The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England – the people in the United States known as Episcopalians – is in a terrible bind. Talk about “dithering.” The current Archbishop, a certain Reverend Rowan Williams, is stalling for time; which, of course, is a sign that he doesn’t know what to do. His problem is that the more conservative Anglicans or Episcopalians, especially the Africans, say they will leave the Church, known among Church types as the Lambeth Communion, unless the Archbishop disciplines the Americans, who have – horror of horrors – ordained a Gay Bishop and also, equally scandalous from their point of view, tolerate women priests. The Americans, on the other hand, are having none of the African stuff. They say, in effect, that if the Archbishop does something they don’t like, THEY will cut and run.
So, the Reverend Williams dithers. He stalls for time. I, of course, follow all of this stuff, but having grown up Baptist – people who are all too familiar with splits – I am not as sympathetic with the Archbishop’s plight as might be desired. In the U.K. I frequently suggest to my Anglican friends that splitting is not necessarily a bad thing. First there is one church, then two, then four, then eight, and so on. They don’t like that at all. Nor, of course does the Archbishop. His problem is simple: The Africans have the numbers and the Americans have the money. What a mess.
The author does a poor job of understanding the problem. Sad…but common in the various medias today.
[blockquote] These days it is often true that the more conservative the liturgy, the smaller the congregation. [/blockquote]
That certainly hasn’t been my experience, but maybe the author needs to get out of Vermont and come south. It seems that the largest TEC churches around here are the ones that are the most conservative – they are growing, lots of families and children, baptisms are up, and they are vibrant.
“His problem is simple: The Africans have the numbers and the Americans have the money. What a mess.”
While he may not grasp all aspects, he does cut to the chase and the most pragmatic problem for the AbofC fairly quickly. This is the nut of the more secular side of the problem, I would say.
“The Americans, on the other hand, are having none of the African stuff. They say, in effect, that if the Archbishop does something they don’t like, THEY will cut and run.”
Would that it were that simple.
Sometimes we inadvertently self identify, as with this quote. Well, at least that explains some things about the commentary.
😉
money talks