June 2003

Dear friends throughout the Episcopal Church,

This summer at the 74th General Convention, our church will engage in vigorous dialogue on a wide range of issues of faith and conscience. Hundreds of resolutions will be addressed with great care and concern by our deputies and bishops. Many of each day's legislative committee meetings, floor debates and open hearings will continue as informal conversations late into the night. It will be a momentous gathering in the Spirit.

In partnership with colleagues in the justice and peace community, The Witness magazine has identified several key issues facing the upcoming Convention and prepared a series of "position papers" for your review and use in Minneapolis. We seek to help our church better engage these critical issues with in-depth reporting, theological reflection, and prophetic analysis. Enclosed in this packet you will find pieces on: the 20/20 initiative, Anglican identity, anti-racism, cultural imperialism, globalization & economics, the ECUSA budget, heterosexism, justice & reconciliation, preemptive strike theology, and the theology of work. We also commend to you the Claiming the Blessing booklet, papers from the Committee on the Status of Women on language and fundamentalism, and the "Do Justice, Make Peace, Be Accountable" platform from The Consultation. In addition to the PDF versions of these papers that you will find posted on this website, all of these resources will also be available in hard copy at various progressive organizational booths at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Since 1917, The Witness has been dedicated to connecting themes of personal faith and spirituality to those of discipleship and our witness in the world around us. As we head toward General Convention, we hear increasing discussion of our church's "role and responsibilities" within the broader secular society and the worldwide Anglican Communion. We trust you will find these position papers not only informative, but useful in helping you discern how we can indeed "Engage God's Mission" in the midst of this passionate debate.

We express our deep gratitude to our writers, reviewers, and all those who have played a role in this extensive process. Thanks, specifically, to Marianne Arbogast, George Armstrong, Ed Bacon, Janet Chisholm, Bill Countryman, Louie Crew, Ian Douglas, Rosa Lee Harden, Mark Harris, Michael Hopkins, Kevin Jones, Elizabeth Kaeton, Jim Lewis, Jackie Lynn, Pat McCaughan, Jennifer Morazes, Mike Moroney, Ed Rodman, Susan Russell, David Selzer, Katie Sherrod, Jenny Te Paa, Dan Webster, Julie Wortman, the Consultation steering committee, the Every Voice Network, the ECPC board of directors and my fellow Witness staff members.

In Christ's peace,

Ethan Flad, Editor, The Witness

Position Papers

Note: These are Adobe Acrobat PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader software to access. This is already installed on most computers but if you are unable to see the position papers, click below to download and install the Acrobat Reader.