On this Shrove Tuesday, crowds began gathering at daybreak in anticipation of the arrival of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of Sudan, Dr. Joseph Marona. Among the thousands were hundreds of women and children, clergy from all over the country, government officials, Southerners and Northerners, and Christians from the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Catholic churches in town.

Second, the report is intended as the beginning point for a conversation that will take place in Columbus under the aegis of the Holy Spirit. That is, it is intended to start the conversation and not conclude it: the Commission has seen itself as preparing the General Convention to respond in the wisest possible ways. Again, we thank the members of the Special Commission who have been servants of this process of discernment.

The Anglican Alliance of North Florida is saddened by Bishop Howard's action and by the confusion and anguish it will inevitably cause. Each of the 16 churches in the Anglican Alliance of North Florida has prayerfully followed the course that seemed right for them in their dealings with the diocese, and some have chosen to walk away from their properties rather than fight for them.

Of the 25 largest churches in the United States, those showing the largest increases in membership were the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination, up by 1.81 percent, to 2.78 million; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, up by 1.74 percent, to 5.99 million; and the Roman Catholic Church, up by 0.83 percent, to 67.82 million.

The Southern Baptist Convention, with 16.27 million members, reported a decrease of 1.05 percent.