Updated again Sunday evening
At 10 am Sunday London time, this statement was issued by both Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office:
Archbishop of Canterbury’s Statement on Los Angeles Episcopal Elections
Sunday 06 December 2009
The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan bishop elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole.
The process of selection however is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications.
The bishops of the Communion have collectively acknowledged that a period of gracious restraint in respect of actions which are contrary to the mind of the Communion is necessary if our bonds of mutual affection are to hold.
Reporting of this statement in the media:
The Times Ruth Gledhill Election of lesbian bishop ‘is very serious’, says Dr Rowan Williams and on her blog Lesbian Bishop: Archbishop of Canterbury warns of serious questions and later, Dreams of Church liberals are almost dead
The first link above has had the headline changed to Anglicans split over election of lesbian bishop after a write-through for the Monday paper edition
BBC Anglican church leader worried by US gay bishop vote
Statements:
American Anglican Council
Anglican Mainstream
That was quick! Now for something on the proposed Ugandan anti Gay legislation?
Well, it didn’t take long for +++Cantuar to issue a statement about *that*. Of course, if the Episcopal Church had been advocating killing lesbians instead of consecrating one, we probably wouldn’t have heard a peep out of him.
Shame!
The Archbishop is very quick off the mark to intervene publicly, yet again, in the internal affairs of TEC, where Revd Glasspool has been elected by the representatives of the faithful of the diocese (unlike any English bishop). Yet he says nothing at all when gay people are put in fear of death in Uganda, where the Anglican Church risks becoming complicit in serious human rights abuse.
Is there any integrity in such behaviour?
That’s it? This is all we get from our accomplished leader, a restatement of the obvious? Why did he even bother? No doubt, however, the Archbishop is engaged in intensive and private efforts to further subvert the workings of The Episcopal Church. God save us!
I’m pleased to see that Rowan Wiliams has taken this swift, brave and principled response to the news from Uganda about the attack on gay people. It is wonderful for the Archbishop to give such a strong and inspiring lead on a human rights issue.
Oh, hang on, sorry. I misread it. He’s having another go at people out of his Province because they have elected the Bishop of their choice. Sorry, as you were.
The ABC just doesn’t get it, does he? TEC is going to follow where the Spirit is leading it, firm in its conviction that that is precisely what is happening. In this, Rowan Williams reminds me of those Northern politicians who–in the early ’60s–kept warning black leaders in the US to go slow, lest they lose the support of middle-class whites.
Wow. He can respond within hours to the Rev. Glasspool’s election, but still nothing on Uganda?
+Rowan, dear–“Communion” only means something when there is Good News to share. I’m afraid you have nothing to offer in that department.
But the Diocese of Los Angeles does. Thanks be to God!
Isn’t the ABC rather quick to comment? Doesn’t he need to be respectful of process in other countries? Isn’t he afraid of being seen as a neo-colonial meddler? What a hypocrite!
A veiled threat TEC will be kicked out of the WWAC?
“Tings ‘happen’ ya know; like in Uganda. Capish?” — Archbishop of Canterbury John Gotti
I would note that the election of Mary Glaspool receives public comment instantly, whereas the attempt to deny the human rights of LGBT persons in Uganda has yet to receive public comment from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Election result announced by Diocese of Los Angeles at 10:30 PM Saturday, Lambeth time. Condemnation of Episcopal Church issued at 10:00 A.M. Sunday, Lambeth time. Total number of minutes Canterbury took to respond: 690. Well, who wins the pool? (See earlier post.) It took the Archbishop a little longer than I’d predicted for him to condemn the Episcopal Church — I thought the maximum amount of time it would take him would be 90 minutes, so I suppose I don’t win. Total number of minutes it has taken him to suggest to the Church of Uganda that execution for the… Read more »
The ABC comments readily and regularly on issues he feels like commenting on. Words and pronouncements are his currency, and “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” His selective concern shows us where his heart is and is a window into where he’d want Anglicans to be.
It’s difficult to accept this sort of thing from the ABC anymore. At least he is consistent.
For he who tries to save his communion will lose it.
I think this is just wonderful news. The Americans have done it again. God does move in mysterious ways. ABC response is so predictable. Does any one worry what he says anymore? I for one will always remain in communion with TEC and will support them with my prayers and love as far as I can. It is such a good change to be able to say to our American cousins ‘well done and thank you’.
Gee, that didn’t take long.
So much for the idea that RW doesn’t like to play the meddling colonialist.
Under his (mis)leadership, the Church of England–and the Anglican Communion–have become institutions with which no decent person would wish to be associated.
The separation can’t come soon enough for me. It seems more a deliverance than a threat.
I have nothing to add to the obvious.
Lord have mercy!
Time for Parliament to abolish the episcopacy of the Church of England and complete the Reformation.
Mitres are no longer de rigueur…
Oh my, anything to get us to sign up on Drexel Gomezs blood stained (you do know that Jamaica is the country in the Western Hemisphere with more hate crimes directed against LGBT people than any other) corrupted Anglican Covenant dotted line. +Rowan really is a trip…first he FIRES his feardriven bullet into the back of The Very Reverend Jeffery John’s head and now he´s looking for a FRESH victim at The Diocese of Los Angeles, The Episcopal Church…an Anglican Province that already, unlike The Church of England, CONSECRATES Females to the Episcopate…dah, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori might give… Read more »
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s reaction to this election of a lesbian bishop is DESPICABLE and he should be ashamed of himself, especially in light of his silence on the proposed Uganda anti-homosexual laws. I hope by now the American Episcopal Church will view communion separation from The Church of England as a badge of honor. Rowan is an idiot. I use to think otherwise but now I view him to be just as dangerous as Benedict in Rome!
Was this a response to The Church of Sweden because of the consecration of The Right Reverend Eva Brunne, (a Lesbian/Partnered Woman) Bishop of Stockholm?
I get so confused with all the threats and snubbing from Dr. Williams at Lambeth Palace as righteous religious gangsters/murderers in Kampala, Uganda (Kingston, Jamaica too) roam the Churches and Streets and infiltrate Parliament promoting Genocide…it makes one question their Faith once delivered by honorable Women and Men.
“His selective concern shows us where his heart is.”
Or maybe what is job is.
Unfortunately the term ‘gracious restraint’ is a euphemism for maintaining a status quo of prejudice and unjust discrimination. If any sort of schism erupts anew, it will be because backward-thinking Anglicans and Episcopalians
continue to deny the existence of lesbians and gay men in the community. These back-ward thinkers are a negative force. It is a shame that the Archbishop has fallen into their hands, by suggesting that their bias has any import or meaning. Yours sincerely, John J Powers
God be praised for the Episcopal Church of America. May they stand firm in their decision, by the people of the diocese. We have seen Rowan before in action here in England, when Bishop, sorry Fr Jeffrey John was denied his God given right to be consecrated a bishop.
Fr John
Rowan will be speaking at the Trinity Institute next month. This might be an opportunity for Americans to ask him directly about his silence on Uganda, homophobia, colonialism, honest relationships, honesty in general, meddling, his understanding of the autonomy of the member churches of the Anglican Communion, and his understanding of the scapegoating mechanisms -pagan religion- so prevalent in the Communion, or any old thing.
Just a happy thought. Isn’t it time for Rowan to be quiet and do some active listening?
What an embarrassment! Not the election of the Rev Canon Mary Glasspool but the ungracious attitude and unrestrained behavior of the ABC.
When oh WHEN will Rw’s term expire? Can anything be done to advance the date? Can we have a recall election? Can anything be done to assure a more suitable ABC next time? This has long since passed from the ridiculous well past the sublime. Now its just plain crazy.
“Now you see, Simon, I wasn’t wrong, was I? The Episcopal Church will shortly be rejected by the Church of England. They’d rather be in communion with the Church of Uganda, which represents True Christianity in Action, as far as Canterbury is concerned. We’re about to go our separate ways; peace be unto you and yours.” That need not be the case, if the many progressives within the C of E make it very clear to ++Rowan that any such moves risk civil war within the C of E itself. ++Rowan seems to respond to whatever direction actual pressure appears… Read more »
The Episcopal Church has waited long enough for the radical conservatives to grow up. They never will. It is time to move on. I commend the Diocese of Los Angeles for its courageous actions. It is time for the Church to be the Church, and to quit telling GLBT Christians that they must be treated as second class citizens in order pose no further strain on the communion, whatever that means. We need no longer tolerate the intolerant. Just keep our head down marching forward – doing the right thing. And let the chips fall where they may. Who wants… Read more »
Chickens**t. Eleven hours to react to this and still not say anything about Uganda. The man’s a disgrace.
The Archbishop’s quick response to voice his “concerns” about Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool raises questions for me about his continued deafening silence on the issue of the Anti-Homosexuality legislation in Uganda. Is her election really that threatening to the “mutual affection” of the Communion than a bill that proposes death and imprisonment for LGBT Ugandans?!?!
He is has made the case: the ABC is irrelevant and is definitely like the grass that withers and fades.
There are worse things in life than being condemned by ++Rowan for being gay. Being condemned to death, for instance.
To the Archbishop of Canterbury, one can only say:
“Shame and eternal shame, nothing but shame!”
Two thoughts:
If the Archbishop wanted to help push the Episcopal Church into ratifying Canon Glasspool’s election, I think he has taken a hasty step in that direction.
I suspect this “memo” has been written for a long time, merely awaiting a filling in of a blank.
Will anyone be really surprised if (and when) The Episcopal Church opts out of the world-wide Anglican Communion – in favour of a TEC-led *Episcopal Anglican Communion*?
If this is what it’s going to take for the prophetic mission of the Church to be allowed to function, then so be it. I, for one, wouldn’t mind at all being a part of the new Gospel-oriented Communion.
God Bless Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the justice-implementing Episcopal Church.
Do not miss Andrew Brown’s fine piece “Rowan Williams’ choice” at The Guardian. “Under Williams, the church that marries two women who love each other is to be thrown out of the Anglican Communion. The church that would jail them both for life, and would revile and persecute their defenders, stays snugly in his bosom. Not even the Archbishop’s remarkable gift for obfuscation can conceal these facts forever.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/dec/06/rowan-uganda-homophobia-lesbian-bishop
I’m just quietly blogging away, wondering if this Archbishop will have intense, private, negotiations by telephone (blah, blah, blah) on this, as he apparently chooses in his utter silence, and there’s a statement produced already. This is just all cockeyed upside down. Is it totally devoid of any ethical sense whatsoever? I’m staggered.
Stuff the bonds of ‘mutual affection’, for they are based on shared bigotry, homophobia and hostility.
TEC should tell the AofC exactly where he can stuff his homophobic club
“The Anglican Communion’s official stance means that it is committed to oppose the consecration of a partnered lesbian or gay bishop at all costs, but not to the execution or life imprisonment of a lesbian or gay person in Uganda nor imprisonment for 3 years of any family member, church member, priest or bishop who fails to denounce a know lesbian or gay person to the police within 24 hours.” – C.A. blog – Changing Attitude’s blog states very clearly what is at issue here; on the ‘official’ stance of the Anglican Communion, as a whole, to the two issues… Read more »
Hey, folks, Rowan has given his reason for not responding to Uganda: “a period of gracious restraint”….
“Will anyone be really surprised if (and when) The Episcopal Church opts out of the world-wide Anglican Communion – in favour of a TEC-led *Episcopal Anglican Communion*? “
Oh, geez, I hope not. I don’t see more American hegemony as exactly what the doctor ordered. Maybe the Canadians could lead it – they certainly showed leadership on Uganda.
Rowan Williams is a weak leader, let alone being a spiritual one. The reason is that he cant even stand out to be counted. Why cant be be straight-forward and say he is not in support. Why using rhetoric and sitting on the fence on every issue? This man deserves to be de-robed; entirely. Rev Glasspool is more credible and dedicated I suppose.
The Anglican Church should be really ashamed of having this man as a leader; shame.
If Mary Glasspool’s election is confirmed and the proposed Ugandan legislation goes through, would we be in a position where a Ugandan Anglican might be placed at risk of arrest for meeting with Bishop Glasspool? How did we get to a point where the Archbishop of Canterbury can object that the canonical process of Glasspool’s election “raises very serious questions” for the Anglican communion, while he remains silent about legislation that could extend state-sponsored violence against and killing of gay people in Uganda? How can this erudite man find the gospels so hard to comprehend? Lord, when did we see… Read more »
Father Ron Smith. As Always your observations and
comments are spot on. You are quite righ about
PB Katharine Schori. She is truly a gift to the Episcopal and wider Anglican Commumion.
CarlD
Rowan loves Benedict in Rome. Benedict will be very pleased with Rowan’s statement to the American Episcopal Church about the election of this remarkable lesbian woman. Benedict will probably send Rowan another pectoral cross or some fancy jeweled crosier. Rowan will be impressed and will utter more hollow and hurtful words to gain further favor with the Bishop of Rome. Rowan has now moved beyond any respectable position and therefore it is time for the American Episcopal Church to break its’ ties to Canterbury. Rowan has proven his homophobia and he has hurt many people. He doesn’t care. He is… Read more »
Well, obviously, current forms of pressure on the ABC aren’t working. I seriously doubt he or his staff reads the blogs, and trying to contact Lambeth Palace would be useless. I’m sure even mountains of emails, letters, and faxes would get summarily filtered out, deleted, shredded, etc. Maybe it’s time to start picketing Lambeth Palace with signs that read “Silence=Death”.
The Episcopal Church has been independent of the Church of England since the 1780s…and its not going to bow to it now.
Don’t blame Rowan. We must pray for him every day until this episode is over. Remember the House of Bishops operates collectively. Although Rowan signed it off, it must be made absolutely clear that this is a statement from ALL Church of England bishops currently in office. Remember he is primus inter pares in the Anglican Communion, not Chief Executive Officer. Yes, the bishops are now a national disgrace, like the bankers. But don’t you see? This is all part of the Divine Plan to discredit the episcopacy to such an extent – whether here or in Ireland – that… Read more »
I think it would have been righteous if he had mentioned that two bishops were elected, both with stellar qualities of learning and pastoral service for the diocese of Los Angeles. He would have been august and patriarchal. Then he could have indulged in his desultory speculations to his hearts content. The statement he posted was vacuous. The Episcopal Church will not be shaken but will continue on its course, a course of faithfulness to God, to the Gospel, to the people of the United States and of the world, and to the best ideals of its own heritage.
“Although Rowan signed it off, it must be made absolutely clear that this is a statement from ALL Church of England bishops currently in office.”
Really? I was not aware that bishops could move so fast.