Louie: I have redated and slightly edited the statement of the Standing Committee on World Mission. GRANT in managua.
The Primacy of Mission in the Church's Life
A statement from the Standing Commission oen World Mission, an interim body of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church January 1870
The Standing Commission on World Mission is mindful that issues of human slavery have prompted a wide variety of opinions in the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion. The ensuing controversy has sometimes strained relationships within our Church and in the Communion, especially since the 1867 Lambeth Conference.
Mutual acceptance and partnership in the Gospel have in some instances been threatened, and this environment diminishes the Church's ability to fulfill its mission. The Standing Commission on World Mission is concerned that the slavery controversy may diminish the global outreach of the Episcopal Church and its work with partners in the Anglican Communion.
In Haiti, a place of desperate need and rich spirituality, it became especially clear to the commission that the issue of human slavery must not be allowed to hinder the Church's commitment to God's mission in the world. We therefore offer the following reflection to the Church: The Primacy of Mission in the Church's Life
1. We affirm the primacy of mission in the Church's life. This mission, as defined by the Catechism, is "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." Responding to God's call to mission is the primary task of the Church.
2. We affirm that faithful prayer, scripture study and theological reflection are experiences shared by Episcopalians and Anglicans even as they disagree with one another on issues of human slavery. Therefore we believe that all participants in the discussion should avoid characterizations that disparage the faith, motivation or integrity of others. Recognizing the diversity of opinion within every area of our Church and within every province of the Anglican Communion, we should likewise avoid generalizations about opinion in any particular region of the world.
3. In the compassion of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, many communities in our Church and in the Anglican Communion have furthered the Church's mission, whether in evangelism or social justice, pastoral outreach or spirituality, in the midst of differing opinions about human slavery. In the world mission community of the Episcopal Church, we have been blessed by such continuing partnership both in the Episcopal Council for Global Mission and in the Standing Commission on World Mission, for the membership of each body includes a wide range of opinions on human slavery. We accept the sincerity of one another's commitment to Christ and to the gospel, and we respect the views and beliefs of those with whom we may disagree on this and other issues.
4. We rejoice in a shared faith in God as revealed in the Trinity__Father, Son and Holy Spirit__and in the mission to which God calls us all as Christians. As mission has often prompted different churches to work together, we believe that mission commitment promises to preserve and energize the Episcopal Church. We encourage all to avoid letting differences about human slavery impair our partnership in God's mission in the world. We encourage Episcopalians who differ to join together in global mission and in all ministries of the Church and to be equally open to mission work with all our Anglican and ecumenical partners.
The statement is included in the commission's report to the 1869 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
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