Bishop MacPherson’s Address To The Primates Meeting
Presentation to the primates
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Thursday, February 15, 2007

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Good afternoon, my brothers and sister in Christ. I am Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana. In addition to my role as bishop of the diocese, I serve as president of Province VII, which is a geographical region within the Episcopal Church that embraces twelve dioceses. By virtue of my role as president I serve on the Council of Advice to the Presiding Bishop, and was elected this past December to serve in the capacity of president of the Council.

I am humbled, and yet honoured, to be invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury to speak before you this day, and have made the trip to Dar es Salaam bearing a heavy heart for the condition in which the Episcopal Church finds herself at this time. We are torn, and not only divided, but by virtue of the actions of our two most recent General Conventions, we have damaged severely the fabric of the Anglican Communion and wounded the Body of Christ. For this I grieve.

My presence here today is twofold, one, on behalf of the Diocese of Western Louisiana, which by action of diocesan convention this past October affirmed my position as a Windsor bishop, and subsequently passed two resolutions affirming the diocese as Windsor compliant. And secondly, and more important, to speak on behalf of about twenty-four other diocesan bishops who share a common support and commitment to the process in which the Windsor Reports invites the Church to share in a journey leading to the development of a “common Anglican Covenant.” [WR117.p48] the rest