The Wheels On The Bus Go 'Round And 'Round

Click here for Susan Russell's initial reflections on draft 4 of the indaba groups summary document.

The Lambeth Witness #12

The final edition of The Lambeth Witness is now available here as a PDF. The centerfold is a photo montage retrospective of the past 2 weeks.

Bishops of South Asia urge 'continuing listening and healing'

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a c c w e b n e w s
The Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/
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MARITES N. SISON
STAFF WRITER

Aug 2, 2008

Canterbury, England
The bishops of the united churches of South Asia on Saturday urged the
Anglican Communion to resolve its differences over human sexuality "by a
continuing process of listening and healing, where we may be willing to
forgive and accept one another generously and move towards true
reconciliation."

They invited the entire Anglican Communion "to do some heart-searching and
in humility walk the Calvary road so that our differences, self-
justifications and arrogant attitudes may be crucified and that we all
experience the power of the resurrection..."

At the same time, however, the bishops said that they "acknowledge the
biblical norms on human sexuality and urge that within the Anglican
Communion this may be upheld for the effective witness of the gospel."

Bishops John Wilson Gladstone (Church of South India), Brojen Malakar
(Church of North India), Alexander John Malik (Church of Pakistan), and
Paul. S. Sarker (Church of Bangladesh) signed the statement, copies of which
were given to the media.

To read the rest of the story, please visit the Anglican Journal Website,
http://www.anglicanjournal.com

LGBT ANGLICANS RECOMMIT TO MUTUAL SUPPORT AND GLOBAL MISSION

www.inclusivecommunion.net

Press Release

2 August 2008

CANTERBURY, UK— Leaders of seven lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Anglican organizations met yesterday as the Lambeth Conference drew to a close.

We recommitted ourselves to the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life and ministry of the churches of the Anglican Communion.

We promised to redouble our efforts to work for the human rights of LGBT people around the world that they might live free of violence and discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We resolved to develop and distribute additional educational resources for church leaders and civil authorities related to theology and sexuality issues.

We pledged to continue promoting and supporting the Anglican Communion Listening Process.

We recommitted ourselves to supporting each other's intra-provincial work and to helping our LGBT Anglican sisters and brothers around the world develop ministries of support and witness.

We agreed to form an umbrella organization named "Inclusive Communion" to facilitate our cooperative efforts.

We planned to convene a worldwide summit of LGBT Anglicans in the near future to build on the cooperative ministry and witness begun during this Lambeth Conference.

We invite other LGBT Anglican organizations to join us in this mission and to affiliate with Inclusive Communion by sending an email message to add@inclusivecommunion.net.

Changing Attitude Nigeria: Davis Mac-Iyalla
Changing Attitude: Colin Coward & Max Manin
Claiming the Blessing: Cynthia Black
Integrity Canada: Steve Schuh & Chris Ambidge
Integrity Uganda: Christopher Senyonjo
IntegrityUSA: Caro Hall & John Clinton Bradley
Other Sheep East Africa: Michael Kimindu

The Latest Draft

Here's the latest draft of "Reflections upon the Lambeth Conference 2008" just released to the bishops. It incorporates revised content from the indaba group discussion on homosexuality. We're reading it carefully now.

Check out sections 90 thru 105 on pages 26-30.

The Bishop and Human Sexuality

The first draft summary of yesterday's indaba group discussions on homosexuality are available here as a PDF. This draft was discussed by all the bishops yesterday afternoon. We're told that the first draft does not fully reflect the voices of bishops who have positively experienced the lives and ministries of LGBT Anglicans, and that the Bishop of Dublin spoke eloquently on our behalf. A second draft will be released and discussed at 5 pm BST today.

A Roman perspective on things Anglican

Found this report in "America: The National Catholic Weekly" of interest:

Disagreements do not necessarily lead to divisions or crises. The real question is why the Anglican Church has not been able to contain the disagreements, and why they are causing the church to tear itself apart.

The current crisis is not, in other words, doctrinal; it is ecclesiological. As the center of Anglicanism has moved away from the Church of England to the global communion, the glue that has held the Church of England together has been exposed as inadequate for binding the Anglican Churches worldwide.

It seems to me that this is the question still to be answered by this Lambeth Conference.

The Lambeth Witness #11

The Saturday edition of The Lambeth Witness is now available here as a PDF. Don't miss the tongue-in-check photo of some of the "hundreds of gay and lesbian activists" whom the Rt. Rev. Mouneer Anis of Egypt says have been chasing bishops thru Lambeth.

Error Messages

A number of blogs on the Blogger platform--not just Walking With Integrity--appear to be experiencing technical problems this morning. If you get an error message, please try again later.

Lambeth Podcasts

Tom Jackson of Oasis California has started posting some podcasts from the Lambeth Conference at http://episcopod.com .  So far there is...  

• Lambeth One: Windsor Press Conference  | In this first episode of Lambeth coverage, Tom Jackson has recorded the entire press conference held by the Windsor continuation group. Although we have edited out some of the more process oriented bits, the Q & A from reporters is intact and worth hearing.
• Two bishops reflect on Lambeth | Tom Jackson speaks to Bishop Suffragan Dena Harrison of Texas and Bishop Henry Parsley of Alabama about whether gay and lesbian persons can have hope in the Church.
• More with Bishop Clive | Tom Jackson reports on further details presented by the chair of the Windsor Continuation Group, Bishop Clive Handford. Note: we'll have a loger interview with Bishop Clive later in August.

"No idea" consecration of gay bishop would cause such a stir

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a c c w e b n e w s
The Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/
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"No idea" consecration of gay bishop would cause such a stir 'Reflections'
document captures various emotions

Marites N. Sison
Staff writer

Canterbury, England
Some bishops of The Episcopal Church in the U.S. have apologized to bishops
with more conservative views on homosexuality, saying they had "no idea"
that their church's consecration of a gay bishop in the diocese of New
Hampshire "had caused such a negative impact in many parts of the
Communion."

The apologies were extended on Thursday in some groups called indaba (from
the Zulu word for 'purposeful communication'), when bishops discussed the
issue of human sexuality, an issue which has caused bitter conflict among
Anglicans worldwide.

The draft document on the conference's reflections also said that "although
there has been a great appreciation of one to one conversation, there is the
need to develop further trust in the relationships that have started here."

The draft document, copies of which were released to the media, contains
diverse views on sexuality and how best to handle the differences that have
driven Anglicans apart.

To read the rest of the story, please visit the Anglican Journal Website,
http://www.anglicanjournal.com

Sexuality Discussions Bring Lambeth Bishops To Frank Conversation

By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service, Canterbury] Conversation marked by tears and
apologies, hand holding and embracing, was the order of the day July 31 as
bishops attending the Lambeth Conference formally addressed a portion of the
Anglican Communion's debate on human sexuality.

The pervading sense was that the mood at the current conference was
"dramatically different" from the tone of sexuality discussions at the 1998
Lambeth Conference during which "people were distressed at some of the
reactions to some of the things that were said," said Archbishop Phillip
Aspinall of Brisbane (http://www.anglicanbrisbane.org.au
<http://www.anglicanbrisbane.org.au/> ), the primate of Australia and
principal spokesman for the bishops. He recalled that in 1998 "there were
occasions when bishops actually booed and hissed what other bishops said in
the gathering."

Aspinall said that his indaba group (a collection of 40 bishops from five
Bible study groups who have been meeting together since the beginning of the
conference) contained the "same degree of difference in the views held by
the bishops but at the end of the indaba group, bishops from different ends
of the spectrum on the issues actually embraced each other and thanked each
other for helping them understand better what was at stake in these issues."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_99622_ENG_HTM.htm

Gay US Bishop Says Church Will Regret Excluding Homosexuals

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a c c w e b n e w s
The Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/
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STEPHEN BROWN
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Jul 31, 2008

Canterbury, England
V. Gene Robinson, the openly gay U.S. bishop whose consecration in
2003 polarised the worldwide Anglican Communion, says he believes that one
day the Church will regret its rejection of homosexuals the way that it now
regrets its support in the past for slavery.

"We believed in slavery for 18 and a half centuries before we came to know
God's will for us with respect to people of colour," Robinson told
Ecumenical News International on the campus of the University of Kent in
Canterbury, England, where about 650 Anglican bishops from around the world
are meeting for the 16 July to 3 August Lambeth Conference.

Robinson was not invited to be an official delegate to the once-
every-10-years gathering. An Anglican Communion official said this was
because of the "widespread objections" within the 77-million-strong grouping
to Robinson's consecration as a bishop.

To read the rest of the story, please visit the Anglican Journal Website,
http://www.anglicanjournal.com

The Church Cannot Heal This Crisis Of Betrayal

Archbishop Orombi of Uganda has an op-ed piece in The Times this morning explaining why he boycotted the Lambeth Conference.

The Lambeth Witness #10

The Friday issue of The Lambeth Witness is now available here as a PDF. It includes an article by Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies, on the Anglican Covenant.