Eight of the Communion Partner Bishops of the Episcopal Church issued a statement October 1, commenting on the recent meeting of the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops in Minneapolis. They expressed concern about the recent decision of the church’s Disciplinary Board to file charges against one of their number, Bishop Bill Love of Albany, for failing to “abide by the promises and vows made when ordained” or being guilty of “conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.” They write, “We note with great concern the disciplinary action now moving forward against our brother, Bishop Bill Love. We stand in solidarity with him. We are dismayed that latitude is extended to some in the enforcement of canons, but not to others.”
The House of Bishop’s Message of Love and Solidarity is an expression of “wounding” at Archbishop Welby’s decision not to invite the spouses of the three active Anglican bishops who are in same-sex relationships. The Communion Partner Bishops expressed their own grief at the “anticipated absence of a great number of bishops from the Global South on account of invitations extended to the bishops of the Episcopal Church.” According to Bishop Greg Brewer, all the Communion Partner Bishops voted against the Message of Love and Solidarity.
The Communion Partner Bishops said they hoped to approach next summer’s Lambeth Conference “in all humility, as listeners and learners with our brothers and sisters across the Anglican Communion,” and they commended the vision for the Conference set out in an open letter from last May coauthored by one of their own, Bishop George Sumner of Dallas.
