Contact: Loralei Coyle 202-682-4131, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@ird-renew.org; Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton, jwalton@ird-renew.org; both with The Institute on Religion and Democracy
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- As of August 30, the Episcopal Church has only one month left to respond to the requests of Anglican Communion leaders (called "primates") voiced in their February 2007 communiqué. In that communiqué, the primates asked the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops to reverse the denomination's course regarding the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of bishops in a same-sex relationship.
IRD Director of Anglican Action Ralph Webb commented:
"With the clock rapidly running out on the Episcopal Church, the pressure is on for the denomination to place the good of the worldwide Anglican Communion above its own interests. Unfortunately, the denomination still gives little hope that it will rise to meet the needs of not only the Communion to which it belongs, but the entire body of Christ.
"Just earlier this week, the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, an open and partnered lesbian, was nominated for Bishop of Chicago. The nomination clearly goes against the spirit of the primates' requests and illustrates the hardness of heart toward the primates demonstrated by many in the Episcopal Church today. It should not be overlooked in all the discussion of Rev. Lind that apparently all five candidates for bishop support the Episcopal Church's movement toward what progressives commonly call the 'full inclusion' of gays and lesbians.
"That goal, according to Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, 'is part of [the denomination's] mission.' The House of Bishops also defined it last March as part of the 'gospel' that the Episcopal Church is called to preach. Yet that goal and many other examples of jettisoning biblical, traditional Anglican faith have led thousands of orthodox Anglicans to leave the Episcopal Church.
"And it is precisely those deviations from orthodox faith and practice that put the Episcopal Church outside of the mainstream of not just the Anglican Communion, but the larger body of Christ. Make no mistake: the Episcopal Church's actions dangerously compromise the holiness of the church and its members. The Anglican Communion primates clearly recognize that fact. Will the Episcopal Church put the good of the worldwide church ahead of its own desires? Or will it remain insistent, as its Executive Council said in June, that it can only be what it is? The clock is running out."
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