Various groups in England are reacting to the news of last week that the Archbishop of Canterbury is considering withdrawing invitations to Lambeth for certain bishops. Ekklesia, reports that groups gathered the “Drenched in Grace” conference have released a number of statements.
“The Rev Colin Coward, Director of Changing Attitude England, said this week: ‘If the Archbishop Canterbury is proposing to withdraw invitations to the Lambeth Conference from bishops who are seen as being ‘pro-gay’ (according to the definition of conservative Anglicans) he will have to withdraw the invitation from every bishop who is a patron of Changing Attitude and from every English bishop who has participated in the registration or celebration of a civil partnership for one of their clergy or who have accepted partnered gay clergy in their diocese. There are a significant number of English bishops who quietly support LGBT people contrary to the principles outlined in the Windsor Report.’
He added: ‘Bishops from the conservative global south are unwilling to come to Lambeth because they don’t want to be present with bishops from The Episcopal Church. Changing Attitude hopes every bishop in the Anglican Communion will be invited to Lambeth and will accept their invitation. The commitment of Lambeth 1998 to listen to the experience of lesbian and gay people can only be fulfilled when every bishop is present and is willing to listen to the deeply held Christian convictions of people who may differ from them in theology, understanding of the Bible and of human sexuality and relationships.’”
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