The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has criticised Anglican bishops who are threatening to withdraw from next year’s Lambeth Conference on issues of principle as “misguided and missing the point”, saying that the purpose of the ten yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world has always been to discuss divisions and differences since it was begun by his predecessor, 140 years ago.
Read the full press release about his Advent Address.
…Speaking of his predecessor, the first Bishop of Ripon, Charles Longley, Bishop Packer said, “The act for which he is remembered in history is that calling of the (Lambeth) Conference in 1867 in which bishops were invited to express their differences in the context of their unity in Christ… There was strong disagreement over the necessity for Christians to believe in the reality of eternal punishment following the publication of ‘Essays and Reviews’.
“There could not be a greater contrast between the attitude of the bishops at Lambeth in 1867 and those who appear unwilling to attend in 2008 who I believe to be misguided and missing the point….. (In 1867) there was no sense of a need to achieve unity before meeting, or refusal to attend on the grounds of the deep divisions which then split Anglicans from each other. Indeed the fact of such divisions was the chief incentive to meet…”
The full text of his address is available as a PDF file here.
89 CommentsUpdated again Friday evening
The ENS report by Jan Nunley is headed San Joaquin bishop asked to ‘reconsider, draw back’ from withdrawal efforts.
Expressing concern for his health and “evident sense of isolation,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori urged Bishop John-David M. Schofield of the Diocese of San Joaquin to “reconsider and draw back” from efforts to withdraw his diocese from the Episcopal Church.
As with previous letters to other disaffected bishops, the correspondence with Schofield notified him that such a step would force Jefferts Schori to act to bring the diocese and its leadership into line with the mandates of the national Church.
“You have been clear that you feel your views are dismissed or ignored within the Episcopal Church, yet you have ceased to participate in the councils of the Church. It is difficult to have dialogue with one who is absent,” Jefferts Schori wrote. “…The Church will never change if dissenters withdraw from the table. There is an ancient and honored tradition of loyal opposition, and many would welcome your participation”…
The full text of the letter is included and also appears here below the fold.
Update
Bishop Schofield has responded to this, and his reply can be read here. The diocesan site has it here, but a more permanent URL is this PDF version. The full text of this reply is now also below.
Today, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this article by Ann Rogers: Secession sends churches into unknown territory.
And last Friday the Ridgecrest Daily Indpendent in California had Split in world church could mean change for local parish by Ruth Justis.
Earlier last month, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram had Episcopal diocese takes step to cut ties by Terry Goodrich.
In a related development, Episcopal News Service recently published Executive Council committee chairs respond to retired bishops’ open letters which references the detailed response given (PDF file) to “a pair of open letters written last summer by a group of retired bishops, demanding a “public report” of the cost of litigation over breakaway groups attempting to take the Episcopal Church’s property”. The article also gives some background on the earlier actions of those retired bishops.
36 CommentsFirst, The Rev. Canon Benjamin Twinamaani of Uganda has written a very informative article, which is published by both Anglican Communion Institute and by Covenant.
It is titled How American Anglicans Think and Act: A Primer for the Global South.
Second, Andrew Goddard has published a new analysis The Anglican Communion – Mapping the Terrain which constitutes the November newsletter for Fulcrum.
It’s receiving a number of critical comments from American conservatives. See for example these three:
Stephen Noll says this.
Sarah Hey says this.
Leander Harding says this.
No doubt more to follow.
57 CommentsLetters of support from the UK to Bishop Duncan and to Bishop Iker have already been reported.
It should not go unnoticed that another letter from the UK was sent to the Anglican Network in Canada. The full text and list of signatories can be found here, and the text is reproduced below the fold. Note that the signatories claimed to be writing not as individuals but also on behalf of their organisations:
Signed with pleasure and delight,
+Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes & President of Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC)
Dr Philip Giddings, Convenor, Anglican Mainstream
Paul Boyd-Lee, Chair of the 1990 Group in General Synod
Rev John Coles, Director of New Wine
Canon Andy Lines, General Secretary of Crosslinks
Stephen Parkinson, Director, Forward in Faith
Revd Paul Perkin, Convenor of the Covenant Group for the Church of England
Revd David Phillips, Director of Church Society
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary, Anglican Mainstream
Rev Dr Richard Turnbull, Chairman and for the Executive of the Church of England Evangelical Council
Rev Roderick Thomas, Chairman of Reform
But also, there is this letter from no less than the Bishop of Rochester:
63 CommentsThe Right Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester
I greatly regret the necessity for this step, but I am glad that an agreed way has been found for biblically minded and orthodox Anglicans to receive appropriate primatial oversight from the province of the Southern Cone and episcopal care from Bishop Don Harvey. I pray that this arrangement will be a blessing for many.
Bishop Michael Nazir Ali
Gregory Venables has written his opinions (scroll down the page) on specific points raised by the November 29th Pastoral Statement of the Primate and Metropolitans of the Anglican Church of Canada.
For Immediate Release: November 30, 2007
1. Regarding extending a place in the Anglican Communion for those who in all conscience cannot remain in their Province, Archbishop Venables quoted scripture:
“Jesus said, ‘Which of you if your son or ox fall into the well won’t immediately pull him out on the Sabbath?’
Are we keeping the law or the spirit of the law?”
2. Regarding the provision for pastoral care and episcopal support being adequate and appropriate:
“Surely this would require agreement from the recipients as well as those in power.”
3. Regarding the contravening of agreements by interventions:
“In the Dar es Salaam communiqué we said, “Furthermore, those Primates who have undertaken interventions do not feel that it is right to end those interventions until it becomes clear that sufficient provision has been made for the life of those persons.”
On the other hand the bishop of New Westminster within the ACOC a few hours after the appearance of the Primates’ letter from Brazil in 2003 went ahead with the very action the letter had pleaded should not be taken. It also went against the Bible and the consensus of 2000 years of Christianity.
The implication of this violation and the resulting crisis was ignored.
Since then there have been egregious examples in clear rejection of Lambeth 1 10, Windsor and the requests of the Communion leadership. Once again nothing has been said even though this has meant the tearing apart of the Anglican Communion and an exodus from the church.
Now suddenly those who seek to take care of those who side with historic, biblical Christianity and the Anglican Communion are accused of the very lapse that has produced the crisis.
Is it possible in the real world to use the very agreements that one is contravening to protect oneself”.
4. Regarding Bishop Donald Harvey’s response to the Pastoral Statement (Nov. 30, 2007):
Bishop Don Harvey’s response is an accurate assessment of the cause of the current crisis and interpretation of the Primates’ statements. I am grateful to my brothers and sisters in Christ who wrote letters in support of for these actions and in support of ANiC and the ministry of biblically faithful Communion committed Canadian Anglicans. Thanks be to God.
The Anglican Journal has an interview: South American archbishop sees ‘denial’ and ‘hypocrisy’ in Canadian leaders’ statement
and there is a sidebar, Quick facts: The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America.
The Anglican Network in Canada itself had this to say about the Pastoral Letter.
27 CommentsRoderick Strange writes in The Times about Advent: Nativity narratives are a gift from the gospel’s heart.
Martyn Percy writes in the Guardian that: Advent is a time of serious preparation, but it’s about far more than Christmas.
Christopher Howse writes in the Daily Telegraph about a new papal encyclical: Spe Salvi, says Pope Benedict.
The same paper also has a piece by Sam Leith titled Loving William Blake for being bonkers.
Giles Fraser who has returned from his US trip, writes in the Church Times about How the US conscience has become diseased.
In the Los Angeles Times there is an essay by Laura Miller on the Religious furor over ‘The Golden Compass’.
Added
And here’s a bonus column: Andrew Brown writes about Kitschmas: Funnier than thou.
At its recent meeting, the Council of General Synod approved the following initial response to the draft Anglican Communion Covenant and asked that it be forwarded to the Communion offices.
Read it all at A Preliminary Response to the Draft Covenant by the Anglican Church of Canada.
Reference is made in that to the 2007 Canadian response to the Windsor Report.
13 CommentsUpdated Friday morning
The Lesbian and Gay Clergy Consultation organised a service today, at which, according to Ruth Gledhill, the Archbishop of Canterbury presided and preached.
Her blog report is headlined Rowan celebrates ‘secret’ gay communion service, although pretty obviously it wasn’t a secret that it was happening.
Her online newspaper story however is headlined Archbishop presides over ‘gay’ Eucharist.
Some other websites are temporarily unavailable, but I will add further links as soon as I am able.
However babyblue has noted in a comment at StandFirm that Martyn Minns preached at an Integrity eucharist in November 2001. A report of that event can be found in this PDF document.
StandFirm articles with comments about this event are here and also here. And now also this one. My, my they are excited. Meanwhile over at T19 comments on this topic have to be submitted by email.
Update
Changing Attitude has this press release: Archbishop of Canterbury meets LGBT members of the Consultation.
And the paper version of The Times has this version of Ruth Gledhill’s story: Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, at ‘secret’ gay ceremony. The scare quotes in the headline have moved over one word!
51 CommentsNovember 29, 2007 — The following pastoral statement is released to the Church by the Primate and the Metropolitan Archbishops of each of the four ecclesiastical provinces.
A Pastoral Statement from the Primate and Metropolitans of the Anglican Church of Canada
Greetings in the name of the One who was, who is, and who is to come — our Lord Jesus Christ
The Mission Statement of the Anglican Church of Canada opens with these statements: “As a partner in the worldwide Anglican Communion and in the universal Church, we proclaim and celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ in worship and in action. We value our heritage of Biblical faith, reason, liturgy, tradition, bishops and synods and the rich variety of our life in community.”
It is fundamental to the values and mission of our Church that we welcome and respect freedom of individual conscience and the theological convictions of a diverse membership. Our General Synods have consistently strived to honour every voice as the Church works through contentious and difficult issues before it. This is particularly true in the way the Church has endeavoured to address matters of human sexuality including the blessing of same-sex unions.
The report of the Primate’s Theological Commission commonly known as the St. Michael Report has described this issue as matter of doctrine but not core doctrine. General Synod concurred with this opinion last June. The St. Michael Report also declared that the matter need not be a Communion-breaking issue.
It is in this context that we deplore recent actions on the part of the Primate and General Synod of the Province of the Southern Cone to extend its jurisdiction into Canada through the Essentials Network Conference. This action breaks fellowship within the Anglican Church of Canada and the Anglican Communion.
We affirm the statement unanimously agreed to by the Council of General Synod which appeals to the Archbishop of Canterbury “to make clear that such actions are not a valid expression of Anglicanism.” We too appeal to him in his capacity as one of the instruments of communion and as chair of the Primates’ Meeting to address the very serious issues raised by this intervention.
The actions by the Primate of the Southern Cone are not necessary. Our bishops have made adequate and appropriate provision for the pastoral care and episcopal support of all members of the Anglican Church of Canada, including those who find themselves in conscientious disagreement with the view of their bishop and synod over the blessing of same-sex unions. These provisions, contained in the document known as Shared Episcopal Ministry, were adopted by the House of Bishops and commended by the panel of reference appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The actions by the Primate of the Southern Cone are also inappropriate. They contravene ancient canons of the Church going as far back as the 4th century, as well as statements of the Lambeth Conference, the Windsor report and the Communiqué from the Primates’ Meeting earlier this year. Furthermore these actions violate Canon XVII of the Anglican Church of Canada which states that “No Bishop priest or deacon shall exercise ordained ministry in a diocese without the license or temporary permission of the Diocesan Bishop.”
Any ministry exercised in Canada by those received into the Province of the Southern Cone after voluntarily relinquishing the exercise of their ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada is inappropriate, unwelcome and invalid. We are aware that some bishops have, or will be making statements to that effect in their own dioceses.
In the meantime we rejoice in this season of Advent in which we once again begin that great journey of tracing the steps of our Lord’s most holy life through the liturgy of a new year.
We rejoice in the gift of word and sacrament. We rejoice in the gift of our baptism and in the great gift of the Eucharist. We rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth and empowers us to proclaim the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ in word and action.
We respect the diversity of opinion in our Church over many issues. We respect the manner in which we take counsel together and honour the intention of all those who even in the midst of struggle desire to remain within the fellowship of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Let us renew our trust in the One who holds us together in the embrace of His love and peace.
We call all Anglicans to a renewed emphasis on mission and prayer for faithful witness in the service of the gospel within our parishes and across the world.
In him whose Advent sets us free.
The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Archbishop and Primate
The Most Rev. Terry Buckle, Archbishop and Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon
The Most Rev. John Clarke, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Rupert’s Land
The Most Rev. Caleb Lawrence, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ontario
The Most Rev. Bruce Stavert, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Canada
Links:
Download this document in PDF format
St. Michael Report
Shared Episcopal Ministry
The Church of Ireland has issued this press release:
A Response To The Consultation On Draft Anglican Covenant
Church of Ireland General Synod’s Standing Committee agrees response to Consultation on Draft Anglican Covenant.
The Primates of the Anglican Communion have called on member churches to agree a Covenant which will recognise their common bond. Each church is being given an opportunity to contribute to the process.
The Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, at its meeting on Tuesday 20th November, agreed a response to the Consultation on a Draft Anglican Covenant. The response includes an alternative form of wording for the Covenant, which the Standing Committee hopes might encapsulate an approach that would be acceptable across the Provinces of the Anglican Communion.
The text of the response is posted on the Church of Ireland website at the request of the Honorary Secretaries, and may be accessed by clicking here [PDF].
An html copy of the proposed covenant text (not including the covering explanation) can be found here.
The introduction is copied here, below the fold.
42 CommentsThis widely-trailed radio programme is available on the web for one week, under the BBC’s Listen Again system.
Go here to listen to it (40 minutes long). BBC blurb:
122 CommentsMichael Buerk reports on the divide over homosexuality in the worldwide Anglican Church. He talks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who expresses his feelings of shame over homophobia.
Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream gave an address ‘An International Overview’ [of the Anglican Communion] at the Anglican Network in Canada conference, Burlington, Ontario, 23 November 2007.
You can read his remarks in full here (PDF file). He makes the following assumption:
…There are currently three groups of people in the current debate.
Some think that the approach of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada is the way ahead for the Anglican Communion. These would include the Archbishops of Wales and Scotland, and since they are welcoming Gene Robinson to visit, the Primates of Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia and Melanesia.
Some do not agree with The Episcopal Church in its teachings on doctrine and ethics. Bishop Jonathan Gledhill of Lichfield said he believed that 95% of the Anglican Communion would hold this view.
Of the second group, some no longer trust the Archbishop of Canterbury to deal adequately with the problem. Others still trust that the Archbishop of Canterbury is willing to address the problem as one charged with contending for the faith once delivered to the saints…
See also his earlier article in Evangelicals Now (September 2007) Not schism but revolution which you can read here.
Graham Kings of Fulcrum has commented on these remarks, you can read his comments in full here (comment timed at 11.49 on 28 November), but the key point made is this:
37 Comments… It seems clear from the rest of the address that Chris Sugden aligns himself (and Anglican Mainstream as a whole?) with the second group, which presumably also would include CANA, AMiA, Anglican Communion Network and Common Cause.
Fulcrum, the Anglican Communion Institute and Covenant would be part of group three.
This ‘no longer trusting in the Archbishop of Canterbury’ matches Chris Sugden’s earlier article, ‘Not Schism but Revolution’, in Evangelicals Now (September 2007), where he stated, after a quotation from Bishop Bob Duncan:
In other words, since the Archbishop of Canterbury has not provided for the safe oversight of the orthodox in the United States, he has forfeited his role as the one who gathers the Communion.
The irony of this, is that the Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, Greg Venables, has been at pains to point out that he consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury in September concerning the current events. At least he continues, it seems, to treat the Archbishop of Canterbury as one ‘who gathers the Communion’.
The consequential question resulting from Chris Sugden’s view concerning the Archbishop of Canterbury is: ‘Then who does gather the Communion?’ His view leaves a vacuum. It also means that the Primates’ Meeting can’t be gathered, since Canterbury presides at those meetings. It also means the Lambeth Conference can’t meet. Of the Four Instruments of Communion, that leaves only the Anglican Consultative Council and that is not seen as respresentative by him.
The Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council and the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales have issued a joint statement.
This statement has been issued with a press release titled Churches comment on Government’s incitement to hatred plans which starts:
The Church of England and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales have commented on the Government’s proposed amendment to the Public Order Act 1986 to create a new offence of incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation….
Scroll down from the press release to read the full text of the Memorandum to the Public Bill Committee on the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.
48 CommentsRiazat Butt who is the Religious Affairs correspondent at the Guardian wrote a column for the Church of England Newspaper which has now appeared on Religious Intelligence.
See Time for closure in Anglican crisis?
40 Comments…Talking is something that Anglicans are good at. But I kind of wish they’d do something else. For at least four years the threat of a schism has been hanging over the communion and people write about walking apart and falling off fences but the key word here is threat. Unless I’m deaf I’ve not heard the crack of a rupture so it leaves me thinking that this much-hyped schism, which by all accounts should have happened months ago, is the longest and slowest break-up in history…
GLOBAL ANGLICANS SHARE CALL TO AN INCLUSIVE GOSPEL VISION AND MISSION
Inclusive Church supporters are drenched in grace and ready to embrace “costly unity”
Last week, 180 people gathered in Derbyshire, England for “Drenched in Grace”, Inclusive Church’s first residential conference.
We met as Anglicans, committed to our church. We met as evangelicals and charismatics, as catholics, liberals and conservatives. We met at the Lord’s table – the unifying core of the conference. We reclaimed with confidence the orthodoxy of the inclusive Gospel we celebrate in the Anglican Communion.
We offered a model of engagement to the Communion at large. In our disagreements we acknowledged the primacy of God’s love in which we are all held together, but we did not keep silent about our differences.
Dr Jenny Te Paa (St John’s College, Auckland NZ) opened the conference. In a strong speech, Te Paa reminded us “how pervasive the reach of enmity has become amongst us.” She urged us “not so much to focus too intently and singularly on the bad behaviour of the few, but rather to focus anew on the very good behaviour of the many.”
Revd Dr Sharon Moughtin-Mumby in her talk “Out of the Silence” said “I believe it is vital for us to …. refuse to skip over the difficult and challenging or awkward passages of the Bible, just as in Inclusive Church we are committed to refusing to skip over those who can be made to feel like the difficult, challenging or awkward members of the people of God.”
Revd Dr Louis Weil (Berkeley, California) spoke about the central place baptism holds in our ecclesial understanding. Speaking of the sacraments of baptism and communion, he said “our obsession with validity has weakened the boldness of the sacramental signs. This creates a low level of expectation and weakens our understanding of mission.” We are in communion with one another by God’s grace, not by any human action. “I am in communion with Peter Akinola (the Archbishop of Nigeria)” he said. “I will remain in communion with Peter Akinola until we are both on the other side.”
Canon Lucy Winkett (St Paul’s Cathedral) spoke of the need to “forge relationships on the anvil of profound disagreement.” “The worry that we have as Anglicans is that our faith can be so driven by fear that our liturgy is tedious and our public pronouncements shrill and irrelevant.” In a powerful and wide ranging address she called for engagement with others across the theological spectrum.
Mark Russell, the Chief Executive of Church Army, sent us out into the world, calling passionately for the church to unite. “Unity is not saying that we will always agree with each other, unity is a deeper spiritual concept. Unity allows me to love my brothers and sisters even when I don’t always agree with them. Love allows me to hold difference and diversity.” He challenged us to “go from here, with a renewed vision to pursue a costly unity, and a vision to bring a gospel of hope to all.”
Many present are increasingly alienated and distanced from the church which they see as home. They are being rendered spiritually homeless. A common question was – why are our episcopal friends, who value and support classical Anglican comprehensiveness, so silent? Why do they, with few exceptions, leave the field clear to those who continually seek to undermine the Communion and deny its profound unity?
We have a Gospel to proclaim in a world disenchanted by the actions of those who proclaim a message which excludes. We invite them to meet with us, so that we can together move into the world with a vision of costly unity and hope for all in Jesus Christ.
21 CommentsUpdated Monday morning
The Archbishop of Canterbury has given an interview to a British Muslim magazine, Emel.
The Sunday Times has a news report on this, US is‘worst’ imperialist: archbishop by Abul Taher and has also published the full text of the interview as a PDF file, which you can read here. The interview is more balanced than the newspaper report of it.
Other British newspapers reported on this:
Stephen Bates Guardian Archbishop thrown into row over US Middle East policy
Auslan Cramb Daily Telegraph Archbishop’s assault on US foreign policy
Ruth Gledhill The Times Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gets political blessing for his attack on America’s foreign policy
And the BBC reported it as Archbishop attacks ‘violent’ US
46 CommentsGiles Fraser writes from Pittsburgh for the Church Times that I believe the new puritans will fail.
Paul Woolley writes for The Times about how Religion holds its own in the forum of public debate.
Christopher Howse explains in the Daily Telegraph Why Gladstone had God up his sleeve.
Christopher Rowland writes in the Guardian about Blake’s creative engagement with the Bible.
11 CommentsThe full text of the concluding keynote address by Mark Russell, Chief Executive of the Church Army, can now be found at Go into the world.
And the welcoming remarks by Giles Goddard at the conference opening can be found here.
For the other talks, see entries below.
3 CommentsUpdated Friday evening
TA readers will recall the recent letter from the UK supporting Bishop Duncan.
Pat Ashworth in the Church Times reports that The Catholic Group on the General Synod has initiated a letter of support for the Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt Revd Jack Iker.
Read Catholics write to back Iker.
The full list of names is not yet available but the report says that 34 of the 51 names are common to the earlier letter.
Update
Thr full text and list of signatures is now available on the Fort Worth site here.
And is reproduced below the fold.
93 Comments