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January 15 2005 By virtueonline ANGLICAN COMMUNION INSTITUTE QUESTIONS INTEGRITY OF HOB ON WINDSOR REPORT

* It speaks of a unique American Church with special attributes, not appreciated or endorsed by TWR's conception of Communion, like lay involvement, bi-cameral government, and so forth (we leave to the side whether the laity in fact are involved in representative ways; see the recent report from the Episcopal Church Foundation).

* Its own Presiding Bishop insists that TWR does not ask it to say it regrets what it has done (NPR report, 14 January 2005).

January 15 2005 By virtueonline WASHINGTON: Lutheran decision splits on gay clergy

The 14-member task force pronounced itself conflicted and unable to agree about how the ELCA should proceed.

What emerged in their report -- released at church headquarters in Chicago -- was a compromise in which congregations could hire homosexual clergy without making this the official policy in the 4.9-million-member denomination.

The compromise came as three recommendations:

January 15 2005 By virtueonline MASSACHUSETTS: Episcopalians compromise to avoid split

Today's ceremony is the result of months of delicate negotiations among McKinnon, Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of Massachusetts, and Bishop Donald F. Harvey, the retired bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. Shaw is a leading supporter of gay rights; Harvey is a leading critic of Robinson's consecration.

January 14 2005 By virtueonline SALT LAKE CITY: Orthodox Bishops Issue Minority Report

Requesting a moment of personal privilege, Bishop Robert Duncan, Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) and Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, noted that “the Episcopal Church USA often uses ‘graceful’ language but our behavior (‘the politics of power’) contradicts the words.”

January 14 2005 By virtueonline SALT LAKE CITY: House of Bishops Issue A Word to the Church

We decided at our September meeting in 2004 to set aside this time so we might together begin to receive the Windsor Report with humility. We have met for a day and a half in Salt Lake City. We welcome with gratitude the work of the Lambeth Commission on Communion. We realize this is a long-term effort which will most likely extend beyond our March meeting. In the meantime, we aim to practice the more intentional consultative processes called for by the Windsor Report.

January 14 2005 By virtueonline ENGLAND: Bishops give Williams mandate for Windsor

“We wanted Rowan to go knowing we endorse the position taken by the report,” one bishop said. “We want to be genuinely backing him.”

Another bishop said that the show of unity was vital. “It is critical the Archbishop goes to the Primates meeting with the support of his own house. If he’d gone with criticism and a lack of support, it would undermine his ability to do anything. The Windsor Report could be terrific if it’s given teeth.”

January 13 2005 By virtueonline PITTSBURGH: Episcopal bishop to attend Utah meeting about gay issues

The leaders also will decide whether they should apologize for ordaining a gay bishop in the first place.

Duncan has been leading the charge against progressive movements within the church that he and other conservatives consider to be contrary to scripture. His actions have caused a rift -- and spurred lawsuits -- among the 20,000 Episcopalians in the Pittsburgh diocese, some of whom support the actions of the House of Bishops.

January 12 2005 By virtueonline PHILADELPHIA (UPI)--Episcopal meeting faces gay-bishop issue

The Rev. Carl Metzger of the Church of St. Alban in Philadelphia said the prospects of an apology for consecrating Robinson are almost non-existent.

"I don't think they'll go that far," he said. They may express regret "for the division it has caused." He further suggested that the bishops would be united in their refusal to apologize.

January 11 2005 By virtueonline SALT LAKE CITY: Episcopalians plan Salt Lake session to take on same-sex furor

The bishops will also consider whether to issue -- and if so, how to word -- a formal apology for the uproar their decision in August 2003 has caused within the 77 million member worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church is one small division within Anglicanism, representing some 2.3 million members. Largely conservative in membership, the majority of Anglicans view the action by American bishops as an act of hubris that defies biblical teaching against homosexuality.

January 11 2005 By virtueonline OBITUARY: The Reverend Professor Carsten Thiede

Thiede's ambition was to lay the intellectual foundations of what he called a "new paradigm" in Gospel scholarship, as simple in its arguments as it was provocative to the academic establishment. He was fond of quoting the distinguished classical scholar of late antiquity, George Kennedy: "Ancient writers sometimes meant what they said, and occasionally even knew what they were talking about."

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