Q: How would you characterize your conversations with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other bishops?
A: I think the conversations between Archbishop Rowan and the American bishops were helpful and honest. I think it gave us an opportunity to let him see more of who we are as bishops in a very different context than where he usually works, and it gave us an opportunity to hear some of his concerns from his perspective, looking at the whole worldwide communion.
Q: Do you think the meeting will help ease some of the tensions?
A: I think so, I think so, especially among the people who are under the radar, so to speak, or the representatives of the Anglican Communion that were here. Some of them were here, and they were here for the whole meeting, so I think that will help a lot, because they gained firsthand experience with the American church.
Q: What was the main message? Was there one message or were there a lot of messages that the American bishops communicated to the archbishop?
A: I think there were a number of different messages, but the main ones, it seemed to me: Number one, the American church values the worldwide Anglican Communion and wants very much to stay in relationship with the communion. Second, we operate in a different cultural context, and we don't want that context to move backwards in terms of the welcome we give to gay and lesbian people in our own church.
Q: And how does that get resolved, given the situation or position of some in the church?
A: I think it's resolved by patience and time, that as people -- I know anecdotally of African clergy who have been guests at American churches where one of the clergy, say, in a multi-staff church was gay and had adopted children, and it was a brand new experience for the African priest to experience that reality, and so getting to know people like that on a personal level has been very helpful.
Q: There's been a lot of hoopla leading up to this meeting, saying this is a make or break time for the communion, that the ultimate relationship between the Episcopal Church and the worldwide communion could be at stake. How do you assess where the relationship is?
A: I don't see this as a deadline or breakthrough meeting. It's an important meeting, but it seems to me that the relationships that we have worldwide, with dozens, hundreds of Anglicans worldwide are going to be intact. A very important meeting prior to this one occurred in July '07 outside of Madrid, where a group of about 25 American bishops, including me, met with about 30 African bishops, and the press was not invited, and it was very clear that the great majority of them wanted to continue in relationship. The Anglican Communion is not a juridical group where there is a clear method of kicking someone out, to put it bluntly. So if we are -- if our relationship is stressed with the rest of the communion to the breaking point, the break will come from others, not from us.
Q: I understand that there has been a lot of conversation here about the role of authority and how different regions or different churches within the communion are organized. Is that a big issue?
A: That is a big issue, I think. The Episcopal Church of the United States has a major role for bishops, elected lay people, and elected other clergy in addition to bishops in our governance at every level of the church, and that's not true of some other provinces in the communion where bishops have an almost monarchical authority in some places. I think for others around the world to understand that about us has been very important, and it's important for us to understand where they're coming from as well.
