From the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion
The following resolution was passed by the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion meeting in London on 15-18 December, and approved for public distribution.
Resolved that, in the light of:
i. The recent episcopal nomination in the Diocese of Los Angeles of a partnered lesbian candidate
ii. The decisions in a number of US and Canadian dioceses to proceed with formal ceremonies of same-sex blessings
iii. Continuing cross-jurisdictional activity within the CommunionThe Standing Committee strongly reaffirm Resolution 14.09 of ACC 14 supporting the three moratoria proposed by the Windsor Report and the associated request for gracious restraint in respect of actions that endanger the unity of the Anglican Communion by going against the declared view of the Instruments of Communion.
For those who haven’t been keeping up, this body was formerly known as the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) of the Primates and Anglican Consultative Council.
+Jon Bruno (DioLA) has given this the response it deserves: “As we approach the nativity of Christ, we need to remember the admonition of the angels to the shepherds: “Be not afraid.” The Episcopal Church, a member of the Anglican Communion, for more than the past 30 years has been working on gradual, full incorporation of gay and lesbian people. We have worked to be people of gracious restraint for all these years and have now come to a place in our lives that is normal evolutionary change which compels us to move from tolerance to full inclusion. As with… Read more »
Well okay, now we have the Anglican Covenant. What a mixed pudding. Right off, we have to decode if/when we can, teasing out the typical Anglican fudge strands (this strand can be variously interpreted in different ways, and all are allowed, indeed encouraged to do so for the Anglican Time Being), teasing out the Small Tent strands (centralizing of power in the Standing Committee of the ACC, policing and punishment procedures in the notorious section 4, the careful wording about how to read scripture which helps collapse global big tents by repositioning most progressive Anglican reading manners as outside the… Read more »
I wish that they gave the actual vote. As I recall, and someone correct me please, there are at least two members of TEC on this Standing Committee, including the Presiding Bishop herself.
Lets have the vote on this resolution published broken down by national/regional church.
Has the Covenant been passed yet?
I remember the 1970s election campaign when Cyril Smith arrived at a little airport and was told he couldn’t arrive as he had, and his reply was, “Tell them to go and get stuffed.”
That’s the suitable reply to the Standing Committee. It is acting outside any jurisdiction, already.
The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop Diocesan Bishop Bruno has said it all. Meanwhile The Archbishop of Canterbury and his Group of ¨Steering¨ Committelike people have nothing to say about the GENOCIDE planned for Uganda, Nigeria (already active in Jamaica however not legal..yet). I think it is quite easy to determine the direction one would wish to follow when aspiring to Love God and Love thy neighbor (not kill thy neighbor, not jail thy neighbor, not persecute thy neighbor, not outcast thy neighbor, not two-track thy neighbor and certainly not EXCLUDE thy neighbor at all levels of religious life… Read more »
May we have a SHOW of HANDS? I also, like Daveed, want to know who voted for this creeping measure of despotism at The Anglican Communion.
Dear Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion members: Too bad that you did not have time in your, no doubt, intensive deliberations to issue a statement about the support of the bishops of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria for pending lesislation in their countries that would further criminalize, imprison, and execute LGBT persons. But, then, I imagine that a few words of hope for LGBT Christians, whose lives have been made unbearable by the actions of Churches in the Communion, would have been too costly for the “unity of the Anglican Communion”. Let’s be perfectly clear: THERE… Read more »
Remember the ¨leave¨ Bishop Rowan Williams took and worked on a book in Washington D.C./Georgetown a few Summers ago? I suddenly wonder if Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury spent time with members of the ¨Family¨…I´m wondering if +Rowan joined those who wander the mansion grounds in near Washington D.C…is Lord Carey of Clifton another one of their regular invitees?
So! Will this require that the Primates of those Provinces which have established rogue dioceses within the territory of TEC and Canada now be requested to withdraw from their illicit invasion of these two ‘Western’ Provinces of the Communion? I frankly cannot see this happening. So how can the Standing Committee of the Communion possibly expect TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada to resile from their intention to provide appopriate pastoral responses to LGBT ordination candidates and same-sex partnerships within their separate jurisdictions? If this is the prelude to the imposition of an ‘Anglican Covenant’, then obviously there can… Read more »
Cross border intervention pre-dated the election of Gene Robinson. So why is it listed third of three?
The US has operated gracious restraint for past 6 years. The response to them has been anything but gracious.
It’s no good shutting the stable door after the horse has left.
I never thought I would say this, but perhaps it’s time to leave the Anglican Communion, and cultivate our relationships with Methodists, Lutherans, and Moravians, here and abroad, who are committed to an inclusive church.
No Anglican Covenant!
The US and Canadian churches are independent of the rest of the Communion. That independence should not be compromised, especially when issues of Gospel principle — and *baptismal* covenant — are at stake.
No novel arrangement that would convert the Anglican family of churches into something it has never been before — an organization controlled from the top down.
No curia, no star chamber, no inquisition.
No Anglican Covenant!
“Cross border intervention pre-dated the election of Gene Robinson. So why is it listed third of three?”
Because the Powers That Be never, ever had any real intention of disciplining those responsible, but felt a need for something to balance their TEC-bashing.
John posted: “I never thought I would say this, but perhaps it’s time to leave the Anglican Communion, and cultivate our relationships with Methodists, Lutherans, and Moravians, here and abroad, who are committed to an inclusive church.” No, I’m sorry John, but we aren’t leaving the Anglican Communion (however it comes to be defined). Instead, the Anglican Communion will be splitting into (A) Traditional Anglican Communion (broad church, respectful of other beliefs, reformationist, inclusive) and (B) Isolationist Anglican Communion (think the mindset of “Global South” plus Rowan Williams and part of the Church of England). I believe that the Traditional… Read more »
From Episcopal Cafe: ¨I am also going to assume that I may never learn otherwise because I have been told that the Central Committee members agree not to speak about what happens at their meetings. So any time you see the phrase Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, remember that this body, which will soon be making essential decisions about the life of the Communion operates in secret.¨ http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/anglican_communion/question_of_the_day_what_are_t.html#more So there you have it brothers and sisters at the Body of Christ…the new ¨Steering Central Committee¨ (who recently elevated themselves to Anglican Standing Committee status)…intends to let blood flow in… Read more »
‘No novel arrangement that would convert the Anglican family of churches into something it has never been before — an organization controlled from the top down.’ (jeremy) Yes, I realise that I am such a traditionalist there’s no way I’m prepeared to accept this ‘covenant’ and its threatned new deal. The anti-gay animus is itself an innovation, unkown in the anglican parishes and institutions I’ve been moving in for the last 59 years. The bishop who ordained me in the 70s was himself gay and known as such in the diocese, my own gayness was seen as totally unremarkable. The… Read more »
“I never thought I would say this, but perhaps it’s time to leave the Anglican Communion, and cultivate our relationships with Methodists, Lutherans, and Moravians, here and abroad, who are committed to an inclusive church.” — John
A year ago, I was in favor of a Covenant! Now I too think the best thing for TEC to do is to leave this so-called Communion behind, and follow John’s suggestion.
Dear +Rowan, perhaps it´s time to take a roll call on your much elevated Anglican Communion Central Steering Committee list, actually they are not in Communion with oneanother…better write them up: ¨A quick skim suggests that several members of the “Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion” have declared — or have been declared for — that they are not in communion with some members of the Anglican Communion, as commonly or even legally understood. Now, by the logic of “communion,” someone not in communion with someone in a communion is not in the communion. That is, there are members of… Read more »
Please allow me to share some thoughts on (Communion) (The Ecumenical Movement) and (John 17: 20-21) from the perspective of a North Carolina Moravian. I found this thread through a Google alert for articles and blogs relating to “Moravian Episcopal Full Communion”. I must confess that I had no idea what these terms meant to the historic or contemporary church. As a Layman in the Moravian Church taking a first time – fresh look at this subject I pray you will find something in what I have to say that will add to this conversation. I think For Moravians the… Read more »
Thanks L, the Anglican habit used to be that we left the sorting of Anglican sheep and goats to God, while we continued in common prayer all around the planet with whomsoever will. If common prayer was bit tent stuff, service and mission were even bigger tents in some places. Now, its’ gotten all opposite, turned right around. The new hot Anglican game is called, Who’s In And Who’s Out. Even those of us who do not wish to play this game are ruled out so loudly and meanly and so often called dirt and danger that we end up… Read more »
Very interesting Lee. Thank you for your post and for this url http://www.Moravians.org/wordpress
with good wishes
Re John’s comments. Perhaps we need to re-visit the 1948 Lambeth Conference resolutions which spoke of the provisionality of the Anglican Communion and looked to its disappearance.It clearly envisaged the growth of Churches on the Church of South India model with Anglicans joining others and bringing with them particular gifts, especially perhaps aspects of liturgy and sacramental order for example the historic episcopate.Yet within ten years the mood seems to have changed and a move towards centralisation occurred.Was this reinforced by Roman catholic ecumenism and the decision that Rome should dialogue with the Anglican Communion as a whole ? And… Read more »
“…..perhaps 50 years on its time for a re-visit and a re-think” – Perry Butler – Indeed, Perry, this would seem to be the pragmatic interpetation of what is actually happening at this time in the world-wide Communion. The Church of South India came about precisely because of the needs of its own context. It would seem that the needs of the different contexts of parts of the Communion – especially those of the West and the Global South – demand a different kind of Church from that of the Roman ‘one-size-fits-all’ magisterial model. Those of us who exist outside… Read more »