My Windsor Bishop

Since the destruction in the Diocese of Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures which resulted in the flood in the greater New Orleans area, Charles Jenkins, the bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, has had great burdens to bear. In addition to working with local Episcopal churches on recovery and rebuilding, the diocese has assisted the people of the area to obtain the necessities of life in the immediate aftermath, and offered help in rebuilding their lives in the longer term. He has worked with ministers of other denominations in New Orleans to preserve and restore the soul and spirit of the city and to find solutions to the horrific wave of crime since the disasters.

Bishop Jenkins belongs to the alliance of Windsor bishops, those who follow the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

From what I know, in my diocese this means that there is a moratorium on ordaining gays and lesbians in partnered relationships to any of the orders of the church unless they declare themselves celibate.

In my parish, gays and lesbians serve in leadership positions on the vestry, as Lay Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, and in Sunday school. One member of our community has completed the requirements for ordination to the permanent diaconate, but she will not be ordained, because she is a lesbian woman in a partnered relationship.

I know of no listening process at present. I have heard that just prior to Katrina and the levee failures, a committee was being set up, but since Katrina, nothing has moved forward.

When the Windsor bishops met at Camp Allen in Texas in September 19-22, 2006, the group sent this letter to the House of Bishops after the meeting. Bishop Jenkins did not attend the meeting.

After the meeting in January 3-5, 2007, which Bishop Jenkins did attend, no summary was issued, as far as I know. Bishop Katharine has said that she was not invited to the recent meeting at Camp Allen In Texas. According to the article in the Living Church which I linked to above, several bishops from outside the US were invited:

In addition to bishops of The Episcopal Church, special invitations to Camp Allen were extended to several international bishops including Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies and chair of the committee working on the development of an Anglican Covenant; Archbishop Donald Mtetemela, Primate of Tanzania; and Bishop Michael Scott-Joynt of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas, was the host and convener.

My bishop has not spoken out at length about the controversies swirling around the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, therefore, I am not quite clear about where my diocese will be when the dust settles. I decided to write him a letter asking several questions:

1. The Windsor Report calls for a listening process. Is there presently a listening process in the diocese?

2. What was the subject or subjects of the recent meeting of the Windsor bishops at Camp Allen in Texas?

3. Why are no reports issued after the meetings?

4. Why was Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori not invited to the Camp Allen meeting?

5. Were foreign bishops invited? To what purpose? (I now know the answer to the first of these questions)

6. Why were no clergy or lay people present?

7. Will you welcome Bishop Katharine to visit the Diocese of Louisiana?

8. Will you seek Alternative Pastoral Oversight for the Diocese of Louisiana?

9. Why do we need a covenant in the Anglican Communion? Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us a New Covenant. Why do we need another covenant?

My letter went out to the bishop earlier this week. We shall see.