General Convention responds to Windsor Report
by the Right Reverent Thomas Clark Ely, Bishop of Vermont
Mountain Echo
July/August 2006

The just completed 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church spent considerable time responding to the Windsor Report and related documents pertaining to our relationship within the world-wide Anglican Communion. Our deliberations in committee meetings, hearings and legislation, spilled over into conversations in hotels, hallways and restaurants. Clearly this was a noteworthy agenda throughout our time in Columbus. The Vermont Deputation was deeply involved in all aspects of these deliberations, taking very seriously our desire, and that expressed in the Windsor Report, for thoughtful listening and conversation among the faithful from all corners of our church.

A significant gift of the Windsor Report and the Windsor process is that they provide the opportunity for a deeper and more passionate exploration about life in the Anglican Communion. As a result of the Windsor process to date, many Episcopalians know more about the Anglican Communion then ever before, and more Anglicans around the world know more about The Episcopal Church and our polity. This cross-communion education is most welcome, but it is really only just begun. Episcopalians have far more to learn about other Anglicans, and other Anglicans have far more to learn about Episcopalians.

Another gift of the Windsor process is the opportunity to see and hear just how diverse the Anglican Communion is with regard to theology, the authority of the Bible, the authority of bishops, and the decision-making structures that operate within its various provinces. While the subject of human sexuality is the primary lens through which we have most often expressed and explored our divergent theologies of late, it is not the only subject around which there is diversity of thought and conviction. The richness of our Anglican heritage, expressed through worship, teaching and action is a treasure worth celebrating and living into more fully.

Resolutions respond to Windsor Report
In response to the Windsor Report and the Windsor process, the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church
adopted several important resolutions. First and foremost, we reaffirmed our “abiding commitment” to the “fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion,” and our intention to “seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible” (Resolution A159). This strong statement of our commitment to the Anglican Communion is meant to reassure the other provinces of the Communion that we are at the table and want to remain at the table.

Secondly, as a “demonstration of our commitment to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Anglican Communion,” we gave our support to “the process of the development of an Anglican Covenant that underscores our unity in faith, order, and common life in the service of God’s mission” (Resolution A166). It is unclear just where this commitment will take us, but our willingness to walk together with other Anglicans in this process is an important sign of our love and commitment to the Anglican Communion. My own hope is that this process will lead to a covenant grounded more in mission than in structures of authority.

Thirdly, the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church expressed its “regret for straining the bonds of affection in the events surrounding the General Convention of 2003 and the consequences which followed;” we offered our “sincerest apology to those within our Anglican Communion who are offended by our failure to accord sufficient importance to the impact of our action on our church and other parts of the Communion;” and we sought “forgiveness as we seek to live into deeper levels of communion with one another” (Resolution A160). While “regret,” “apology,” and asking “forgiveness” may not be enough for some, I believe this response is fully consistent with the request expressed in the Windsor Report.

A fourth response related to the Windsor process was by all accounts the most difficult and challenging. On the final day of Convention, with tensions running high, we passed a resolution in response to the Windsor Report’s “invitation to engage in a process of healing and reconciliation” that “call[s] upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion” (Resolution B033).

I voted “no” to this resolution and later joined other bishops in “A Statement of Conscience” registering my dissent to this action. It remains to be seen what effect this resolution will have upon future elections to the episcopate, but I feel quite certain that it will have a chilling effect on any prospect of a gay or lesbian priest willing to stand for election to episcopal office and on the willingness of dioceses to elect a gay or lesbian person to serve as their bishop.

With regard to the matter of “Public Rites of Blessing for Same-Sex Unions” (proposed Resolution A162, which was not adopted), I think the Report of the Special Commission on The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion (available through the “Publications” link on the General Convention page at www.episcopalchurch.org) sufficiently clarified the actions of General Convention 2003 regarding Resolution C051, thus making any other action unnecessary. The report stated clearly that, “In acting to recognize that ‘local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions,’ we expressly deny that such rites were authorized” (page 14 of the Commission’s report). Clarifying this misunderstanding was very helpful, and I think our Vermont deputation is to be congratulated for helping in that regard by sharing the story of our experience as we seek to provide resources for the ministry of pastoral care to, with, for and by gay and lesbian persons and couples.

Finally, the 75th General Convention passed a resolution entitled “Pastoral Care and Delegated Pastoral Oversight” (Resolution A163). This resolution “affirm[s] the centrality of effective and appropriate pastoral care for all members of this church and all who come seeking the aid of this church.” The resolution also “urges the members of the House of Bishops to seek the highest degree of communion and reconciliation within their own dioceses, using when requested in good faith the Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) process detailed in the March 2004 statement of the House of Bishops, Caring for All the Churches.” Lastly, this resolution “urge[s] continued maintenance of historic diocesan boundaries, the authority of the diocesan bishop, and respect for the historical relationships of the separate and autonomous Provinces of the Anglican Communion.”

The last section is necessitated by the number of bishops from both The Episcopal Church and other provinces of the Anglican Communion who have crossed diocesan boundaries to engage in pastoral and sacramental ministry without the invitation or approval of the bishop of the diocese. This particular issue has not arisen in Vermont, and I have no reason to believe it will; however, in other parts of The Episcopal Church this is a serious problem, and I hope that other bishops honor the direction and intention of this resolution.

The overall effect of these several resolutions and other related legislation is to send a clear message to our partners in the Anglican Communion of our deep desire for strong and lasting relationships. From my perspective, it is most regrettable that this message comes with a contrary message to the gay and lesbian members of The Episcopal Church and beyond. Significant healing is needed within the Anglican Communion, and my hope is that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other primates of the Anglican Communion will see our effort as contributing to that healing and respond in kind with strong encouragement to the whole Communion to be about the work of listening and reconciliation. Our new presiding bishop needs the strong support of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other primates if she is to exercise her ministry within the Communion. She also needs our strong support and encouragement as she enters this most challenging chapter of her ministry and that of the Anglican Communion.

My pledge to the process
My pledge to the ongoing Windsor process is threefold: first, to work for the healing of relationships both within The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion; second, to work for and toward a common commitment to mission, and especially the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, both within The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion; and third, to continue to work for the full inclusion and acceptance of gay and lesbian persons in the life, mission and governance of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion by holding myself and others accountable to the promised “listening process” with regard to matters of human sexuality, and to honoring the promise to include the voices of gay and lesbian persons in the conversation about the future of the Anglican Communion.

+ Thomas