Very few members of the House of Bishops’ canvassed by The Living Church expressed complete satisfaction with the final version of their “Response to Questions and Concerns Raised by our Anglican Communion Partners,” released at the conclusion of their Sept. 20-25 meeting. But in the end there was only one ‘no’ voice vote registered and it didn’t belong to a traditionalist.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the other members of the joint steering committee of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and the primates met late into the night Monday discussing language on the eight bullet points the bishops had approved earlier in the day.

Those suggestions were brought back to the House of Bishops Sept. 25 and during private sessions that occupied most of the day, the bishops developed the eight explanatory paragraphs to be included alongside the original bullet points. The document proposes nothing new in six of the eight paragraphs. It does endorse the Presiding Bishops’ new plan for episcopal visitors and a Communion-wide consultation on how to implement it.

After the meeting was opened to the public and the final version was distributed at around 4:30 p.m., there was one last proposed amendment to drop language from the paragraph on same-sex blessings which stated the bishops would not authorize “public rites of blessing” for same-sex unions “until a broader consensus emerges in the Communion.” Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island then proposed a motion for a vote on the document itself as opposed to adoption without a formal vote.

“All I wanted was for us to vote on this so as to honor the minority voice,” Bishop Wolf told The Living Church. “I didn’t expect the ‘no’ vote to come from the conservative side and it didn’t. Bishop [Charles] Bennison [of Pennsylvania] was the only ‘no’ vote.”

Bishop Wolf said the measure was “better than anyone could have expected. There is a clear sense that the majority did not approve of same-sex blessings in their diocese. I think we added some depth to the issue of consents as well.”

Although no traditionalist bishops voted against the measure, several appeared not to vote in the affirmative either. In a press conference afterward, a number of the bishops representing a broad spectrum of opinion said the final document was not perfect, but they did not disagree with it enough that they felt they must dissent.

“I personally was disappointed that gay and lesbian gifts for ministry would not be fully recognized within The Episcopal Church in the near future,” Bishop J. Thomas Shaw of Massachusetts said. “Part of the compromises we made were based on our desire to move closer to the position of the joint standing committee.”

“Many of the joint standing committee members were encouraged that this represents a way to sustain Anglican Communion partnerships,” said the Rev. Jim Rosenthal, director of communications for the ACC. “They were overwhelmed by the respectful way the Windsor Report and the primates’ meeting has been handled here.”

Deacon Rosenthal said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has already received a preliminary report from the joint standing committee members who left prior to the final vote in the afternoon.

Three diocesan bishops left the House of Bishops’ meeting when Archbishop Williams departed on Sept. 21. Two other bishops, John-David Schofield of San Joaquin and Peter Beckwith of Springfield, did not attend. All five have requested alternative primatial oversight.

“I’m skeptical,” said Bishop Beckwith when contacted by TLC. “It remains to be seen if they are sincere. “If they mean there would be a primate to minister to us, that might be acceptable. If they mean something less than that, then nothing has changed.”

Steve Waring

Additional Coverage from the House of Bishops’ Meeting:

• In Closed Session, Bishops Perfecting Response to Primates

• Bishop Steenson Addresses House, Explains Decision

• Bishops Briefed on Lambeth Conference

• Bishops: New Document Will Preserve Status Quo

• Bishops Debate Resolution Behind Closed Doors

• Bishops Struggle to Craft Satisfactory Statement

• Writing Group Presents House of Bishops With Draft

• Historic Two Days Ahead for House of Bishops

• Bishop Steenson Will Become a Roman Catholic

• Multiple Resolutions Await Bishops on Monday

• Concluding his Visit, Archbishop Seeks to Lower Expectations

• Details Sketchy on Episcopal Visitors Proposal

• Eight Agree to Serve as Episcopal Visitors

• Bishops, Archbishop of Canterbury Begin Private Sessions

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