Both B005 and D008 passed the House of Deputies and are over in the House of Bishops.
I spoke to B005 prior to the full debate.
Deputy Mark Harris, Delaware.
I came to this convention knowing what I wanted, I wanted to say no to
this Anglican Covenant. But in our work together I began to realize that
the words of the song are right:
“you can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime,
you just might find
You get what you need.”
We ended up proposing the resolution you have
before you B005, substitute. This resolution is not about our wants, but about
what we believe are the needs of the Church at this time. What we need are
some places of disagreement that are not met by immediate need for winners and
losers, some place where we can continue to listen across the wide divides of
this church and the Anglican Communion.
What we realized on the Committee is that we are
under no compulsion, save our own, to give an immediate answer to the question
of adopting the Covenant.
Why, in particular, must we provide an answer
now? Now, when we are in the midst of massive efforts to re-structure and
re-vision the life of this Church? Why now when we do not need more
division? What we may want is definitive answers, what we may need is
time without this particular multi-faceted set of divisions.
The resolution on the Anglican Covenant at its core
says, "as a pastoral response to The Episcopal Church, the General Convention
decline to take a position on the Anglican Covenant.”
I urge the passage of Resolution B005, and more,
urge time with all our companions in the faith, in and outside this Church of
ours, whose wonder is that they differ from us in every way save one: the Love
of the Lord.
My take this morning on these resolutions, in the midst of comments on other sites that say we wussed out, is that we are under no compulsion AND to respond either yay or nay to the covenant, instead of what we have responded this week in convention, would give the covenant a credence not needed. It was ill conceived. A "we love you and we are not going to say yay or nay now, and maybe never" is the right thing to say.
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