Reflecting upon the past two weeks, the American Anglican Council (AAC) is leaving Denver with a profoundly bittersweet view of General Convention.
While we are greatly heartened that the House of Bishops and Deputies prudently decided not to split the Episcopal Church over issues of human sexuality, it is sadly evident to us that two strikingly different churches exist under the same roof. Though we are encouraged that we still reside under one roof, we are ever more painfully aware of the depth of the theological gulf that divides us.
One church embraces the culture as its guide and stands at the fringe of Anglicanism. It seeks to legislate sexual license at the expense of marriage and traditional morality and inject new age theology into Church worship and life.
The other church, comprised of orthodox and mainstream Anglicans like the AAC, believes in the transforming power of God and the hope of salvation that comes from the Gospel. We stand with the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide in upholding these beliefs. Through our successful "God's Love Changed Me" campaign, we have attempted to share with Convention the story of Godís transforming love in a personal and tangible way. We believe that this story is at the heart of the Gospel and one that we are compelled as a Church to share.
To this end, we join with other mainstream Anglicans in calling for a wide-scale and comprehensive new effort to share the transforming love and power of God. We must develop curricula for use at the local parish level, host seminars and conferences, and share our own testimonies of transformation. For the sake of our children and the future of our denomination, we must tell the story that God Changes Lives For Good. We firmly believe that as this story is told, many Episcopalians, by God?s grace, will be radically transformed.