Anglican Covenant
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord. The 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church will consider the adoption of what is commonly known as The Anglican Covenant. If you are unfamiliar with this document, you can find it and supporting material on The Anglican Communion’s website:
Every diocese in the Episcopal Church has been asked to provide a response to the proposed Anglican Covenant prior to the General Convention. A description of our diocese’s discernment process follows.
The Diocese of Oklahoma’s Response Process
During the 2010 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward Konieczny asked every church to take time to study the Anglican Communion Covenant and provide responses. In the spring of 2011 the bishop formed an “Anglican Covenant Response Group” that would develop a “listening process” and form a proposed diocesan response. The Rev. Dr. Mark Story, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Dr. Donna Farrior and The Rev. Dr. T. Lee Stephens were asked to serve in this capacity. Their work was to be independent of the Bishop’s Office, but would provide a report to the bishop and the diocese.
The Anglican Covenant Response Group arranged for a regional meeting in each quadrant of the state and two meetings in bothTulsaandOklahoma Cityfor a total of eight gatherings. Each two-hour session had designated facilitators and listeners. A study guide was provided along with background information on the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Covenant. The listeners were charged with taking notes of the discussions which were used in forming the response.
The regional meetings were well attended by clergy and laypersons in each area. The discussions were open, thoughtful and considerate. In addition, various churches and groups submitted written comments and formal statements for consideration by the Response Group. In the gathering and comparing responses from each of the meetings a consensus became apparent to the Anglican Covenant Response Group. The following is a proposed response to the Anglican Communion Covenant from the diocese. The proposed response will be discussed at the Diocesan Convention in November.
Anglican Covenant Proposed Response
Resources
The Anglican Communion Covenant Document - Click Here
The Spanish version can be downloaded at: www.anglicancommunion.org/commission/covenant/docs/The_Anglican_Covenant_Spanish
The Anglican Communion Official Website
The Covenant Study Guide can be downloaded at: http://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/1510
The Spanish version can be downloaded at:
http://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/1508
