After citing the incident with radio broadcaster Don Imus and the Rutgers Women's basketball team, she continued, "We are to recognize ourselves as beloved and forgiven and extend that knowledge to those around us. But instead, we have made some in our midst quite unwelcome. They have not known here (in these meetings) what it is to be beloved. They have not known the cool waters for bathing feet and the kiss of peace that today's Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) speaks of. So maybe it is the youngest among us, who have no history of rancor, that will lead the way for this House" (Six newly consecrated bishops are in attendance, with two who have been elected but not yet consecrated. The new Bishop of the Diocese of Bethlehem, PA is in his 30's.) "Set our egos aside and recognize this fount of blessedness. May we be peace if we are to save ourselves and our hearers?"

No one applauded her sermon. There was no AMEN. She stood at the podium and looked firmly around the room, meeting eyes. She stood for almost a minute, just as a mother does when addressing her children, or a teacher addressing the class. Then it was over.

In the corridors there is anxiety and concern. The tension is palpable even as everyone is making sounds like it is just another meeting. It can be seen in the small groups and their conversations; it can be heard on the elevators; it can be seen in the wives' posture and demeanor, both towards their husbands and with the other wives. The Presiding Bishop is being portrayed as "non-anxious".

The stage is being set for dealing with the greatest crisis The Episcopal Church has ever faced, a crisis that could see it marginalized from the Anglican Communion if it does not agree to discontinue blessing same-sex unions and cease consecrating non-celibate homosexuals to the episcopacy. All the indicators are that it will not. The Archbishop of Canterbury is here looking sober. In the end it is his show. He will listen, but we will not know what he concludes till much later.

Mrs. Schori has said, "Talk of schism is excessive." Four years of rising discontent (since GC2003) within the worldwide Anglican Communion over TEC's stance on Gene Robinson's consecration, threatens a full-blown schism.

Even as the Episcopal bishops gather to consider their response to Williams and the Primates of the Anglican Communion, some revisionist bishops are already making it clear that they do not want their fellow liberal bishops to back down from their commitment to homosexuals and lesbians.

The Bishop of North Carolina, Michael B. Curry, will bring the message from his people: Don't do it. His people tell him not to bow to demands from the Anglican Communion that the American church stop ordaining openly gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions.

As one Episcopalian put it at a congregational meeting in Raleigh earlier this week, "We don't dictate to them how they should behave; they shouldn't dictate to us how we should behave."

"We need to stand up for the truth as we understand it and be inclusive of all God's people," said the Rev. George Clifford, a retired priest from Raleigh.

That is NOT the message orthodox Episcopalians want to hear.

Ironically, even as Dr. Williams is here in New Orleans, the Primate of Nigeria, Peter Akinola is in Chicago addressing hundreds of orthodox Anglicans who have fled the Episcopal Church. He did not consult the liberal Bishop of Chicago, the Rt. Rev. William D. Persell who felt miffed by the snub. Crossing diocesan borders is simply not acceptable to American liberal bishops, a position they have made abundantly clear to Dr. Williams and the Primates.

The stage is set. Most of the bishops have arrived. The Archbishop of Canterbury arrived late last night, but has not made a public appearance. His staff arrived earlier in the day. Invited members of the Primate's Council and members of the Anglican Consultative Council have also arrived. They will observe and report to their respective bodies in the Communion. It is not known if they will be asked to speak to TEC Bishops.

Today the College of Bishops will engage in a training session, encompassing specific topics and skills for their newfound roles. How they will handle fleeing orthodox parishes in their various dioceses will undoubtedly be high on the agenda.

The Press is excluded from the meetings with the Archbishop and Mrs. Schori. There will have a briefings at 4:00 and at 6:30 pm. The Diocese of Louisiana will host an Ecumenical Worship Service at the Convention Center. The Archbishop of Canterbury will speak. Afterwards a jazz quartet and Gospel Choir will sing.

END