Special Commission Appointed

From the Episcopal News Service;

...The 14-member commission was appointed by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and the Very Rev. George L. W. Werner, president of the House of Deputies. They charged the commission with preparing the way for General Convention to receive and respond to the Windsor Report, the February 2005 communiqué of the primates from Dromantine, and the actions of the June 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council...

...The Special Commission will prepare a report with proposed resolutions, if any, for the Blue Book of the 75th General Convention next June. The Blue Book is each convention’s official compilation of reports and proposed legislation from the committees, commissions, agencies, and boards of the General Convention.

The commission’s members are:
Sarah Dylan Breuer of Frederick, Maryland (Province III); the Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas of Episcopal Divinity School (Province I); the Rev. Mark Harris of Lewes, Delaware (Province III); the Rev. Dr. Katherine Grieb of Virginia Theological Seminary (Province III); the Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson Jr., bishop of Upper South Carolina (Province IV); the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, bishop of Nevada (Province VIII); the Rt. Rev. Henry Louttit Jr., bishop of Georgia (Province IV); the Rev. Charles E. Osberger of Wye Mills, Maryland (Province III); the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk, bishop of New York (Province II); the Rev. Canon Rosemari Sullivan of Virginia Theological Seminary (Province III); Katherine Tyler Scott of Indianapolis, Indiana (Province V); the Rev. Francis H. Wade of Washington, D.C. (Province III); Christopher Wells of South Bend, Indiana (Province V); and the Rev. Sandra A. Wilson of South Orange, New Jersey (Province II).

Two of these appointees I only know by way of regularly reading their blogs.

Sarah Dylan Breuer is the author of Dylan's Lectionary Blog which is a resource that quite a few Episcopal clergy have discovered. Dylan provides some of the best homiletical helps on the net.

Mark Harris posts at Preludium. Mark and I usually agree on most things, although his commentary often offers more depth than Jake does, which has made him one of my regular reads. I first noticed Mark a few years ago, when he was one of the early writers to recognize the full implications of the attempted coup by the AAC/Network. Mark also posts regularly to the House of Bishops/House of Deputies list, which is a good daily read if one wants to stay informed regarding the ongoing conversations of the elected leaders of the Episcopal Church.

I have known Bishop Dorsey Henderson for some time. We disagree on a number of issues, but he is always a gentleman about it. I have had the opportunity to serve with Dorsey before and after his consecration as bishop. He is an Anglo-Catholic from Virginia seminary (some will catch the irony in that statement!) who is inclined to be a conservative on some issues, and a moderate on others. He is by far the best priest I have ever had the privilege of serving with. I have limited experience of his effectiveness as a bishop, but I do know that he has a pastor's heart. I would respect and honor Dorsey's recommendations, even if I disagreed with them.

I have read a few things written by Ian Douglas, and have been impressed by his ability to combine clarity and good scholarship; an ability which is quite difficult and, unfortunately, also quite rare.

I must confess to having little or no knowledge of the rest of the members of this commission. Do you recognize any names in this list?

J.