News Updates

Letters Express Bishops' Concerns to Archbishop of Canterbury, Presiding Bishop

Posted on: April 28, 2005

The Living Church recently came into possession of two letters sent by a group of bishops from the Episcopal Church to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold.

In the May 1 print issue of the magazine, TLC reported that the April 6 letter to Archbishop Williams was written to clarify some points made in a letter which was hand-delivered to him following the March 11-16 House of Bishops� meeting at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas.

In another article about the special Executive Council meeting held April 13 in Mundelein, Ill., TLC incorrectly reported that members of Executive Council had been given copies of these letters prior to their meeting. Because public interest in the content of the letters seems significant, these letters are being made available.

To the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Dear Archbishop Williams:

We, whose signatures appear below, write to you out of a passionate concern for our Church and our place in the Anglican Communion. It is our intention to remain in communion with your See and to walk in mission with the Anglican Communion as we share in the universal episcope� of this portion of the holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

We have strongly encouraged our Presiding Bishop to heed the word of the Primates regarding ECUSA�s representation at the forthcoming meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. We look forward to the opportunity for ECUSA to express humility instead of arrogance and a desire to walk with the wider communion rather than apart from it. It is our earnest desire to meet with you at your convenience during the last week of May to lay before you our concerns regarding the future of our Church.

As bishops, we take with utmost seriousness the vows made at our consecration. We consider it a sacred responsibility �to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church.� Those within ECUSA who continue to act in opposition to the normative teachings of the Anglican Communion, expressed in resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth conference, the Windsor Report, and the Primates� Communique, make healing and reconciliation within ECUSA and the communion all the more difficult.

At the recent meeting of our House of Bishops, several of us spoke with Bishop Griswold concerning what we believe to be �irreconcilable differences� in the life of our Church. His response was to note the language of �irreconcilable differences� is �faithless.� We believe, however, it is precisely contradictory, mutually exclusive positions regarding essential matters of faith and practice dividing our Church and threatening the unity and mission of the Anglican Communion. The report of the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops, made prior to the General Convention 2003, noted there exists within our Church mutually exclusive theological positions on the matter of homosexual practice. This has not changed and has become even more apparent over these past 18 months.

The Camp Allen Covenant represents a generous and gracious attempt to seek common ground on a difficult and painful issue. Bishops representing a variety of strongly-held convictions worked together to craft a document that an overwhelming majority of the House embraced. This is encouraging. However, the very fact that we need such a Covenant reminds us that our divisions are deep. These divisions stand as a threat to our own unity and that of the Anglican Communion.

This letter is our urgent request to speak with you as we seek the welfare of all the members of the Episcopal Church. It is our earnest hope to make a positive witness to the Gospel by intentionally addressing the desire of many of us to walk with our brothers and sisters as faithful members of the Anglican Communion. We know that the work of mission has suffered because of the actions of our Church and we desire to respond positively to the needs of our brothers and sisters in the wider Communion as we look to the future.

We believe a realistic appraisal of the life of our Church is critical. It has been suggested that those who oppose the change in faith and order made by the 2003 General Convention are a �disgruntled and fractured minority.� This view cannot be sustained given the current indicators regarding the vitality of our Church.

A recent study by William L. Sachs, Director of Research at the Episcopal Church Foundation, reported in the �Christian Century,� only 20% of the laity of our Church fully endorse the decisions that led to the consecration of the current Bishop of New Hampshire. With regard to local congregational leadership, they �...view the General Convention�s decisions as compelling a position on a complex issue before the church at the grassroots was ready to take such a position.� The same report indicates 84% of the senior wardens and clergy of our Church report that their congregation sees itself as part of the broader Anglican Communion.

At a recent meeting of congregational Development Officers, Charles Fulton, Director of Congregational Development at the Episcopal Church Center, reported average Sunday attendance in the congregations of the Episcopal Church declined from 2001 to 2003. It appears continued decline will place our average Sunday attendance below 800,000 in 2004. This presents a much different picture from the Church Annual report that we are a Church of 2.3 million communicants showing growth in membership in the decade 1993 to 2003.

Continued attrition impairs the mission of the whole Church and the viability of many of our congregations. The report of the loss of Christ Church, Overland Park, Kansas, representing ten percent of the communicant strength of that diocese, is indicative of the continued erosion in ECUSA. Other reports of losses from the dioceses of Lexington, Los Angeles, and Pennsylvania are simply representative of actions taking place across the Episcopal Church.

You are in our prayers in this most difficult time demanding strong and discerning leadership. We pray God to grant to the whole Church the wisdom and humility to sustain the mission and ministry we share with those in Communion with the See of Canterbury.

In Christ,

James Adams

Diocese of Western Kansas

David Bane

Diocese of Southern Virginia

Peter Beckwith

Diocese of Springfield

Robert Duncan

Diocese of Pittsburgh

James Folts

Diocese of West Texas

Bertram Herlong

Diocese of Tennessee

Daniel Herzog

Diocese of Albany

John Howe

Diocese of Central Florida

Jack Iker

Diocese of Forth Worth

Edward Little

Diocese of Northern Indiana

John Lipscomb

Diocese of Southwest Florida

Bruce MacPherson

Diocese of Western Louisiana

Wallis Ohl

Diocese of Northwest Texas

Edward Salmon, Jr.

Diocese of South Carolina

John-David Schofield

Diocese of San Joaquin

James Stanton

Diocese of Dallas

Jeffrey Steenson

Coadjutor, Diocese of Rio Grande

Don Wimberly

Diocese of Texas

To the Presiding Bishop:

Dear Bishop Griswold:

We, whose signatures appear below, write to you out of a passionate concern for our Church and our place in the Anglican Communion.

We strongly encourage you to heed the word of the Primates regarding our representation at the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in June. We urge you to use the moral authority of your office with the Executive Council as they make decisions affecting the future of our Church. We look forward to the opportunity for ECUSA to express humility instead of arrogance, and a desire to walk with the wider Communion rather than apart from it.

As bishops, our lives are formed by vows made at our consecration. Among these is a statement calling us �to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church.� Those within ECUSA who continue to act in opposition to the normative teachings of the Anglican Communion, as described in the Windsor Report and the Primates� Communique, make healing and reconciliation within ECUSA and the Communion all the more difficult.

This letter is our request for an immediate and compassionate conversation to provide for the welfare of all the members of the Episcopal Church. We ask you to establish a commission composed of those among us who dissent from and those who support the request of the Windsor Report and the Primates� Communique. It is our earnest hope this will enable our church to make a positive witness to the Gospel by intentionally addressing the question of our ability to walk together with one another and in a wider Communion. Such a commission would be in the spirit of our Covenant and its commitment to prayerful conversation.

At Camp Allen, several of us spoke to you regarding what we believed to be �irreconcilable differences� in the life of our Church. Your response noted the language of �irreconcilable differences� is �faithless.� We believe it is precisely contradictory positions in essential matters of faith and practice which precipitate the current crisis in our Church. The report of the House of Bishops Theology Committee, made prior to the General Convention 2003, noted there exists within our Church mutually exclusive theological integrities on the matter of homosexual practice. This has not changed and has become even more apparent over these past 18 months. It is our earnest hope the proposed commission will faithfully address the question of whether or not �irreconcilable differences� exist among us in our understanding of the faith and discipline of the Church.

A recent study by William L. Sachs, Director of Research at the Episcopal Church Foundation, reported in the �Christian Century,� only 20% of the laity of our Church fully endorse the decisions that led to the consecration of the current bishop of New Hampshire. With regard to local congregational leadership, they �...view the General Convention�s decisions as compelling a position on a complex issue before the church at the grassroots was ready to take such a position.� The same report indicates 84% of the senior wardens and clergy of our Church report that their congregation sees itself as part of the broader Anglican Communion.

At a recent meeting of Congregational Development Officers, Charles Fulton, Director of Congregational Development at the Episcopal Church Center, reported average Sunday attendance in the congregations of the Episcopal Church declined from 2001 to 2003. It appears continued decline will place our average Sunday attendance below 800,000 in 2004. This presents a much different picture of who we are from the Church Annual report that we are a community of 2.3 million members.

Continued attrition impairs the mission of the Church and the viability of many congregations. The report of the loss of Christ Church, Overland Park, Kansas, representing 10 percent of the communicant strength of that diocese, is indicative of the continued erosion of the Church. Other reports of losses from the dioceses of Lexington, Los Angeles, and Pennsylvania are simply representative of actions taking place across the Episcopal Church. In order to make wise and informed decisions, we need further and accurate information regarding the continuing impact of General Convention 2003 on the life of the whole Church.

You are in our prayers in this most difficult time demanding strong leadership and reflection. May God grant to this whole Church the wisdom and humility to sustain the mission and ministry we share with those in Communion with the See of Canterbury as we seek the truth that sets us free.