Basket of Carp : Invitation to a Parsing

The Bishop's address to Texas' Council in February came at a trying time in the Church, and it is important. When I first heard it, I was relieved that the Bishop had clearly professed his allegiance to The Episcopal Church. But there are a lot of other things in the speech. You can read it yourself on the Diocesan website: http://epicenter.org.

There is something in the background of the speech which you ought to know. I don't know that it has been openly discussed, and it may not matter. On the other hand, it may be crucial.

The General Convention meets in June, and both friend and foe are anxious about the outcome. Some prominent leaders of the Anglican Communion, notably in Africa, and their American clients, notably the Anglican Communion Network, are poised to profit from a disaster. The ACN bishops are ready to declare themselves the real Episcopal Church and to replace it in the Anglican Communion.

In January and in April of last year Bishop Wimberly joined with the ACN bishops in signing documents which assessed (mostly negatively) the House of Bishops' on-going search for reconciliation. One of these was a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury saying that differences in the Episcopal Church were "irreconcilable" and asking him to appoint a commission to say so. Guilt by association may not be an appropriate basis for judgment, but associations inevitably raise questions.

The speech has various words and phrases that are clearly meant to send specific messages, but no definitions. The bishop says he will "lead by following the Windsor Report." Texas, he says, is "a communion diocese." Does this mean a diocese with a special commitment to the Holy Eucharist, or one with special commitment to the Anglican Communion, perhaps even by-passing the Episcopal Church? Suspicion is not a very healthy thing, but it is nurtured by delphic language in such a time.

The Windsor Report 2004, like the Bible, is more talked about than read. And most of the talk is not about the teaching in the report but about the demands, actions by which the Episcopal Church could restore its standing with the rest of the Anglican Commnion. There are a number of proposals for dealing with them, from ignoring to complying. But the denunciations which have been heaped on us make it doubtful that we will satisfy all of the Anglican Communion's Primates, whatever we do.