The following is a pastoral letter to homosexuals sent by some of the Lambeth bishops. The following has been released by Bishop Ronald Haines of Washington on behalf of the signers. The statement is still being signed.

August 5, 1998

Dear sisters and brothers,

The Lambeth Conference has spent nearly three weeks deliberating issues of human sexuality, among many other vital issues facing our worldwide Communion. We have met in a climate of enormous diversity and have attempted both to articulate our views and listen carefully to those of others.

Within the limitations of this Conference it has not been possible to hear adequately your voices, and we apologize for any sense of rejection that has occurred because of this reality. This letter is a sign of our commitment to listen to you and reflect with you theologically and spiritually on your lives and ministries. It is our deep concern that you not feel abandoned by your Church and that you know of our continued respect and support.

We pledge that we will continue to reflect, pray, and work for your full inclusion in the life of the Church. It is obvious that Communion-wide we are in great disagreement over what full inclusion would mean. We ourselves have varied views and admit, as the report of the Human Sexuality Subsection of the Conference says, that there is much we do not yet understand. But we believe it is an imperative of the Gospel and our faith that we seek such understanding.

We call on the entire Communion to continue (and in many places, begin) prayerful, respectful conversation on the issue of homosexuality. We must not stop where this Conference has left off. You, our sisters and brothers in Christ, deserve a more thorough hearing than you received over the past three weeks. We will work to make that so.

Faithfully, (Then follows the list of signers)

As of Saturday, August 8, 1998, the signers total: 146 (including 8 Primates). They are as follows:

Australia (8)
Phillip Aspinall, Adelaide
Brian Farran, Perth – Northern Region
Ian George, Adelaide (Metropolitan)
Roger Herft, Newcastle
Peter Hollingworth, Brisbane (Metropolitan)
Richard Randerson, Canberra & Goulburn
Andrew St. John, Melbourne – Geelong
Ronald Williams, Southern-Region, Brisbaane

Brazil (1)
Glauco Soares de Lima, Sao Paulo (Primate)

Canada (9)
David Crawley, Kootenay (Metropolitan)
James Cruickshank, Cariboo
John Hannen, Caledonia
Andrew Hutchinson, Montreal
Michael Ingham, New Westminster
Terence Finlay, Toronto
Michael Peers, Canada (Primate)
Ann Tottenham, Toronto – Credit Valley
Duncan Wallace, Qu’Appelle

Central Africa (2)
Khotso Makhulu, Botswana (Primate)
John Osmers, Eastern Zambia

England (33)
Gordon Bates, York-Whitby
Jonathan Bailey, Derby
David Bonser, Manchester – Bolton
Michael Bourke, Lichfield – Wolverhampton
Ian Brackley, Guildford-Dorking
Michael Doe, Bristol – Swindon
Richard Garrard, Penrith – Carlisle
John Garton, Exeter – Plymouth
John Gladwin, Guildford
Laurie Green, Chelmsford – Bradwell
Christopher Hill, Lichfield – Stafford
Edward Holland, Colchester
Rupert Hoare, Worcester – Dudley
William Ind, Truro
Richard Lewis, St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich
Christopher Mayfield, Manchester
John Nicholls, Sheffield
John Oliver, Hereford
John Richardson, St. Albans – Beford
Henry Richmond, Derby – Repton
Roger Sainsbury, Chelmsford – Barking
Mark Santer, Birmingham
John Saxbee, Hereford – Ludlow
Colin Scott, Manchester – Hulme
Peter Selby, Worcester
Robin Smith, St. Albans – Hertford
Alan Smithson, Durham – Jarrow
David Stancliffe, Salisbury
Timothy Stevens, St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich – Dunwich
Humphrey Taylor, York – Selby
James Thompson, Bath & Wells
Dominic Walker OGS, Oxford – Reading
Frank Weston, Ripon-Knaresborough

Ireland (3)
Richard Clarke, Meath & Kildare
Robin Eames, Armagh (Primate)
John Neill, Cashel & Ossory

Japan (1)
James Uno, Kita Kanto

New Zealand (7)
Thomas Brown, Wellington
David Coles, Christchurch
George Connor, Waiapu
Penelope Jamieson, Dunedin
Murray Mills, Waiapu
David Moxon, Waikato
John Paterson, Auckland (Primate)

Scotland (6)
Bruce Cameron, Aberdeen & Orkney
Douglas Cameron, Argyle & The Isles
Neville Chamberlain, Brechin
Michael Henley, St. Andrew’s Dunkeld & Dunblane
Richard Holloway, Edinburgh (Primate)
Gregor MacGregor, Moray, Ross & Caithness

South Africa (6)
Robin Briggs, Pretoria
Duncan Buchanan, Johannesburg
Geoffrey Davies, Umzimvubu
Njongokulu Ndungane, Cape Town (Primate)
Michael Nuthall, Natal
David Russell, Grahamstown

United States (65)
Frank Allen, Atlanta
Harry B Bainbridge III, Idaho
Charles Bennison, Pennsylvania
Frederick H. Borsch, Los Angeles
William Burrill, Rochester
Richard Chaing, Hawaii
Michael Creighton, Central Pennsylvania
Clifton Daniel, East Carolina
Jane Holmes Dixon, Washington
Joe Morris Doss, New Jersey
Christopher Epting, Iowa
Richard Grein, New York
Gary Gloster, North Carolina
Clark Grew, Ohio
Edwin Gulick, Kentucky
Ronald Haines, Washington
Sanford Hampton, Olympia
Barbara Harris, Massachusetts
Donald Hart, Maryland
Dorsey Henderson, Upper South Carolina
Robert Ihloff, Maryland
James Jelinek, Minnesota
Robert Johnson, Jr., North Carolina
Robert Johnson, Western North Carolina
David Jones, Virginia
Charles Keyser, Armed Forces
Rustin Kimsey, Eastern Oregon
Chilton Knudsen, Maine
Jerry Lamb, Northern California
Edward Lee, Western Michigan
Peter Lee, Virginia
Alfred Marble, Mississippi
Larry Maze, Arkansas
Jack McKelvey, Newark
Mary Adelia McLeod, Vermont
Rodney Michel, Long Island
Robert Miller, Alabama
Robert Moody, Oklahoma
Steven Plummer, Navajoland
Neff Powell, Southwest Virginia
Thomas Ray, Northern Michigan
Creighton Robertson, South Dakota
Hays Rockwell, Missouri
Catherine Roskam, New York
Calvin Schofield, Jr., Southeast Florida
Tom Shaw, SSJE, Massachusetts
Richard Shimpfky, El Camino Real
Mark Sisk, New York
William Smalley, Kansas
Andrew Smith, Connecticut
John Spong, Newark
William Swing, California
Chester Talton, Los Angeles
Robert Tharp, East Tennessee
Douglas Theuner, New Hampshire
James Thornton, Idaho
Martin Townsend, Easton
Orris Walker, Jr., Long Island
Vincent Warner, Olympia
Catherine Waynick, Indianapolis
Arthur Williams, Jr., Ohio
Geralyn Wolf, Rhode Island
Stewart Wood, Michigan
Wayne Wright, Delaware
Stewart Zabriskie, Nevada

Wales (4)
Alwyn Jones, St. Asaph (Primate)
David Huw Jones, St. David’s
Barry Morgan, Bangor
Rowan Williams, Monmouth