Commission today delivered its report
into the homosexuality crisis that has been tearing apart the Anglican
Communion, rebuking the American Church and urging it to apologise
for consecrating the openly gay Canon Gene Robinson as bishop(...) *COD: Apology: regretful acknowledgement of offence 14) http://irishangle.net/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=201 Carey: Report will not have teeth Filed: Monday, 18 October 2004, 14:30 BST Speaking in Northern Ireland yesterday, former Archbishop of Canterbury
George Carey expressed his fear that the Windsor Report would be a fudge that
does not come down on either side. He also countered Archbishop Eames' recent
assertion by stating that the report certainly would not 'have teeth', as it
comes from merely an advisory body. Lord Carey's remarks were made in an interview for
the BBC Radio Ulster programme Sunday Sequence
broadcast on October
17th, 2004. Listen to the broadcast (Requires RealPlayer). http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/realmedia/sequence.ram 15) http://www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org/ New Churches Join ACiC The Anglican Communion in Canada, an organization of
orthodox congregations that receives temporary Episcopal oversight from five
Anglican Primates, has announced the recent addition of three new churches. To
read more, click on http://www.acicanada.ca/news/100704.html
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