Friday

The most that can be said of the House of Bishops meeting so far is that, as the old saying goes, no one has committed news yet. There is great speculation about who might propose what, which bishops might beat an early retreat, and what the eventual outcome might be.

In his remarks to the press earlier today, the Archbishop of Canterbury said something that you may not read elsewhere. He noted that, “Despite what has been claimed, there is no "ultimatum" involved. The Primates asked for a response by September 30 simply because we were aware that this was the meeting of the House likely to be formulating such a response. The ACC and Primates Joint Standing Committee will be reading and digesting what the bishops have to say, and will let me know their thoughts on it early next week. After this I shall be sharing what they say, along with my own assessments, with the Primates and others, inviting their advice in the next couple of weeks. I hope these days will result in a constructive and fresh way forward for all of us.” ENS has more here.

It’s worth noting that the last time the House of Bishops met, the outcome was considerably different from what many had expected. What you read in the blogs and the mainstream is mostly speculation.

Stay tuned…