The leaders of several conservative Anglican churches in the United States, some of which are still part of the Episcopal Church and some of which have broken away, are gathering this week in Pittsburgh to discuss their future. Four or five of the 110 Episcopal dioceses are talking about trying to leave the Episcopal Church.
“What we were looking for was clarity, and what we got is an exercise in wordsmithing,” said Robert Lundy, spokesman for the American Anglican Council, an alliance of conservatives. “Overall, we feel disappointment.”
The Episcopal Church has repeatedly sought to portray the conservatives who would leave as a tiny minority.
“The conflict that you read about in the headlines is not reality in 95 percent of the church,” Jefferts Schori said yesterday.
Bishop John W. Howe of Central Florida, one of the most conservative bishops present at the meeting in New Orleans, said last night that he did not vote for the statement because it did not bar blessings of same-sex unions outright, but that he also thought that, among the Anglican primates, as leaders of provinces are called, “the majority will find it acceptable.” Howe, asked if he would try to remove his diocese from the Episcopal Church, said “absolutely not.”
“I think we did better than I expected,” he said.
Interesting. Integrity thinks they got a better deal than expected, too. I guess that means a win/win, right?
kyrie eleison!
Love the Hawaiian shirt…just another casual day at the office.
A complaint, if I may, about poor journalistic style or poor copy editing. The Lundy statement is thoroughly ambiguous as presented. Presumably it refers to the New Orleans meeting and not the Pittsburgh meeting. But as it reads at first glance, it could refer to either.
Of course TEC is complaining about foreign oversight of breakaway congregations. Without it, there is no ecclesiastical structure for the breakaway churches while TEC holds on to its power and forges ahead with their way or the highway. Or is it middle way?
Howe now brown cow? Is that fudge or did you drop something special?
If this was an act to averts schism, I would hate to see an act to provoke schism……Oh! wait! we had that one already.
I don’t think TIME sees this the same way:
[url=”http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1665682,00.html”] The Anglicans Get Ready to Rumble[/url]
Here’s the money quote:
“The statement is expected to have little practical impact in the United States. Priests in many dioceses around the country, including Massachusetts, are already blessing same-sex unions without a nationally authorized rite, and that practice will not stop”.
The practice will not stop, and there is, in dioceses where it is permitted or overlooked, no diocesan discipline for it. Plus, when traditional priests in revisionist dioceses don’t want to do it for theological reasons, they are repeatedly harangued, lectured, called “bigots” and not supported in their dioceses and parishes until they eventually leave.
And so, the bishops have clarified this for the primates, but this setup is no different than the hypocrisy in the C of E.
TEC is basically saying, “We want to be part of the AC, but we’re pretty much going to do what we want, too, and we really don’t care what you think”. Yet another form of having their cake and eating it as well.
A nice pickle for Williams and the primates–the bird is getting flipped at you again, brothers, and your DeS Communique, which is so carefully crafted and could work but for the facts that the American “primate” doesn’t want to give the traditionals even an inch of quarter, and can’t handle Integrity screaming in her ear at every turn.
And so, any traditionals still in TEC, especially those not in Network dioceses, wait to be abused or picked off by regular sniper fire. I guess there’s no need for bishops like John Howe to care about clergy and laity outside his diocese; maybe he views that as simply none of his business. So much for having the heart of an evangelist, because, you can bet your bottom dollar that any true Gospel evangelism that could be done in revisionist dioceses is going to get royally squelched, just the way TEC likes it. And those souls in those pictures will find their way to churches that actually have a Scriptural base.
Thus, what will Williams and the primates do? WWJD? I’d bet the latter would firmly refuse to sell out to American corruption, elitism, unilateralism, and cash. The formers? Well, I guess that remains to be seen…
God help us all–
TS
The arrogance of thinking that they can avoid schism by fooling both sides. As Nixon used to say, “this will not play in Peoria.”
This will especially not play in Bishop Ackermans’ see city of Peoria!
#8 and 9, the question is: “Will it play in Pittsburg?” Schism has already begun and there is an attempt to “consolidate” it in the CCP meeting going on right now. They’ve set out an ambitious agenda for themselves: can they agree on this that and the other, e.g., mutual consultation, mutual review of candidates (laity need not bother), appropriate ratio of bishops to congregations (I love that one; they must be worried that there are already too many mitres), the willingness to give up episcopal functions (hah!). They left out whether to process in copes or rochets. All of their items reflect a real concern: will these different jurisdictions join togehter or not? I think there is a real question about that, because which of the African masters are going to be willing to give up power?
If anything comes out of this it is likely to be just another American Anglican splinter group, maybe larger than the others in the numbers of adherents. +Duncan speaks of “tens of thousands.” From all the talk of numbers and wholesale leavings from TEC that press releases and blog comments are fond of claiming, you’d think that it were ten thousands times ten thousands (in sparkling raiment bright–the color of purity, of course).
Well if nothing else Bob from Boone – the impending realignment causes you to spend a lot of time here sparing with those of us who would like a traditional Anglican Church. A couple hundred thousand by Easter might be doable.