A report from Canada of division among conservatives there, in an Anglican Journal report Conservative Anglicans determined to stay within church by Keith Knight.
About 50 conservative Anglican leaders, including eight young theological students, gathered in Toronto for a one-day consultation on Nov. 25 and emerged with a determination to remain within the Anglican Church of Canada. They came from 16 dioceses across the country.
Rev. Brett Cane of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg is chair of Anglican Essentials Federation who was quick to point out that the organization is going through a name change. He said that the “Essentials” label has negative connotations in some parts of the country. He said that the federation is loosening its connection to the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). “We will still maintain links of fellowship with the network but we will not be organizationally tied together.”
Andrew Brown has commented at Cif belief on Anglican divisions in When a schism has a schism of its own.
For most of the first years of Rowan Williams’ time as leader of the Anglican Communion, there was a running story about whether he could hold it together in the face of its divisions about almost everything, but most noisily about gay people and liberalism. Some time this summer, it became obvious that he hadn’t and that there is a full-scale schism under way but by that time almost everyone had got bored and started to talk about other things. So this week the story returns with a twist: will there be a second schism within the schism? In particular will the coalition that has been trying to drive the liberal churches of North America out of the Communion break up; and will the puritan evangelical faction start to break up the Church of England too?
Over at Episcopal Café there is discussion under the heading If the Episcopal Church got adventuresome of an article on his own blog by Geoffrey Hoare titled Archbishop Duncan.
A Brown: “It’s now fairly obvious that Dr Williams will side with the American conservatives”
Say Wha? How?
xDuncan’s harsh words after last meeting w/ the ABC, suggest otherwise.
“Anglo-Catholic opponents of women priests who would love to be Roman Catholics were it not for the discipline.” Can someone explain that statement to me. I like the higher church because it has smells and bells and great music. Most RC churches have horrible music, don’t use censor or incense, many don’t use bells and mass is light fair. Most masses here last 45 minutes and many people leave right after communion (Worked for 15 years as music director/organist in two large RC parishes). Also, most Anglican/Episcopal parishes are mid-sized. Your rector knows your name as well as something about… Read more »
Sadly Rowan Williams has no inconsequential choices to make, and soon it would seem. If he sides with the new conservative province, then he is setting up the board for splitting to come home to CoE. Canada and TEC cannot be disenfrancised by this new province without doing some reaching out of our own. Surely Canterbury can see that, too, supposing anybody bothers to look outside the covenant-will-save-us-all-from-change bubble? I think TEC and Canada should start getting together in old-style big tent associational Anglican fashion – and see where outreach might occur first with the best results. Inclusion and welcome… Read more »
well, we’ll see.
I do not think that ABC Williams will side with the conservatives. If he is anything, he is a scholar and a catholic, with honor for catholic order. From a practical point of view, TEC is his most important long-term overseas ally. I venture to say that he will choose to go with his brain and his heart, both of which point to the Church of England’s eldest and most powerful daughter. There is also a part of his own history which acknowledges that the future of the western church will not be narrow-minded obsessions with minor human differences. Williams… Read more »
“would think we need to shore up parishes here that don’t have enough active souls to afford the bills.” Ah, but conservatives seem to have the notion that if people are not making converts, then they don’t deserve the support of “successful” parishes, which seemed to be defined as those with the most bums in pews. They also claim such parishes are “liberal” and therefor preach a “different Gospel”, if they preach a Gospel at all, and are trying to undermine Christianity, another reason they do not deserve support. It is interesting that, most of them being Evangelicals, the argument… Read more »