Lambeth Report #11 Monday evening July 28, 2008
By Cherie Wetzel, Anglicans United & Latimer Press
The 5:00 press conference on the Third stage of the Windsor Continuation Group was preceded by an Episcopal News Service impromptu conference on the lawn outside “the Missing Link” building.
TEC bishops Catherine Roskam, Suffragan, New York and Kirk Smith, Arizona, spoke first about the theme of the day: the Bishop and Interfaith dialogue. Both noted that they have a new respect for the bishops here who live in multi-cultural and multi-faith worlds and really need to dialogue so that all may live peaceably together and get along. Both described their efforts at dialogue as much less serious business.
Moving on to the third session today from the Windsor Continuation Group, both said that they would prefer to see the statements made in a positive and much less negative wording. Bishop Smith said that affirming their relationships as bishops in a positive way would be more acceptable; because it sounds like if you don’t accept this thesis and/or the Covenant, you can’t be part of the group.
Bishop Roskam stated, “We agree on so much. Let what we agree on develop a covenant, not just the problems we don’t agree on. In ’98 at Lambeth, we invited the Communion to take seriously the Christianity of gay and lesbian people. This Lambeth has welcomed the LGTB (Lesbian, Gay Transgendered and bi-sexual) people.”
I have to question the word welcomed. Indeed, 1/3 of the booths at the marketplace are rented to and staffed by LGBT groups. Probably 1/3 of the self-select lectures have gay subjects or speakers. They are here in record numbers. But, Gene Robinson was not seated. After several protests from TEC, that has not changed.
With that tidbit of information, we moved on into the pressroom for a chance to read the third stage of the Windsor Continuation Group statement prior to the arrival of Bishop Handford. The exact wording of the briefing document follows.
Read HERE.
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