Speaking of Regret...

More great words from Mark Harris, via PRELUDIUM:

It is time, in the spirit of the Windsor invitations to express regret, to ask if perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury, the President of the Anglican Consultative Council, and other ranking members of any of the instruments of communion in the Anglican Communion might express regret:

REGRET that the Archbishop of Nigeria has unilaterally, and without consultation with the Communion declared that the Church of Nigeria is no longer in communion with the Episcopal Church, and

REGRET that the Archbishop of Nigeria has initiated a plan, clearly contrary to the spirit of the Windsor Report (par. 155) to provide an ecclesiastical structure in the United States for persons wishing to disassociate from the Episcopal Church but wishing to remain in a church related to the Anglican Communion, (the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), and
REGRET that the Archbishop of Nigeria has stated his clear support for the proposal of a national law in Nigeria that criminalizes homosexuality and any support of gay or lesbian persons, and

REGRET that no spokesperson for the Anglican Communion has publicly stated that it is the Church of Nigeria that has broken communion, initiated a new missionary ecclesiastical structure in an existing Province of the Anglican Communion and has supported new laws proposed in Nigeria and has made statements in the international community that denigrate and condemn gay and lesbian persons, their rights as persons and those who in any way speak in support of their rights, and

REGRET that no agent of the Anglican Communion has publicly criticized the Church of Nigeria for its actions.

Barring such statements of regret, perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the focus of unity, his spokespersons, and the spokespersons for the instruments of communion, might be invited to refrain from accusing the Episcopal Church of the desire to "walk apart."

The Anglican Communion is already broken, a fact that seems to go mostly unstated. The issue is how to move forward from that fact to a future in which mutual forbearance and love might lead to renewed relations. Let it be noted that the Episcopal Church for all its failings, has not declared itself out of communion with any Province of the Anglican Communion, has not initiated new ecclesiastical structures in another Province, and has not spoken out publicly in support of law, custom or prejudice against gay and lesbian persons in the society and in the church and is trying to address the concerns of the Windsor Report in a responsible way.

AMEN!