The House of Windsor

ENS reports that the self-proclaimed "Windsor Bishops" of the Episcopal Church are meeting for a second time at Camp Allen, Texas, a short month before the Primates gather in Dar es Salaam.

I'm having a hard time reading what this is really about through all the smoke. But I'm suspicious.

In our world of spin, saying something that isn't true -- but still emotionally appealing -- loudly enough and frequently enough helps engender it with "truthiness," a word apparently invented by Stephen Colbert and that tops the list of new additions to the English language in 2006. The Windsor Report has now become a favorite touchstone for many living along the fault zones of the Anglican Communion -- as though it had the weight of canon law. Appeals to its overblown authority are happening left, right, and center. In their September letter, the "Windsor Bishops" lived into this truthiness by articulating their intention to conform to every suggested provision of the Report.

The bishops meeting at Camp Allen argue that they are gathering yet again to continue the discussion begun by the Windsor Report. But The Episcopal Church is already clearly a party to the ongoing discussion through the House of Bishops, General Convention, and the Instruments of Communion. As Mark Harris writes, this past summer, General Convention passed no fewer than six resolutions in response.

So why is this extra meeting needed for some of our bishops?

Amongst those who gathered at the first "Windsor Bishops" meeting last autumn include those who have at least called for "alternative primatial oversight" if they have not been openly fomenting schism as of late. They include some of the so-called network bishops: Robert Duncan, Jack Iker, Keith Ackerman, and, yes, John-David Schofield, who just led the Diocese of San Joaquin to take a first vote to out themselves from The Episcopal Church.

San Joaquin's vote occurred only a few months after +Schofield had signed a letter to the greater House of Bishops from the "Windsor Bishops." This letter included the following:

We have gathered with a common desire to work for the unity of the Church.

Makes my head swim.

Also in the letter, the "Windsor Bishops" articulated a desire to see the Episcopal Church's "adherence" to the provisions of the Windsor Report, believing it to be the only way forward for the Anglican Communion. And they clearly indicated that the decisions of General Convention 2006 did not satisfy them.

Well, they satisfied no one. Welcome to the Church, right?

But back to the rationale for the January meeting, +Jack Iker opines:

We are approaching a critical junction in the life of our church and the life of our Communion. Our discussions are both timely and of extraordinary importance.

That sounds a bit self-important to me. Coming from another bishop, I could shrug it off. Bishops are known, of course, to make self-important statements on occasion. But +Iker, an avowed network member and in charge of another diocese edging towards schism, has a track record for both self-important statements and actions, some of which aren't pretty, and some of which have been patently offensive.

Here are two of my thoughts in response to his assertion:

A critical junction can occur naturally in community life.

It can also be forced.

Texas Bishop John Wimberly is quoted in the ENS report as saying,

. . .the purpose of the gathering is not to form another 'group' or to issue proclamations, but to continue the conversation as requested in the Windsor Report.

I think he protests too much. They already issued a proclamation to the House of Bishops back in September. Or maybe a letter isn't a proclamation. My mistake?

But yes, another group is being formed here, Wimberly's statement notwithstanding. This group is what they call themselves: Windsor Bishops. They have flown in bishops from other provinces, tried to get as close as possible with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and they meet outside the ordinary jurisdictional structures of The Episcopal Church and then issue a statement.

This time, in addition to Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies and Bishop Michael Scott-Joynt of the Diocese of Winchester (Church of England), they reportedly bring in Tanzania's Archbishop, Donald Mtetamela.

The House of Bishops in Tanzania recently anathematized The Episcopal Church, our Presiding Bishop, and a large number of Anglican Provinces. . . in one "foul swoop" as my grandmother used to say.

Forgive me, but I am indeed suspicious. Are these meetings at Camp Allen genuine discussions for the good of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, or just another ploy to lend "network bishops" and flying archbishops a platform to further their schismatic agendas?

In an effort to sound welcoming, the "Windsor Bishops" invite "others who share our concern and position to join us in our common work on behalf of the church."

Concern for the communion isn't enough. It seems a "position" must be taken, too. Tobias Haller has a name for this: Unity By Division.

The smoke seems thick.

Time for less truthiness and more truth, in my view.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what the "House of Windsor" cooks up.


addenda: Two more takes from Mark Harris and Fr. Jake

Update on January 6th: The Living Church reports that the meeting end without issuing a statement.

Update on January 8th: ENS offers a longer report about the meeting.