Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana was so surprised by his “raising up” as president of the Presiding Bishop’s Council of Advice that he asked for time alone to pray before consenting to the nomination. The newly constituted council met with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Dec. 4-6 in Weehawken, N.J.

“That was not what I expected when I went to New York that week,” Bishop MacPherson told The Living Church. “One of the important things to bear in mind is that I differ somewhat in my support of the Windsor Report. I want [The Episcopal Church] to stay in the Anglican Communion and to follow the Windsor Report. I talked to the [council] about that fact. I wanted them to have clarity and understand where I’m coming from.”

The council is comprised of bishops who are either presidents or vice presidents of the nine geographic Episcopal Church provinces. Bishop MacPherson, who was elected to a second three-year term as president of Province 7, which includes the dioceses in Texas and surrounding states, said Bishop Jefferts Schori may make some changes to the way council functions. Bishop Frank Griswold, her predecessor, used the council as somewhat of a listening post to understand how national and international issues were affecting individual dioceses and provinces.

According to a Dec. 19 report by Episcopal News Service, the council endorsed the concept of a primatial vicar, a proposal which had been immediately rejected by Fort Worth Bishop Jack Leo Iker. At its annual convention last month the Diocese of Fort Worth announced its withdrawal from Province 7 and endorsed a request for alternate primatial oversight made during the 75th General Convention by Bishop Iker and the diocesan standing committee.

The council also discussed “moves within some dioceses toward disconnection from the life and work of The Episcopal Church” and also discouraged the Archbishop of Canterbury from inviting to the Feb. 14-19 primates’ meeting “additional ‘dissenting’ bishops from this Church.”

Bishop MacPherson said it would be “premature” to offer any insights into Bishop Jefferts Schori’s leadership style after having had the opportunity to observe her for just one short meeting in her new role.

“Paramount in all this is that the positions that I’ve taken on the defense of the gospel, the Anglican Communion, the Windsor Report, and the orthodox faith remains unchanged,” he said. “I will not compromise my relationship with Jesus Christ. There has been no movement on that and there will be no movement from that.

“That has been my position since coming out of General Convention in 2003 and my support for those people [who have embraced the Windsor Report as the way forward for the Communion] remains unchanged,” he said. “Ending up in this capacity [as president of the council] was the furthest thing from my mind.”

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