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If the work of the Lambeth Conference is in fact to strengthen rather than weaken the Communion in the days and years to come, we are firmly convinced that the bishops there assembled must find ways to address in a constructive manner several key issues. First and foremost among these is the already announced intention of a significant number of bishops within TEC to allow clergy within their dioceses to bless unions between members of the same gender. This course of action is patently contrary to Lambeth resolution 1:10, the Windsor Report, the Dar as Salaam Communiqué, and the positions of...
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Open Letter to the Lambeth Bishops To the Bishops gathering for the Lambeth Conference: I write to you personally and openly. I hope that at least some of you will take my words to heart, not because they are mine (which, on their own, would not count for much), but because they represent the mind, I believe, of many in the Communion who are not as vocal in the councils and organs of communication within our church as some. I write to urge you to prayerful action in the face of widespread concerns that the upcoming Lambeth Conference will prove not only wholly irrelevant to the needs of our...
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In order properly to appreciate the dynamics of the present season it is imperative to understand the regnant self-perception of progressive Episcopalians (and their friends). It is easy enough to understand that 'the Global South' has a different self-understanding than the American one – making allowance for a vast region with different nuances and priorities. It is also critical to contrast the self-understanding of American Episcopalianism with what one finds in the Church of England, where one can of course see kindred concerns for new teaching on sexuality and where one can find allies...
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One of the most serious questions left unanswered after the GAFCON conference was where the movement stood in relation to the proposed Anglican covenant. That question now appears to have been answered fairly unequivocally in two documents (from the GAFCON Theological Resource Team) on the St Andrew's Draft Text to which the 7 GAFCON Primates refer in their response to the Archbishop of Canterbury. These are apparently based on pre-conference discussions in Jerusalem. One is a response to the draft text and includes the following paragraph: "Sadly this new draft of An Anglican Covenant is both...
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We have followed closely the events at Lambeth. We have been pleased at the regular meetings of Communion Partner Bishops together with English Bishops and key Global South Primates. Much hard work and prayerful cooperation was in evidence and we thank God for that. In a telephone interview yesterday with the New York journal "First Things," the topic was general accomplishments of the conference. Here are several things noted: 1. The presence of Global South Primates and their final statement, indicating support for the Windsor Continuation Group's work. This is a crucial statement as it...
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Anyone who has observed the Anglican Communion over the past few months knows that the outcome to the recent Lambeth Conference is not simply going to be smooth sailing for our churches. The press itself has veered wildly in its evaluation of the Communion throughout the Conference: first, there were declarations of Anglicanism's imminent demise, then claims of dire victory for liberal or conservative forces respectively, then the crowning of Rowan Williams as the Great Peacemaker, and now, most recently, the stoking of new acrimony with stale "revelations" of the Archbishop's long-known...
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"Is The Episcopal Church Hierarchical?" Full Download (PDF Format) Near the center of the struggle now going on about the future of the Anglican Communion lays a dispute over the nature of the polity that ought to order its life in the years ahead. From the beginning of the debate, The Episcopal Church (TEC) has claimed that its form of governance is unique, and that the Communion as a whole ought to take this fact into account as decisions are made about future relations between its various Provinces. ACI has received a paper from Mark McCall (a lawyer) showing that the polity of TEC is...
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The Anglican Communion is currently pursuing a number of activities in response to the acrimonious struggle over sexual teaching and discipline within our churches. These activities have been encouraged by the Communion's leadership, including at the recent Lambeth Conference. I have, to various degrees, been a supporter of these activities, not least because I have trusted those who have promoted these means towards ecclesial healing. I am increasingly skeptical, however, that the way these activities have been framed - descriptively and practically - represents the true nature of our...
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ACI has consistently sought to secure the mission and identity of The Episcopal Church within the larger Anglican Communion. Events such as the published proceeding against Bishop Duncan clearly belong to a larger effort to create an office of Presiding Bishop, and a way of proceeding in the present season, at odds with the constitution and canons of this church. We are for this reason concerned to publish the timely statement of Mark McCall. Click here to download the full article in PDF Format On Friday the Presiding Bishop notified the House of Bishops that she would seek the deposition of...
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It is no secret that the bishops who assembled at Lambeth were asked to complete a survey soliciting their views on the proposed Anglican Covenant. It is now no secret, based upon public statements made by TEC Bishops, that, while most American bishops may favor some version of the first two sections of the proposed covenant, they oppose the third section and the appendix. Here are outlined the likely consequences should a Province exceed the limits of diversity generally accepted by the Communion as a whole. Opposition to the appendix indicates that the Episcopal Church (TEC) espouses a...
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