THIRD ATTEMPT:

This is a critical time - A Statement from the Global
South Steering Committee
Global South Steering Committee 
London, July 16-18, 2007 
1. We are grateful for the prayers and witness of the
millions of Anglicans around the world who live out
their Christian faith in complex and sometimes hostile
situations. Their lives and witness offer hope to a
world that is in desperate need and we have been
greatly encouraged by their testimony. Their
commitment to the ‘faith once and for all delivered to
the saints’ deepens our determination to stay true to
the biblical revelation and our historic tradition. 
2. We reaffirm our dedication to the vision of the
church that has a passion to reach all those who have
not yet come to a saving knowledge of Christ and one
that is truly good news for the poor and freedom for
those who are oppressed. We are saddened that the
actions of a small part of our Communion family have
caused such division, confusion and pain and we are
grieved that our witness to the oneness of Christ and
his Church has been sorely compromised. 
3. We in the Global South remain committed to the
underlying principles and recommendations of the
Windsor Report and the various Communiqués that we
have issued, especially the statement that was
produced during the most recent Primates’ meeting in
Dar es Salaam. It was the result of enormous effort
and heart-felt prayer and we remain convinced that it
offers the best way forward for our beloved Communion.
In particular, we are hopeful that the development and
endorsement of an Anglican Covenant will help us move
past this debilitating season into a new focus of
growth and missionary zeal. 
4. We were distressed by the initial response of the
House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church USA issued on
March 20th, 2007, reaffirmed by the Executive Council
on June 14th, 2007, in which they rejected the
underlying principles and requests of the Dar es
Salaam Communiqué. We urge them, once again, to
reconsider their position because it is their
rejection of the clear teaching of the Church and
their continuing intransigence that have divided the
Church and has brought our beloved Communion to the
breaking point. Without heartfelt repentance and
genuine change there can be no restoration of the
communion that we all earnestly desire and which is
our Lord’s clear ! intent. 
5. We have also been pained to hear of the continuing
and growing resort to civil litigation by The
Episcopal Church against congregations and individuals
which wish to remain Anglican but are unable to do so
within TEC. This is in defiance of the urgent plea
agreed to by all of the Primates in the Dar es Salaam
Communiqué. This approach to use power and coercion to
resolve our current dispute is both enormously costly
and doomed to failure and again, we urge the immediate
suspension of all such activities and a return to
biblical practices of prayer, reconciliation and
mediation.