The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) is deeply grateful for the work of the Anglican Communion Primates (leaders of Anglican Churches worldwide) who met this week in Alexandria, Egypt, to discuss issues of justice, righteousness and the current brokenness in the Anglican Communion.
The Primates addressed pressing humanitarian and political issues and published statements regarding the crises in Zimbabwe, the Sudan and Gaza. We pray that their thoughtful discussions and subsequent statements addressing these pressing matters will bear good fruit. We call upon ANiC parishes and members, and all Christians worldwide, to join with the Primates in praying for peace and order in the war-torn regions of our world.
We are grateful that these leaders also addressed the “continuing deep differences” in the Communion, acknowledging the “depth of conscientious conviction involved” and that “the Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1:10 in its entirety remains” the undisputed position of the Anglican Communion on sexuality.
We appreciate the Primates’ recognition that members of the Common Cause Partnership and the Anglican Church in North America are fully Anglican and their unanimous support for the Windsor Continuation Group’s recommendation that the Archbishop of Canterbury initiate professional mediation to address the difficult issues in North America. The call for “gracious restraint” clearly shows their desire to preserve faithful Anglican parishes and protect clergy while the Communion continues to wrestle with the profound theological divide. We pray that “gracious restraint” will be exercised by the Anglican Church of Canada and that no further faithful Anglicans will be forced to leave their churches until the crisis is resolved.
ANiC members, together with ACNA and all our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion, will continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to minister locally, nationally and internationally through our active and vibrant congregations.
Bishop Duncan has responded:
http://www.united-anglicans.org/stream/2009/02/statement-bishop-robert-duncan-alexandria-primates.html
The ACNA is already larger than 12 Provinces in the Anglican Communion.
[blockquote] ANiC members, together with ACNA and all our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion, will continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to minister locally, nationally and internationally through our active and vibrant congregations.[/blockquote]
So I take it the ANiC will simply ignore the bit about not proselytizing? Why did ++Greg Venables assent to it? (The communique was supposedly unanimously assented to.) How about the bit where the Communion partners plan and Ms Schori’s Episcopal visitor scheme being “sufficient” for the disaffected in North America? They don’t even apply to Canada, obviously.
Like [url=http://stillonpatrol.typepad.com/still_on_patrol/2009/02/less-amazed-more-confused.html ]David Trimble at Still on Patrol[/url], I am confused as to why the orthodox are pleased. I saw the interview with AnglicanTV and ++Venables and ++Orombi. It is so refreshing to see Christian leaders who are unashamedly Christian! But I see a big disconnect between their take on the Alexandria meeting and Rowan Williams and the communique. They talk about an established awareness that there are two irreconcilable religions. Yet, Rowan is sending Delphi manipulators to find reconciliation (and even talks about partial reconciliation between Recife and the hedonists of the Brazilian church.)
Finally, an orthodox leader has addressed the “no proselytization” business and other troubling aspects.
Rev. Phil Ashey, J.D., American Anglican Council Chief Operating Officer, [url=http://www.americananglican.org/an-honset-look-at-the-primates-communique ]writes[/url]:
[blockquote] What does this warning mean? Does “proselytisation†include church planting? Does it include fulfilling the Great Commission? Does it include people asserting their constitutional right to free exercise of religion by transferring from a TEC church to an ACNA church? Does it include parishes currently in the process of discerning whether they can remain in the oppressive spiritual environment of TEC? This heavy-handed limitation on ACNA smacks of a kind of “protectionism†of TEC by the Communion. It rescues the revisionist leadership of TEC from the consequences of preaching a false gospel—which they confidently and falsely predicted would grow the church.[/blockquote]
and this zinger, too:
[blockquote] Where is the gracious restraint and self-limitation of a TEC House of Bishops who have tortured the plain meaning of the canons to depose 12 bishops and 104 priests and deacons for transferring to another province of the Anglican Communion in order to maintain integrity and faithfulness to Communion teaching on human sexuality? Where is the gracious restraint and self-limitation where, without any due process or appeal, the Presiding Bishop deposes a sitting bishop for what he might do? Or where she deposes a bishop ordained and canonically resident in the Church of England?[/blockquote]
And Rev. Ashey points out that what is the point of [strike]Delphi manipulators[/strike] professional mediators when, as many have pointed out, we have ir-reconciliable religions?
Thank you, Rev. Ashey, for cogently highlighting the concerns that many of us have.
My understanding of the non-proselytisation language is simply that ACNA is being asked not to intentionally woo TEC/ACoC congregations away from the national bodies. I am quite sure it does not apply to evangelism or church planting.
As to whether we are being asked to actively discourage new parishes or dioceses from joining… that seems a bit unclear. I don’t see how the Primates (particularly the orthodox Primates) could ask that of us; nor do I think they would have walked away from Alexandria with a sense of peace if that is what was being asked. I have no doubt that the liberals will interpret it this way, though.
#4 farstrider: But have any soon-to-be ACNA parishes or dioceses been actively wooing TEC/ACoC churches? How would that occur – putting flyers on windshields? Trying to talk entering parishioners out of their decision to go to such a parish? The “wooing” has simply been a willingness to give information and assist in the transition when a TEC/ACoC parish makes a contact, as far as I’m aware. Therefore, it would be strange if the “non-proselytisation language” were to mean not doing what we’re already not doing. Just my two bits….
montanan,
I hear what you’re saying– I’m part of the Canadian wing of ACNA, and I don’t believe anyone has been actively “wooing.” I would understand the language of non-proselytisation to be addressing the fears of ACoC and TEC rather than to any realities on the ground… but like everything Anglican, there is a haziness to the injunctions that leaves room for different interpretations. We seem to like shooting ourselves in the collective foot that way.
Nonetheless, in defense of my own understanding, (again) I can;t imagine, ++Akinola, Orombi, or Venables walking away satisfied if it meant anything other than that; can you?