Resources for reflections on the Windsor Reportdeveloped by the School of Ministry forthe 189th Annual Convention ofthe Episcopal Diocese of North CarolinaReport part of a larger process. The Lambeth Commission on Communion came into existence at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the primates (the archbishops, presiding bishops and so on) of the Anglican Communion. Its report, therefore, was first presented to the Most Rev. Rowan Williams and to the Primates’ Standing Committee, which was meeting in London on October 18, 2004. Copies were circulated to all primates before its noon release. As the Most Rev. Dr. Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, wrote in his forward to the Windsor Report, the report itself “is not a judgement. It is part of a process.” The recommendations of this report, therefore, should not be seen as definitive. As our North Carolina bishops noted in a pastoral letter, “the Report is the beginning of a conversation of prayer, study, reflection, dialogue and discernment.” The purpose of this document is to give some indication of next steps as the Anglican Communion engages in reflection and discernment. It is a real question as to whether any overarching Anglican body has the authority to put the report’s recommendations into practice, as each province is virtually autonomous. Thus there will be discussions over some years as various provinces and churches within the Communion place the report before their scheduled synods, councils, assemblies and conventions. Discussion at the Communion level. Discussions will take place in February 2005 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, when all the Primates of the Anglican Communion meet, and again at the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Nottingham, England, in June 2005. No doubt the matter will be addressed at the Lambeth Conference in 2008. Discussions in the Episcopal Church USA. Meanwhile in the Episcopal Church, the Executive Council has already met, in Boise, Idaho, October 31-November 4, 2004, where it called on Episcopalians at all levels of the Church to read and discuss the report and share their reflections with bishops and members of the Council. They noted that “the consultations of the coming months are just the beginning of our Church’s reception of the Windsor Report, for the principal response should be made by the 2006 General Convention.” The House of Bishops met January 12-13, 2005, in Salt Lake City, and the Executive Council will meet again in February. The House of Bishops will discuss the matter further in March, in light of the primates meeting. Our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, has indicated that he will appoint a group to respond to the Windsor Report’s invitation that the Episcopal Church explain the rationale for consecrating a bishop living in a same-gender relationship. Discussions in the Diocese of North Carolina. In a pastoral letter in late October, our bishops reminded us that “we are all being invited to participate in a process of prayerful conversation,” including in our local congregations. In November our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, wrote to the Diocese “to encourage all congregations to engage in study during 2005 focused on the question of what it means for us as Christians with differing ideas and beliefs about many matters to live together as One Body.” The program at the Diocesan Convention in January 2005 is one step in this process. Discussions in Canada. Since the controversy was stimulated both by the Episcopal Church’s actions on the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson and blessing of same-sex unions and the actions by the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada over same-sex blessings, it may be helpful to note briefly that the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod will address the outcome of Communion consultations when they next meet in June 2007. Meanwhile they have set up a task force to advise about “an appropriate process” by which the Anglican Church of Canada will respond to the Windsor Report. It is meeting in January 2005. Discussions in Africa. As our African partners have been particularly outspoken regarding the human sexuality actions in North America, it may be helpful also to note that their first discussion of the report took place at an African Anglican Bishops’ Conference, held in Nigeria in late October 2004. They “noted with approval” most recommendations but found it “offensive” to be asked to “express regret” for their intervention on behalf of parishes in US dioceses. No doubt the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), a continental coordinating body for the twelve Anglican provinces in Africa, will also take the matter up. Their conclusions will be non-binding, and action will ultimately need to come from each of the various African provinces. Invitations to comment: Considerable effort locally, nationally, and communion-wide is being made to receive comments on the report. This includes the following: The Reception Reference Group. The Archbishop of Canterbury has now named a Reception Reference Group, chaired by the Most Rev. Peter Kwong, Primate of Hong Kong, to coordinate responses to the report. (The Rt. Rev. Kenneth Price, Suffragan Bishop of Southern Ohio, represents the US.) There are to be three major threads to the reception process: First, the official channels of the Anglican Communion as the avenue to undertake consultation with its provinces and churches and its official commissions and networks; second, finding ways to relate to the grassroots of the membership of the Communion to discover something of the popular reaction to the report; and third, both these channels supported by electronic means of communication afforded through the Communion web site and Anglican Communion News Service. Questions to consider. The Primates’ Standing Committee has released a set of questions that it has formulated for consideration by the provinces of the Anglican Communion. (See our handout, A Summary of the Windsor Report, for a brief description of the sections noted below.) They are as follows: 1. What in the description of the life of the Communion in Sections A and B can you recognize as consistent, or not, with your understanding of the Anglican Communion? 2. In which ways do the proposals in Sections C and D flow appropriately from the description of the Communion’s life in Sections A and B? 3. What do you think are the ways in which the recommendations and proposals of the Report would impact on the life of the Communion if they were to be implemented? 4. How would you evaluate the arguments for an Anglican Covenant set out in paragraph 119 of the Report? How far do the elements included in the possible draft for such a covenant in Appendix Two of the Report represent an appropriate development of the existing life of the Anglican Communion? Your comments. The Lambeth Commission on Communion web page on the Anglican Communion website (www.anglicancommunion.org/commission/index/cfm) provides an opportunity for users of the site to submit their own views. Click on “Reception Process,” then “Respond to the Windsor Report here.” | 
