Inclusive Church has announced:
Celebrating the Gift of Communion
In advance of the Lambeth Conference we invite parishes to give thanks for the gift of the Anglican Communion, and to affirm their commitment to its historic generosity. At a time of debate and discernment in our life together we believe the best way forward will not include segregating or excluding those with whom we disagree.
If your church is in agreement with the following statement, please send an email to endorse@giftofcommunion.org listing your name, parish, diocese and province. Please make sure you have the agreement of your parish council or vestry before signing, and note that this invitation is intended for churches, and not individuals. If you have any questions or comments please address them to info@giftofcommunion.org. Please circulate this message to friends and networks.
“As Christians, we believe that all people have been made in the image of God. We believe that God loves each and every person with an infinite, never-ending, unconditional love.
As members of the body of Christ, we acknowledge each person’s unique and valuable contribution as we seek together to build up that body in love.
As members of the Anglican Communion, we celebrate the gift of our diversity and are committed to being a broad Church that accepts and welcomes difference. We acknowledge our need of God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings which harm our shared witness in the world. We believe our unity is rooted in our baptism in Christ, and we will seek to maintain that unity through the grace of the Holy Spirit who lives and works in each one of us.”
For more about this, read Scott Gunn at Seven whole days Put your congregation on record, support the gift of Communion.
For the most recent Inclusive Church newsletter, see here.
I think you should re-word ” broad” as the conservatives will see, ” look our Lord said the road that leads to destruction is broad…..what about encompassing?
Not sure. It could be taken as an endorsement of the Anglican Communion, and one person’s breadth is another’s narrowness. Not even sure about the theology either, though I suppose it is minimalist enough. I doubt also the worth of these sorts of campaigns, rather like those emails you get that wants you to add your signature – and then what? Anyway, it is not for individuals. Plus, what if this gets a fairly derisory response: then what will these bishops conclude, if they take any notice of it at all?
Robert, much virtual ink was expended trying to figure out the optimal wording that is both substantive and wide-reaching. I’m not saying that we achieved prose nirvana, but that was the effort. Pluralist, here’s the thing. Perhaps 100 congregations in the US have either left or are serious about wanting to leave ECUSA. And one diocese, so far. They’ve gotten so much press that it’s easy to imagine an enormous percentage of unhappy people. Rowan Williams apparently took as credible the report he was given in Dar es Salaam that 40% of ECUSA members want alternative oversight. Now imagine that,… Read more »
I take the point. I was thinking a little later that whilst I care much about the people beaten up recently in Nigeria, and the wars going on in Africa, I don’t actually care much at all for the Anglican Communion. It has just become an excuse for bigots and bureaucrats to the very top following in the bigots’ footprints.
There was a time when I would have taken this mostly-laudable statement to the vestry of my parish for consideration, as an advocate. The lamentable actions of ++Williams and the several bishops in the CofE who have worked tirelessly to marginalize TEC over the past few years, not to mention the fulsome maneuvering of a few “Global Souuth” potentates, leave me entirely uninterested.
There is no true Anglican Communion any longer, much the pity.
I agree, this has no relevance now whatsoever.
_Rowan Williams apparently took as credible the report he was given in Dar es Salaam that 40% of ECUSA members want alternative oversight._
Scott
I really find it quite impossible to believe this assertion concerning Rowan Williams. Could you please remind us who made this claim? I mean:
a. Who said that 40%…
b. Who said that Rowan Williams took it as credible?
My understanding is that Duncan of Pittsburgh made the claim. Rowan’s appeasement of the “conservatives” since then suggests he took it as highly credible. Leaving aside the precise figure of 40%, it is clear that the “conservative” modus operandi has been to inflate the levels of discontent within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. I recently read (perhaps someone can recall the source?) of an American priest who spoke in the Province of the West Indies. The clergy there were shocked to discover the proportionally small number of a) requests for alternative episcopal / primatial oversight, b)… Read more »
Malcolm, I think this loose talk about RW and “appeasement of consevatives” is more whistling in the dark for self assurance than anything else. He has spoken very pointedly in his own terms about the possibilty of what some call “differnces” taking the shape of apostasy. His work in theology and historical studies give evidence that he knows a little about the subject, see for example his very thorough work on the great heresiarch Arius. There may be more to what you say than meets the eye: “The ‘conservative’ propaganda leaves moderates and conservatives elsewhere with a completely false impression.”… Read more »