Americans urged to sign up to the Covenant: CEN 9.11.09 p 7.

Traditionalist dioceses, congregations and individual Episcopalians should not wait for the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in 2012 to endorse the Anglican Covenant, but make their views known now, seven American bishops have declared following a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury last week.

On Sept 1, the Bishops of Albany, Dallas, North Dakota, Northern Indiana, South Carolina, West Texas and Western Louisiana met with Dr. Rowan Williams and key aides to discuss concerns over the “recent actions of General Convention” in ending the Windsor moratoria, and with the nomination of gay clergy to stand for election to the episcopate in Minnesota and Los Angeles.

The 76th General Convention in Anaheim, California rejected the Anglican Communion’s common teachings on human sexuality making it highly unlikely that the Episcopal Church will adopt the Anglican Covenant, seven American bishops told the Archbishop of Canterbury at a private meeting at Lambeth Palace.

Details of the meeting between the seven conservative bishops—members of the Communion Partners group who produced the Anaheim Statement of dissent to the actions of General Convention—have not been made public, however, those present tell The Church of England Newspaper there had been a frank exchange of views and an honest evaluation of the current state of Anglican affairs.

On Sept 7 the seven bishops released a general statement expressing their gratitude for having met with Dr. Williams and detailed their plans for moving forward within the structures of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

The American bishops stated they had expressed their “appreciation” for Dr Williams’ “post-Convention reflections,” noting with interest his statement whether “elements” in provinces who reject the Anglican Covenant “will be free … to adopt the Covenant as a sign of their wish to act in a certain level of mutuality with parts of the Communion.”

“We are encouraged by our meeting with the Archbishop,” they said, and affirmed their desire to be part of a “Covenanted global Anglican body in communion with the See of Canterbury.”

However, “we also shared our concern” that the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in July had rejected the communion’s teachings on human sexuality as expressed in the 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10, and “raise a serious question whether a Covenant will be adopted by both Houses at General Convention 2012.”

However, General Conventions commendation of the Anglican Covenant for “study and comment” and invitation to “consider the Anglican Covenant proposed draft as a document to inform their understanding of and commitment to our common life in the Anglican Communion,” gave them hope that a way forward could be found for Episcopalians who wished to remain faithful to the Anglican Communion.”

The seven bishops encouraged “dioceses, congregations and individuals of the Episcopal Church to pray and work for the adoption of an Anglican Communion Covenant” and asked them to lobby for its adoption at the next General Convention.

They also asked “dioceses, congregations and individuals” to “endorse the first three sections” of the Covenant and “record such endorsements on the Communion Partners website.”

Conservative dioceses and congregations were encouraged to link with like minded entities, and liberal bishops were asked to “call upon us for service in needed cases of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight” for traditionalist congregations.