The Debate Within the Anglican Communion

As we have opened to others and their voices and visions of God, we have also found God in new ways in our own midst. . . . And the struggle makes it a great time to be an Episcopalian. You can't avoid tough questions, you have . . . to delve into God's embracing heart of love and justice. Frankly, as churches go, it is a really pretty good one (How's that for a church sign? "The Really Pretty Good Church").

-- Barbara Bender Bass

The Historical Documents

The Windsor Report is an important Anglican document criticising the American and Canadian Churches' views on homosexuality. The Windsor Report was followed by the Primates' Meeting Communique in February of 2005: "We request that the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference." A discussion of the Communique by then Presiding Bishop Griswold is here.

The Episcopal Church gave a considered response to the Windsor Report's request that it "explain, from within the sources of authority that we as Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection, how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ." The ENS news article is here, and the full 135 page response, To Set Our Hope on Christ, is here in a 636k pdf file. (Broadband recommended). In addition to the response, the Episcopal Church formed the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to draft resolutions for consideration at the 2006 General Convention. (See below.)

The Recent Past: Before GC 2006

From the New Yorker: A Church Asunder. Some thoughtful comments on the past and present of the Anglican and Episcopal churches, and on the besieged theology of compromise and the Via Media.

The full Report of the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion is entitled One Baptism, One Hope in God's Call, and the ENS summary of its proposed resolutions are here. The Commission's charge was to "to prepare the way for a consideration by the 75th General Convention of recent developments in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion with a view to maintaining the highest degree of communion possible." The General Convention, of course, rewrote much of the work of SCECAC, notwithstanding our now Presiding Bishop's membership on the Commission. ENS's report is here.

The Dialog Continues: General Convention 2006

General Convention News From and by Episcopal News Service.

The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori

Read about our new Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, on the webpages of ENS, Salon.com, and The Guardian. Read her sermon following the election, and see ENS's broadband video of her expressing her views.

It's worthwhile to read Bishop Katharine's investiture sermon.

The Primates' Meeting in Dar es Salaam

The meeting was supposed to center on the Report of the Covenant Design Group, including the Draft Covenant [to increase unity between Anglican churches]. As things developed, the Primates had their own ideas on the subjects, and the primary outcome was the Primates Meeting Communique. This document constituted an ultimatum to The Episcopal Church to elect no more gay Bishops, to establish no same sex blessing liturgies, and to covenant to that effect by September 30-- or else. It further demanded adoption of a Pastoral Scheme under which an extranational Pastoral Council and Primatial Vicar would oversee and comfort Episcopal parishes that embrace a Levitical view of gays.

At its meeting in March, the House of Bishops reaffirmed that "in Christ all God's children, including gay and lesbian persons, are full and equal participants in the life of Christ's Church," and rejected the Pastoral Scheme. It later issued this letter summarizing the meeting. Bishop Kelsey's detailed account of the event is here. Our own Bishop Marc's thoughts are here.

During the Spring and Summer of 2007, the question before the Episcopal Church was whether we should accept the Draft Anglican Covenant. TEC's study guide, Communion Matters, discusses the Windsor process, poses questions for reflection, and has lots of good links. Many thoughtful people concluded, however, that this draft of the Covenant was leading us down the wrong road, e.g., Yale Professor Frank M. Turner, and Executive Council Member Mark Harris.

House of Bishops Meeting in New Orleans and Thereafter

"The Statement"-- The Text of the House of Bishops' Response to Questions and Concerns Raised by our Anglican Communion Partners

The Forum at Grace Cathedral, September 30, 2007. Our Prelate, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop Marc, and Dean Alan Jones hold a conversation on New Orleans, whether TEC has ceased to follow Jesus, and, well, everything else. (MP3/streaming audio link)

Report of the Joint Standing Committee to the Archbishop of Canterbury JSC concluded that TEC substantially complied with the requests of the Windsor Report and Primates' Meeting. However, in a confusing vote, a plurality of the Primates (whose opinion was requested by Canterbury) may have taken a different view. Or not. Everything clear now?

Lambeth 2008

The Lambeth Conference convened in 2008, with much talk about covenants. Here's the St. Andrew's draft, which framed the conversation. Those in the know said that the really problematic parts were in the Appendix, entitled "Framework Procedures for the Resolution of Covenant Disagreements"-- a nice way of saying, "Who's the boss of me?" Mark Harris commented on it here. Episcopal Cafe's five part series on it is here, here, here, here, and here. The Rev. Dr. Marilyn McCord Adams, Regius Professor, Oxford, and Canon of Christ Church, criticised it severely here.

As a matter of historical interest, if you'd like to get started on Lambeth the way the bishops did, here's the Lambeth Reader they all received. Then again, if you're an Episcogeek, begin with the website.

For news of what went on at Lambeth Palace, check out Episcopal Life, Blogging Bishops, and any other Anglo/TEC blog you're friendly with. Pray for the Church.

2009: The Covenant Returns

In the Spring of 2009, the third draft of the proposed Covenant was released, referred to as the Ridley Cambridge draft. It has been better received than its predecessors, but there is still concern. Preludium discusses it here.

Diocesan Documents of Interest

The Bishop's 2007 Convention Address

Did you miss Diana Butler Bass's talk in Marin on church growth? Hear a shorter version on Grace Cathedral's forum. (mp3)

Diocesan Statement on Lambeth 1.10:  The Position of the Episcopal Diocese of California on Homosexuality (1999)

Constitutions and Canons of the Church

Constitution & Canons of the Episcopal Church (Note: This is a 1 MB pdf file-- it's better to download it directly, rather than trying to read it online. Broadband is also recommended.)

Constitution & Canons of the Diocese of California (pdf)

Durable Powers

There will be a time when we are not here. St. Paul's San Rafael has prepared valuable Funeral & Memorial Guidelines and posted a useful Durable Power (also known as a "Living Will," "Advance Directive" or "Natural Death Act Directive"). They are available in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and WordPerfect formats. Though assembled for St. Paul's, they can be easily used for end of life planning with any church, including Redeemer. (Note: if you have problems accessing the Word or WordPerfect documents, right click on their links and download them directly.) In addition, an Advance Health Care Directive in pdf format prepared by the California Healthcare Association is available here, while the Microsoft Word version is here. The California Attorney General's recommendations are here.

The Fullmers' World

A Janet and Ron Fullmer Update. Read about Ron's May 2009 "Have Pump Will Travel" trip to Haiti for LWI. And if that's too far away, take a gander at the photos of Archbishop Tutu's visit to St. Paul's Church in The Dalles, Janet's current digs.

The Janet and Ron Fullmer saga continues. Read Ron's recent (December 2008) update and check out the website of St. Paul's Church in The Dalles, where Janet was installed as Rector on Feb. 21.

More amazing Fullmer Trips to Haiti: the stories here and here.

Janet Fullmer, our former seminarian, has been ordained a priest in the Diocese of Colorado. Rah, Janet! Click on the picture for a full sized view. Check out her sermons in, well, Sermons, and Ron's and her third world ministry work below.

Return to Haiti: Ron Fullmer's November 2006 Pump Repair Trip with Living Water International.

Drilling A Well in El Salvador: Be at Ron Fullmer's side in his richly rewarding work with Living Water International. "Then came that magical moment - a valve was opened and suddenly water was soaring 30-40' up into the air! And, it kept soaring as long as we wanted - no pumping that well dry. Soon we were all celebrating with photos, high-fives and unexpected showers."

So, how do you learn to drill a well in El Salvador? Well, you drill a well in Guatemala, of course-- which gives you, in addition to wells, nothing less than ancient churches and crosses, mountains, volcanos, and-- what else?-- sheep. But what always counts is water. What we spend for water in plastic bottles could give the whole world clean water supplies. Here's Ron's text.

Haiti 2006 The Fullmers' report on their remarkable Haitian trip. "In Haiti, the distinction between darkness and light is very apparent. Lots of very dark events seem to constantly cause trouble in that country, yet the power of light to battle and defeat that darkness is also evident."

Janet's Farewell A departing note from the Fullmers, as they return to Colorado.

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