President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson has sent a letter to all the Deputies and first Alternates to General Convention 2009. She is asking the deputations to study the second draft of the proposed covenant for the Anglican Communion and reminding all parties that the only body that can make decisions for The Episcopal Church is General Convention. Deputies and alternates are encouraged to meet and make recommendations about the proposal to the bishops before they attend the Lambeth Conference this summer. She writes:
The second draft of the covenant, known as the “St. Andrew’s Draft,” has been developed and released. It will be discussed at the Lambeth Conference this summer by our bishops and other bishops of the Anglican Communion who will be present at the conference. The bishops gathered will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and responses on the covenant with each other and with members of the Covenant Design Group.
It is important to stress that we are told that the bishops at the Lambeth Conference will not be making a decision on the Anglican covenant, nor will they be ratifying any draft of the covenant. The only body with authority to commit the Episcopal Church to an Anglican covenant is the General Convention in which bishops, priests and deacons and lay persons share authority.
A study guide and background material for study of the draft covenant is included in the mailing to the Deputies and Alternates.
Episcopal News Service reports here.
The full text follows:
April 21, 2008
Dear General Convention Deputies and First Alternate Deputies,
The 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church passed and concurred Resolution A166 “as a demonstration of our commitment to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Anglican Communion, support the process of the development of an Anglican covenant that underscores our unity in faith, order, and common life in the service of God’s mission.” You will find the full text of the resolution below.
The second draft of the covenant, known as the “St. Andrew’s Draft,” has been developed and released. It will be discussed at the Lambeth Conference this summer by our bishops and other bishops of the Anglican Communion who will be present at the conference. The bishops gathered will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and responses on the covenant with each other and with members of the Covenant Design Group.
It is important to stress that we are told that the bishops at the Lambeth Conference will not be making a decision on the Anglican covenant, nor will they be ratifying any draft of the covenant. The only body with authority to commit the Episcopal Church to an Anglican covenant is the General Convention in which bishops, priests and deacons and lay persons share authority.
The input of the clergy and laity of the Episcopal Church is especially important as the Anglican Communion considers the development of a covenant. In the Episcopal Church the belief that God speaks uniquely through bishops, laity, priests and deacons, enables our participatory structure and allows a fullness of revelation and insight that must not be lost in this important time of discernment. The joint work of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops is the institutional expression of this belief.
It is thus crucially important that our bishops go to Lambeth with a sense of where their General Convention deputations (and their diocese) are with respect to the current state of the Anglican covenant.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE GENERAL CONVENTION
BONNIE ANDERSON, D.D.
PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE OF DEPUTIES
Resolution A166: Anglican Covenant Development Process
Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, as a demonstration of our commitment to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Anglican Communion, support the process of the development of an Anglican Covenant that underscores our unity in faith, order, and common life in the service of God’s mission; and be it further
Resolved, That the 75th General Convention direct the International Concerns Standing Committee of the Executive Council and The Episcopal Church’s members of the Anglican Consultative Council to follow the development processes of an Anglican Covenant in the Communion, and report regularly to the Executive Council as well as to the 76th General Convention; and be it further
Resolved, That the 75th General Convention report these actions supporting the Anglican Covenant development process, noting such missiological and theological resources as the Standing Commission on World Mission and the House of Bishops’ Theology Committee to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates, and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion; and that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church report the same to the Primates of the churches of the Anglican Communion.