To avoid overcluttering the blog with lots of repetitive news stories and commentaries about today’s press conference, we’ve been posting quite a few links in the comment thread for the Anglican TV Press Comment post below.
Links cover the full range of opinion from Stand Firm to Integrity to Rachel Zoll of the AP to the IRD, etc.
Fr. Will Brown is one of the bloggers at Covenant, and he has a deep and thought-provoking blog entry posted simply titled “Ramsey and Unity.” The title might cause many to overlook the piece, but Fr. WB has some very interesting reflections on the current crisis, and questions for those of us on both / all sides of the current divide. Here’s the excerpt that most caught this elf’s eye:
[Note: The portion we’ve excerpted here in no way begins to do it justice (we’ve skipped over the meaty theological reflection and jumped to the conclusion, I confess… But the reflections on the meaning of the cross are particularly interesting given that ECUSA’s lectionary this week included 1 Cor 1:18: [b]18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.[/b]]
Anglicanism has become factious in the extreme, and one cannot help but wonder if the spirit of Christ-like gratuity, of self-effacement for the sake of the Body, has been quashed by a climate of hyper-self-consciousness. One wonders whether TEC might not be given pause by the non-recognition with which its “gifts” have been met by the one Body. One winces at the self-awareness of TEC’s rhetoric: “our church law”¦ our canons”¦ our autonomy”¦ our Constitution”¦ our founding principles”¦ our own liberation from colonialism”¦” etc. (cf. the TEC House of Bishops “Mind of the House” resolutions from March 2007). One would do well to ask whether TEC has not “succumbed to the peril of thinking of these gifts as possessions of their own and interpreting them in terms of human wisdom, knowledge, and individual ownership” (51) ”“ terms born of the spirit of Anti-Christ, as we have seen, inimical to the life of the Body.
Neither has TEC given an adequate theological account of how her innovative gifts bear witness to God in Christ. There has been much talk of “justice” and of the making-possible of our gay and lesbian brethren’s appropriation of what is theirs by right. But if the sexuality between persons of the same gender is to have a place within the one Body, it must be accounted for in terms of the given life of the one Body. It is not enough that it should be accounted for in terms of the autonomous life the Body’s members. We know something of the iconography and sacramentality of the gift of human sexuality. But the one Body has rooted human sexuality in the differentiation and complimentarity of the sexes, which our Lord himself placed under the rubric of creation and grace in one of his very few explicit teachings on the subject: “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ”˜For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”¦?” (Mat. 19.4). And as intimated by St. Paul in Ephesians 5, the Body has known the gift (the datum) of sexuality within the one Body as complimentarity within differentiation, as iconographic of the mutual self-gift that takes place between the different but complimentary natures of God and man in the one flesh of Jesus Christ, the theanthropos ”“ the consummation of which is constitutive of the Body’s life.
How might Anglicanism gesture “toward the question mark of Calvary at the center of its teaching” (4), even amid the difficulties and disagreements we face? Here are some far-fetched ideas:
1. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the liberals are right:
If, as TEC seems to be claiming, the gift of sexuality must be revised or elaborated, let this revision or elaboration take place within the context of the common life of the one Body, within the spirit of mutual recognition and self-gift which alone characterizes the love by which our Lord said we would be known (Jn. 13.35). Let TEC offer her gifts in patience and humility, knowing that love is patient, kind, and does not insist on its own way (1 Cor. 13.4-5) ”“ knowing that in autonomy she is nothing (1 Cor. 13.2). And if it is true that TEC’s interlocutors in the Communion at large are blinded and ignorant, as many within TEC have suggested, let TEC bear the burden of their brothers’ and sisters’ blindness and ignorance, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6.2). Let TEC bear it “with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4.2).
2. Assuming, for the sake or argument, that the conservatives are right:
For the conservatives’ part, let them listen in humility for the voice of the Spirit in their interlocutors, knowing that the Spirit’s groanings are too deep for words, even traditionalist words. Let them be willing to suffer at the hands of the litigious. Let them be eager to be defrauded to keep the scandal of factionalism away from the consciousness of the unbelieving world for whom the Lord suffered and died. Let the conservatives prefer to suffer injustice for the sake of the souls of their brethren; let them know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5.20).
Archbishop of Canterbury holds closed door meetings, visits 9th ward
By Bruce Nolan
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams spent seven and a half hours behind closed doors today talking with 150 Episcopal bishops and delegates from overseas Anglican churches about rising tensions over homosexuality that threaten to rupture the Anglican Communion.
He emerged from the Hotel InterContinental to be driven to the Lower Ninth Ward to see Episcopal hurricane relief efforts there, including a new church that will occupy a now-ruined drugstore a few steps from the home of New Orleans musician Fats Domino.
Williams blessed the grafitti-covered building and posed for pictures with curious bystanders. Diana Meyers, a worker with St. Anna’s medical mission, gave Williams a rough, foot-tall wooden cross she said was made of the debris of wrecked shrimp and oyster boats.
ENS has got a new article online, mostly a summary of this afternoon’s press conference:
Bishops meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in New Orleans on September 20 characterized their conversations with the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion as reflective of a “passionate commitment” to the future of that communion.
Bishop Robert O’Neill of Colorado told reporters after a nearly seven-hour session with Williams that the “best way to characterize our conversation is to say that collectively as a House of Bishops who exercise oversight for the common life and ministry of each of our dioceses, we take our responsibilities and our ministries very seriously. We’re passionate about the work that we all do both individually and collectively.
“That passion was reflected in our conversation today; it reflected a passionate commitment to the vitality of life and ministry of both the Episcopal Church and to the global Anglican Communion.”
I am travelling today, and will be able to say more about it later–it has to do with personal matters. In answer to incessant questions I am not in or going to New Orleans, but am following it very closely.
Please do us a favor and if your bishop provides any written communciation about their sense of things to his or her diocese email it on to us as it would be good to provide a variety of perspectives from that source if possible–KSH.
Episcopal Bishop John Howe is under no illusions about the potential tumult that lies ahead for his diocese and his denomination.
“I think a lot is going to happen in the next few months,” he said earlier this week by phone from Orlando.
Howe, bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida, which includes 12 parishes in Polk County, will join the Episcopal House of Bishops for six days of meetings beginning today in New Orleans. The bishops are facing the potential for schism as dissatisfied conservatives threaten to break away from the church over the role of gays.
But Howe, himself a conservative, is exercising caution and attempting to restrain as many as 20 of the 89 parishes in his diocese from bolting the denomination.
The international Anglican Communion has given the bishops until Sept. 30 to declare they will not consecrate any more noncelibate homosexuals as bishops, nor authorize the blessings of same-sex unions. Howe and most observers have said they do not expect the bishops will give the “unequivocal assurances” asked of them.
The American church’s General Convention in 2006 urged “restraint” in the election of bishops “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church,” but gay priests have been candidates for bishop in at least two dioceses since then. And although the Episcopal Church has never officially authorized same-sex blessings, some bishops have allowed the ceremonies.
Even though he’s not present, through his sources, Jim Naughton of the Diocese of Washington and the lead blogger at Episcopal Cafe / Daily Episcopalian has got an interesting post at Episcopal Cafe tonight, detailing a few of the questions posed by ++Rowan to the TEC bishops. Here’s an excerpt:
[blockquote]The archbishop made it clear that he believed the Episcopal Church had acted preemptively in consecrating Bishop Robinson.
In the afternoon Archbishop Williams asked the bishops how far they were willing to go to assure the rest of the Anglican Communion that the Church will refrain from a) consecrating another openly gay bishop and b) authorizing rites of blessing for same-sex unions. He also asked whether the bishops are willing to share episcopal responsibilities with other bishops when necessary. [/blockquote]
Go read it all. It’s brief, but more informative than anything that came out of the press conference! Thanks Jim.
All we’ve had several reports that the T19 RSS feed is not working. It is working fine for this elf who reads the RSS feed in Bloglines. If you are having problems, please let us know what link you are using for your subscription, and what feed reader /aggregator you are using. Thanks.
This link is working fine for the elves in bloglines: http://new.kendallharmon.net/wp-content/uploads/index.php/t19/rss_2.0/
And this link is working fine for the Anglican News feed: http://kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/rss2.0_Anglican
On her blog, Ruth Gledhill says that Archbishop of Nigeria Peter Akinola spoke with the London Times today (presumably Ruth herself?)
You can read her report here. There’s nothing particularly new, but I appreciated ++Akinola’s closing reminder about hope.
Dr Akinolasaid: “It is still hoped that somehow the good Lord will save His Church from further fragmentation. We are praying for Dr Williams. We are still full of hope. Remember that we are Christians. If we lose hope, then everything is gone.”
ENS / Episcopal Life Online has a video by Louisiana Bishop Charles Jenkins posted. You can watch that here.
Update: Haven’t watched it all yet…, juggling too much else. But, the part we watched was all about Katrina relief.
ENS has also posted a picture gallery from this morning’s Eucharist here.
Anglican TV is going to be streaming today’s press conference which should begin at about 4:30 Central / 5:30 Eastern / 22:30 London
http://www.anglicantv.org/blog/index.cfm/2007/9/20/New-Orleans-HOB-Thursday-Press-Conference
UPDATE: We’ve added links to live blogs of the press conf. by BabyBlue and Matt Kennedy in the comments
UPDATE 2: Link to Integrity’s take on the press conf. is now also in the comments, and now the link to Rachel Zoll’s AP story.
September 20, 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I arrived in New Orleans yesterday for the House of Bishops Meeting which officially began this morning and will end on Tuesday night, Sept. 25th. I ask each of you to enter into a period of prayer and fasting, keeping not only me, but the entire House of Bishops in your prayers, as well as ++Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the visiting members of the Primate’s Standing Committee. We are truly at a critical time in the life of the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. This is NOT “just one more meeting.” I sincerely believe that the decisions made by the House of Bishops at this meeting will be a key factor in determining the future of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.
I invite you to join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will come mightily upon this House, touching and transforming the hearts and souls and minds of every Bishop here, helping us to discern and carry out the will of God. May His will and only His will be done. Just as Paul encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, may we too have a Damascus road experience in which we, the House of Bishops, are convicted of that which is not of God, repenting and asking His forgiveness of our sins, and then be given the grace to be faithful and obedient in exercising our ministry as bishops in God’s holy Church, keeping Jesus Christ at the center of all that we do.
Archbishop Rowan Williams will be with us through tomorrow afternoon. I pray the Holy Spirit will speak clearly to and through him as he addressed the House of Bishops. May we be open to what he has to say.
While we will be addressing a variety of issues throughout the meeting, one of the most important things we will deal with is our official response to the Primate’s Communiqué to the House of Bishops regarding the Windsor Report. As most of you are well aware, there is much division within the Church regarding what our response should be. Again, it is my prayer that God’s will be done. Thank you for yours prayers and your faithfulness.
In Christ Jesus,
–(The Rt. Rev.) Bill Love is Bishop of Albany
The Chicago tribune has a new story online about this morning’s Eucharist in New Orleans. Their reporter also got a chance to question ++Rowan Williams briefly. Here’s an excerpt:
At the meeting set to last through Tuesday, the U.S. bishops will discuss how to respond to a directive from Anglican leaders to stop consecrating gay bishops and to ban blessings of same-sex unions until the global church reaches consensus. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the communion, attended, meeting U.S. bishops at home for the first time since the 2003 consecration of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Speaking to a reporter after the service, Williams praised the worshipful mood that began the event but dodged a question about the visit of Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who will preach in Wheaton, in the territory of the Diocese of Chicago this Sunday.
The Diocese of Chicago regards the visit as confrontational. But Africans who are incorporating American congregations say they are responding to neglect of U.S. conservatives by the Episcopal Church.
“I really don’t know anything about that,” Williams said.
Hat tip to Pat Dague
Ok, all of you T19 fans out there HAD to know this was coming!! 🙂 We’re a bit slow on the draw, but yes, we’ve now created a blog category for the Sept07 HoB meeting. Here’s the link.
So with one click now you can get all the latest news from New Orleans.
Don’t forget, we also have an Anglican / Episcopal RSS feed.
Mary’s got a short update posted at Baby Blue (timestamped 2:03, presumably Eastern?). Here’s an excerpt:
House of Bishops: News Update
One of the Network bishops just popped into the newsroom and a small group of us gathered around and he told us what has been going on inside the House of Bishops. They’ve spent the morning talking to Rowan Williams who is listening and taking notes as the American bishops speak. Gene Robinson is seated in the center of the room. Katharine Jefferts Schori and Ed Little are moderating the discussion. One of the major issues of contention by the American bishops was on the topic of “border crossing” which of course means they are complaining about the work of the Global South in providing refuge and pastoral care for the Episcopalian laity and clergy who are in crisis. Also learned that there are at least four different statements/resolutions and Schori has appointed a drafting committee that will meet over the weekend.The presence of this bishop in the news room, a sitting diocesan bishop, nearly caused the TEC staff to jump out of their skins. It was clear that the only “interviews” they want done are in the controlled area downstairs, not impromptu in the news room. The only briefings they want done are the one’s they put together. What’s not clear is how TEC can schedule a media briefing at 4:00 and then expect all the media in the 9th Ward by 4:30 p.m. for the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Do we want to go to a media briefing and learn what happened this morning in the sessions or do we want to watch the Archbishop of Canterbury do a walkabout?
Catching up on some recent blog entries at the Covenant blog, I appreciated Craig Uffman’s post wondering if Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams was thinking about the Anglican Communion when he drew this Dilbert cartoon.
Eight bishops have accepted an invitation to serve as episcopal visitors consistent with Delegated Pastoral Oversight (DEPO), an initiative approved by the House of Bishops in 2004.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was expected to announce the development during the opening plenary session of the House of Bishops’ meeting Sept. 20-25 in New Orleans, according to the Rev. Canon Charles Robertson, canon to the Presiding Bishop.
Canon Robertson added that Bishop Jefferts Schori conferred with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams about the invitations, which she extended after a process of consultation with bishops in The Episcopal Church. The first two days of the meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams are private.
Should page loading be slow for some readers given the heavy site traffic, try this:
To see the headlines at a glance, and the number of comments per post, go here:
http://kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/mobile/
By request, making this sticky.
Here’s a roundup of folks who are providing live coverage of the HoB meetings in New Orleans.
NOTE: I’ve un-stickied two previously sticky posts. Here are the links:
— Monday mornings’ “Catch Up Reading” Links by Greg G. is here.
— Kendall’s Proposal is here:
Episcopal News Service:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife/
latest article: Eight bishops agree to serve as ‘episcopal visitors’
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_90174_ENG_HTM.htm
[b]UPDATE:[/b] Here is a MUCH better link. ALL the HoB stories from ENS on one page. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/89878_ENG_HTM.htm
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Stand Firm has a big team onsite: Greg Griffith, the Rev. Matt Kennedy, Sarah Hey, Jackie Bruchi
Matt’s latest entry is here: http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/6068/
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Anglicans United: Cherie Wetzel is providing detailed reports online and via e-mail
http://www.anglicansunited.com/
Cherie’s latest is here: http://www.anglicansunited.com/2007/09/report_2_thursday_morning_sept.html
————
The intrepid and wonderfully creative Baby Blue is onsite too:
http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/
Mary’s latest is here: http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/depo-revisited-schori-seeks-to-endorse.html [link fixed, sorry!]
She’s also got some pictures to help “set the scene” here: http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/setting-scene.html
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The Living Church has the Rev. George Conger and probably others (?) reporting:
http://www.livingchurch.org/news.asp
TLC’s latest is here: http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3819
[Not sure whether George Conger will be posting articles or pix to his personal blog, but if he does, here’s the link: http://geoconger.wordpress.com/ ]
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Anglican TV’s Kevin Kallsen is also onsite, though doesn’t yet have anything posted from N.O.
http://www.anglicantv.org/blog/index.cfm
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Integrity’s reports from John Gibson and John Bradley can be found here: http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/
Here’s the latest update/commentary from them: http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2007/09/update-house-of-bishops-in-new-orleans.html
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Not sure if Episcopal Cafe has anyone in N.O. [no, Jim Naughton is not there. Not sure if any other cafe reporters are there.]
Here’s the link: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/
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EpiScope (Jan Nunley’s official TEC blog) is here: http://episcopalchurch.typepad.com/episcope/
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UPDATE:
Just had an e-mail from Chip Webb of the IRD. He too is in N’awlins and is commenting at his blog Anglican Action: http://anglicanaction.blogspot.com/
With the unintended juxtaposition of links to EpiScope and the IRD, the elf must confess a strong temptation to break out into a chorus of “Hail hail the gang’s all here…!” 😉
Mr. [John] Guernsey says his own church, All Saints’, voted 402-6 to align with Uganda late last year and avoided a legal battle over property by negotiating a settlement with the Virginia diocese. Late last year, Mr. Duncan, Pittsburgh’s dissident conservative bishop, wrote to Ugandan Archbishop Orombi and proposed that he promote Mr. Guernsey to bishop. Mr. Orombi, who says he has no designs on American property, embraced the idea so as to provide “Ugandan” churches in the U.S. with an American-based overseer.
A few weeks before this month’s ceremony in Mbarara, the Episcopal bishop of Virginia, Peter James Lee, booted Mr. Guernsey and 21 other dissident Virginia preachers from the Episcopal priesthood.
As he stood amid family members, supporters from Virginia and throngs of African faithful, Mr. Guernsey pledged allegiance to the Church of Uganda and vowed to “banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God’s word.”
A thin layer of clouds shielded the gathering from a scorching equatorial sun. This, declared Archbishop Orombi, showed the occasion was God’s work. “This weather is not normal,” he told the crowd. “God has done a good thing.”
A senior member of Archbishop Williams’ staff confirmed as accurate comments contained in a letter to his diocese by the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III, Bishop of Mississippi. Bishop Gray wrote that the archbishop will seek clarification of the meaning and intent on three subjects, including Resolution B033 approved during the 75th General Convention in 2006. The resolution “call[s] upon standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction 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.”
Archbishop Williams also will ask the bishops to clarify their stance on the blessing of same-sex unions. While the Book of Common Prayer does not permit the practice, several dioceses have authorized rites for the blessing of gay unions as a “pastoral” measure. Resolution C051, approved at the 74th General Convention in 2003, stated that “local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions.”
Finally, Archbishop Williams will ask the House of Bishops to explain its views on a proposed Anglican Covenant. While the final covenant language has not been drafted, failure by The Episcopal Church to be open to considering any common statement would be a significant setback likely to diminish the chances of it achieving the necessary two-thirds approval by the 38 provincial synods.
Eight bishops have accepted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s invitation to serve as “episcopal visitors” to dioceses that have requested this provision.
At her request, the Presiding Bishop’s canon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Robertson, advised Episcopal News Service of this measure the evening of September 19. The announcement preceded the opening plenary session of the House of Bishops’ September 20-25 meeting in New Orleans. Robertson said Jefferts Schori expected to announce the names of the eight bishops during that session, which is devoted to the bishops’ private conversation with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and is closed to the public and media.
Jefferts Schori has conferred with Williams about the invitations, which she extended after a process of consultation with bishops in the Episcopal Church, Robertson said.
“All eight are true bridge-builders who empathize with the concerns and needs of dioceses that are struggling with the issues of the current time,” Robertson said, adding that “while all are sympathetic to to these concerns, each is clear that the Presiding Bishop’s ultimate goal is reconciliation.”
The eight are active diocesan bishops Frank Brookhart of Montana, Dorsey Henderson of Upper South Carolina (based in Columbia, S.C.), John Howe of Central Florida (based in Orlando), Gary Lillibridge of West Texas (based in San Antonio), Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, together with retired Connecticut Bishop Clarence Coleridge.
I enjoyed reading the evenhanded article Decision Nears for Episcopalians” (Sept. 13). Even so, I would like to correct some misunderstandings.
The constitution and canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh date from 1865, and so don’t quite qualify as being “centuries old.” This is, of course, a minor point.
To characterize the troubles within the Episcopal Church as being about “whether to ordain gay non-celibate clergy and provide same-sex blessings” is a common recasting of deeper, more divisive, theological issues. Many in national leadership in the Episcopal Church deny basic, historic doctrines of Christianity such as the trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the historic resurrection and the atonement of Good Friday. Additionally, the authority of the Bible in judging the speech and actions of the church has come into question. Charles E. Bennison, the bishop of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) has gone so far as to say, “The church wrote the Bible, and the church can rewrite the Bible.” These are the real issues at hand.
The PG also allowed Joan Gundersen’s statement, “Boundaries are geographic,” to go unchallenged. Most people don’t realize the Episcopal Church (USA) claims dioceses in the following countries: Taiwan, Haiti, Virgin Islands, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, as well as the Missionary Diocese of the Navajoland, encompassing four states in the Western United States, and a convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, both of which embrace overlapping jurisdictions involving other Episcopal dioceses and/or Anglican provinces.
All in all, thank you for the coverage of this unfolding drama.
To speed up page-loading and lighten the load on the servers in face of the extremely heavy blog traffic expected on T19 and Stand Firm for the next week or so, we’ve reduced the number of entries that now display on the main page. Instead of 50 entries, we’ve cut it in half to 25 entries per page.
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In order to try to rectify this situation, the Primates – based on a number of Lambeth resolutions urging them to exercise greater authority in such situations – made the unprecedented step of proposing their own solution to the internal problems of the American province. This involves the establishing of a Pastoral Council of up to five members (chaired by a Primate nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and with two members nominated by the Primates and two nominated by the Presiding Bishop) to implement a Pastoral Scheme, facilitate and encourage healing and reconciliation, monitor TEC’s response to Windsor and ‘consider whether any of the courses of action contemplated by the Windsor Report § 157 should be applied to the life of The Episcopal Church or its bishops’. 14
The Pastoral Scheme is focussed on the group known as ‘Windsor’ or ‘Camp Allen’ bishops (and others who may join them). They may provide pastoral oversight to parishes who request it and nominate a Primatial Vicar who will be delegated powers and duties by the Presiding Bishop and be responsible to the Council. Crucially, this system is to be implemented whatever decisions are made by the House of Bishops prior to September 30 th this year and the Scheme is ‘intended to have force until the conclusion of the Covenant Process and a definitive statement of the position of the Episcopal Church with respect to the Covenant and its place within the life of the Communion, when some new provision may be required’. 15
The benefits of this solution are, first, that it prevents the establishment of a new province by creating a Primatially-sponsored and overseen interim structure within TEC during the covenant process. Second, it offers the hope of bringing an end to violations of this aspect of Windsor because, once the Pastoral Scheme is in place, ‘the Primates undertake to end all interventions’ and ‘congregations or parishes in current arrangements will negotiate their place within the structures of pastoral oversight’ set out in the scheme. 16 It is, however, noted that there are ‘particular difficulties’ with the more structured interventions undertaken by Rwanda (American Mission in America – AMiA) and Nigeria (Convocation of Anglicans in North America – CANA), both of which have consecrated former ECUSA/TEC priests as bishops. Third, it represents a conciliar way forward for the Communion agreed by the Primates as a whole rather than a unilateral solution offered simply by some of the Primates such as the Global South grouping or a part of that network.
This proposal therefore seeks to maintain the internal unity of the American church by providing much more robust structures of alternative pastoral oversight which are to be monitored by the wider Communion. In so doing, it hopes to encourage those currently identified with (or flirting with) Group I to become more communion-minded and align more clearly with Group II, just as elsewhere the communiqué seeks to encourage the American bishops clearly to distinguish themselves from Group IV by complying fully and unambiguously with The Windsor Report’s recommendations.
The Primates in Tanzania therefore managed not only to avoid any split within the Communion but also to take actions that uphold both Lambeth I.10 and the Windsor Report and that encourage bishops, dioceses and provinces to act in conformity with these and move away from Group I and Group IV (positions that increase pressure for fragmentation and realignment) into Group II or Group III. The question now is whether TEC will be able to give the necessary reassurances and implement the proposed Pastoral Scheme and whether intervening bishops from the Global South will then work with the Scheme. Each one of these conditions remains far from certain but were they to be met then there is the real possibility that there could be greater stability over the next few years as the covenant process unfolds and a new pattern of life in communion continues to develop in our Communion relationships, to be articulated in Communion statements and to reform the Instruments of Communion.
“We’re very clear on our (church governance) and our theology,” said Washington, D.C., Bishop John Bryson Chane on Wednesday. “Our position on full inclusion in all parts of church life for all the baptized has not, and will not, change.”
“This is the first time the Archbishop of Canterbury will hear, in our own voices, where we are as a church, what we’ve been through and where we are going,” he said.
Traditionalists are holding steadfast as well. More than 60 parishes have split off to align with traditionalist archbishops in Africa and South America. Several are battling their former dioceses in court for possession of parish properties.
Already the primates for Nigeria and Kenya have consecrated U.S.-based bishops to run essentially parallel parishes in defiance of the Episcopal Church. But the Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon of the Diocese of South Carolina estimates 8% to 20% of active Episcopalians “have enormous problems with what’s happening, but no provision is being made for them….
Though Harmon sees intense pressure on the Episcopal Church this week, Canon Jim Naughton, spokesman for Chane’s diocese, says traditionalists have no cards left to play. “I think the leaders of the Episcopal Church are more optimistic about remaining in the Communion than they have been in several years,” Naughton says.
Back in July, the Rev. George Woodliff III, posted the following on Stand Firm as part of a longer reflection on a Nashville prayer gathering he attended which attracted 60,000 people:
So, what relevance, if any, does this have to our current struggles in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion? I have been interested in the various currents which have brought us to this moment in our history. I am aware, generally, of such developments as the gradual corrosive effect of higher criticism on the authority of Scripture; the insouciant dilution and demotion of Christian doctrine; the continued deferment of the problem of the locus of authority; the effects of the Enlightenment on the believability of the Gospel and the concomitant lack of confidence in proclaiming it; the particular American ethos of radical individualism and autonomy. These and other currents have brought us to our hour. And yet I have had, for several years, a growing sense, an intuition, of something else, something behind the scenes, at work.
It is the belief that what is really going on is spiritual warfare and that we are actors in a great cosmic struggle. Paul understood it: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” [Ephesians 6:12] Milton understood it:
Belial came last; than whom a Spirit more lewd
Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love,
Vice for itself. To him no temple stood
Or altar smoked; yet who more oft than he
In temples and at altars, when the priest
Turns atheist, as did Eli’s sons, who filled
With lust and violence the house of God?
In courts and palaces he also reigns,
And in luxurious cities, where the noise
Of riot ascends above the loftiest towers,
And injury and outrage; and, when night
Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons
Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.[Paradise Lost, Book I]
Solzhenitsyn understood it:
“It was granted to me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience: how a human being becomes evil and how good. In the intoxication of youthful successes I had felt myself to be infallible, and I was therefore cruel. In the surfeit of power I was a murderer, and an oppressor. In my most evil moments I was convinced that I was doing good, and I was well supplied with systematic arguments. And it was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political [one could add ecclesiastical] parties either – but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of hearts, there remains… an unuprooted small corner of evil.” [The Gulag Archipelago Two]
I suspect that most of us, deep down inside, understand it also. That is why I believe that this historic gathering in Nashville on 7-7-07, which on its surface may seem outre to sophisticated Anglicans, does have some bearing on our current ecclesiastical agony. The forty year period does seem to correspond to the decline of the Episcopal Church. The presenting symptom of our crisis is homosexuality which arguably has its roots in the Sexual Revolution of 1967. The covenant breaking, which is a fruit of Baal, corresponds to the breaking of our Communion. The prescription offered by the leaders of The Call – prayer, fasting, solemn assembly – is essentially a call to holiness of life, not unlike the prescription of two of our ablest theologians, Ephraim Radner and Philip Turner: “Our contention is that communion is maintained not only by the obedient practice of mutual subjection, scriptural immersion, holiness of life, and godly discipline but also by submission to divine judgment.” [Radner and Turner, The Fate of Communion, p. 11]
The next critical scene in our unfolding Anglican drama is, I believe, the meeting of Archbishop Rowan Williams with the Episcopal House of Bishops in New Orleans on September 20, 2007. It will be a “hinge” moment in the history of the Communion. Therefore, I respectfully call on all Anglicans, worldwide, to a day of prayer and fasting on that day. This is the time, like the woman with the issue of blood, to press in to the Lord. Like her, we have been hemorrhaging far too long. As with her, He is the only one who can heal us and restore our peace.
George’s wife, Jill, has posted some suggestions about fasting at Lent & Beyond, and she and the rest of the L&B crew will be posting prayers and Scriptures frequently today and throughout the next week. You can find all the relevant Lent & Beyond entries here.
Though Anglican leaders have urged the U.S. church to stop electing gay bishops who are in committed relationships, a lesbian priest is among five finalists for bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Meanwhile, dissidents in the diocese will turn out Sunday in suburban Wheaton to hear Archbishop Peter Akinola, conservative leader of Nigeria’s Anglican Church and the fiercest critic of the Episcopal Church’s stance on gays.
His visit irked Bishop William Persell of Chicago, who said the event was potentially damaging to the church amid the “highly charged political rhetoric in our nation and around the world” about issues dividing the Anglicans.
“It’s unfortunate that he would come into the diocese of Chicago without so much as the courtesy of contacting me,” Persell said. “I think it’s a dangerous time for the communion.”
At their meeting in New Orleans, the U.S. bishops will discuss how to respond to a directive from Anglican leaders to stop consecrating gay bishops and to ban blessings of same-sex unions until the global church reaches a consensus. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, titular head of the communion, will be there, facing U.S. bishops for the first time since the 2003 consecration of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
That the Wheaton event is being held at the same, critical moment is one illustration of how new alliances between American conservatives and overseas clergy have pushed the Anglican Communion to a possible breaking point.
But for many Episcopalians, the separation in the church has begun. Already, the dioceses of Quincy, Ill., Ft. Worth, San Joaquin, Calif., and Pittsburgh have begun planning to leave the Episcopal Church.
Still, Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy said he was holding out hope that Williams would take definitive action to preserve the communion.
“We are asking Rowan Williams to be bold and represent the worldwide Anglican Communion and not just the Episcopal Church,” he said. “The Episcopal Church has engaged in behavior that has caused a rupture in the communion, and I feel saddened by that.”
[Ephraim] Radner described the meeting as the most significant for the church in at least three years.
For many years, the Episcopal Church has been at odds with much of the Anglican Communion over the U.S. church’s more liberal views on homosexuality and scriptural teachings. The Episcopal Church directly challenged the prevailing conservative views of the communion in 2003 when it consecrated V.Gene Robinson, a gay man living with his partner, as bishop of New Hampshire.
In February, tensions escalated further when three dozen top Anglican leaders, known as primates, issued the directive on gay bishops and same-sex blessings at a meeting in Tanzania. They also urged the Episcopal Church to create an alternative structure to oversee conservative breakaway parishes and dioceses, with several of its members to be appointed by clerics outside the United States.
The Episcopal bishops rejected the oversight proposal in May, saying it could lead to the permanent division of the Episcopal church. And in June, the church’s executive council turned down the demand on same-sex unions and gay bishops. Such decisions, the council said, could only be made by the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, which is not scheduled to meet until 2009.
The Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, said Wednesday that he did not expect those decisions to be overturned at the bishops’ meeting. “I don’t believe we have the power to go beyond that before the General Convention,” he said. “And if the primates think some magic change will occur in the House of Bishops and the national church in which we say we rescind everything, that’s not going to happen.”