Reporting from Washington — In a move sure to increase pressure on the Bush administration to extend financial help to automakers and other ailing industries, federal officials this morning announced an overhaul of the government’s bailout of insurance giant American International Group. The new plan increases the cost to about $150 billion and amounts to a tacit admission that the earlier effort fell short.

In a pre-dawn announcement before AIG announced a $24.5-billion third-quarter loss, the Treasury Department said it would spend $40 billion to buy an equity share in AIG “as part of a comprehensive plan to restructure federal assistance to the systematically important company.” The money comes from the $700 Troubled Asset Relief Program approved by Congress to try to rescue the financial system.

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Next Saturday, November 15th, sees the convening of a National Evangelical Anglican Consultation (NEAC) at All Souls, Langham Place in London. It has been called by the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC). In contrast to the large-scale NEACs of Keele (1967), Nottingham (1977), Caister (1988) and Blackpool (2003), where the C stood for “Congress”, this is a one-day consultation (similar events have been organised be CEEC in the past) with a very specific focus: Anglican evangelicalism post Lambeth and GAFCON with a view to ”˜shaping the future’. What, then, is the ”˜state of the party’ on the eve of this NEAC and what are the issues to be addressed and possible outcomes?

Opportunities

NEAC offers a number of real opportunities at a crucial time in the life of the Anglican Communion:

a) Genuine consultation: There are, sadly, few opportunities for genuine consultation and face-to-face conversation along the full spectrum of Anglican evangelicals. Our growth over the last forty years, combined with the lack of recognised unifying leadership that used to be provided by John Stott, has led to greater diversification and fragmentation into different groups with various emphases. This has, particularly in recent years (arguably since women’s ordination in 1992 and certainly since the appointment of Rowan Williams in 2002), led to increasing tensions and fracture lines. These have sometimes been compounded by the desire of various evangelical sub-groups to define the centre or the boundaries and limits of evangelicalism in a way which alienates others.
b) Building great unity: One of the benefits of NEAC and ongoing consultation will be clearer recognition of the many areas of agreement and consensus across the different strands of Anglican evangelicalism.
c) Constructive engagement with difference: NEAC also provides the opportunity for an honest and constructive identification of the areas of disagreement and potential division that are found among evangelical Anglicans. These particularly focus on issues relating to women in church leadership, how to respond to the crisis in the Anglican Communion, and the extent to which the Church of England and elements of its leadership are already compromised in relation to orthodox biblical sexual ethics. It also could provide a catalyst for the renewal and/or creation of structures and procedures that will help us in the future both to build on areas of agreement and to address areas of tension in a godly, Christian manner rooted in strong personal relationships.

Threats

There are, however, a number of threats that must also be clearly acknowledged. One is that the meeting next Saturday does not achieve anything and is seen as a wasted opportunity and a failure to consult genuinely. Another, more serious threat, is that the meeting itself and its outcome (either on the day or as developed by CEEC subsequently) fuels further division, most likely through a confrontation between the more conservative evangelicals (linked to groups such as Reform, Church Society, Fellowship of Word and Spirit) who are supportive of GAFCON and other, particularly more open evangelicals (represented by most evangelicals bishops and groups such as Fulcrum), who have been cautious or hostile to GAFCON.

Commitments and hopes

What follows seeks to address these opportunities and threats by identifying and exploring five areas that will be particularly pressing in the minds of many attending NEAC and then sketching something of my own personal hopes as to what might result. At the heart of these hopes is a three-fold commitment and vision as to how we need to proceed at NEAC and in the months that will follow it:
”¢ The need to build relationships that will allow the discernment of a consensus around the evangelical centre both theologically (as expressed in CEEC’s Basis of Faith) and ecclesiologically (where divergences are currently at their greatest)
”¢ The need for those claiming to speak for Anglican evangelicals as a whole to address matters of controversy in a way that all ”˜sides’ or ”˜parties’ can feel recognises their concerns. This results in a wider ownership of a way forward together as Anglican evangelicals rather than a way forward that leads to a parting of the ways as some feel they cannot agree and so must distance themselves from and even undermine what is developed post-NEAC
Ӣ The need to avoid a repetition of the tensions and divisions that occurred before, during and in the aftermath of the last NEAC, symbolised for many in the lack of ordained women on the main platform, the launch of Fulcrum and the development of Anglican Mainstream. As someone closely involved in the birth of both groupings and whose wife is on the Leadership Team of one (along with me) and on the Steering Committee of the other, my hope is that this NEAC might begin to heal some of the wounds from the past but my fear is that it might inflict new wounds and confirm and harden historic cycles of miscommunication and distrust
In thinking what this might look like there have been two models that I have found particularly helpful and encouraging. One is the EFAC Commitment of July 2008 (and CEEC is the “English agent” of EFAC (Constitution, 3.1.4)) and the other is the recent CAPA statement of Sept 2008.

The key issues

Although they would probably rank them differently and have a range of perspectives on each of them, probably the majority of Anglican evangelicals in the CofE, faced with this CEEC-sponsored NEAC on Anglican evangelicalism post Lambeth and GAFCON, would recognise five areas as particularly pressing for evangelical witness, as potential causes of tension among evangelicals and so as issues that need to be faced.
1) GAFCON, Jerusalem Declaration & Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA)
2) Anglican Covenant
3) Support for orthodox in North America
4) Covenant for CofE and evangelicals in CofE seeking alternative oversight
5) The representative nature of CEEC
Of course it is vital in focussing on these five areas not to lose sight of what unites us. There is great unity theologically on a whole range of issues, notably the centrality and supreme authority of Scripture, the representative and substitutionary death of Christ, and the priority of mission (the three themes – Bible, Cross and Mission – of the last NEAC). There is also considerable unity in relation to current tensions in the Communion where Anglican evangelicalism in the CofE is resolutely opposed to the developments in North America and any attempts to move the CofE in a similar direction, being clear that blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of those in such unions is contrary to Scripture and cannot be treated as within legitimate Anglican diversity. It is also important not to get matters out of proportion because of the focus of NEAC and lose the priority of evangelism and mission both in England and the wider Communion. Nevertheless, it is these five areas which require careful analysis and handling:

(1) GAFCON, Jerusalem Declaration & FCA
Although the Jerusalem Declaration and the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans based on it are the fruit of GAFCON, it is important that these three different developments of the last six months are distinguished and not treated as a single ”˜take it or leave it’ package. If they are not distinguished, then it will be very difficult to avoid a division between those who wholeheartedly “take it”, those who wish to “leave it”, and (perhaps the majority) those who rather confused and still seeking to discern the full significance and implications of all that has happened since the summer.
”¢ GAFCON: The calling of GAFCON remains a matter of division largely between those evangelicals who were invited and/or felt represented there and those (including many evangelical bishops and ordained women in the CofE) who were uncertain or unhappy about it being called and/or were not invited (or were unable/unwilling to attend). The former are clearly convinced this is a move of God that must be warmly embraced. Many others are still cautious or sceptical. Over time a consensus may be able to emerge among evangelicals that allows the positive elements to be highlighted but that should not be pressed or forced upon the whole constituency by GAFCON’s advocates but should clearly arise from within it. As with EFAC and CAPA, therefore, at NEAC a recognition of GAFCON as a very significant fact in the life of the Communion and the value of it for all those who attended is better than a definitive stance for or against.
”¢ Jerusalem Declaration. This articulation of Anglican identity is clearly the most significant development from GAFCON. While assessment of it is coloured by assessment of GAFCON (above) and of FCA (see below), it can be taken as a statement in its own right. Here evangelical Anglicans should be able to affirm what it affirms. EFAC’s statement “We heartily endorse the fourteen points of the Jerusalem Declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and, like those at GAFCON, are fully committed to remaining within the Anglican Communion, and to bearing joyful witness to evangelical distinctives” represents a helpful way of doing this that should enjoy wide support.
”¢ Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA). While the Jerusalem Declaration has received positive comments from across and beyond evangelicalism (with the Archbishop of Canterbury among those drawing attention to its wide acceptance), FCA (as the continuing institutional life of GAFCON) remains controversial and potentially highly divisive. Although its Primates’ Council has met and there are plans underway for a UK FCA, there remains much uncertainty and lack of clarity about its structure, goals and strategy and as a result a significant level of suspicion remains among many evangelicals. While NEAC should affirm FCA’s commitment to the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism as expressed in canon A5, further institutional support at this stage from NEAC or CEEC would likely cause fractures. NEAC would therefore be best to encourage and enable further reflection on how CEEC and wider evangelicalism should relate to FCA and its developing UK structure.

(2) Anglican Covenant
Mirroring in some ways the different attitudes among evangelicals to GAFCON, there are different attitudes to the proposed Anglican Covenant. Some remain very positive, others are sceptical or opposed. Such scepticism and opposition may be in principle and/or in relation to its current draft and/or in relation to its effectiveness in dealing with the crisis in the Communion and particularly North America. Following its meeting in Singapore and helpful Lambeth Commentary, the Covenant Design Group has asked for submissions on the covenant to be made to it by March 9th and the Church of England General Synod (many of whose evangelical members will be at NEAC) will debate it in February. NEAC could therefore encourage and enable further evangelical education and discussion of this important development and ask CEEC to make an official response to the CDG as it did to the Lambeth Commission prior to the Windsor Report.

(3) North America
Orthodox Anglicans in The Episcopal Church (eg Common Cause and Windsor Bishops/Communion Partners) and the Anglican Church of Canada (eg Essentials Federation and Essentials Network) have responded in a variety of ways to the actions of their dioceses/provinces in violation of Communion teaching. Those different strategies have produced some tensions among the orthodox in North America and these are also reflected among evangelicals in the CofE. It is important therefore that NEAC does not ”˜take sides’ between these different groupings but rather ”“ like Anglican Essentials in Canada – encourages mutual conversation, understanding and support both on the ground in the US and Canada and between evangelicals here in the CofE.
Despite these differences in strategy, I believe the overwhelming majority of evangelicals in the CofE would:
Ӣ recognise as Anglicans in good standing those who have been received in good standing by other provinces of the Communion because they have been unable to remain within or have been removed from office by their former province,
Ӣ assure them of prayers and continued fellowship in ministry and mission
Ӣ urge resolution of property and other disputes without recourse to secular courts
Explicit support for the creation a new province at this time remains divisive among evangelicals (though support for that as a necessity ”“ and certainly recognition that it is inevitable – is perhaps growing). Nevertheless, it should be possible for evangelicals in the CofE to agree on the need to work for unity among all Anglicans committed to Anglican faith, order and morals and to express our desire that all such Anglicans be recognised by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the wider Communion.

(4) CofE and Covenant for Church of England
Two years ago, the Chair and President of CEEC were among those who signed the “covenant for the Church of England”, a document which came under rapid and stringent criticism from other leading evangelicals, notably Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham. Given this history, and the fact that the covenant never gained much wider support among evangelicals, explicit reference to the proposed covenant for the Church of England in any outcome from NEAC will inevitably be divisive. There remain, however, a number of situations (perhaps a few dozen) in various dioceses (eg Chelmsford and Southwark) where there are problems arising in relation to impaired communion between evangelicals and their bishops and/or church plants (eg related to Crosslinks) seeking some form of alternative episcopal oversight. Given this reality, evangelicals must find fresh ways of resolving these problems and not allow different reactions and different settings to increase pressure on potential fracture points. A number of evangelical bishops have been seeking to find ways forward in consultation with the authors of the covenant and their work needs to be given wider recognition and support and all involved urged to recognise the seriousness of this situation and so provide and seek diocesan and regional solutions to difficulties within the structures of the CofE in order to avoid importing the problem of boundary-crossing into the Church of England.

(5) CEEC
For some time there has been concern that CEEC has ceased to be as representative a body within evangelicalism as it has been in the past and CEEC has itself acknowledged that there are issues that need addressing here. Many evangelicals feel strongly that significant changes need to be made if it is to fulfil its stated aims and to accomplish the vision of John Stott and others by assisting evangelical unity. In particular,
Ӣ the relationship with evangelical bishops is apparently weak or non-existent
”¢ more conservative networks are strongly represented (eg Reform, Church Society, Latimer Trust, Fellowship of Word and Spirit) and the overlap between membership of CEEC and membership of Anglican Mainstream’s Steering Committee has gradually increased in recent years in a way few people have recognised.
Ӣ it has not been able to adapt to the growing number and diversity of evangelical networks and
Ӣ it has not faced the reality of the consequent decline or even demise of the Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships/Unions that have been the historic backbone of CEEC.
Although a new constitution was adopted in 2005, major questions remain about the reform of CEEC which should soon be undertaking its five-yearly “rigorous review of its performance and effectiveness” (Constitution 6.9) and many of whose members, including key Executive positions, are due for re-election in 2010.

What might be done?

What, then, might be more concrete hopes as to outcomes of NEAC 2008? Obviously, there is a need to be realistic: the gathering will be a large one but is a self-selected group, attending an event which has been organised by a group within CEEC and with much input from the platform but seemingly minimal scope for discussion and organised feedback. Furthermore, those attending will only receive papers on the day, not in advance (although those attending have been asked to look at the Jerusalem Declaration) and no information has been provided as to how the ”˜consultation’ with those attending will happen. Its ability to act as a body in any coherent or truly representative manner is thus minimal. Hence the first danger that the “consultation” will be ineffective and the second danger that the “consultation” will either be led to certain (perhaps majority but not consensus) conclusions or be used as a front for whatever decisions are subsequently taken by the CEEEC Executive and Council. In the light of the analysis above I think there are five elements which would represent a successful NEAC making the most of the real opportunities and minimising the real dangers:

1. Affirmations of all that can be positively and jointly affirmed by the full spectrum of evangelicals about such matters as the affirmations in the Jerusalem Declaration, the importance of contributing to the Communion covenant process and our solidarity with all the orthodox in TEC, ACC and those in North America who are now in other provinces of the Communion.
2. A request to CEEC urgently to establish ”“ in consultation with EFAC and evangelical bishops – a representative working party comprising members of the Council and others (as they are authorised to do in CEEC’s Constitution 6.10) in order to address other issues relating to the Anglican Communion and in particular to:
a) Prepare a CEEC submission on the Anglican Covenant to the CDG by Feb 2008
b) Make recommendations concerning the relationship between CEEC and FCA
This would enable the creation of new institutional structures to build relationships and seek a common mind rather than risk continuing down divergent paths with megaphone diplomacy between different evangelical networks and groups. It would also allow CEEC to make a considered response to the two main developments arising out of Lambeth and GAFCON. Deferring any decision on FCA would enable FCA’s UK structures and plans to become clearer, concerns of some evangelicals to be addressed, and the mind of evangelicals in the CofE as a whole to be discerned. In particular, it is vital to discover whether FCA is a broad body which may function something like EFAC and with which CEEC could legitimately be aligned as a member or simply another new network which may seek to be represented within CEEC but to which CEEC itself should not be affiliated or give preferential status over other groups.
3. A request to CEEC to consult widely (drawing in evangelical bishops and others currently less involved with its work) as it reviews its structures, renews its membership and seeks better to fulfil its object. In particular consideration needs to be given as to how CEEC can in future work better to “promote effective consultation between Anglican Evangelical leaders, in order that the evangelical heritage, as expressed in the Basis of Faith, may be better applied to contemporary opportunities and problems in church and nation” (Constitution, 3.1.1).
4. A request for another National Evangelical Anglican Consultation/Congress, perhaps over a weekend, by summer 2010 in order to consider these and other matters
5. A re-commitment to face our differences and disagreements among ourselves as evangelicals and as evangelical Anglicans with non-evangelical Anglicans in a godly manner shaped by Paul’s exhortation:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Col. 3:12-16).

–The Rev. Dr. Andrew Goddard Tutor in Christian Ethics at Trinity College, Bristol where he is helping develop the new Centre for Bible and Society

Half an hour later the air was clearing and the police began evacuating people on buses. The Trinity group were driven slowly up East River Drive, on Manhattan’s eastern edge, and down 32nd Street to the junction with Fifth Avenue. From there, Rowan walked to his hotel and was able to contact his secretary by phone and to leave a message for [his wife] Jane that he was all right. Over lunch and a bottle of wine, the Archbishop and Burnham began to shed tears. Burnham set off for home towards the end of the afternoon, leaving Rowan to work on a brief article for that week’s Church Times. “I’m obviously very glad to be alive,” he wrote, “but also feel deeply uncomfortable, and my mind shies away from the slaughter.”

The following day he managed to reach St John the Divine Cathedral, where he was due to give a lecture, with time to spare. He was immediately asked to celebrate an unscheduled Eucharist at the high altar and agreed to do so. Burnham was inspired.

“When [Rowan] got to the rubric for the homily he was totally surprised; he hadn’t expected to preach, so he preached off the cuff. He went back to an encounter that he had with an airline pilot on the streets at 7am that morning. The pilot said to him, “Where the hell was God?” Rowan’s answer was that God is useless at times like this. Now that’s pretty shocking, but actually what he then went on to unpack is that God didn’t cause this and God [was not] going to stop it, because God has granted us free will, and therefore God has to suffer the consequences of this like we do. So in a sense he exonerated God…”

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The suicide of a fellow student at Oxford 33 years ago has been revealed as one of the defining moments in the life of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

A new biography describes how Hilary Watson fell secretly in love with the charismatic and deeply spiritual 24-year-old doctoral student while he was counselling her in the 1970s.

According to the book….the young theologian was unaware of how his well-intentioned support had resulted in emotional turmoil for a woman four years his senior. He was the last person to see Miss Watson before she took an overdose of sleeping pills. She then called a mutual friend and asked her to “tell Rowan that it’s not his fault”.

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Much has been written about how people all around the world are celebrating the victory of our Hussein ”” Barack of Illinois, whose first name means “blessing” in Arabic. It is, indeed, a blessing that so many people in so many places see something of themselves reflected in Obama, whether in the color of his skin, the religion of his father, his African heritage, his being raised by a single mother or his childhood of poverty. And that ensures that Obama will probably have a longer than usual honeymoon with the world.

But I wouldn’t exaggerate it. The minute Obama has to exercise U.S. military power somewhere in the world, you can be sure that he will get blowback. For now, though, his biography, demeanor and willingness to at least test a regime like Iran’s with diplomacy makes him more difficult to demonize than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

“If you’re a hard-liner in Tehran, a U.S. president who wants to talk to you presents more of a quandary than a U.S. president who wants to confront you,” remarked Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment. “How are you going to implore crowds to chant ”˜Death to Barack Hussein Obama’? That sounds more like the chant of the oppressor, not the victim. Obama just doesn’t fit the radical Islamist narrative of a racist, blood-thirsty America, which is bent on oppressing Muslims worldwide. There’s a cognitive dissonance. It’s like Hollywood casting Sidney Poitier to play Charles Manson. It just doesn’t fit.”

But while the world appears poised to give Obama a generous honeymoon, there lurks a much more important question: How long of a honeymoon will Obama give the world?

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The expression “as poor as a church mouse” is taking on fresh meaning, especially for mainline Protestant churches such as [the Rev. Michael] Gray’s, which have been grappling for decades with a drop in members and donations.

Autumn is the time of year when many churches are drawing up their budgets and asking for donation pledges for the coming year. This year, many church leaders say they are preparing for hard times.

For some churches on the edge, this could be a winter of final reckoning.

“We are all on survival mode,” said the Very Rev. Benjamin Shambaugh, dean of the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland.

Like many congregations with drafty pre-energy crisis buildings, St. Luke’s is feeling the squeeze that comes from heating its soaring interiors. Shambaugh expects St. Luke’s to have spent $40,000 on oil to heat its State Street building by the end of this year, a big chunk of the church’s $578,000 annual budget.

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In my view a painfully accurate analysis.

The greening of religion, although long overdue, is really a quite natural phenomenon. The texts of many faiths, indeed most, at some point reference the stewardship of this earth. More surprising is that today, secular environmental groups are seizing the opportunity to reach out to faith communities.

A Sierra Club report highlights faith-based environmental initiatives in all 50 states “spiritually motivated grassroots efforts to protect the planet.” One line leaps off the page: “Lasting social change rarely takes place without the active engagement of communities of faith.” Indeed. Think of the U.S. civil rights movement, Solidarity in Poland and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Social change does not stick without the glue of religion.

But as these two movements one based on the love of God, the other on the love of the earth intersect, we should celebrate the initiative while remaining aware of the challenges and inevitable spats that await this quite remarkable marriage.

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Never has a financial crisis focused so starkly on moral, ethical and even spiritual issues. The words used by commentators have run the gamut of emotions: greed, dishonesty and fear, panic replacing confidence, risk and hubris versus prudence, and faith in the banking system or lack of it. Never have the virtues of trust and integrity been more needed in the global economy.

The whole edifice was built on maximising profit, and a dishonest assessment of individual borrowers’ creditworthiness. It was bound to end in tears, and now millions pay the price in increased taxes and unemployment. Despite the pain, it may all be healthy in the long run. The crisis is a chance to re-examine fundamental motives; and to ask how capitalism at its best is supposed to work. Where is our faith place? In markets and profit? Or in something deeper?

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OSAMA bin Laden is planning an attack against the United States that will “outdo by far” September 11, an Arab newspaper in London has reported.

And according to a former senior Yemeni al-Qaeda operative, the terrorist organisation has entered a “positive phase”, reinforcing specific training camps around the world that will lead the next “wave of action” against the West.

The warning, on the front page of an Arabic newspaper published in London, Al-Quds Al-Arabi – and widely reported in the major Italian papers – quotes a person described as being “very close to al-Qaeda” in Yemen.

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The Anglican Church of Canada, looking for a new way to reach the faithful, has launched its own official page on the popular social networking site Facebook.

“It’s an exciting new step for us,” Brian Bukowski, Web manager for the church, told the Anglican Journal.

“We’ve been waiting for the right time to step into social networking, and Facebook is so well established at this point. We know our page can be effective there.”

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[The Rev. John] Spencer said the church recognizes the decision was not unanimous. By a separate action, the synod made provisions for a nine-month grace period during which members can withdraw from the diocese in order to stay in the national Episcopal Church.

“It is a matter of allowing everyone to follow their consciences in these very difficult times, without recrimination,” Spencer said.

The Rev. John Throop, a local Episcopalian minister, said he anticipated the breakaway and transferred to the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago last year for that reason. Throop does not consider himself an extreme liberal, but he said his new diocese is more accepting of his point of view.

“I’m grieved that it has come to this, but I knew it was coming, and there was nothing I could do to persuade leaders to think otherwise,” Throop said. “I pray for God’s grace to be with them.”

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Emily Becker wanted to be married by age 30. In June, at age 28, she and Joe Becker, 29, were married. They were the last of their group to tie the knot.

Even though they began dating in 2003 ”” around the same time as most of their friends ”” “it took us almost twice as long to get married,” she says. “We both knew we wanted to marry each other. We just kept having to put it off.”

he reason? Careers. Both are doctors. They spent four years in medical school. Three years of residency were in different cities. They got engaged in October of last year and now live in San Francisco.

“If we had been together in the same city, I think maybe we would have married sooner,” he says.

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Just over a year ago, in that Consecration service, I stood at the chancel steps of this Cathedral and answered the questions posed to me by our Metropolitan, Caleb Lawrence. I had no idea then, just how two of those promises would need to be held in such a state of tension in this early stage of my episcopacy: “Will you boldly proclaim and interpret the gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people?” and “Will you share with your fellow bishops in the government of the whole church ”¦?”

Over the past several months, I have endeavoured to prayerfully and faithfully wrestle with these two critical duties of a bishop in the Church and at times dealing with the issue of the blessing of same sex unions has felt like a monumental task and a heavy burden to bear. How do I keep in balance the responsibility I feel toward those who have elected me as their bishop, while at the same time remaining faithful and loyal to the members of our National Church and the Anglican Communion? So many times I have prayed for the wisdom of Solomon around this issue and I continue to wait upon God for a more complete answer.

However my faithful attempt to respond to this responsibility and challenge has now been made public, on Monday in the form of my response to the Statement of the House of Bishops and my more detailed release yesterday that outlines our next steps as we move forward. I am fully aware that some on both sides of the issue will see this as a lack of wise leadership on my part and I accept that. Having consulted as widely as possible, across our own diocese, across our country, at the House of Bishops (including many discussions with our Primate), and of course at Lambeth, I believe that I have come to a better understanding of what is at stake and what the implications are of the decisions we make at this critical period in the history of our Church. There is time set aside on tomorrow’s agenda for me to hear directly from members of synod in response to these announcements.

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This was a decisive but not an overwhelming victory for Barack Obama and the Democrats. As I put it in the lead of my U.S. News column for next week, it was a victory that was overdetermined and underdelivered.

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Uh oh. We all know where this leads. American myths are seductively powerful: You really want to believe them. Yes, it’s an incontestably wonderful thing that the U.S. public, saddled for two centuries with an appalling history of slavery and its legacy, has voted a biracial man into the most powerful office in the country.

But if racism was America’s original sin, arrogance runs a close second. Some time next year, the United States is going to wake up and realize much of the world already hated it way before George W. Bush took office, and hates it still. (Anyone who has backpacked around Europe with a Canadian flag realizes this.) And with these sorts of prideful comments, the U.S. is in danger of becoming the reformed smoker of race relations, lecturing every other country about civil rights.

While the pride is understandable, it’s a tad misplaced. Black men were granted suffrage in 1870. It took another 50 years for women to receive the vote, and the U.S. has yet to elect a woman to the highest office, while dozens of countries including India, Israel, Britain, New Zealand and Germany have all been governed by women who were democratically elected. (Kim Campbell sort of counts, too.) Hell, even Ukraine’s prime minister is a woman.

Important to hear perspectives from north of the border–especially in a time like this. Read it all.

As is the case with our brother and sister Anglicans in the Dioceses of Montreal and Ottawa, I believe we are among those who have been called by God to speak with a prophetic voice on this subject. I, therefore, intend to ask for a rite to be developed for the blessing of same sex couples who have been civilly married, along with a process to enable these blessings to take place that will at the same time honour the diversity of tradition and theology that exists across Niagara.

It is my hope that this process would move ahead as expeditiously as possible and that I will be in a position to report back to the Diocese within the next few months.
I want to assure you and be absolutely clear, that all clergy and all parishes will be fully free to follow their own conscience in this matter, as and when we are able to move forward.

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The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.

These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President George W. Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.

In 2006, for example, a Navy Seal team raided a suspected militants’ compound in the Bajaur region of Pakistan, according to a former top official of the Central Intelligence Agency. Officials watched the entire mission ”” captured by the video camera of a remotely piloted Predator aircraft ”” in real time in the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center at the agency’s headquarters in Virginia 7,000 miles away.

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U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown will call on governments around the world to coordinate tax and spending policies to shore up a slowing world economy.

“We must use the power of multilateralism to establish a global consensus on a new, decisive and systemic approach to strengthening the global economy,” Brown will say today, according to a text released by his office. After committing more than $3 trillion to bail out the banking system, governments must now turn to “international co-ordination of fiscal and monetary policy,” he will say.

Brown’s comments, to be made in a speech to London’s banking community, set out the U.K.’s position going into a meeting of world leaders in Washington Nov. 15. A coordinated program to trim taxes and boost spending would give Brown political cover to allow Britain’s budget deficit to swell when the Treasury announces its plans in coming weeks.

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Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity’s holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus’ tomb.

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

Makes the heart sad–read it all.

The following is the originally proposed Resolution of Policy on Same-Gender Blessings:

RESOLVED, That the Diocese of Oregon supports the full and equal participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in all rites and rituals of the Episcopal Church and the blessing of same-gender unions by the clergy who wish to provide such blessings. Clergy deciding as a matter of conviction not to perform same-gender blessings are asked to refer couples seeking such blessings to clergy who choose to provide this pastoral ministry.

Explanation

By adopting this resolution the Diocese:

”¢ Takes action consistent with The Episcopal Church’s position “that homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with other persons upon the love, acceptance and pastoral concern and care of the Church.” (General Convention 1976-A069)

”¢ Encourages full and equal pastoral response to all couples (whether of the same or opposite genders) as a matter of conscience and integrity, including appropriate preparation and education about the responsibilities of entering into a life-long, intentional, Christian relationship, mindful of the teaching that “such relationships be characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication and the holy love which enables those in such relations to see in each other the image of God.” (General Convention 2000-D039).

”¢ Affirms the Christian community’s participation in supporting couples as they live out their holy commitments to each other.

Implications/Financial Impact

Adopting this resolution has no impact on expenditures by the Diocese.

””Respectfully submitted by the dean and vestry of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon.

Resolutions Committee Statement

The committee decision was to adhere to General Convention moratorium on public rite of blessing of same-gender unions. To be incongruent with that position will cause divisiveness at a time when unity and cohesiveness is most desirable in the Diocese. The Committee therefore recommends a “do not pass.”

(Please note that the resolutions committee recommended against the motion in its originally proposed form; this and one other proposed resolution and a canon change submission may be found here–KSH).

According to an email received the following is the resolution that actually passed:

Resolution of Policy on Same-Gender Blessings
November 2008

RESOLVE[D], that the Diocese of Oregon meeting in November 2008 in its 120th Convention recognizes in accordance with General Convention Resolution C051 (2003), that local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life when they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-gender unions, and

RESOLVE[D], that the Diocese direct the Convocations under the guidance of the Standing Committee to provide opportunities for full dialogue regarding access to, and equal participation of all God’s people who are members of our Church, including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered, in all the rites and sacraments of the Episcopal Church, to include access to blessings of relationships and unions that are based on mutual love and respect, fidelity, monogamy, and a mutual life-long commitment, and

RESOLVE[D], that the Convocation Presidents and Deans work together cooperatively to assure that these issues are discussed fully at specially called or regularly scheduled Convocation meetings that take place beginning with the conclusion of Convention 2008 and before the commencement of Convention 2009, and

RESOLVE[D], that the Presidents and Deans of the Convocations of the Diocese will work together to develop a report on the results of the Convocation dialogues, and based on this report will develop recommendations to Standing Committee and Convention on how the Diocese of Oregon might proceed to support the clergy as they strive to respond pastorally to the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, as children of God.

Here is one:

R08-4
Development of Liturgical Rites for Same-Gender Unions

Resolved: This 102nd Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta approves the following resolution to the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, meeting in Anaheim, California, in 2009; and be it further

Resolved: This council directs the Secretary of Council to transmit the following resolution to the Secretary of the General Convention:

Resolved: The House of __________ concurring, the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church authorizes the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop appropriate rites for the celebration and blessing of the sacred unions of gay and lesbian persons, taking into account the variety of civil arrangements for such unions available in the regions served by the church; and be it further

Resolved: that such rite or rites shall be presented at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
EXPLANATION

In light of events following the Lambeth Conference of 2008, it is clear that our charitable restraint and response to the Windsor Report in the matter of our declining to develop a rite or rites to allow the celebration and blessing of sacred unions for people of the same gender has not had the effect of preserving unity and civility between those who believe such unions may be good and moral and those who cannot conceive as such a possibility being within the bounds of Christian faith and the Anglican Tradition. It is also clear that while a great many Episcopalians remain undecided about their own beliefs in these matters, they recognize both the desirability of allowing those who seek to make such commitments in the midst of their community of faith to do so; and that the reality that the cost of our charity has been at the expense of one clear minority within our church; and further that there is no compelling reason that these brothers and sisters should have to continue to bear the burden of that charity.

The development of such a rite or rites by and for the whole church will allow a restoration of decency and order from diocese to diocese under the guidance of each bishop, the ensuring of theological integrity to such rites and the capacity of the church to “sanction” and declare such committed relationships among people of the same gender to be both moral and fully within the bounds of our common life.

Submitted by: The Rev. Geoffrey M. St.J. Hoare, The Rev. Charles M. Girardeau,
The Rev. Noelle York-Simmons, The Rev. Elizabeth Shows Caffey
All Saints’, Atlanta

Please do read them all.

This is one hell of a way to win.

Barack Obama owes his victory in large measure to the prospect of the longest and deepest economic downturn in a quarter-century and perhaps since the Great Depression. If he performs well, he could become a great president. If he flubs it, he could get the same reception as Jimmy Carter. In the crassest political terms, it was good luck to have the financial crisis hit so close to the election. But Obama’s lucky streak will end in a hurry if he can’t find a way out of this mess. He will also have to manage expectations: Even if he does everything perfectly, we probably won’t turn the corner for 18 months, and the downturn could last far longer than that.

Read it all.

[Archbishop Fred] Hiltz is under no illusions about the challenges facing the Canadian Anglican church.

“We’re in the midst of a period of major transition, which is never an easy time for a lot of people,” said Hiltz.

“I think there is a real longing from a lot of Anglicans to come to a resolution of the same-sex blessings debate. It’s nothing new; we’ve been grappling with this issue for 30 years.”
The national church has recommended a moratorium on same-sex blessings for two years, until the matter can hopefully be resolved once and for all at the general synod meeting in June 2010. However, a number of dioceses, most notably New Westminster in the greater Vancouver area, have approved same-sex blessings.

Hiltz says the key to the survival of the Canadian Anglican church may be to agree to disagree.

“I don’t think we may ever be able to come to a consensus on this issue,” said Hiltz.

“It may come down to allowing some space for local options. Then, we need to address the bigger issue of how do we live together with our differences, but do it with grace, not by condemning each other.”

Read it all.

I am rubbing my eyes in disbelief and wonder. It can’t be true that Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan, is the next president of the United States.

But it is true, exhilaratingly true. An unbelievable turnaround. I want to jump and dance and shout, as I did after voting for the first time in my native South Africa on April 27, 1994.

We owe our glorious victory over the awfulness of apartheid in South Africa in large part to the support we received from the international community, including the United States, and we will always be deeply grateful. But for those of us who have looked to America for inspiration as we struggled for democracy and human rights, these past seven years have been lean ones.

Read it all.

Dr. Bouteneff: Many times, you have reminded ecumenical gatherings of the important witness Orthodox Christians make in the theological, moral, and ethical spheres. Do you believe that ecumenical dialogue holds promise?

Bp. Hilarion: After more than thirteen years of intensive ecumenical involvement I can declare my profound disappointment with the existing forms of “official” ecumenism as represented by the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches and other similar organizations. My impression is that they have exhausted their initial potential. Theologically they lead us nowhere. They produce texts that, for the most part, are pale and uninspiring. The reason for this is that these organizations include representatives of a wide variety of churches, from the most “conservative” to the most “liberal.” And the diversity of views is so great that they cannot say much in common except for a polite and politically correct talk about “common call to unity,” “mutual commitment” and “shared responsibility.”

I see that there is now a deep-seated discrepancy between those churches which strive to preserve the Holy Tradition and those that constantly revise it to fit modern standards. This divergence is as evident at the level of religious teaching, including doctrine and ecclesiology, as it is at the level of church practice, such as worship and morality.

In my opinion, the recent liberalization of teaching and practice in many Protestant communities has greatly alienated them from both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. It has also undermined the common Christian witness to the secularized world. The voice of Christendom is nowadays deeply disunited: we preach contradictory moral standards, our doctrinal positions are divergent, and our social perspectives vary a great deal. One wonders whether we can still speak at all of “Christianity” or whether it would be more accurate to refer to “Christianities,” that is to say, markedly diverse versions of the Christian faith.

Under these circumstances I am not optimistic about the dialogue with the Protestant communities. I am also far less optimistic about the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue than my beloved teacher Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. In my opinion, the only two promising ecumenical dialogues are between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, and between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox families. While there are well-known theological differences between these three traditions, there is also very much in common: we all believe in Christ as fully human and fully divine, we all uphold the apostolic succession of hierarchy and de facto recognize each others’ sacraments.

Read it all.

Following the unexpected resignation of Quincy Bishop Keith Ackerman, which was effective November 1, the synod convened without a sitting bishop. The Rev. Canon Edward den Blaauwen, rector of Christ Church, Moline, and a member of the Standing Committee, was appointed to preside at Synod’s business meetings.

At the opening session of the synod on November 7, which was closed to the public, Spencer reported that Ackerman was on hand to ceremonially “pass the gavel” to den Blaauwen.

Following the votes to realign, a letter was read from Archbishop Gregory Venables, primate of the Southern Cone, in which he reported that he had appointed den Blaauwen as Vicar General of the new diocesan unit, in the absence of a sitting bishop.

Den Blaauwen who also serves as executive administrator for Forward in Faith North America, of which Ackerman is president, attended the Global Anglican Futures Conference in June. He also accompanied Ackerman to the Lambeth Conference this past summer.

Spencer noted that no plans have yet been made for a search for a new bishop.

“Our focus has been entirely about just getting through this synod for now,” he said.

Read it all.

I sometimes wonder what life in the church would be like if we had never ever developed the concept of winning and losing. In many of the great controversies that face the church at the moment, and Lord knows there are enough of those, many of those controversies it seems to me increasingly clear that nobody’s going to win. In other words, there is not going to be a situation of sublime clarity in which one group’s views will prevail because the other group simply says, ‘Oh I see it all now.’ But if we’re not in the business of winning and losing like that, what does the church look like? What if we were sufficiently unafraid, (and there’s a key word) sufficiently unafraid to be able to put winning and losing on the back burner, to move away from the notion that my triumph is another’s loss. What if we were able to think of the health of the Christian community in terms of our ability or otherwise, our freedom or otherwise, to connect one another with the wellsprings of reconciliation. Let me go back to a phrase I used a bit earlier: ‘Sin is healed by solidarity’.

The monks of the desert were looking for solitude, but not isolation. A good deal of research has been done in the last couple of decades on the importance of community to these people. And the way in which time and again in the narratives and the sayings that stem from them, time and again point is reinforced. Only in the relations they have with one another can the love and the mercy of God appear and become effective. And those mutual relations have to do with that identification, that solidarity, that willingness to stand with the accused and the condemned. And somehow it’s in that action that the real healing occurs. Prayers and fasting, sleepless nights and asceticism, well various of the fathers take varying views of it. Most of them are rather sceptical about how significant that is. But if you are able in some sense, to take away what in you stands between God and the neighbour, then your own healing, as well as the other person’s healing, is set forward.

So asceticism is not simply about loading your body with chains, spending 30 years on top of a pillar, sleeping two hours a night, or whatever, or even working for a merchant bank, it’s about learning to contain that aspect of acquisitive human instinct that drives us constantly to compete and to ignore what’s around us.

Asceticism is a purification of seeing. It’s not a self-punishment, but a way of opening the eyes.

Dated, bit still of interest. Read it all.

Proposition 8 has passed, denying to some the right enjoyed by other citizens in California, the right to marry. Now, the central question for the courts to decide is: Are gays in California equal, or can members of certain churches declare them constitutionally inferior?

The approval of a constitutional ban on gay marriage raises troubling but age-old issues concerning the lines between religion and government. Before the founders of our country separated church and state, there were hundreds of years of turmoil caused by one religion dominating the government and using it against nonbelievers.

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s vote, do gays and lesbians in California have a reason to believe that they have been abused, discriminated against and relegated to a separate-but-equal status?

Yes, and that’s why this fight is far from over.

Read it all.