Delegates to the 14th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will make the momentous decision at their meeting here on whether to recommend the third (Ridley-Cambridge) draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant for consideration by member churches of the Anglican Communion.
The ACC “is charged with the decision as to whether it (Ridley-Cambridge draft) goes forward at this point and is referred to member churches of the Communion,” said Bishop John Patterson, ACC chair and bishop of Auckland, New Zealand, at a press briefing.
1. [blockquote]Acceding to the covenant is voluntary, explained Mr. Kearon, adding that the membership in the Communion of churches will not cease or be altered if their decision-making bodies decide not to sign on to it.[/blockquote] So what is the point of the Covenant and signing or not signing?
2. [blockquote]Meanwhile, Bishop Patterson said that the proposal by conservative churches who have left the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church for a new North American province is not on the agenda of this meeting. “To my knowledge the matter has not been referred to us, it’s not part of the agenda,†said Bishop Patterson.[/blockquote] And why would this be the case. Only the ABC would know (and perhaps KJS).
Dale, regarding #2, it’s too premature for the status of ACNA to come before ACC, so this doesn’t surprise me. The constitution and canons of the new province have yet to be adopted and ACNA has not formally requested anything from ACC at this point to my knowledge, so I’m not sure what ACC would discuss anyway. Meanwhile, provinces representing most of the world’s Anglicans are supportive of and working with ACNA, and not with TEC. That fact is frankly, far more important to me than what ACC thinks at this point.
#2. Chris Taylor,
For the sake of argument, do you think the ACC would be discussing the ACNA if it were not a competing Province for TEC? It seems to me that ACC could be offering suggestions to ACNA about their formation or application process. The instruments of unity other than the primates seem paralyzed by process and inaction. Hopefully, the Covenant will make it out, if not, it will be a sign that the the PB has imposed her will on that process too.
[blockquote]While it is up to the ACC to make a decision, “the hope is that the ACC will feel that it’s mature enough to go to the provinces,†said Mr. Kearon.[/blockquote] If the covenant were any more “mature”, it would be overripe. It is interesting to me that while Dr. Radner was called out by “Integrity”, no one is asking Dr. Katherine Grieb (the other TEC Covenant contributor about her impressions publicly.) I would be interested to hear what she has to say. I am sure she has offered her opinions privately to KJS. If she is against it, I personally believe it will never be signed by TEC.