Bishop Wolf response to Dar es Salaam meeting

Bishop Wolf has written a letter to clergy and other leaders following the Primates' Meeting in Dar es Salaam. Here is the text, in full.

Dear Friends,

The meeting of the Primates in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, produced several documents that were emailed to all clergy on Wednesday, February 21, 2007. I commend them to you for prayerful study and reflection. For some of our community there were sighs of relief that the Anglican Communion would hold together. For others, the price of holding together seemed quite high.

The Primates’ Communiqué addresses a number of important issues and will require careful study. The House of Bishops will take up discussion of the Communiquè and Draft Covenant at our March meeting, but I will share with you some initial reflections, primarily regarding the covenant process.

In listening to each other we have learned that issues of justice have various facets, as do interpretations of scripture and the priorities we place on the values we hold in common. The autonomy that was once possible in a small Communion must now be modified in response to global growth and cultural breadth. As organizations grow there is greater need to clarify terms of engagement and the process by which dreams become reality. Our Communion has experienced extensive growth in the last forty years and with that growth, and the concomitant revolution in communications, the nature of our interrelationship has changed profoundly. Thus, I support the development of a covenant to help us revisit and articulate our call to mutuality and interdependence and to clarify the levels of autonomy upon which we will agree.

A draft covenant was presented by the Covenant Design Committee and received by the Primates for discussion in the various Provinces. The draft covenant is a surprisingly moderate document that affords us the opportunity to reflect upon the essence of our interdependence and to rededicate ourselves to this branch of Christ's Church to which we have claimed allegiance. A particular strength in the draft is its focus on process and relationship rather than points of doctrine. It is not a perfect document and will certainly undergo refinement as it is received and discussed in the various provinces. It is, however, a good beginning. The Communion is struggling with the ground of its being. In this field is a pearl of great price, which only faithfulness will discover. We are being asked to search together and to find the priceless kingdom for which Christ died.

I pray for our Communion, for the Episcopal Church, for our Diocese, and especially for each of you. I ask your prayers for the bishops, that we might exercise wisdom and charity in our deliberations.

Yours faithfully,

Geralyn Wolf
Bishop of Rhode Island