Today, less than 8 years after the 2003 emergency Primates Meeting, 15 of the Primates are no-shows. There is loss of trust and a sense that words and efforts are meaningless – that the Episcopal Church in particular will act unilaterally against the mind of the Provincial leaders and global Anglican witness.
The Episcopal Church continues to decline, with its membership the oldest among U.S. denominations and its internal reports showing no reliable sources or patterns of growth. In an Anglican Communion of some 80 million members, only about 700,000 Episcopalians attend services on an average Sunday. The [partnered] gay bishop consecrated in 2003 downsized his diocese, spent most of his time at gay movement and media events, and recently announced his retirement after less than a decade in office.
A [partnered] lesbian bishop was consecrated, and some gay and lesbian couples have had high profile ceremonies, including a recent lesbian union worded contentiously as a variation on the Prayer Book marriage rite.
So, a small, affluent, socially homogeneous inner circle of a very small denomination indulges its fancies at the cost of a diverse, global Christian fellowship – a fellowship whose leaders hung in with misrepresentations and broken commitments while trying to maintain bonds of affection. That is, until this 2011 Anglican Primates Meeting in Dublin.
Read it all and make sure to take special note of the numbers of Primates attending.
Great article.
How do we fix ourselves, before we lose what we still have? Can we still fix ourselves, before we lose what we still have? How do we identify the faithful remnants, nourish them, re-connect them into a healthy whole? Or has God already said “Too late.”
The TEC leadership (God forgive them), which can’t maintain the buildings it has, is betting that American Anglicans can not survive or can not prosper without buildings. And to be honest, I have heard many broken-hearted Anglicans mourn the loss of these churches, which meant so much to them. But the decay, that has been going on at least for decades, occurred even while these churches were built and maintained.
Obviously, the first thing to do is repent from our sins and turn to God. And ultimately, the Church is in God’s hands, not ours. But, assuming that there may be hope still for the Anglican remnant, what’s the plan? Even if it takes over 100 years and is not complete until long after I am dead, what is the plan?
This is an amazing chronology that warrants more elaboration.
Elsewhere, I’ve stated, or at least implied, that the conservative primates have not done all that they could do, in order to prevail. I’ve gone so far as to challenge their manliness. Perhaps they will elaborate on what has actually gone on behind the scenes, so that at least some of the history books will reflect what went on in these years.
Perhaps they, especially Bp. Gregory, will accept my sincere apology.
I’ve personally witnessed an interesting phenomenon. KJS came into a room full of presumably intelligent men and women. She did a guided meditation on the baptism of Jesus, suggesting that they “become” Jesus for a moment, while hearing the words, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased.” She then went around the room, asking what we had felt or experienced. I’d guess about 1/3 of us didn’t fall for it, and several verbalized that we are NOT Jesus, who is God. However, many in the room had a transfigured smoking-too-much-dope look on their face, and reported that they had projected into the scene, having had a spiritual experience.
Looking at the chronology, I can’t help but wonder whether she has had that effect on Rowan Williams, and several of the other primates.
The Hebrew word rachav, which can also be used as a proper name, comes to mind, in the context of Ps. 89, Is. 30, Is. 51, in Job. The word has to do with strong, stormy, noisy arrogance, insolence, and pride. As a proper noun (usually spelled Rahab), it’s the name of a harlot in Joshua, and a demon of the Red Sea in the Talmud.
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=70&letter=R&search=Rahab
In some ways, the Anglican Communion does find itself in a Babylonian Captivity, held by a stone-hearted pharoah.
[#1] It is too late.
Good point, Ralph, it is an amazing chronology.
Thanks to Tim Fountain for publishing this.