All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, SC
The Episcopal Church held its 76th General Convention in Anaheim, California, July 8-17, 2009. The convention dealt with a wide variety of issues through consideration of fully 419 different resolutions. But unquestionably the greatest debate and media interest focused on just two of these. Each dealt with human sexuality (blessing of same-sex unions, ordination of homosexuals), and their passage exacerbated the already-strained relationship between the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. These two actions were passed by sizeable margins in both the House of Bishops (approximately 300 active and retired bishops) and the House of Deputies (847 members, lay and ordained), but many dissented, among whom were Bishop Mark Lawrence and the delegation from the Diocese of South Carolina. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who attended the opening of the Convention, reflected afterwards on the impact these actions might have on the worldwide Anglican Communion. On August 13, 2009, Bishop Lawrence presented an address to diocesan clergy calling for a number of actions and announcing a special diocesan convention to be held October 24, 2009.
Below are links to documents and news articles about the national convention, with a focus on those two controversial issues, and the reactions to it. The links are organized into three groups. A reading of the "Summary Items" will give you a reasonable overview of the actions and reactions mentioned above. If you want to read the original documents rather than just rely on synopses, you will find links to these in the "Basic Documents" section. And if you want to read other articles about these issues or explore on your own at greater depth, follow some of the links in the "Other" section. Depending on how deeply you delve into these issues, you may encounter "insider jargon" or unfamiliar terminology. At the bottom of this page is a glossary of abbreviations and terms that will hopefully help in this respect.
| Summary Items - intended to give you a brief overview of the major issues at GC'09, reported from several different points of view, and of the reaction from the Diocese of South Carolina. |
| General Convention Report - 8/16/09 - a one page report from Episcopal Life Weekly |
| Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's description of the two resolutions - excerpted from her letter of 7/22/09 |
| "Dissenting Bishops Issue Anaheim Statement" - 7/17/09 - an article in The Living Church describing the issuing of the "Anaheim Statement" by a group of dissenting bishops, including SC Bishop Mark Lawrence. |
| Bishop Mark Lawrence's Letter about the Convention - 7/18/09 |
| "Canterbury reflects on General Convention" - 8/19/09 - an article in Episcopal Life Online summarizing main points from Archbishop Rowan Williams' reflections on GC'09 |
| "Diocese asked to consider withdrawing from church's governing bodies" - 8/21/09 - an article in Episcopal Life Online summarizing main points from Bishop Mark Lawrence's address to clergy on 8/13/09 |
| Basic Documents - links to some of the documents encountered in the Summary Items |
| Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's Letter summarizing the Convention - 7/22/09 |
| B033 - GC'06 resolution calling for restraint in consecrating homosexuals as bishops |
| C056 - GC'09 resolution on blessing same-sex relations |
| D025 - GC'09 resolution on relationship to the Anglican Communion and ordination of gay and lesbian individuals |
| The Anaheim Statement - the text of the statement of bishops dissenting from the actions of GC'09 |
| Archbishop Rowan Williams' Reflections - "Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future" - 7/27/09 |
| Bishop Mark Lawrence's Address to Diocesan Clergy - 8/13/09 |
| Resolutions for the special Diocesan Convention - five resolutions to be considered at the 10/24/09 convention - 9/15/09 |
| Other - a collection of links to other documents and news sites where you may want to surf for additional information. |
| Articles |
| Index of News Stories about GC'09 from Episcopal Life Online |
| "West Texas bishop drafts 'Anaheim Statement,' reaffirms moratoria commitment" - 7/19/09 - article in Episcopal Life Online on the Anaheim Statement |
| Bishop Mark Lawrence's Interview with Anglican TV at GC'09 - 7/21/09 - Video - Transcript |
| "Bishop's Address Leaves Clergy Bewildered" - 8/14/09 - article in Virtue Online about Bishop Lawrence's Address to Clergy |
| "Reduced status suggested for Episcopal Church" - 8/25/09 - article in The Christian Century on Archbishop Rowan Williams' Reflections of 7/27/09 |
| Documents |
| GC'09 Actions - a summary of all the major actions, and a listing of all resolutions |
| GC'09 Legislation Index - index of all actions & resolutions, linked to text of each |
| All Saints Rector's letter to the Vestry - 7/25/09 |
| All Saints "Feedback Report" - October, 2006 |
| The Ridley Draft - the current draft of a proposed Anglican Covenant |
| The Windsor Report the 2004 report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion |
| ECUSA Constitution and Canons |
| News Sources |
| Anglicans Online |
| Episcopal Life Online |
| Diocese of South Carolina e-Newsletter |
| The Christian Century |
| The Living Church News Service |
| South Carolina Episcopalians - "Bearing Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ through the Episcopal Church" |
| Via Media USA - "Committed to promoting and protecting the faith, unity, and vitality of The Episcopal Church" |
| Virtue Online - "The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism" |
| Glossary - These are abbreviations and terms which turn up in some of the articles and documents cited above. Many have links to additional information. |
| 815: Taken from its reference to 815 Second Avenue in New York which is the address of The Episcopal Church Center, the administrative headquarters of the Episcopal Church, it is a colloquialism for the "national" church. |
| AAC: American Anglican Council - "Individuals, parishes and ministries who affirm biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy within the Anglican Communion" |
| ACC: Anglican Consultative Council - The ACC membership includes from one to three persons from each province of the Anglican Communion, who meet every two or three years to facilitate the co-operative work of the churches of the Communion. Since it began there have been fourteen meetings of the Council. The last meeting ACC-14 took place between 1st - 13th May 2009 in Kingston Jamaica. The ACC is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion |
| ACNA: Anglican Church in North America - an alternative church formed by several bishops who left the Episcopal Church |
| AMiA: Anglican Mission in America - a missionary outreach from the Anglican Church of Rwanda to North America |
| Anglican Communion Development Committee: A committee of the Diocese of South Carolina with an emphasis on developing missional relationships around the world, it was once known as the World Mission Committee. |
| Anglican Covenant: The idea that a covenant be developed and adopted in the Anglican Communion emanated from the Windsor Report in 2004. It was hoped the clarification of identity and mission would be foundational in building cooperation and trust. While there seemed to be broad support for the concept, there was widespread concern regarding the nature and content. There have been several drafts for the covenant, the most recent of which is know as the Ridley Draft. |
| Articles of Religion: defined the 16th century Anglican position on various issues of the times. They were revised in 1801 for use in America after the Revolutionary War. They are part of the "Historical Documents" section of the BCP. |
| BCP: Book of Common Prayer |
| B033: GC'06 resolution calling for a moratorium on consecration of homosexuals. The "B" designation indicates that this resolution originated from a bishop. B033 was proposed by Bishop Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. |
| C056: GC'09 resolution on blessing same-sex relations. The "C" designation indicates that this is a resolution originating from a diocese or province. C056 was proposed by the Diocese of Missouri. |
| D025: GC'09 resolution on relationship to the Anglican Communion and ordination of gay and lesbian individuals. The "D" designation indicates that this is a resolution originating from an individual delegate. D025 was proposed by Ms. D. Rebecca Snow. |
| ECUSA: the Episcopal Church of the United States of America |
| EFSC: the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina - an organization of Episcopalians in South Carolina whose mission is to "preserve unity with diversity in the Diocese of South Carolina and within The Episcopal Church, through the inclusion of a broad range of Scriptural understandings, and by upholding the democratic actions of its Constitution and Canons, conventions and elected leadership." |
| GAFCON: Global Anglican Future Conference, held in Jerusalem, June 22-28, 2008, just prior to the Lambeth Conference, July 16 - August 3, 2008 |
| GC'09: General Convention 2009, the 76th triennial convention of the the Episcopal Church. |
| GLBT or LGBT: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered |
| hermeneutic: having to do with the principles utilized in discovering the meaning of a text |
| HOB: House of Bishops, one of the two voting houses at Episcopal general conventions |
| Instruments of Communion or Instruments of Unity for the Anglican Communion: (1) the Archbishop of Canterbury, (2) the Lambeth Conference, (2) the Anglican Consultative Council, (4) the Primates' meeting |
| Lambeth Conference: a conference of bishops in the Anglican Communion, held every ten years at Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first conference took place in 1867; the most recent one was held in 2008. The Lambeth Conference is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. |
| Oath of Conformity: Early in the Rite of Ordination of the Episcopal Church, after the candidate has been presented, he or she makes the following declaration of conformity: I solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary for salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church. (BCP p. 526) |
| Ridley Draft: The latest draft of the proposal for a covenant among member churches in the Anglican Communion. |
| Standing Committee: An elected group of lay and ordained members who serve as a body of advice and consent for the bishop of a diocese. |
| TEC: The Episcopal Church |