June 21 at Nottingham
Gathered under the theme "Living Communion," Anglican Consultative Council members assembled at England's University of Nottingham for their work as the Anglican Communion's principal consultative body and one of its four "instruments of unity."
The meeting, which was the ACC's
13th such triennial assembly, included a measure to adopt the designation "instruments of unity" over the formerly cited "instruments of communion." The other instruments are the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops, and the Primates' Meeting.
ACC members--who number more
than 70--are elected or appointed by the 38 interdependent yet autonomous provinces that span 164 nations and form the Anglican Communion.
Members from both the Episcopal
Church and the Anglican Church of Canada attended the ACC meeting as observers after both provinces voluntarily withdrew their participation in keeping with a request from last February's meeting of the Anglican Primates to allow space for consideration of sexuality issues.
At the invitation of the ACC, the
U.S. and Canadian churches offered presentations describing how it is possible, amid diverse views, for the U.S. church to elect a bishop living in a committed same-gender union, and for the Canadian Diocese of New Westminster to provide liturgical blessings for these unions.
Emphasizing the scriptural basis for
its consideration of same-sex affection and related dialogue during the past 40 years, the Episcopal Church offered a formal response to the Anglican Communion's 2004 Windsor Report in the form of a theological paper, published as a 130-page booklet given to each ACC member.
Titled To Set Our Hope on Christ,
the paper offers a "positive case" that responds directly to the invitation set forth in the Windsor Report's paragraph 135: "We particularly request a contribution from the Episcopal Church (USA) which explains, 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."
Other provinces--some opposing
and some favoring the U.S. and Canadian actions--offered their perspectives in subsequent business sessions. Strongest opposition was voiced by representatives of South East Asia, Kenya and South America's Southern Cone. Additional provinces, including Uganda, registered their disagreement in written position papers.
About two-thirds of the presenta
tions stated that while church provinces are not of one mind on sexuality issues, dialogue on the subject continues with commitment. It was noted in informal conversation that Anglican patterns of concurrence
and disagreement on sexuality are generally aligned with the views of two British missionary organizations -- the United Society of the Propagation of the Gospel and the more conservative Church Mission Society-which, dating from the 18th century, conducted overseas evangelism, at times in wider contexts of colonization.
Various provinces cited the 1998 Lambeth
Conference's resolution 1.10 that declared homosexuality "incompatible with scripture." While resolutions from the every-10-years Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops are highly regarded by the provinces, the initiatives are understood to be advisory and nonbinding under inter-Anglican polity.
Other visitors to the ACC meeting included as
many as 20 U.S. and British Anglicans--some who oppose and others who favor blessings for same-gender relationships and the ordination of clergy living openly in such unions.
"Although certain actions by the Episcopal
Church have deeply distressed a number of you, we have not come to argue," Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold said to open the Episcopal Church's presentation, joined by six panelists, including a bishop who withheld his consent to the 2003 election of the bishop of New Hampshire.
"I want to be clear that the Episcopal Church
has not reached a common mind," Griswold said, emphasizing that "it is our desire to be faithful to scripture. It is my hope that in the tradition of classical Anglicanism we will be united in Christ's love and called to serve the world in Christ's name."
Earlier in the meeting, the ACC voted to endorse the Primates' request that "in order to recognise the integrity of all parties, 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" and "interprets reference to the Anglican Consultative Council to include its Standing Committee and the Inter-Anglican Finance and Administration Committee."
The provision does not bar U.S. Episcopalians
and Canadian Anglicans from continuing to serve on ACC networks. The full ACC membership is not expected to meet again until 2009, and the next Lambeth Conference is set for summer 2008.
An additional ACC resolution on "the process
of mutual listening" includes "listening to the experience of homosexual persons" and calls upon the Anglican Communion's secretary general to "collate relevant research...to make such material available for study, discussion and reflection to each member Church of the Communion; and...to report progress on it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to the next Lambeth Conference and the next meeting of this Council, and to copy such reports to the Provinces."
In a resolution at the meeting's close, the coun
cil recognized "with appreciation" the responses offered by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Canada.
In other business, the ACC received detailed
reports on Anglican ecumenical and interfaith dialogues, the initiatives of its several networks, and programs conducted through the office of Anglican Observer at the United Nations, Samoan Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavavea.
The council adopted an annual budget of some
$3 million (1.6 million British pounds sterling), and voted with a clear majority to in the future include the Anglican Primates as ex-officio members of the Anglican Consultative Council..
Presiding at business sessions was ACC Chair
man John Paterson, bishop of Auckland, New Zealand. Anglican Communion Secretary General Kenneth Kearon assisted in the proceedings.
Local hospitality was extended by the Rev. Canon Andrew Deuchar, rector of the medieval churches of St. Peter's and St. Mary's in Nottingham, where delegates attended Eucharist in each of the medieval structures. ACC members where hosted for a Sunday reception by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, also attended by the current Sheriff of Nottingham, whose office figures prominently in the region's popular legend of Robin Hood.
Present at all sessions was the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who, preaching at last Sunday's Eucharist, said that "those of us who care about our Anglican Communion worldwide--its unity, its life, and its peace --care for it not in order to keep an ecclesiastical institution more or less upright... We care about it because we are part of the Body of Christ, and the world needs the Body of Christ."