Anglican Consultative Council meets in Nottingham

Using the theme of “Living Communion”, presentations by the Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as other presentations on environmental, ecumenical and women’s issues, and divestment from Israeli interests were among the key topics addressed at the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC)meeting in Nottingham, England, in June.

Overshadowing the meeting, however, was the fact that the representatives from ECUSA – including Bishop Suffragan Catherine Roskam – were prevented from participating in any discussion, voting or decision-making process. The ECUSA Executive Council, as well as the Anglican Church of Canada, voted to send their three respective representatives to the ACC meeting, but not as voting participants, in response to a request from the Anglican Primates to “voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference.”

ACC is one of the four instruments of unity in the Anglican Communion and the only consultative body for the 77 million Anglicans in 164 countries.

At ACC, the ECUSA and Canadian members were treated as guests, not members. They were not permitted to attend certain events, such as Bible Study, and were seated separately from the ACC members in the guest area. The ECUSA representatives sat in the rear, attentive to the proceedings but not participating. Next to them was the Canadian delegation, also attending as observers.

In spite of this, however, Bishop Roskam noted, “In general we have been treated well and received quite hospitably, despite the fact that some there wished we had not come at all. But I am very glad we were there. We are the official representatives of the Episcopal Church who are accountable to General Convention and have a mechanism through Executive Council to reporting back to the church. A written report alone could not do justice to the richness of the discussions at this meeting.”

The Episcopal Church representatives were Bishop Roskam; the Rev. Robert Sessum of the Diocese of Lexington; and the Hon. Josephine Hicks of the Diocese of North Carolina.

Bishop Roskam recognized the work that was being done by the Anglican Consultative Council. “My impression of the ACC meeting was, for the most part, people of goodwill worked very hard to stay together,” she said. “It is precisely this sort of person who was elected to leadership at this meeting which affords us some hope for the future of the communion.”

Bishop Roskam and Jane Tully
Both ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada were requested to make presentations defending their actions.

In the Episcopal Church, that action was the consecration of an openly gay bishop in a committed relationship; in the Anglican Church of Canada it was the authorization of rites for the blessing of same sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster (Vancouver).

The auditorium of the University of Nottingham was standing room only on Tuesday, June 21, when the two teams made their long-awaited presentations.

ECUSA’s presentation commenced with the distribution of To Set Our Hope On Christ: A Response to the Invitation of Windsor Report Paragraph 135, a book outlining the church’s actions.

The presentation committee included Bishop Roskam and Jane Tully of St. Bartholomew’s, Manhattan. Bishop Roskam’s portion formed the foundation for the report, and Tully’s personal declarations emotionally stirred the audience. Other presentation committee members were: Bishop Neil Alexander of Atlanta; the Rev. Michael Battle, associate dean for academic affairs and vice-president of Virginia Theological Seminary; Bishop Charles Jenkins of Louisiana; and the Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold presented the introduction.

Bishop Roskam noted: “For the most part people listened carefully to our presentation and many good conversations followed. The ACC needs to do more work to distinguish between debate--a win/lose method-- and dialogue, the goal of which is not to convince but to deepen understanding. Our team was courageous, articulate, and very well prepared.  I think our position was very well represented."

To Set Our Hope On Christ: A Response to the Invitation of Windsor Report Paragraph 135 is available online at www.anglicanlistening.org or contact Arlene Bullard: abullard@dioceseny.org, 212-932-7363.
Videos of each of the ECUSA member’s presentations are available at www.episcopalchurch.org/ens.

Divestment
In a controversial action, ACC-13 supported the moves to consider divestment from the State of Israel.
ACC approved a resolution which “commends the resolve of the Episcopal Church (USA) to take appropriate action where it finds that its corporate investments support the occupation of Palestinian lands or violence against innocent Israelis, and commends such a process to other Provinces having such investments, to be considered in line with their adopted ethical investment strategies and encourages investment strategies that support the infrastructure of a future Palestinian State.”

Stating that “now is the time to invest, not divest,” Bishop Mark Sisk, as well as other Episcopal bishops, has voiced his opposition to this action. (See related story)

Other ACC Actions
ACC acted upon many issues important to the Anglican Communion and some important to the world at large:
• Approved the inclusion of the 37 Primates as members of ACC, thereby increasing the membership from 78 to 115.
• Urged African governments to help Zimbabwe and its refugees.
• Reviewed plans for the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the gathering of bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion held every 10 years.
• Asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to send a message to the G8 conference, which occurred one week later in Scotland.
• Called for the reunification of Korea and for countries to take steps to avoid nuclear war.
• Thanked the Compass Rose Society for "its generous financial support”.
• Thanked to Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea for her four dedicated years as Anglican Observer to the United Nations.
• Discussed the "Mary, Grace and Hope in Christ," a document issued in 2005 by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).
• Approved a three year budget and discussed financial concerns.
• Called for the use of renewable energy as well as environmental education.
• Accepted goals, timeline and content of a new initiative, Theological Education for the
Anglican Communion.
• Heard addresses from the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion; Bishop John Peterson, ACC chair; Bishop Tom Wright of Durham; and Member of Parliament Hilary Benn.
• Received ecumenical greetings from the World Council of Churches; Churches of the Union of Utrecht; the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar; Lutheran World Federation; Methodist Church; Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia; Baptists World Alliance.

Attending from EDNY
There were familiar faces at ACC-13 from the diocese. The Rev. Canon George Brandt of St. Michael’s, Manhattan and the Rev. Susan McCone, Executive Director of Affirming Catholicism in USA and chaplain at Vassar, tended to the Affirming Catholicism booth. Maurice Seaton of St. James Callicoon was a member of the Global Anglicanism Program (CAP) panel during its presentation.

The next ACC meeting will be held in 2009 at a location to be announced later.

For complete coverage of the actions of ACC-13, including videos of actions and the full text of resolutions, see www.episcopalchurch.org/ens.