The Dioceses of Western Louisiana and South Carolina have endorsed the Ridley-Cambridge draft of the Anglican Covenant, joining Central Florida as the third American diocese to formally back the Archbishop of Canterbury’s plan for creating a structure to manage the divisions over doctrine and discipline dividing the Anglican Communion.
On Oct 24, a special convention of the Diocese of South Carolina approved a resolution by a margin of 88 to 12 per cent that “endorses” the Anglican Covenant “as it presently stands, in all four sections, as an expression of our full commitment to mutual submission and accountability in communion, grounded in a common faith.”
Delegates to the Oct 9-10 annual convention of the Diocese of Western Louisiana also affirmed their support for the Covenant and backed Bishop Bruce MacPherson’s endorsement of the Anaheim Statement, which reaffirmed his commitment to remain part of the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Covenant process.
Three dioceses doth not a groundswell make.
Nice sentiment; meaningless gesture
Hasn’t the church in Ireland also endorsed it? I don’t think it’s a meaningless gesture. Or it doesn’t have to be, if more will join them.
Sherri2, you are correct. I think that two African provinces and the Diocese of Sydney in Australia have also endorsed it. (Someone should be keeping score here.) My point is that with the number of TEC dioceses likely to endorse the Ridley draft, these actions will remain irrelevant as far as the vast majority of TEC is concerned. I would hope that there will be far more profound effects across the Anglican Communion.
Yes; perhaps someone who enjoys good stats keeping might like to also note:
http://anglicandownunder.blogspot.com/2009/10/dioceses-supporting-covenant.html
This is especially noteworthy in a Province that historically tends to side with TEC, and whose Tikanga Maori (the indigenous stream of the church in Aotearoa New Zealand) still view the entire Covenant exercise with great suspicion – for very non ecclesial reasons.