“We want the rest of the church to know that our bishop has our support,” said the Very Rev. Peter J.A. Cook, president of the Western Louisiana standing committee and rector of St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Lake Charles. He added that the standing committee and the bishop have no plans to leave, but are committed to working for reform from within the church.
Fr. Cook said the statement also was intended to prepare the diocese for the possibility that it will need to approve the proposed Anglican Covenant on its own if General Convention fails to do so when it meets in Anaheim later this summer.
“If General Convention does not approve the Covenant or fails to consider it, I’d be most surprised if our diocese did not take up a resolution to approve it for ourselves with the encouragement of our bishop,” he said.
After what occurred in Kingston this week, I have to ask, “What covenant?”
Even if there ever was a covenant, it doesn’t sound as if the good bishop or his diocese would be allowed to sign up if the national church did not. It may be time to think about a “Plan B.”
I ask the same question as #1 – the Covenant doesn’t exist yet!
And, if Rowan Williams has his way, it won’t be anything more substantive than “Whatever.”