From:
Progressive Episcopalians of
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lionel Deimel,
President
Progressive
Episcopalians of
Voice: (412)
343-5337
Fax: (412) 343-6816
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://progressiveepiscopalians.org
PEP Applauds Anglican Report But Sees Hard Work Ahead for Communion
Consistent with the Commission’s mandate, the report avoids substantive discussion of homosexuality, while addressing issues of fellowship among the 38 provinces of our Anglican Communion.
The report notably explores the deepest philosophical and political issues among a community of diverse churches that are autonomous, yet interconnected and accountable to one another. The Commission did what many considered impossible, finding common ground among the churches whose roots reach back to the Church of England, and imagining structures and procedures to assure that those churches maintain real unity without undue coercion. This offers hope to a Community that seemed in danger of fracturing.
The Windsor Report calls all of us into dialogue, inviting the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to participate in serious theological discussion with the rest of the Communion, sharing their understanding of God’s will that led them to take the actions that led to last year’s emergency meeting of the Primates. American bishops are invited to apologize, not so much for their beliefs or actions growing out of those beliefs, but for their failure adequately to consult with other provinces.
We are particularly gratified that the plan for Designated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight developed by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is favorably commended to distressed Episcopal congregations.
The commission also called on bishops who have crossed diocesan and provincial boundaries without permission or who have anathematized dioceses, bishops, or entire provinces to refrain from such actions and to apologize. The report, quite rightly, PEP believes, insists that members of the Communion listen to and respect one another.
To define better the nature of the Anglican Communion, the Windsor Report suggests adoption of a “covenant” among the provinces built on the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, a shared theological understanding articulated 120 years ago. Although PEP sees possible dangers and likely years of difficult work ahead in implementing such an idea, we believe it deserves careful consideration.
It is our hope that the leaders of the Anglican Communion, including the bishops of the Episcopal Church, will see today’s report as providing a means to go forward that will allow us to return our common focus to the cause of the Gospel. We trust that our church leadership will take the report to heart. We know that the House of Bishops has committed to prayerful consideration of all the report’s recommendations, including those that critical of the Episcopal Church.
“Today, I am proud to call myself an Anglican and embarrassed that I had doubted that even the best minds of the Communion could not see a way out of the mess we seem to have gotten ourselves into,” said Lionel Deimel, President of PEP.
“While it may appear frustrating that the Commission has called for moratoriums on certain actions while we discuss, we will only move forward towards a better understanding of God’s will for the role for the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church if we get about the business of dialogue. Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh stands ready to help facilitate such dialogue in the coming months and years,” said Joan Gundersen, Vice President of Policy and Planning of PEP.
Echoing the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, PEP urges all Anglicans to study the Windsor Report and to pray about and reflect on its proposals, seeking God’s guidance for the Communion.
Contact:
Lionel Deimel,
President
Progressive
Episcopalians of
Voice: (412)
343-5337
Fax: (412) 343-6816
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://progressiveepiscopalians.org
Additional Web references:
The Episcopal Church: http://episcopalchurch.org
Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh is an organization
of clergy and laypeople committed to unity and diversity of the Episcopal
Church,
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