Bishop Roger Ames is no longer a cleric in the Ohio Diocese of the Episcopal Church USA.
But he is a leader in the global Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church USA.
Then there’s the church that Ames pastors ”” St. Luke’s in Fairlawn. Its incorporation papers list its name as St. Luke’s Anglican Church and Ames as pastor. Diocesan records, however, show that it is St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and that the pastorate is vacant.
The status of both Ames and the church is an indication of the level of confusion in the denomination and of what might very well be the beginning of a new Anglican province in North America.
Both Ames and Bishop Martyn Minns, the missionary bishop for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), say an effort is under way to unify the theologically conservative parishes that have broken away from the Episcopal Church.
”We’re trying to hold onto the traditional teachings of the church and stop the fragmentation that is going on across the country by bringing people together,” Minns said. ”We definitely have some real divisions (in the Episcopal Church) and we are trying to develop tight connections with the international church and the churches in this country.”
Can Bishop Hollingsworth look forward to being castigated by 815 or felllow TEC Bishops for negotiating with these breakaway parishes like Bishop Steenson was over St. Clements?
I noted at the end of the article the stats reported as current for CANA: 118 clergy and 161 congregations. That 161 figure for CANA churches sounds suspiciously high. But if it’s true, that’s enormous recent growth.
David Handy+
David – I believe the 161 is a typo. The latest CANA numbers are 118 clergy, 61 congregations (as of last week). Intuitively, having more congregations than clergy seemed odd to me in the article.
Here’s the [url=http://lwww.canaconvocation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=146&Itemid=50]link.[/url]
Thanks, TWilson. I was pretty sure that number was way too high. But even 61 congregations for CANA at this early point in its development is impressive. What will it be a year from now?
David Handy+
The “118 clergy and 161 congregations” is certainly a typo. The November 2007 numbers (reported last week) were “118 clergy and 61 congregations” according to this CANA press release:
[url=http://www.canaconvocation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=146&Itemid=50]CANA Growth [/url]
[blockquote] In November 2006, CANA began with 19 clergy and 14 congregations. By March 2007, the number of clergy grew to 47 and the number of congregations totaled 34. By November 2007, CANA was comprised of 118 clergy and 61 congregations. Overall, CANA clergy have increased by 621% and congregations have increased by 436%.[/blockquote]
CANA growth, as described in this press release, has been consistent and rapid. The statistical trend for both clergy and congregations has been very much straight-line, and if it continues one might expect about 235 clergy and 114 congregations by the end of 2008. However, the Holy Spirit moves where he wills, not where some trend line indicates, so growth is really up to his work and the obedience of his people. The growth of AMiA and other orthodox Anglican groups have similarly been impressive, but I have never actually seen their trend numbers.
I was disappointed, but not surprised to see that the Akron Beacon Journal article did not mention that the root disagreement is departure, in many ways, from the authority of scripture.
I continue to be impressed by TEC Bp Hollingsworth’s choice ever since the Ohio churches decided to disaffiliate at about the time of the “Hope and a Future” conference in Pittsburgh to work with the parishes to negotiate arrangements that honored Christ to the greatest extent possible.
It was wonderful to see in the article a photo that included one of CANA’s newest clergy, the Rev. Kathleen Rankin, a long-time friend of our family and a person with whom my wife shared various ministries a couple of decades ago.
What are the membership and ASA of these 61 congregations? I can’t google it up. Are all of the congregations transfers from TEC or Bolivia (or other Anglican entities) or have they planted any new parishes?
I used to attend one of the Akron congregations now in CANA. The policy followed by +Mark was first worked out under +Clark Grew. The congregations now in CANA operated as a semi-independent cluster while still in ECUSA and were, at one time, offered outside oversight by a retired bishop. Cooperative negotiations over the properties have been going on for years. I think, and this is only my opinion, that +Mark is trying to come off as a fence sitter leaning to the left. He makes few statements that have any substance and operates the Dio. under the “All is Well”(tm) model. Not one word about the struggles in our church have passed his lips at the Dio. functions I’ve attended. The pewsitters and Vestry members in at least one breakaway congregation truly are glad he’s continued to negotiate instead of unleashing lawsuits.
Jeff
Unleashing lawsuits is an un-Christian thing to do; a fact utterly LOST to KJS and Company.