Global South Anglican

Ed: An interesting article by Graham Kings over at Fulcrum.

CANA was created by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as a mission to meet the needs of Anglican Nigerians in the wake of the divisive actions of the Episcopal Church USA at its last triennial General Convention in 2003.

At this time we need to spend more time to praying for the Communion as part of the Body of Christ, for the coming Primates Meeting and for Archbishop Rowan Williams as he leads in this critical time.

“The Rev Canon Martyn Minns of Truro Parish in Virginia, USA was also elected Bishop in the Church of Nigeria for the missionary initiative of the Church of Nigeria called Convocation of Anglican Churches in North America (CANA).”

List of Responses and press reports to Archbishop Rowan Williams’ The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today

Archbishop Williams has clearly recognized the immediate need to stabilize the Communion according to agreed theological understandings and mutual submission. Further, for the first time, the Archbishop himself is acknowledging that some parts of the communion will not be able to continue in full membership if they insist on maintaining teaching and action outside of the received faith and order.

We fear tens of thousands of individuals will be lost from Anglicanism forever unless immediate, though interim, intervention is provided. The face of Anglicanism has been changed, and it behooves us to be creative in the midst of the restructuring process before us.

Editorial: I suggest that readers read this first on their own instead of forming impressions through other reviewers. Don’t just glance through and better still, print it out using the print version option. Worth a careful read.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has set out his thinking on the future of the Anglican Communion in the wake of the deliberations in the United States on the Windsor Report and the Anglican Communion at the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church (USA). 

There is a possibility that out of the ashes of ECUSA’s collapse the Lord in His mercy and providence may raise up an Anglican Church in America which is faithful to scripture, committed to mission and evangelism, and in full communion with the See of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion world-wide - an outcome very much to be desired. We hope and pray that it may be done peaceably.

Where do we go from here? Our future as a diocese in full Communion with the worldwide Anglican Communion is bright, and our gospel energy in our parishes and missions is strong. What is critical is that we seek to navigate these turbulent waters together as a diocese, and not simply as individuals or even individual parishes. The Lord will bring us through this time stronger than ever before if we all begin to take more initiative as a body.

What is clear is that we have two entirely different religions now trying to exist under one name. The Episcopal Church as revealed at General Convention 2006 no longer even remotely resembles the Episcopal Church I once knew.

I told you, at our Convention last January, that we are dangerously close to division in the Anglican Communion, and I said, “If division comes I will resist it with all of my energy.  I hate the very thought of it.  But if division is forced upon us, it is forced upon us.” My sense is that we are closer to it now than we were two weeks ago.  I have said this to you twice previously, but let me reiterate: if we must choose between being Episcopalian and being Anglican, I will choose Anglican.

The sense of a revealed and given faith and order, faithfully handed down, is at a discount in an age of subjectivism. Cultural captivity is subtle because culture is all-pervasive, seeping in through the media. We have a culture of rights deriving more from the Enlightenment than from Christian understanding.

If the truth is seen so differently by the various groups, and there is little hope of convergence, let alone agreement, would it not be better to take different paths rather then pretending to be on the same one?...separation may actually lead to less bitterness, a greater willingness to converse and, perhaps, even some scope for cooperation in areas where this is possible.

The Anglican Communion Network and the American Anglican Council have encouraged clergy to read the pastoral letter from Bishop Bob Duncan to be read in churches on Sunday.

(Also includes a letter from Bishop Duncan to his diocese)

Whether you are in ECUSA, are in the process of disaffiliating, or are under oversight of another Anglican province, we are committed to assisting you to go from strength to strength. The war is over; it is time to build the church.

Theological liberals, he said, have been working their way into top positions in the church for decades. This convention is the clear signal that their takeover is now complete.

Many of our people live in areas of conflict and insecurity.  Inadequate education and health care and poverty, among other things, are our constant companions.  Cases of bad governance, corruption, and misuse of resources bring despair.  Yet, as disciples of Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead and lives today, we proclaim that there is always hope in Him.

The African Primates said that they were “saddened” that the Episcopal Church had been “unable to embrace the essential recommendations”.

We, the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), meeting in Kampala on 21st – 22nd June, have followed with great interest your meeting of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA in Columbus…

A helpful essay summary with the essential links. 

The “back door” endorsement of gay civil marriage by the US House of Bishops at the 75th General Convention has created two mutually incompatible Anglican faiths, the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali has declared.

We have put together various links from T19 and TA for ease of reference for those trying to catch up on the events surrounding the Convention:

1) Official Text of Resolution B033 (which passed in both House of Bishops and House of Deputies). You can read the vote tally here, and the full live blog entry regarding this resolution’s debate and voting here.

2) Minority Report from Bishop Chane and others who say the Resolution is non-binding and they dissent from it.

3) Anglican Communion Network’s response: General Convention Actions Inadequate: “The responses which the Convention has given to the clear and simple requests of the Lambeth Commission, the clear and simple requests indeed of the Anglican Communion, are clearly and simply inadequate.” - signed by 13 bishops

4) Archbishop Rowan Williams response: “It is not yet clear how far the resolutions passed this week and today represent the adoption by the Episcopal Church of all the proposals set out in the Windsor Report. The wider Communion will therefore need to reflect carefully on the significance of what has been decided before we respond more fully.”

5) Earlier, A161, which includes A162, has been voted down by both orders in the House of Deputies.

Various commentaries and news reports:

Initial Observations on General Convention - Anglican Communion Institute – June 21, 2006: “It was discouraging to watch as one of the most important decisions the Episcopal Church has had to face was telescoped into a final 24 hours of frantic parliamentary conflict and maneuvering.  No one can claim that the issues were not well examined, diversely engaged, and publicly articulated over the course of the past 3 years.  This therefore raises a series of questions...”

Our Mother Jesus . . . a sermon by US church’s new head Times (UK) - “The Episcopal Church in America descended into chaos last night after leading bishops on both the liberal and conservative wings dissassociated themselves from a last-gasp effort to avert a schism with the worldwide Anglican Communion.”

Bishop Stanton’s June 21 Report: the ECUSA Rollercoaster:“A roller coaster is an apt description of this Convention. There are those tedious “clackety-clack” moments when the train is being dragged up hill.”

Episcopal delegates vote to avoid ordaining more gay bishops – UK Telegraph:
“Wednesday’s decision came 24 hours after delegates at the church’s general convention in Columbus, Ohio, rejected Anglican leaders’ requests for a temporary ban on the ordination of openly gay bishops, heightening the risk of a split in the global Anglican church.”

US Episcopal church offers compromise to avoid Anglican expulsion – UK Guardian:
“The leadership of the US Episcopal church resorted to arm-twisting tactics last night in an attempt to save its membership of the international Anglican communion by offering Archbishop Rowan Williams and the rest of the church an emollient statement promising not to consecrate any more gay bishops.”

US Church eases gay bishop stancee - BBC News:"The new resolution is a watered-down version of a proposal, rejected on Tuesday, to stop electing gay bishop."

Tony Clark: The Sinking of Windsor:“Where do we go from here? In my opinion, PECUSA has gone as far as it will go in embracing the requests from TWR. By ignoring the requests for moratoria, PECUSA has torpedoed TWR and it will continue to sink off the radar.”

In short, the work of the Convention around these matters, despite the clearly engaged and committed labors of many individuals on committees and on the floor (and this valiant witness should not be overlooked), was a hodge-podge of far-too-little-far-too-late reflection and decision-making, that can be attributed to the guidance of the Holy Spirit only to the degree that we are convinced that divine Providence rules over the abject irresponsibility of men and women…

Our chief concern now is to fulfill our charge as bishops of the Church of God in the Anglican tradition to “guard the faith, unity and discipline” of the Church. Pastoral care and apostolic teaching must not only be given to our own dioceses, but to all the faithful in this country who seek apostolic oversight and support.

From the Most Revd Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone

The Anglican Primates, indeed the range of instruments of unity across the Communion could not have been more clear in what the Episcopal Church has been asked to do. The election of the new Presiding Bishop has provided us with abundant clarity of the commitments and direction of ECUSA.

Last night representatives of the Episcopal Church rejected suggestions that they broke with the worldwide Anglican Communion when they elected Bishop Robinson. In its first action, the 843-member House of Deputies rejected language expressing regret for “breaching the proper constraints of the bonds of affection” by his election. Instead, the deputies approved wording expressing regret merely for “straining” the bonds of affection with the Anglican Communion.

The dioceses of Quincy and San Joaquin will each consider a plan similar to the Diocese of Forth Worth, which has requested immediate alternative oversight from the Archbishop of Canterbury in light of the election of the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop.

And another article at Times Online: Canterbury oversight offers chance of truce

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, told the Daily Telegraph there were “virtually two religions” in the Church.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori became the first woman to lead any church in the global Anglican Communion when she was elected Sunday to be the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The choice of Jefferts Schori may worsen — and could even splinter — the already difficult relations between the American denomination and its fellow Anglicans. Episcopalians have been sparing with many in the other 37 Anglican provinces over homosexuality, but a female leader adds a new layer of complexity to the already troubled relationship.

Only two other Anglican provinces — New Zealand and Canada — have female bishops, although a handful of other provinces allow women to serve in the post. Still, there are many Anglican leaders who believe women should not even be priests.

Read more here

A new crisis emerges as ECUSA elects the next Presiding Bishop - Ed