As the General Convention of The Episcopal Church gets underway in Columbus Ohio, Lionel Deimel and Christopher Wells have engaged in a discussion which is available online, starting here. This discussion concerns the proposed resolutions concerning the Windsor Report, starting from the two essays previously listed here on TA, one by Deimel, and the other from ACI.
I sometimes wonder whether the conflict within ECUSA isn’t made worse by it’s efforts to remain within the Communion, and would love to ask liberal bishops and voters: “Most Anglicans have similar views/attitudes on Christian faÃth and conduct to the people within ECUSA who you probably think of as trouble makers. Do you *really* want to do remain ‘in Communion’ with such people?” If they could admit to themselves that they want to be distinctively different, they might also find it much easier to resolve their internal problems with “rebellious” bishops, clergy and churches. In the meantime ECUSA is, I… Read more »
With the proviso that I *don’t know* whether “Most Anglicans have similar views/attitudes on Christian faÃth and conduct to the people within ECUSA who you probably think of as trouble maker”—only that their bishops do!
Then Dave:
“Do you *really* want to do remain ‘in Communion’ with such people?”
Yes, I absolutely do. It’s not *my* Table, any more than it’s yours, Dave: it’s Christ’s. Thank God! 🙂
Realignment makes sense, but perhaps not the way the traditionalists dream of. Although they often claim that mainline churches in North America and established (or formerly established) churches in Europe are dying and are doomed to continue to do so, I think liberals/progressives would be energized to be able to commune with each other across Reformation-derived boundaries, and develop a dynamic expression of progressive, reformed catholicism. In my heart, I long not for the likes of ++Abuja but for the likes of ++Uppsala and ++Utrecht. Imagine a new communion, emerging ecumenically from the old straightjackets of confessionalism (and the new… Read more »
Dear JCF, are you sure ? If you really want to be in commmunion with them then you should be shouting loudly that ECUSA has to take “full account” of their beliefs! And that isn’t an easy thing to do. These are the people who find no alternative in Scripture but to reject same-sex sex as sinful, who say that your love is unholy. It will mean rolling back “full inclusion” of LGBTQ people. They assert that Bishops and Synods have no authority to reject what Scripture says… and are rejecting the authority of local Bishops – risking their careers… Read more »
Glad to see you reading my mind, Dave. ;-/ {sarcasm off} “If you really want to be in commmunion with them then you should be shouting loudly” I really think there is too much, rather than too little, shouting… “Communion” means coming to the *common table of Our Lord*: nothing more and nothing less. There are no preconditions, there will be no “rolling back”. There’s Christ. There he is, welcoming ***ALL*** to come and feed on him. Either you take him up on his offer (me! me! me! Feed me!), or you don’t. I pray everyone answers affirmatively to Christ’s… Read more »
Right on, Nadine! This is exactly the type of Reformed Catholic church that I could support, too! Let Sydney, Nigeria, Argentina, etc. go their own ways, and we’ll go ours. Who knows, such a development might attract progressive Roman churches, too like Holland and Denmark.
Dear Nadine and Kurt, the prospect is appealing from this side of the fence too!