The Episcopal Church's Executive Council will submit a resolution to General Convention next year that would have it state that the church is "unable to adopt the Anglican Covenant in its present form."Excellent. There's more, much more at ENS, including a link to the text of the resolution.
The resolution also promises that the church will "recommit itself to dialogue with the several provinces when adopting innovations which may be seen as threatening the unity of the communion" and commits to "continued participation in the wider councils of the Anglican Communion" and dialogue "with our brothers and sisters in other provinces to deepen understanding and to insure the continued integrity of the Anglican Communion."
The 77th meeting of General Convention July 5-12, 2012 will decide whether to pass, amend and pass, or reject the resolution. Convention is "the only body that can act on behalf of the whole church in this matter," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said during a post-meeting press conference.
The unanimous decision to submit the resolution to convention came Oct. 24, on the last day of council's four-day meeting here.
A covenant task force, composed of six council members, based its recommendation to council in a report that is available in English here and Spanish here.
The task force says:
The church's unity is "best expressed in our efforts to a church that fully welcomes those who have not always been welcomed," the report said.Amen! A church that extends full welcome to all, and an acknowledgement that the laity are not chopped liver.
"This understanding of who we are as a church does not allow the Executive Council to support any covenant that might jeopardize this vocation," the task force members said in the report.
"The covenant consistently ignores the importance of the role of the laity and their full expression of ministry in all spheres of the life of the church," the report said.
