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Responding to the Windsor Report

An approach to understanding the issues, and our Godly response, both to the Windsor Report itself, and to issues of sexuality in the church and in the Anglican Communion - a resource for individuals and congregations

by the Rev Dr George Byron Koch,
Pastor, Church of the Resurrection, West Chicago, Illinois

Here is a brief part of what the The Most Reverend Dr Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh and Chairman of the Lambeth Commission, says about the Windsor Report (his full remarks are available at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/windsor2004/index.cfm):

The depth of conviction and feeling on all sides of the current issues has on occasions introduced a degree of harshness and a lack of charity which is new to Anglicanism. A process of dissent is not new to the Communion but it has never before been expressed with such force nor in ways which have been so accessible to international scrutiny. Not all the opinions voiced have been expressed in ways which are conducive to dialogue or the encouragement of communion. Modern methods of communication and in particular the internet have become powerful means of expressing and influencing opinion. This fact requires careful note by the Anglican Communion when consideration is given to its traditional decision-making processes.

The 'bonds of affection' so often quoted as a precious attribute of Anglican Communion life, as well as the instruments of communion and unity, have been threatened by the current divisions. While attention in this regard turns to the developments in the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada it is clear that this threat has been increased by reactions to them.

This Report is not a judgement. It is part of a process. It is part of a pilgrimage towards healing and reconciliation. The proposals which follow attempt to look forward rather than merely to recount how difficulties have arisen. A large majority of the submissions received by the Commission have supported the continuance of the Anglican Communion as an instrument of God's grace for the world.

In this spirit, the Diocese of Chicago has established a Windsor Report Task Force to consider how we are to respond to this extraordinary document: individually, and as congregations and a diocese.

This outline is one means to begin this process, and is intended to help us think and pray clearly and effectively on this issue.

Part I

Jesus said in John 17:20-23 (New Living Translation),

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony.  My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father-- that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.  I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are - I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.

The English word for this oneness is “communion” – being one together, being “community,” being one in Jesus. It is clearly what Jesus desires for us. He says so.

Some very fundamental questions arise from this desire of Jesus for us, for our unity. We must understand these before we can face the current trouble in the Anglican Communion, and respond in a Godly way to the Windsor Report.

Do we understand what “communion” is?

Is it made, discovered, or revealed?

How is it maintained?

It is nice to have, or essential, or critical?

Is it part of God’s will for us, or our own free choice?

In what way is the “Anglican” communion a fulfillment – or not – of the communion Jesus desires? How about the wider communion of Christians?

Part II

Paul writes extensively about how Christians are to live with each other, and he gives special attention to how our actions affect others. He especially focuses not just on how our sin might harm others, but perhaps as importantly on how our freedom might harm others. This is an unfamiliar concept to most of us in the United States, as so much of our political language and culture is focused on “rights” – that is, what we have the right to do, regardless of whether someone else objects or is offended by it.

One example Paul gives is eating meat sacrificed to idols. His major point, however, is not about the detail of this particular issue, but about the importance of avoiding harm to other “weaker” believers. Here’s what he says: 

NLT 1 Corinthians 8:1 Now let's talk about food that has been sacrificed to idols. You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church.  2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much.  3 But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.  4 So now, what about it? Should we eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God and no other.  5 According to some people, there are many so-called gods and many lords, both in heaven and on earth.  6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.  7 However, not all Christians realize this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.  8 It's true that we can't win God's approval by what we eat. We don't miss out on anything if we don't eat it, and we don't gain anything if we do.  9 But you must be careful with this freedom of yours. Do not cause a brother or sister with a weaker conscience to stumble.  10 You see, this is what can happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating in the temple of an idol. You know there's nothing wrong with it, but they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been dedicated to the idol.  11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak Christian, for whom Christ died, will be destroyed.  12 And you are sinning against Christ when you sin against other Christians by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong.  13 If what I eat is going to make another Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live-- for I don't want to make another Christian stumble. 

Now we could immediately apply this to issues of sexuality in the church, but because sexuality is so “charged” as a subject – and is the source of so much strain in the Anglican Communion at present, let’s first try to understand and apply these ideas to topics that are not quite so hot. Here are a few questions to consider: 

Make a list for each of these questions. Begin with items that have nothing to do with sex or sexuality.  Examples: alcoholic beverages, fair trade coffee, vegetarianism, tattoos, war, gambling, welfare, pets, cell phones in public places. Add examples of your own. 

Now take some of these examples and discuss circumstances in which we might act to safeguard or show kindness to others, even though we have the freedom to do otherwise. 

Next, think of examples that are related to sex but do not include issues related specifically to gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered (GLBT) persons.  Examples: sexual humor (with spouse, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, in public), innuendo, solicitation, harassment, race humor, gender humor, prostitution, nudity, “adult” films,  internet access, celibacy, promiscuity, monogamy, polygamy, marriage, divorce, fidelity.  

Add examples of your own.  

Note that there is a wide variety of positions on many of these topics. For instance, there are ancient and modern writers who would argue that “promiscuity” is merely a cultural taboo, a kind of name-calling of a normal and healthy pattern of sexual activity. Also note that the mere fact of a wide variety of positions does not mean that they are all equally valid or valuable, either to God or to us. 

Now take some of these examples and discuss circumstances in which we might act to safeguard or show kindness to others, even though we have the freedom to do otherwise. 

Finally, think of examples that are related to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, first as to matters related to sexual intimacy, and second, as related to the theology of sexuality, either traditional, or from a more “modern” viewpoint (including scientific and historical claims). Examples: sexual humor (with spouse, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, in public), innuendo, solicitation, harassment, race humor, gender humor, prostitution, nudity, “adult” films,  internet access, celibacy, promiscuity, monogamy, polygamy, marriage, divorce, fidelity.  

Add examples of your own.  

Now take some of these examples and discuss circumstances in which we might act to safeguard or show kindness to others, even though we have the freedom to do otherwise. 

Part III 

A Summary Guide to the Windsor Report 2004 (from the Anglican Communion Official Website) at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/commission/

Section A
The report begins by describing the nature of the relationship into which all Christians believe that they are called by God called “communion” (§1-11), and the way in which this relates to the Mission of the Church. It describes how the life of communion works when it is operating well, with a specific example relating to the ordination of women (§12-21), before turning to a description of the current difficulties which the Anglican Communion is experiencing (§22-30). This is followed by a description of the underlying tensions which give rise to the current difficulties (§31-42).

Section B
This section examines the principles which underlie the way in which the Anglican Communion lives its life. It looks more deeply at the importance of communion as a principle of church life (§43-51), before looking at specific elements of church life and ministry as understood in Anglicanism: Scripture (§53-62), the ministry of bishops (§63-66), and the way in which Anglican/Episcopal churches discern God’s will together, and in their own context (§67-96).

Section C
The discussion in the first two sections is important, because it is the basis from which the Commission moves to its recommendations on the future life of the Communion. After a segment which gives the history of the central councils or Instruments of Unity of the Anglican Communion (§97-104), the report offers its recommendations on the future working of the Instruments (§105-112), and especially the ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury (§108-110), to be supported by a Council of Advice (§111-112). It goes on to consider the legal and constitutional bonds which underpin the communion and recommends the creation and adoption of an Anglican Covenant (§113-120).

Section D
The report then turns to the matters which have disturbed the life of the Communion. It identifies the central issues (§121-123), and offers its recommendations on elections to the episcopate (§124-135), on public Rites of Blessing of same sex unions (§136-146), and on the care of dissenting minorities (§147-155). In its conclusions, the Commission sets its work within the wider mission of the Church (§156-157).

Appendices
A vital part of the report are its appendices. Appendix One sets out reflections on the operation of the conciliar Instruments of Unity and the Anglican Communion Office. Appendix Two sets out a possible draft of an Anglican Covenant to illustrate what such a document might look like. Appendix Three sets out the documentation behind many of the recent debates and decisions of the Communion, and a select bibliography is offered in Appendix Four.

At the end of the publication, readers will find a selected thematic index, by which the paragraphs relating to a range of topics may be identified.

(The full Windsor Report is available at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/windsor2004/) 

Part IV 

Now apply what you have learned in Parts I and II to the issues addressed by the Windsor Report. What is our most Godly response to it?

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