2006 Meeting of Bishops

The meeting of bishops next month in New York City that is to be facilitated by the secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council will address the request by seven dioceses for alternate primatial oversight, according to Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. In a statement released through Episcopal News Service, Bishop Griswold explained how the idea for the meeting was conceived and listed the full roster of those invited. The meeting is scheduled to be held Sept. 11-13 at the Church Pension Group offices in New York City.

Shortly after the General Convention, Bishop Griswold said, the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council, "shared with me some conversations he had had with the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the whole notion of ‘alternative primatial oversight’ and the difficulty in making a response. Though application for the same had been made to the Archbishop, it was clear in our conversation that the Archbishop, though symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, has no direct authority over the internal life of the provinces that make up the Communion. Canon Kearon’s point was that such requests needed to be discussed and a resolution be sought within The Episcopal Church itself."

Bishop Griswold said the two agreed that "the most helpful next step might be to have a candid conversation to include the Presiding Bishop-elect and me together with bishops who have expressed a need for ‘alternative primatial oversight,’ and to have Canon Kearon join us in the conversations. Bishops [Robert] Duncan [of Pittsburgh] and [Jack] Iker [of Fort Worth] were then asked to be participants. We also agreed that the group might be expanded by other bishops to be chosen by the participants themselves."

Bishops Duncan and Iker have invited the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., acting Bishop of South Carolina; the Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas; and the Rt. Rev. Don E. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas. Bishop Griswold has asked the Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr., Bishop of Upper South Carolina; the Rt. Rev. Robert J. O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado; and the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk, Bishop of New York, to attend. The Rt. Rev. Peter J. Lee, Bishop of Virginia, was asked to convene the meeting, according to Bishop Griswold, who added that Bishop Lee "thought it would be helpful were he joined by a bishop known to have views different from his own. Accordingly, Bishop John Lipscomb [of Southwest Florida] was also asked to serve as convener."

Whether this is the first in a series of meetings or a one-time conversation will be decided by the group itself, Bishop Griswold said.