National & World News
News
from the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans
Breaking news from the House of Bishops meeting can be found at Episcopal Life Online (ELO), and links to ELO headlines appear on the diocesan Web site.
Latest: Media briefing and ENS story following first full day of the House of Bishops meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury. For the media briefing video, scroll down and look to the right of the page.
[ENS] The House of Bishops unofficially started its regularly scheduled fall meeting with a September 19 dinner. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams met with the bishops and other invited guests for the entire day on September 20 and for the morning of September 21. They are to discuss a variety of subjects, including the recently proposed Anglican covenant and the Primates communiqué. The communiqué made certain requests of the bishops and set a September 30 for their response.
Read more of this ENS pre-meeting story, "House of Bishops meeting set to open," by Mary Frances Schjonberg.
Bishop Henderson among eight "episcopal visitors" named by Presiding Bishop
Eight bishops agree to serve as 'episcopal visitors'
This article is a shortened and slightly
edited version of the September 20 ENS piece by Bob Williams. For more on Bishop Henderson and the House of Bishops meeting, see the
"Diocesan" section of this newsletter.
[Episcopal News Service] Bishop Henderson is among the eight
bishops who have accepted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts
Schori's invitation to serve as "episcopal visitors" to dioceses
that have requested this provision.
Bishop Jefferts Schori's invitation to the eight bishops seeks to delegate the first of three primary canonical duties of the Presiding Bishop, that of visiting each of the Episcopal Church's 110 dioceses during each Presiding Bishop's nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop's other two principal canonical roles are to "take order" for ordaining and consecrating bishops, and to oversee certain disciplinary actions as needed.
Bishop Jefferts Schori has conferred with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams about the invitations, which she extended after a process of consultation with bishops in the Episcopal Church, according to her canon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Robertson said.
"All eight are true bridge-builders who empathize with the concerns and needs of dioceses that are struggling with the issues of the current time," Robertson said, adding that "while all are sympathetic to these concerns, each is clear that the Presiding Bishop's ultimate goal is reconciliation."
The eight are active diocesan bishops Frank Brookhart of Montana, Dorsey Henderson of Upper South Carolina (based in Columbia, S.C.), John Howe of Central Florida (based in Orlando), Gary Lillibridge of West Texas (based in San Antonio), Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, together with retired Connecticut Bishop Clarence Coleridge.
Read the entire article.