Common Cause Partnership Welcomes Jerusalem Declaration.
The statement includes this:
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 Primates Council.
Comment on this is collected at Episcopal Café see Petition for a North American province of Gafcon.
The Anglican Communion has become like a really horrible cocktail party. Nobody really wants to be there anymore but everybody is afraid to be the first to leave. There needs to be some way to dissolve the thing and let people who can find common objectives form new groups.
Let us all hope (for the sake of TEC, the Anglican Church in Canada, and the Anglican Communion) that this assault upon the Canterbury Leadership of our Church is resisted by the majority of the Primates of the Communion. Such hubris on the part of FOCA, GAFCON and the Global South (who have absented themselves from the Lambeth Conference and allied thmselves with other dissident Anglican Groups) cannot be allowed to deflect our Church from its mission of a broad inclusivity of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, within the world-wide Anglican Family. The raising up… Read more »
Well, well. +Bob Pittsburgh wants to be a Primate. What a shock!
What exactly does it mean to be a “Province of GAFCON” but not a Province of the Anglican Communion? If the GAFCON powers-that-be admit them, are they pretending to be the real arbiters of recognizing new AC Provinces? And what is likely to be the response of TEC and the AC?
Does that mean that (x)Duncan is now going to depart Lambeth?
Nah, the bishops there probably won’t be so . . . well, I don’t think it will happen.
The liberals have been establishing facts on the ground for many years now and the strategy has allowed them to totally undermine the once great Episcopal church. Now, we have the GAFCon-ners taking a cue. The facts that they are establishing is that the TEC and ACoC are no longer recognized by the majority of the world’s Anglicans as legitimate representations in North America and that there will be a new province of Anglicanism in the U.S. and Canada. Will the current ABC recognize this new reality? Probably not. Will the next (if there is a next)? The mass exodus… Read more »
This is one of the most shocking and incredible things imaginable. It is frightening to think that these people could invent such a position for themselves, having fabricated these organizations and roles for themselves in the first place. It is like cancer cells in the body that have deliberately self-replicated in order to have sufficient numbers to overwhelm the opposition. They just seem to keep spawning bishops who have only one role-to cause damage. Is this just hatred of liberals or gays, or are gays really just pawns in their game of seeking control at any cost to their follow… Read more »
These boys make me carsick with all their thrills, twurls, spills and mind expanding, running as fast as you can, recreational self-destructive speeding religiosity…I better go take my long, all night nap and then wake up to see who they are going to take-over/turn-on/turn-out and turn-into on Friday….ah, such inspiration to love thy neighbor, it’s amazing ANYBODY still wants to go to Church with this kind of ugly silly grandstanding goings on…but wait, Church is a Holy place, take note…send a memo quick to +Duncan Pitts.
If CCP becomes a “North American Province” of Gafcon, this will give them legitimacy and sense of entitlement. They will become a “church within a Church”, but ehir real goal is to become “THE” Church. They will create havoc and make extravagant claims while undermining local bishops. Many are already doing this. Bishops and other clergy will be scrutinized for “orthodoxy” and they will be ready to accuse their fellow clergy of heterodoxy if not heresy at the drop of a hat. If they can create situations where congregations are led to beleieve that their clergy are unsound, they will… Read more »
Standby for the announcement of a New Improved North American Province on or about the last day of Lambeth.
“The facts that they are establishing is that the TEC and ACoC are no longer recognized by the majority of the world’s Anglicans as legitimate representations in North America…”
Seriously Robroy. You don’t know this. You don’t know any of it.
Not “Anglicanism”, not “majority”, not their views on “legitimate”, not “representations” neither in the form of the present one, nor in the form of any possible (but illegal and unlikely) eventual “new” province in North America.
Why do you make such ridiculous claims?
…and tomorrow the world, robroy.
“The mass exodus of the orthodox and the death of the pew potatoes (average age is ~60 now) will result in a TEC the size of the Metropolitan church. The next ABC will go with the numbers.” — robroy It is conservatives who always die out, robroy — where are the conservatives who supported slavery in America in the 19th century, or racial segregation in the 20th, or who fought the rights of labor in Britain and America, or who resisted the vote for women? Conservatives seem constitutionally unable to do anything but live in the moment — if they… Read more »
For those nostalgic for a blast from the past, an individual posting as “NP” has surfaced at Ruth Gledhill’s blog. Statements like “if someone was a thief and would not stop stealing but even asserted their behaviour was good and holy, I would not think him fit to be a vicar” have a familiar ring.
I’m so very tired of references to the “vast majority of Anglicans” (q.v. robroy above). The number of members of a few provinces is indeed impressive — and yet, if one looks at the number of provinces who support this sort of nonsense, their proportion is significantly lowered. Just because +Ajuba claims a huge number of Anglicans in Nigeria, his is still one province and one province only.
And +Bob Pitts a primate?!? I shudder. He will NOT be taking the largest, most successful (in numbers) parishes with him! There’s going to be a huge row in Pittsburgh this fall…
robroy, the War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness is a book of the Qumran community, and they weren’t Christians. This idea that there is some sort of war going on between the evil liberals bent on destroying Christianity and the Virtuous Conservatives valiantly defending the Gospel is romantic and all, but it ain’t reality. Fear is a good motivator, as is the idea that one is “standing for” something. Conservatives here frequently desire a Church that “stands for something”, but surely you can see the damage this kind of self aggrandizement does. Just stop finding… Read more »
I also resent the labeling of people I know in my parish to be loving, warm-hearted, committed Christians as “pew potatoes.” That robroy is so keenly looking forward to the literal death of these wonderful, older people says a lot about him.
And none of it is admirable. Or Christian.
Excellent point, Padre Wayne. The “vast majority of Anglicans” argument might be valid if we were a unitary, worldwide Church. As it is, we are (at present – who knows what we’ll be by teatime?) a fellowship of independent, equal Churches.
Did the liberals and revisionists really believe they could mount a hostile takeover of The Church and no one would do anything about it? Even the most ardent liberal would have to admit that TEC and ACoC have been involved in massive theological, ethical, and doctrinal innovations. What’s more, while all these innovations were in the process of formation and implementation TEC and ACoC heard from the world that they were tearing the fabric of the communion. Of course, their only response was to flip the world the bird and say, “You have no voice here, we are not accountable… Read more »
Well I take a slightly different view (on my blog) and it is that to become ‘a province of GAFCON’ is an admission of walking off, that there are Canterbury provinces carrying on. There is a separation here, the Primates Council being other than the other institutions, and the province has no imperial claim into Anglicanism as such. Legally perhaps there is a need to maintain a division, a separation. My view is let them get on with it.
“Did the liberals and revisionists really believe they could mount a hostile takeover of The Church and no one would do anything about it?” No, but since this “massive takeover” exists only in the minds of fear governed conservatives, why even ask the question? You can live with the mentality of the besieged faithful remnant if you want to, but God is calling you away from that. Confident faith does not see the need to revile those who disagree. “The end game is in sight and desperation is the last cry we’ll hear.” You do realize that your evident glee… Read more »
All I can say to you, robroy and Joe, is that I will continue to pray for you—that you will express more of the Spirit of Christ that you claim to follow (and God-willing, that I will do so, too. Lord have mercy!)
BTW, I later learned that Duncan also announced he IS about to leave Lambeth (if he has not done so already): my bad (re my earlier prediction).
‘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.’ 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… The serious questions raised by the Archbishop of Canterbury and… Read more »
“The next ABC will go with the numbers.” The next ABC will be appointed under the watchful eye of a British Government which, regardless of political colour, will ensure that it is not embarrassed in the eyes of the substantially agnostic, increasingly gay-tolerant British public by the appointment to Lambeth of a backer of the GAFCON homophobe agenda, Robroy. In any case, the “numbers” game, as we both know, is a smoke and mirrors business. Claims for the size of the numerous secessionist N American groups are routinely inflated. Until such time as I see even part-way verifiable membership figures… Read more »
I think Pluralist has got it right. The “Primates’ Council” to which Common Cause will submit its petition is the GAFCON Primates’ Council, not the Instrument of Unity within the Anglican Communion. The GAFCON Primates’ Council may recognize +Duncan as a Primate of a Common Cause North American Province if it chooses, but such recognition will have no effect at all on the status of the Episcopal Church or Anglican Church of Canada within the Anglican Communion. Some parallels: Fr. Martyn Minns is already recognized as a Bishop by GAFCON, though his irregular consecration is not recognized by the Anglican… Read more »
Actually one of the roles of prophets is to act as messiahs, to bring forth new life, to level mountains and raise up highways, to break open stalls of captives, to throw off the yokes of oppression, to rise and thresh, to stand up and advocate for the poor, the widow, the broken, the homeless, the outcaste, the unloved. Jesus imparts ALL the gifts of Spirit, including those of rebuking, healing and messianic heralding. Further, the bible (both OT and new) make clear that there will be resistance from the oppressors and their sycophantic priests. The Pharoah and his sorcerers… Read more »
The role of the ABC is primarily to head the CofE. And England is not about to accept Nigerian-style backwoods ‘thinking’. Thankfully, we have progressed – and should not be afraid to say so, loud and clear.
Lapinbizarre wrote: ‘The next ABC will be appointed under the watchful eye of a British Government which, regardless of political colour, will ensure that it is not embarrassed…’ etc
Actually the next Abp of Canterbury will be nominated without government interference if we are to believe what the government has actually said. Gordon Brown has declared that he doesn’t intend to exercise any prime ministerial discretion here, and the Synod is already in the midst of discussing replacement procedures.
“… if we are to believe what the government has actually said”, Simon, and if Gordon Brown is still in a position to not exercise prime ministerial discretion. I suspect the mystical world of “soundings”, which gave us Lord Home as PM, will still play its part, don’t you?
The Instrument of Unity in the Anglican Communion is the Primates’ Meeting, not the Primates’ Council. I am not sure why Graham Kings is asking the question he is. Surely it has been clear to all observers, ever since the Nottingham meeting of the ACC, that a small group of Primates, most from sub-Saharan Africa, intended to separate from the Anglican Communion and set up their own authority structures unless all their demands were met. As their demands were not met (and for the most part could not be met), they are now separating. It is possible that this schismatic… Read more »
It is a significant development.
It is also clear that there are a few more cards to fall yet.
The “conservative” strategy seems fairly odd. Persuade others by calling them names.
I rather doubt that any of the “potatoes” at my parish will have much interest in your schismatic bs, old boy, however skeptical some of them may be about same sex unions.
Lapinbizarre wrote on Friday, 25 July 2008 at 12:07pm BST: “For those nostalgic for a blast from the past, an individual posting as “NP” has surfaced at Ruth Gledhill’s blog. Statements like “if someone was a thief and would not stop stealing but even asserted their behaviour was good and holy, I would not think him fit to be a vicar” have a familiar ring.”
But this “NP” writes in whole sentences ;=)
However Ruth addresses this NP as “Nersen” which was our NP’s name as you recall.
Derek wrote: “If CCP becomes a “North American Province” of Gafcon, this will give them legitimacy and sense of entitlement.”
If CCP becomes a “North American Province” of Gaffecon, it will give them NO legitimacy whatsoever!
The “sense of entitlement” is there already, apparently. But that appears to be mainly a psychiatric issue.
Lapinbizarre wrote: “Claims for the size of the numerous secessionist N American groups are routinely inflated.”
And in Africa…
; = )
Some Joe wrote: “The end game is in sight and desperation is the last cry we’ll hear.”
Yeah… Wasn’t that desperate?
Question: Gaffconers said they were not leaving. Okay… however, what they are doing is setting up a secondary illegitimate Primatial structure that would then set up another structure under their oversight, neither recognized by Canterbury. So… 1) wouldn’t that mean they are actually in two churches, essentially, and 2)wouldn’t that suggest they may not choose to leave the Communion, but might be tossed? Isn’t this a Shofield kind of thing where he first said, I am in TEC and ALSO in the Southern Cone (then Venables spoke up and said, Lordy, no you are NOT in TEC). I mean really,… Read more »
STILL NO LIST OF GAFCON SIGNATORIES TO THEIR SO-CALLED DECLARATION OF JERUSALEM…….which would if it existed reveal that over a third of the 291 bishops have never been Anglican communion bishops.
The new Province in North America will include the Reformed Episcopal Church, whose orders were rejected by the Lambeth Conference of 1888…and numerous spurious Anglo-catholic bodies who are already defying the GAFCON re-affirmation of the 39 articles.
Perhaps the new church of GAFCON will become just one more organisation of ‘Separated Brethren’ – to become known as yet another sect of what have been called ‘Exclusive Brethren’ – wherein all like-minded sycophants may continue their own fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, blindfolding themselves against any new revelation from God at work in Creation. The ‘faux’ bishops of this new ‘Assembly of God’ can then be expected to recruit like-minded people into an ‘Alice-in-Wonderland’ of smoke and mirrors, where extreme end protestant and catholic can rejoice in a “Common Cause” which will gradually become… Read more »
Now we know why Bob Duncan left Lambeth early–he had to be fitted for a stupendously tall and sparkly new mitre befitting The Patriarch of the Western Hemisphere.
One anagram of Global Anglican Future is:
Ungrateful Cabal Go Nil
Father Ron suggested “…’bland leading the bland’. Let them go, I say!” Amen. Revelation 3:15-17 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Mark 9:50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have… Read more »