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Since all of the nominees were answering the standard questionaire shortly after General Convention, it seemed like it might be useful to see their answer to the question about the wider church regarding participation in the Anglican Communion This was a litmus test. Sadly, all failed the test. To see further discussion see http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/709/ The Rev. Thomas Edward Breidenthal, D. Phil. It's easy because traditionalists have misunderstood support for the blessing of same-sex unions as willfully unbiblical. For me, there is no question that we must do everything we reasonably can to preserve the Anglican Communion and to participate in it. This does not mean that we should betray our conscience, but it does mean that we should be willing to suffer within the communion for conscience's sake. For instance, if we refuse to repudiate the election of Bishop Robinson, our bishops may well lose their place at the Lambeth Conference. If that happens, we should continue to claim Canterbury as our spiritual home and avoid the temptation to seek easy acceptance elsewhere. The Rev. Robert Glenn Certain, D.Min. Differences remind us that God alone is sovereign - not you, me, theologians or doctrines. Divergent ideas and actions, even heretical ones, will not destroy us, our faith, or Our Lord. But they will lead us to ask more questions, find new answers, correct old errors, and rediscover the depths of the love of God in Christ Jesus. The Rev. Susan E. Goff Anglicanism was forged in the crucible of conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism and emerged as the "via media," I believe our task in the long years of tension and debate that lie ahead is to find ways to honor and maintain both the distinctiveness and the interdependence of provinces in the Anglican Communion. Our task is to seek a new middle way between the competing forces that pull at us, a new middle ground from which we can reach out in welcome to all sides. I believe we need to remain unapologetic in explaining and defending our distinctive democratic polity. The Rev. Canon George Hill, D.Min. The issues in the Anglican Communion are centered simply in the following question, "Who is my neighbor?" It is vital for The Anglican Communion to appreciate who our neighbor is, rather than to protect the neighborhood from who our neighbor can't be. ... The Episcopal Church appreciates who our neighbor is, here and now! "Jesus wanted people to see that the world itself was changing so they'd better change their perception of it. This was Jesus' central point in all of his stories. His leitmotif; the unbounded mercy of God to all people, in or out of Israel." I remain hopeful the Anglican Communion will gracefully engage this ecclesiastical diplomacy in progress. The Rev. John F. Koepke, III, Our life as the Anglican Communion has been marked by a theological comprehensiveness that has allowed our mission and ministry to flourish. Each community's participation in the Communion should strive to preserve a comprehensiveness that encourages prayerful reflection and conversation about our strengths as well as about our differences, and seek resolutions that will enable us to pursue vigorously the common mission with which we have been entrusted, and for which God holds us accountable. The Rev. James B. Lemler, D.Min. We are always most strong as a Communion and true to the Gospel when we focus on mission. ... Even in the midst of our present challenges, God has made us a communion and fellowship in Christ our Lord.
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