Well it's mostly the same old gang : Texas, round one. (Revised x 2))

Twenty-one US bishops, one bishop elect, one from Canada and two from the Church of England, attended the first day of meetings in Texas of "Windsor compliant" dioceses, according to the Living Church. Perhaps more will arrive tomorrow? (see corrections below)


Of the twenty-two from the US, 11 were bishops from Network dioceses (two from South Carolina). Of the same group 12 signed the bishops’ statement the last day of Convention 2006 which stated,

“The responses which the Convention has given to the clear and simple requests of the Lambeth Commission, the clear and simple requests indeed of the Anglican Communion, are clearly and simply inadequate. We reaffirm our conviction that the Windsor Report provides the way forward for the entire Anglican Communion, the ecumenical relationships of the Communion, and the common life of a faithful Episcopal Church. Further, we have agreed to submit ourselves to the Windsor Report’s requirements, both in what it teaches and in the discipline it enjoins. We have not changed in our commitment.”

Eight bishops are not members of the Network and did not sign the bishops statement. They are bishops Howard, Lillibridge, Little, MacPherson, Ohl Jr., Smith, Wimberly, and Wolf.

Granted it is difficult for bishops to arrange their calendars to make time for such meetings, it is significant that the Network dioceses are all represented (by eleven persons) and that only eight new names appear. About one in five diocesan bishops attended.

What will come of all this that is not driven by the Network engine? More than half the group gathered are Network dioceses or signed the bishops statement. So perhaps now the realignment crowd has grown a bit, but not by much. Some of the eight are not likely to move away from being the “loyal opposition” to being part of a second body claiming to be the Episcopal Church.

Here were the participants at the meeting. “N” preceeding the name means Network Diocese, “D” means they signed the statement of dissociation. If there are errors in this, please let me know. The "statement" is the closing message to the House of Bishops.


ND The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy
D The Rt. Rev. Jim Adams, Bishop of Western Kansas
ND The Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, Bishop of Springfield
ND The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh
N The Rt. Rev. Bertram Herlong, Bishop of Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, Bishop of Florida (left early did not sign statement)
N The Rt. Rev. John Howe, Bishop of Central Florida
ND The Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth
N The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence, bishop-elect of South Carolina (did not sign statement)
The Rt. Rev. Gary Lillibridge, Bishop of West Texas
D The Rt. Rev. John Lipscomb, Bishop of Southwest Florida
The Rt. Rev. Edward Little, Bishop of Northern Indiana
N The Rt. Rev. William H. Love, Bishop Coadjutor of Albany
The Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana
The Rt. Rev. Mark L. MacDonald (arrived late, signed statement)
The Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., Bishop of Northwest Texas
ND The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., Bishop of South Carolina
ND The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin
The Rt. Rev. Michael G. Smith, Bishop of North Dakota
ND The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas
ND The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Steenson, Bishop of the Rio Grande
The Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas
The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island

The Rt. Rev. Anthony Burton, Bishop of Saskatchewan, Anglican Church of Canada and The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester, Church of England also attended. I understand that Bishop Tom Wright, of the CofE joined the group Wednesday.