Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Explaining why they have not replied to their Lambeth 2008 invitations

Dear Archbishop Rowan,

As Archbishop and Assistant Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney, we send our thanks for your kind invitation to attend next year’s Lambeth Conference. Your invitation has been received with pleasure and it would give us a great deal of joy to be able to join you.

Unfortunately the timing of the invitation has proved difficult. We have been looking for the response of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Primates’ Communiqué from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. We understand that this response is due by 30th of September.

In view of the real hesitations that we experience in joining with those who have consecrated Bishop Gene Robinson, and with others who have allowed for the blessing of same-sex unions, and given the significance of these events, we feel that we cannot give an answer to your kind invitation until later in the year.

We hope that you understand this delay and we look forward to communicating with you further on this matter at the earliest opportunity.

With our best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

The Most Revd Dr Peter F Jensen – Archbishop of Sydney
The Rt Revd Robert C Forsyth – Bishop of South Sydney
The Rt Revd Dr Glenn N Davies – Bishop of North Sydney
The Rt Revd Peter J Tasker – Bishop of Liverpool
The Rt Revd Ivan Y Lee – Bishop of Western Sydney
The Rt Revd Alan J Stewart – Bishop of Wollongong

Item from: Sydney Anglican Network