Instead he stuck his finger in the eye of the POR and told them to stop meddling in his affairs. So much for the authority and power of the POR. It reminds me of the unarmed British Bobby who orders the armed bank robber to stop and surrender. At least in Florida, this doesn't work. What does this say about the hopes for letting TEC stay in the worldwide Anglican Communion?

It is increasingly less likely that appointments of conservatives are made to diocesan, provincial, and national committees (the only way, for a long time now, that such a presence has even been possible); and it is certainly no longer likely that conservatives will be voted, by diocesan or national conventions, onto decision-making councils. Most of our seminaries apply, openly or surreptitiously, the gay-test (and probably do so in both directions, depending on the school).

Must we wait until September to once again hear the Bishops cite the same argument, that the Primates' request concerning same sex blessings, ordinations of practicing homosexual persons, and consecrations to the Episcopate, violates the independence of TEC? Or, will the ploy be: "But they didn't ask us to stop these from going on, just not to authorize them. We are already in compliance"? Delay follows delay.

Secondly, I think there has been a better sense of collegiality than we have experienced for a long time. One of the new Bishops said last night that he received an email from someone in his diocese that said, "I will bet the atmosphere is less than cordial."