The American Anglican Council (AAC) applauds the recent statement from the Global South Steering Committee. The statement is “a clear warning to both Presiding Bishop Schori and Archbishop Williams,” said AAC President and CEO the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson.
“The Global South and their 40 million congregants refuse to sit by and watch The Episcopal Church (TEC) defy Communion agreements and legally persecute those U.S. parishes that wish to remain faithful to the Gospel and church teaching,” said Anderson.
The Global South Primates urged TEC to reconsider its rejection of the Dar Es Salaam Communiqué requests and principles and called for TEC’s “heartfelt repentance and genuine change” in order to restore true communion. The statement also called the Anglican Church of Canada to task for their declaration that “same-sex blessing is not core doctrine” and their defiance of Windsor Report recommendations. The statement made clear the Global South’s intention to continue extending pastoral care to U.S. based churches and to make similar provisions for biblically faithful churches in Canada. It also showed the Global South’s resolve to not attend next year’s Lambeth conference unless the Archbishop of Canterbury reconsiders his Lambeth invitations and allows for discipline in the Communion and true reconciliation.
Anderson said the statement “is the best news and the clearest word we have received in a very long while.”
The Global South Steering Committee reiterated the Primates’ request for TEC to immediately suspend litigation against “congregations and individuals which wish to remain Anglican but are unable to do so within TEC.” It also alluded to a future where orthodox Anglican churches in the U.S. have their own ecclesiastical structure separate from the Episcopal Church.
“This is more than a message of hope for weary Christians; this is a call to action from the Global South Primates. Our plan at the AAC is to act alongside the Global South and fellow orthodox Anglican Christians,” Anderson said.
Canon Anderson’s rhetorical bag of phrases has a new one for me: “legally persecute.” Ah, well, as Thucydides once observed, when a war begins, one of the first casualties is language. Whole battalions of words.
I also like the “hope for the weary” phrase. Nice touch. It probably doesn’t take the AAC to turn out one of these press releases. All the writer has to do is rearrange the phrases and sentences.
Bob: I liked the comment from another post on this blog that I saw earlier today about how The Episcopal Church is endangering people’s lives. Classic.
When are these folks going to understand that they are not being sued because of their faith (arguably persecution), they are being sued because they are trying to take something that does not belong to them (not arguably, theft – something Jesus spoke clearly about)?
I’m unsure why progressives would be irked over an organization that supports traditional Anglicans issuing a press release that is happy with the Global South statement — [the equivalent of ENS issuing a press release extolling the “mainstream Christianity” of Jefferts-Schori].
. . . But it’s nice to see. ; > )
Sarah, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Bob and Makers may I ask how long you have been an Episcopalian? I was one for over 56 years. The church today is not the church I grew up in.
Thanks for your input.
Bob–Based on the last few days of your posts, I’m guessing you are really concerned about the GS comminique. And, frankly, you are right to be upset. By the way, the first victim of war is Truth.
Carol (#5) 40+ years (we moved from the Roman church before I really had a memory.) My guess is that the generation before you (and me) c/would have said the same thing about you/us as you did, as would the generation before them. The world we live in changes, even as message of the Gospel remains timeless. Doesn’t change a thing I said in #2.
Makers…you may be referring to my earlier comment on another thread. I do believe that TEC is endangering people’s lives, spiritual lives, with its synchronistic theology and humanist (human centered) teaching. The AAC is simply affirming that the views of the GS and orthodox Anglicans in the US are consistent.
hmmmm…I need to take a minute to check my spelling before posting. I meant to accuse TEC’s theology of “syncretism,” that is, combining various, opposing beliefs, not of being “synchronistic”.