We, as the Bishops and elected leaders of the Common Cause Partnership (CCP) are deeply grateful for the Jerusalem Declaration. It describes a hopeful, global Anglican future, rooted in scripture and the authentic Anglican way of faith and practice. We joyfully welcome the words of the GAFCON statement that it is now time ”˜for the federation currently known as the Common Cause Partnership to be recognized by the Primates Council.’
The intention of the CCP Executive Committee is to petition the Primates Council for recognition of the CCP as the North American Province of GAFCON on the basis of the Common Cause Partnership Articles, Theological Statement, and Covenant Declaration, and to ask that the CCP Moderator be seated in the Primate’s Council.
We accept the call to build the Common Cause Partnership into a truly unified body of Anglicans. We are committed to that call. Over the past months, we have worked together, increasing the number of partners and authorizing committees and task groups for Mission, Education, Governance, Prayer Book & Liturgy, the Episcopate, and Ecumenical Relations. The Executive Committee is meeting regularly to carry forward the particulars of this call. The CCP Council will meet December 1”“3, 2008.
It would appear that we will soon have a significant portion of the bishops of the Anglican communion, primarily global south and representing over half of the lay membership of the communion, recognizing the common cause partners as the Anglican province in North America, and not the episcopal church. The remainder, with more bishops and money but less membership, will do the opposite. The global south bishops will not formally distance themselves from the communion, and neither will TEC. I wonder what Williams will do. It is a shame that he lead it to this point.
[blockquote]The intention of the CCP Executive Committee is to petition the Primates Council for recognition of the CCP as the North American Province of GAFCON[/blockquote]
So is GAFCON being recognised as a church by the Common Cause Partnership?
This is a very serious question. The above petition implies that it is.
How can you have a province of GAFCON, if GAFCON is not a church or a communion?
A ‘fellowship’ does not have ‘provinces’. A ‘communion’ or a ‘church’ does. It seems that a ‘church within a church’ does too…