The wait is over, but the waiting has only begun. Late this afternoon, the House of Bishops, meeting in New Orleans, released their response to the Primates’ Communique from last February. The gist of it consists of eight bullet points which I quote:

• We reconfirm that resolution B033 of General Convention 2006 (The Election of Bishops) calls upon bishops with jurisdiction and Standing Committees “to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.”
• We pledge as a body not to authorize public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions.
• We commend our Presiding Bishop’s plan for episcopal visitors. * We deplore incursions into our jurisdictions by uninvited bishops and call for them to end.
• We support the Presiding Bishop in seeking communion-wide consultation in a manner that is in accord with our Constitution and Canons.
• We call for increasing implementation of the listening process across the Communion and for a report on its progress to Lambeth 2008.
• We support the Archbishop of Canterbury in his expressed desire to explore ways for the Bishop of New Hampshire to participate in the Lambeth Conference.
• We call for unequivocal and active commitment to the civil rights, safety, and dignity of gay and lesbian persons.

The entire text may be found at Episcope

A quick reading of the entire text suggests that the bishops have delivered to the Primates what they wanted. Whether the conservatives will see it that way is another story. Indeed,  several bishops left the meeting after the departure of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This week they are meeting with a wide variety of people from all sorts of Anglican “churches” in the US. Called “Common Cause,” it seems to be an attempt on the part of Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh to create a united alternative to the Episcopal Church. Whether that goal is accomplished is highly doubtful. Stay tuned.