Wednesday, June 3, 2009

But I'm still not telling you who is on the panel...

By the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr.
Chair, Theology Committee of the House of Bishops:

In response to questions that have been raised about the panel of
theologians appointed by the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops to
prepare a paper on same-sex relationships in the life of the church, I wish
to assure those concerned that the panel very intentionally represents a
robust range of views on the subject and includes gay and lesbian persons.
This project has been designed in full communication with the House of
Bishops. It has always been the committee's intention to publish the names
of the panel when the work has reached the appropriate stage. We believe
that for a season the work can best be accomplished by allowing the panel to
work in confidence. This supports the full collegiality and academic freedom
of the theologians and provides the space they need for the deep dialogue
and reflection that is taking place among them.

This project is designed to articulate theologically a full range of views
on the matter of same sex relationships in the church's life and to foster
better understanding and respectful discernment among us. It will also be a
contribution to the listening process of the larger Communion. It has
several stages and is scheduled to be complete by early 2011. We are
grateful to the distinguished theologians for their generous service to the
church.

We wish to invite any member of the church who wishes to address the panel
to send comments to the Theology Committee. We will see that these are
communicated to the theologians to enrich their reflection and dialogue.

Comments should be directed to the chair of the committee, Bishop Henry
Parsley, at hparsley@dioala.org.

Source:
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/episcopal_church/theology_committee_controversy.html

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