The Anaheim Statement: No groundswell, but some growth.

The Living Church trumptets the headline, "Anaheim Statement Continues to Gain Supporters."

It reports that 34 bishops had previously signed on and that now there were two more bishops added: Bishop Jenkins, Louisiana, who is about to retire and Bishop Harry Shipps, retired bishop of Georgia.

The existing list is as follows:

1. The Rt. Rev’d James Adams, Western Kansas
2. The Rt. Rev’d Lloyd Allen, Honduras
3. The Rt. Rev’d David Alvarez, Puerto Rico FOR D025
4. The Rt. Rev’d John Bauerschmidt, Tennessee
5. The Rt. Rev’d Peter Beckwith, Springfield
6. The Rt. Rev’d Frank Brookhart, Montana FOR C056 FOR D025
7. The Rt. Rev’d Andrew Doyle, Texas
8. The Rt. Rev’d Philip Duncan, Central Gulf Coast
9. The Rt. Rev’d Dan Edwards, Nevada
10. The Rt. Rev’d William Frey, Rio Grande
11. The Rt. Rev’d Dena Harrison, Texas, Suffragan
12. The Rt. Rev’d Dorsey Henderson, Upper South Carolina FOR C056 FOR D025
13. The Rt. Rev’d Julio Holguin, Dominican Republic
14. The Rt. Rev’d John Howe, Central Florida
15. The Rt. Rev’d Russell Jacobus, Fond du Lac
16. The Rt. Rev’d Don Johnson, West Tennessee FOR C056 FOR D025
17. The Rt. Rev’d Paul Lambert, Dallas Suffragan
18. The Rt. Rev’d Mark Lawrence, South Carolina
19. The Rt. Rev’d Gary Lillibridge, West Texas
20. The Rt. Rev’d Edward Little, Northern Indiana
21. The Rt. Rev’d William Love, Albany
22. The Rt. Rev’d Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana
23. The Rt. Rev’d Alfredo Morante, Litoral Ecuador FOR C056
24. The Rt. Rev’d Henry Parsley, Alabama FOR C056
25. The Rt. Rev’d David Reed, West Texas Suffragan
26. The Rt. Rev’d Sylvestre Romero, El Camino Real assisting in New Jersey FOR D025
27. The Rt. Rev’d Jeffrey Rowthorn, Europe, retired
    
28. The Rt. Rev’d William Skilton, Dominican Republic
29. The Rt. Rev’d John Sloan, Alabama Suffragan FOR C056 FOR D025
30. The Rt. Rev’d Dabney Smith, Southwest Florida
31. The Rt. Rev’d Michael Smith, North Dakota
32. The Rt. Rev’d James Stanton, Dallas
33. The Rt. Rev’d Pierre Whalon, Europe FOR C056 FOR D025
34. The Rt.Rev. Don Wimberly, Texas retired
    
    to that we now can add:
    
    
35. The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, III, Louisiana
    
36. The Rt. Rev. Harry W. Shipps, retired Georgia
    

The Anaheim Statement among other things, reaffirmed a “commitment to the three moratoria requested of us by the Instruments of Communion." At least two of these moratoria concern actions and directives by bishops of jurisdiction, that is bishops who are the episcopal authority in the diocese.

Of the 34 who signed 25 are bishops of jurisdiction, meaning that less than one-half the number of bishops needed to deny consent to an election have pledged themselves to do so. It also means that three out of four bishops of jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church have determined that they will not in a blanket way affirm the moratoria concerning ordination of gay persons in relationship to the episcopate or refuse to consider rites for blessing of same sex couples.

The Anaheim Statement then does no more than support the conclusions of the General Convention votes on these matters: Roughly 72% -75% of bishops and deputations are not willing to affirm blanket moratoria on ordinations and blessings. This does not mean that this same percent will actually support new rites or that a majority of bishops will give consent. It only means that they will not in the abstract refuse to do so.

So there is some growth: one retired bishop to add to the list of names without power to act as regards these moratoria; one bishop about to retire. (I for one am sorry that Bishop Jenkins s retiring, although I believe he is right to do so. He is an amazing man and a fine Christian.)

Growth in the list of signers is not particularly a groundswell. It has gained supporters, but not necessarily force.