Letter from the Communion Partners to the Archbishop of Canterbury

originally posted at http://communionpartners.org/?p=64 104th Archbishop of Canterbury Lambeth Palace London, England SE1 7JU Your Grace: You will be sent a hard copy of this letter, statement and the list of signatories, but because of our desire to put this material in front of you soon, we are e-mailing this correspondence as well.  We must share with you that this letter will also be made public via the trusted websites of the The Livng Church and The Anglican Communion Institute. Enclosed, please find a statement of the Communion Partner Rectors who welcome and declare our appreciation for the witness of the over 30 Episcopal bishops who have signed the minority statement read in the House of Bishops at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, California on Thursday, July 16, 2009. Though we have been in touch with you throughout the last year and a half, we simply reiterate our deep desire and commitment to remain constituent members of the greater Anglican Communion.  We, as we believe it to be well documented now, concur with your leadership, and that of Lambeth Conference and the ACC that the road to stronger bonds of affection amongst the members of the Communion is our shared commitment to our Lord and His Church, the instruments of Communion and the parameters and councils set forth in the Windsor Process, the three (at present) requested moratoria, the most recent Lambeth Conference, Lambeth Resolution 1.10 and the unfolding Covenant Process, to which we are fully committed. We do not concur with any action taken that would be interpreted by the larger Communion as divisive, dismissive of our larger Anglican Communion or schismatic.  The outgrowth of the decisions of the General Convention has yet to be ultimately determined as to its impact on our common bonds of affection that we should all share, and honor, as part of the worldwide Anglican family. Some will clearly share the assessment of His Grace, Bishop N.T. Wright that The Episcopal Church has, by its most recent actions, chosen to "walk apart."  It would be our hope that if you share that assessment, that you would also share Bishop's Wright's counsel to ""¦not forget the 'Communion Partner' bishops, who doggedly loyal to their church, and to the Windsor Report as expressing the mind of the wider Communion, voted against the current resolution.  Nor should we forget the many parishes within revisionist dioceses (and, for that matter, worshippers within revisionists parishes) who take the same stance," (The Times, 15 July, 2009).  Again, let us categorically state, that we believe our ties to both the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion must remain solid and unfettered by any action, resolution or statement that would in any way further tear the very fragile fabric that is now our Anglican family; and therefore would not support any such action, resolution or statement. Lastly, we reaffirm our pledge of support for the unfolding Covenant process and it is our hope that Part IV of the Ridley Draft will soon be revisited and approved as a pathway for not simply Provinces, but Bishops, Dioceses and individual parishes to renew their commitment not only to the Anglican Communion, but to those vital pillars that in the end, draw us all together, rather than cause further division. Toward that end and toward all of these matters, we pledge our prayers and support to you, to our Communion Partner Bishops and those Bishops who joined them in signing the Anaheim Statement, and to those Bishops who have made similar statements to their own Dioceses.  Please let us know how we can further support you. Faithfully, on behalf of the attached list of Communion Partner Rectors, The Advisory Committee of the Communion Partner Rectors The Reverend Dr. Charles Alley, Rector, St. Matthews, Richmond, Virginia The Right Reverend Anthony Burton, Rector, Church of the Incarnation, Dallas, Texas The Very Reverend Anthony Clark, Dean, St. Luke's Cathedral, Orlando, Florida The Reverend S. Brooks Keith, Rector, Church of the Transfiguration, Vail, Colorado The Reverend Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. Rector, St. Martin's, Houston, Texas The Reverend Leigh Spruill, Rector, St. George's, Nashville, Tennessee The Communion Partner Rectors' Statement: July 22, 2009 We, the undersigned clergy in good standing in the Episcopal Church welcome and declare our appreciation for the witness of the bishops who signed the minority statement read in the House of Bishops in Anaheim, California on Thursday, July 16, 2009.  We also express our on-going support for all the reaffirmations listed in that document, which read as follows: We reaffirm our constituent membership in the Anglican Communion, our communion with the See of Canterbury and our commitment to preserving these relationships. We reaffirm our commitment to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this church has received them (BCP 526, 538). We reaffirm our commitment to the three moratoria requested of us by the instruments of Communion. We reaffirm our commitment to the Anglican Communion Covenant process currently underway, with the hope of working toward its implementation across the Communion once a Covenant is completed. We reaffirm our commitment to "continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship" which is foundational to our baptismal covenant, and to be one with the apostles in "interpreting the Gospel" which is essential to our work as bishops of the Church of God. We are committed along with said bishops to be a positive force for the spread of God's Kingdom in this world; to pray for Christ's Body, the Church, the Anglican Communion, The Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, all bishops and other ministers.  We hold that as Christ's Body, the Church is to be a "pillar and buttress of truth,"  (1 Timothy 3:15) through which the Gospel is held high in witness and proclamation, and we pray for the reconciliation of all humankind through the saving life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. For more information about the Communion Partner Rectors, contact CPRectors@stmartinsepiscopal.org The Rev. Dr. Charles Alley Rector, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Richmond, Virginia The Rev. Christopher L. Ashmore Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church Jacksonville, Illinois The Rev. John D. Badders, Jr. Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church McAllen, Texas The Rev. Phyllis Bartle Rector, St. Jude's Episcopal Church Orange City, Florida The Rev. Milton E. Black, Jr. Rector, Church of the Good Shepherd Corpus Christi, Texas The Rev. Christopher Andrew Bowhay Rector, St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Houston, Texas The Rt. Rev. Anthony J. Burton Rector, Church of the Incarnation Dallas, Texas The Rev. William J. Cavanaugh Rector, The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany Richardson, Texas The Very Reverend Anthony Clark Dean, The Cathedral Church of St. Luke Orlando, Florida The Rev. Anthony F. M. Clavier Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church La Porte, Indiana The Rev. C. Carter Croft Rector, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church Silver City, New Mexico The Rev. Joseph N. Davis Rector, Church of the Resurrection Franklin, Tennessee The Very Rev. Canon Richard C. Doscher, Sr. Rector, St. Alfred's Episcopal Church Palm Harbor, Florida The Rev. Mifflin Dove, Jr. Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church Katy, Texas The Rev. Robert G. Eaton Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church Tulare, California The Rev. Theodore W. Edwards, Jr. Rector, St. George's Episcopal Church Bradenton, Florida The Rev. Richard H. Elwood Retired Rector, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Fredericksburg, Texas The Rev. Frank E. Fuller Rector, St. Mark's Episcopal Church Beaumont, Texas The Rev. Ronald E. Greiser, Jr. Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church Portsmouth, Virginia The Rev. Laurens A. Hall Rector, St. John the Divine Houston¸ Texas The Rev. John F. Hardie Rector, St. Mark's Episcopal Church Corpus Christi, Texas The Rev. Theodore E. Hervey, Jr. Rector, Epiphany Episcopal Church Burnet, Texas The Rev. John M. Himes, OSF Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church Marshall, Texas The Rev. Charles L. Holt Rector, St. Peter's Episcopal Church Lake Mary, Florida The Rev. Robert Horowitz Rector, Church of the Redeemer Greenville, South Carolina The Rev. Thomas S. Hotchkiss Rector, Church of The Advent Nashville, Tennessee The Rev. Robert T. Jennings Rector, St. Francis in the Fields Harrods Creek, Kentucky The Rev. Bennett G. Jones, II Rector, St. Paul Episcopal Church Munster, Indiana The Rev. Timothy Jones Senior Associate Rector, St. George's Episcopal Church Nashville, Tennessee The Rev. Stuart Brooks Keith III Rector, Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration Vail, Colorado The Rev. Jerome A. Kramer Rector, Church of the Annunciation New Orleans, Louisiana The Rev. Gerald W. Krumenacker, Jr. Rector, Christ Church Dallas, Texas The Rev. Ronald James LeBlanc Priest-in-Charge, Church of the Incarnation Lafayette, Louisiana The Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. Rector, St. Martin's Episcopal Church Houston, Texas The Rev. John S. Liebler Rector, St. Andrew's Church and Academy Fort Pierce, Florida The Rev. Ramiro E. Lopez, Jr. Rector, St. George Episcopal Church San Antonio, Texas The Rev. Daniel H. Martins Rector, St. Anne's Episcopal Church Warsaw, Indiana The Very Rev. Dr. Jean McCurdy Meade Rector, Mount Olivet Episcopal Church New Orleans, Louisiana The Rev. Mark A. Michael Rector, Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Sharpsburg, Maryland The Rev. Joel J. Morsch Rector, Christ Church Bradenton, Florida The Rev. Elizabeth L. Myers Rector, St. Francis of Assisi Lake Placid, Florida The Rev. David G. Newhart Rector, St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church Sebastian, Florida The Rev. John Newton Rector, Messiah Episcopal Church Saint Paul, Minnesota The Very Rev. Timothy C. Nunez Rector, St. Mary's Episcopal Church Belleview, Florida The Rev. Jennie C. Olbrych Vicar, St. James Santee Episcopal Church McClellanville, South Carolina The Rev. Robert P. Price Rector, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church Houston, Texas The Rev. Dr. Darrel D. Proffitt Rector, Church of the Holy Apostles Katy, Texas The Rev. Fredrick Arthur Robinson Rector, The Church of the Redeemer Sarasota, Florida The Rev. Bruce M. Robison, D.Min. Rector, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Rev. Mark Seitz Rector, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Wheeling, West Virginia The Rev. John Thomas Sheehan Rector, The Church of Our Redeemer Aldie, Virginia The Rev. Dr. Jerry Smith Rector, St. Bartholomew's Parish Nashville, Tennessee The Rev. Leigh Spruill Rector, St. George's Episcopal Church Nashville, Tennessee The Very Rev. Canon Harold L. Trott, SSC Vicar, Church of Our Saviour Albuquerque, New Mexico The Rev. Eric W. Turner, Sr. Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church Melbourne, Florida The Rev. Guido Verbeck Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church Shreveport, Louisiana The Very Rev. Dr. Edward A. Weiss, OSB, APC Rector, Church of Our Saviour Okeechobee, Florida The Rev. John T. Wells Rector, Episcopal Church Of The Holy Spirit Waco, Texas The Rev. Ted Welty Interim Rector, Christ Episcopal Church Tyler, Texas The Rev. Stockton Williams, Jr. Rector, St. Peter's Episcopal Church Kerrville, Texas The Rev. Dr. Kenneth A. Wolfe Rector, Christ Episcopal Church Fitchburg, Massachusetts The Rev. Michael Wyckoff Rector, St. Luke's on the Lake Austin, Texas