Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Earlier today, Archbishop Wood sent a letter to the whole Province in response to an ongoing disagreement related to an ecclesiastical trial currently before the Court for the Trial of a Bishop. His communication included a statement entitled “A Joint Statement from the College of Bishops and the Executive Committee.”

I want you to know that I was not involved in the development of that statement and tried to object to its release for several reasons:

• First, I would not sign that letter for pastoral reasons. As their bishop, I can attest that both Mr. Alan Runyan and Bishop David Bryan are men of the highest integrity and Christian character. I continue to be confident of both men as exemplars of integrity and Christian character. I pray for them both, as this is without a doubt a time of extreme testing for them. 
• Second, I believe it is inappropriate for the College of Bishops to comment at all on this matter prior to the conclusion of the trial.
• Third, the statement was issued as if it reflected the unanimous voice of the College of Bishops, which it does not. As a member of the Provincial Tribunal—and a potential participant in the case of any appeals from the Trial Court—I, along with the other members of both the Trial Court and the Provincial Tribunal, recused myself from the call during which the statement was discussed. The entire College could not have endorsed that statement.

As difficult as it is, I continue to counsel us all to exercise the spiritual fruit and Christian virtue of patience. Earlier, I wrote to the clergy of the diocese asking that we “wait and see”; in short, I asked for patience. As information continues to fly around at breakneck pace, our anxiety grows. We want to jump in and try to solve things; the desire to forgo patience and “do something” has increased. But as CS Lewis articulated in his wonderful essay, Work and Prayer, prayer is actually significantly more potent than anything we could “do.”

So, if you find yourself wanting to do something, I ask that you continue to pray—for God’s wisdom, clarity, and grace—for all parties involved, even those whom you might not trust, at every level, as we seek to navigate this situation.

In Christ,

+Chip Edgar