I acknowledge Bob Dodd's point following my recent post, Standing Committee Endorses.... The Priest and Deacons Update does not go out to every member of the diocese. The diocesan webpage does include an invitation to subscribe, which is located on the Diocesan Updates page, but the casual visitor to the website is unlikely to find it, or read about the Standing Committee's action. The announcement of the Standing Committee's decision is buried in the archives of updates, and can only be found by following an additional link from the Diocesan Update page. For that reason, and to allay any doubt about what the Standing Committee voted, the Diocesan Update of October 20, 2009 is reprinted here:
October 20, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
During its regularly scheduled October 5th meeting, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Albany passed a resolution endorsing the four sections of the Third (Ridley Cambridge) Draft of the Anglican Communion Covenant. In addition, the Standing Committee is recommending that the same or a similar endorsement be placed before the Diocesan Convention for adoption.
As the Bishop of Albany, I concur with the resolution passed by the Standing Committee and its recommendation that a similar resolution endorsing the Anglican Communion Covenant, (once it appears in its final form) come before the Diocesan Convention for approval. In preparation for that, in the coming months, we as a Diocese, will study and discuss the proposed Covenant in order that we can make an informed decision at Diocesan Convention. A copy of the Third (Ridley Cambridge) Draft of the Anglican Communion Covenant can be found on the Anglican Communion Official Website. Part four of the Ridley Cambridge Draft is currently under revision. By Thursday, we will have it posted on our website and any changes will be posted as we receive them. The Reverend Paul Hartt, President of the Standing Committee, sent a letter to Archbishop Rowan Williams and The Reverend Canon Kenneth Kearon at The Anglican Communion Office, informing them of the Standing Committee’s endorsement of the Third (Ridley Cambridge) Draft of the Anglican Communion Covenant and their hope that it would be adopted by every province of the Anglican Communion. A copy of the letter was sent to Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.
I conveyed my personal support of the Third (Ridley Cambridge) Draft of the Anglican Communion covenant, to Archbishop Rowan Williams and the Reverend Canon Kenneth Kearon when I and six other bishops of The Episcopal Church met with them separately in London during a private meeting on September 1 st.
Faithfully Yours in Christ,
+ Bill
This letter from the bishop promised that the draft covenant would be posted on the diocesan website. I would very much like someone to point out the Covenant there, because I have not found it. The Bishop also announced that "in the coming months, we as a Diocese, will study and discuss the proposed Covenant," this in preparation for deliberations at this summer' diocesan convention. Months have already gone by and there has been no such diocesan conversation. As The Rev. Canon Christopher Brown has noted, " It certainly is fitting that there be discussion about the Covenant from the ground up in our diocese." So, when will the endorsed covenant appear on the diocesan website, as we were told to expect? And when will the diocesan discussions begin? Is it impertinent for a layperson to ask Bishop Bill when he will take the steps that he promised would begin, soon, way back in October?
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