“The Windsor Process”

The Anglican Communion web site's Windsor Process pages note that the Windsor Process has "four main elements: an Anglican Covenant, the Listening Process, the Panel of Reference and the Windsor Report 2004." Each element has its own web page and links to relevant materials.

While these pages are a tremendous resource to the Communion at large, the Windsor Process pages at etdiocese.net are meant to assemble the major resources and news reports to assist East Tennessee Episcopalians as they follow and interpret the controversies.

Supplemental resources list includes books, study guides, links to downloadable materials and more.

Four "Instruments of Communion" guide relationships among the Anglican Communion's member provinces. They are the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops and the Primates' Meeting. Information about each is available through links from the main Web page of the Anglican Communion.

Membership in the Anglican Communion is a matter determined by each province's direct formal relationship with the See of Canterbury. The Episcopal Church is among 38 member provinces of the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members in 164 countries.

At its General Convention in 2003, the Episcopal Church gave its consent to the election of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson is an openly gay man in a long-term committed relationship with another man. The General Convention also recognized "that local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions," and it committed the church to continued study and discernment on the issue, including the compilation of existing resources by a special commission.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, in response to uproar in other Provinces over these actions and decisions of other Provincial members on similar matters, appointed a Lambeth Commission on Communion. This 17-member international panel was to explore the nature of communion and look specifically at how interrelationships are maintained amid differing views and practices among Anglicans, including varied understandings of human sexuality. The Commission released the final report of its work, the Windsor Report, on Oct. 18, 2004.

At its General Convention in 2006, the Episcopal Church House of Bishops elected the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, bishop of Nevada, as presiding bishop. Many Anglican provinces do not ordain women, and TEC is the first to elect one as a Primate. Also controversial in some circles are the presiding bishop's viewpoints, such as her support of full inclusion.

Discernment and Response
Reverse Chronological Highlights

Presiding bishop, Sept. 2006: Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold wrote a letter to fellow Episcopal bishops about the meeting of 21 bishops at Camp Allen, Texas, and the gathering of Global South Anglican leaders in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sept. 2006: Dr. Rowan Williams spoke of his prayers for ordinary churchgoers in a Sept. 16 pastoral letter to the Anglican Primates.

Seven diocesan bishops, July 2006: appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury for alternative primatial oversight following the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, June 2006: The primates of CAPA wrote an open letter to the Episcopal Church after TEC convention closed.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, June 27, 2006: The Most. Rev. Rowan Williams wrote to the Primates about his ideas for a future Anglican Communion, in a text reflection and as an audio file. Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold responded two days later.

East Tennessee grows in understanding of General Convention 2006,
materials gathered from across the church to assist East Tennessee Episcopalians in interpreting actions of the Convention.

75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, June 2006: The Episcopal Church's official response to the Windsor Report came in the form of six approved resolutions: A159, A160, A163, A165, A166, B033 and a related resolution, A167.

"One Baptism, One Hope in God's Call," April 2006: The Report by the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion included 11 resolutions to be considered by the 75th General Convention.

"Towards an Anglican Covenant," March 2006: A consultation paper prepared for the Joint Standing Committee of the ACC and the Primates.

Sources: Episcopal News Service, the Episcopal Church, Anglican Communion News Service, the Anglican Communion

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