Central Florida Affirms Covenant

Posted on: February 3, 2010

The annual convention of the Diocese of Central Florida has passed four resolutions regarding its place in the Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican Communion.

Meeting Jan. 30 at the Lakeland Center, delegates approved resolutions that:

• Affirmed the Anglican Communion Covenant.
• Joined the diocese's bishop, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, in affirming the Anaheim Statement, issued during the 76th General Convention.
• Said bishops of the Episcopal Church will walk apart from the diocese if they participate in the consecration of the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool as Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles. Canon Glasspool still must receive consent from a majority of bishops and standing committees.
• Asserted that Episcopalians “currently have, within the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, all of the needed liturgical resources at our disposal to minister to all of our members with respect to marriage and human sexuality.”
• Dissociated the diocese from the Episcopal Church's affiliation, through its Executive Council, in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

Bishop Howe's annual address touched on many themes, including support for earthquake victims in Haiti; long-term planning for the diocese; and a review of the diocese's rejection of any property-related lawsuits against departing congregations.

The diocese “made good on the promise that if there were those who had to leave we would say to them, 'Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,' ” the bishop said. “To repeat the bottom line: we have had no inhibitions, no depositions, no litigation, and no loss of property. In dealing with these separations we have done something that has not been duplicated in any other diocese. I hope we never have to do it again, but if we had to go through it, we did it right.”

[The four resolutions are R-3, R-4, R-5, and R-6 as found on the web site of The Diocese of Central Florida.]

This article comes from The Living Church Foundation
http://www.livingchurch.org/

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