.
See liturgical notes.
CAPA Primates Communiqué
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 7:38 am
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1. In a spirit of unity and trust, and in an atmosphere of love the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) as well as Archbishop John Chew, the Chairman of the Global South, which represents the majority of the active orthodox membership in the entire Anglican Communion, met during the 2nd All Africa Bishop’s Conference in Entebbe, Uganda. We enjoyed the fellowship and the sense of unity as we heard the Word of God and gathered around the Lord’s Table.
2. We gave thanks to God for the leadership of the Most. Rev. Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean and Chairman of CAPA, and for the abundant hospitality provided by the Most Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda and the entire Church of Uganda.
3. We were honored by the presence of the His Excellency General Yoweri K. Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, for his official welcome to Uganda and for hosting an official state reception for the AABCH. We are very grateful to him for his support of the work of the Anglican Church in Uganda and for his call to stand against the alien intrusions and cultural arrogance which undermines the moral fiber of our societies. We recall his admonishment to live out the words and deeds of the Good Samaritan. We are also grateful to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Uganda for his presence and words of encouragement to us.
…
2. We gave thanks to God for the leadership of the Most. Rev. Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean and Chairman of CAPA, and for the abundant hospitality provided by the Most Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda and the entire Church of Uganda.
3. We were honored by the presence of the His Excellency General Yoweri K. Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, for his official welcome to Uganda and for hosting an official state reception for the AABCH. We are very grateful to him for his support of the work of the Anglican Church in Uganda and for his call to stand against the alien intrusions and cultural arrogance which undermines the moral fiber of our societies. We recall his admonishment to live out the words and deeds of the Good Samaritan. We are also grateful to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Uganda for his presence and words of encouragement to us.
…
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Where have discussion and dialogue gone?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 2:47 am
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Whatever happened to dialogue and discussion? It seems that much that passes as interchange has disappeared, with the online world being the biggest killing field. Almost everywhere you go looking for intelligent input there is little or no thoughtful response to something that has been said or been posted. An honest and astute interplay of ideas is becoming rare because instead of responding rationally people seem determined to respond viscerally, ad hominen, and with raw emotions rather than enquiring mind.
Online forums (fora?) have become settings in which moderating or dissenting voices are literally drowned out by those who shout and pontificate. Each online setting develops its own peculiar brand of political correctness, and woe betide anyone who crosses a particular line in the sand. Often these correctnesses are contrary to the original intention of the owner of the site, and they will lean heavily in one direction or another. There is in many places what can be described as a Rush Limbaugh approach to conversation: not to listen to what another is saying but to shout the so-and-so down because he or she has no right to say such things in this setting, and besides, any fool knows that their position is wrong and not worthy of serious consideration.
The result of such a quarrelsome modus operandi is animosity so that those with helpful insights on a particular subject in that setting refuse to post there any longer because, honestly, life is too short to put up with that sort of wrangling. There is a particular site that I have visited for a long, long time and will probably continue to visit because it is helps me to stay up-to-date with things that are going on, but last week I wrote the owner… Read full post >> Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
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Proposed Clarification for Adoption of the Covenant
Monday, August 23, 2010 at 5:44 pm
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From the Anglican Communion Institute:
As we have noted several times in recent months, the final text of the Anglican Covenant assigns important tasks defined in Section 4 to a committee designated the “Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.” There is currently no committee in the Anglican Communion bearing that title or capable of performing those tasks. The ACC standing committee was briefly referred to by the Section 4 title, but that name was not given it by the ACC. In any case in July 2010 the standing committee of the new company intended to replace the former ACC, noting objections to the title, agreed that it would be known simply as the standing committee.
Moreover, the ACC committee cannot fulfill the role defined by the Covenant, which makes the Section 4 committee “responsible to” both the Primates’ Meeting and the ACC, in the case of the latter as it was defined by its former constitution. Under the ACC’s new corporate arrangement, the members of its standing committee now comprise the entire membership and management of the ACC for legal purposes. Nor is there any meaningful way in which that committee could be said to be responsible to the Primates’ Meeting as contemplated by the Covenant.
Accordingly, it is necessary for covenanting churches to clarify what committee they intend to perform the functions specified in Section 4. Adopting the Covenant without such a clarification would suggest that the ACC standing…
As we have noted several times in recent months, the final text of the Anglican Covenant assigns important tasks defined in Section 4 to a committee designated the “Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.” There is currently no committee in the Anglican Communion bearing that title or capable of performing those tasks. The ACC standing committee was briefly referred to by the Section 4 title, but that name was not given it by the ACC. In any case in July 2010 the standing committee of the new company intended to replace the former ACC, noting objections to the title, agreed that it would be known simply as the standing committee.
Moreover, the ACC committee cannot fulfill the role defined by the Covenant, which makes the Section 4 committee “responsible to” both the Primates’ Meeting and the ACC, in the case of the latter as it was defined by its former constitution. Under the ACC’s new corporate arrangement, the members of its standing committee now comprise the entire membership and management of the ACC for legal purposes. Nor is there any meaningful way in which that committee could be said to be responsible to the Primates’ Meeting as contemplated by the Covenant.
Accordingly, it is necessary for covenanting churches to clarify what committee they intend to perform the functions specified in Section 4. Adopting the Covenant without such a clarification would suggest that the ACC standing…
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The New ACC Articles: Procedural Issues
Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 4:14 am
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From here:
The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
Although we have written before of our concerns over the substance of the new Articles of Association of the Anglican Consultative Council, until now we have said little about our concerns over the procedures followed by the Anglican Communion Office in managing the development of these Articles. Others voiced complaints and we remained hopeful that the ACO would respond to these complaints with transparency and by providing satisfactory answers. This has not happened.
We are dismayed that the Communion Office is either unable or unwilling to provide even the most basic information to those who have raised serious concerns: what information was provided to the provinces; when was it provided; and what was their response. An amendment of the constitution is a significant action by an organization, especially one subject to legal duties. Maintaining this information is the most basic level of diligence required of an organization’s secretariat. The lack of transparency and public accountability throughout this process is one of the most regrettable episodes of Communion life in recent years.
Our concerns are only heightened by information suggesting that the ACO may not have followed advice given to it on the necessary procedures for adopting the new Articles. In November 2008 Robert Fordham of Australia, then a member…
The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
Although we have written before of our concerns over the substance of the new Articles of Association of the Anglican Consultative Council, until now we have said little about our concerns over the procedures followed by the Anglican Communion Office in managing the development of these Articles. Others voiced complaints and we remained hopeful that the ACO would respond to these complaints with transparency and by providing satisfactory answers. This has not happened.
We are dismayed that the Communion Office is either unable or unwilling to provide even the most basic information to those who have raised serious concerns: what information was provided to the provinces; when was it provided; and what was their response. An amendment of the constitution is a significant action by an organization, especially one subject to legal duties. Maintaining this information is the most basic level of diligence required of an organization’s secretariat. The lack of transparency and public accountability throughout this process is one of the most regrettable episodes of Communion life in recent years.
Our concerns are only heightened by information suggesting that the ACO may not have followed advice given to it on the necessary procedures for adopting the new Articles. In November 2008 Robert Fordham of Australia, then a member…
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Much Ado?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 1:43 pm
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Articles have recently appeared on a number of websites and blogs attacking elements of the new constitution adopted by the Anglican Consultative Council and its standing committee. These bodies have recently been registered under English not for profit company law and in the process, it is suggested, a number of new elements have emerged which may endanger the Communion, shift power from one group to another or even undermine the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
It has even been suggested that retaining a legal status in England, the site of such property as the Communion owns, enforces the suggestion that Church of England is clinging to the vestiges of colonial authority. Others worry that the European Union might now be entitled to interfere in Communion affairs. The primary concern seems to be that the new body may position itself to dilute such authority the proposed Anglican Covenant may vest in the Instruments of Communion, which in addition to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates Meeting and the Lambeth Conference includes the Anglican Consultative Council and its standing committee. Note that a standing committee by definition is a committee of the body which appoints it and must answer to that body.
At the root of this unease is the concern that the ACC in membership will continue to reflect the dominance of the “Western” predominantly white churches and thus produce a buttress for the North American Provinces against attempts to discipline them. One might…
It has even been suggested that retaining a legal status in England, the site of such property as the Communion owns, enforces the suggestion that Church of England is clinging to the vestiges of colonial authority. Others worry that the European Union might now be entitled to interfere in Communion affairs. The primary concern seems to be that the new body may position itself to dilute such authority the proposed Anglican Covenant may vest in the Instruments of Communion, which in addition to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates Meeting and the Lambeth Conference includes the Anglican Consultative Council and its standing committee. Note that a standing committee by definition is a committee of the body which appoints it and must answer to that body.
At the root of this unease is the concern that the ACC in membership will continue to reflect the dominance of the “Western” predominantly white churches and thus produce a buttress for the North American Provinces against attempts to discipline them. One might…
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The ACC Articles of Association: Questions Remain
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 1:25 pm
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From here:
The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
[On Aug. 11] the Anglican Communion News Service published an interview with Canon John Rees, legal advisor to the Anglican Consultative Council, that responded in part to questions we previously raised in our paper, “Contrasting Futures for the Anglican Communion: A Transformed ACC and the Anglican Covenant.” We are grateful to the Anglican Communion Office, Canon Rees and the ACNS for responding directly on this matter of wide interest and for their renewed commitment to transparency in the process of structural reform now underway in the Communion. We continue to believe that these changes raise significant questions, that many of these questions remain unanswered, and that these questions should be considered throughout the Anglican Communion. We emphasize that the questions we raise below are not posed to Canon Rees alone, but are addressed more broadly to all those interested in the future of the Communion.
1. Canon Rees begins by providing helpful background to the constitutional changes recently implemented at the ACC. He notes that one of the objectives of the new Articles was to eliminate personal liability to which the trustees responsible for managing the Communion’s charitable assets might be exposed. As we emphasized in our original paper, this is an objective we fully share. But reiterating this objective does…
The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
[On Aug. 11] the Anglican Communion News Service published an interview with Canon John Rees, legal advisor to the Anglican Consultative Council, that responded in part to questions we previously raised in our paper, “Contrasting Futures for the Anglican Communion: A Transformed ACC and the Anglican Covenant.” We are grateful to the Anglican Communion Office, Canon Rees and the ACNS for responding directly on this matter of wide interest and for their renewed commitment to transparency in the process of structural reform now underway in the Communion. We continue to believe that these changes raise significant questions, that many of these questions remain unanswered, and that these questions should be considered throughout the Anglican Communion. We emphasize that the questions we raise below are not posed to Canon Rees alone, but are addressed more broadly to all those interested in the future of the Communion.
1. Canon Rees begins by providing helpful background to the constitutional changes recently implemented at the ACC. He notes that one of the objectives of the new Articles was to eliminate personal liability to which the trustees responsible for managing the Communion’s charitable assets might be exposed. As we emphasized in our original paper, this is an objective we fully share. But reiterating this objective does…
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Lingering ACC Questions
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 8:33 am
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Michael Poon poses these questions at Global South Anglican:
John Rees’ recent clarification on the new Anglican Consultative Council raises disturbing questions on the continuing viability of the Anglican Communion. As convener of a subgroup of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, tasked to review the Communion structures — due to report in the Cape Town Meeting later this year, I am puzzled why IASCUFO has not received report of such substantial work in its meeting in Canterbury in December 2009. Many Anglican colleagues worldwide have devoted huge effort to work on Communion matters, with the aim to find ways for the Communion to overcome its “ecclesial deficit.” Like some, I feel our labor spent on Communion matters is perhaps abused and wasted by the lack of transparency and due consultation.
Communion infrastructures have arisen in haphazard ways since 1945. The new ACC Constitution, I fear, is another instance. The lack of in-depth consultation on the constitutional changes stands in sharp contrast with the thoroughgoing processes in the drafting and dissemination of the Anglican Communion Covenant.
The controversy on the new ACC Constitution may well derail the already difficult processes in the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant. Churches in the southern continents may well be tempted to look for more radical alternatives for a more permanent solution to recent Anglican disputes.
I ask for the following clarifications:
1. On…
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A Sermon on the Assumption of Mary
Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm
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Adapted from a sermon preached on the feast of the Assumption, 2009, at St Matthias' parish in Dallas.
“Wine is truly pleasant to drink, and bread to eat. The one rejoices, the other strengthens the heart of man. But what is sweeter than the Mother of my God? She has taken my mind captive, and held my tongue in bondage. I think of her by day and night. She, the Mother of the Word, supplies my words. The fruit of sterility makes sterile minds fruitful. We keep today the feast of her blessed and divine transit from this world. Let us then climb up the mystical mountain, where beyond the reach of worldly things, passing through the obscurity of storm, we stand in the divine light and may give praise to Almighty power.”
These were the words of St John of Damascus on today’s solemnity, written in the 8th century. He gives expression to the thoughts of countless Christians through the ages who have received with joy the story of Mary’s assumption, body and soul, into heaven.
Not everyone, of course, feels this way. Last year I was teaching a class on the rosary, and when we came to the glorious mystery of the assumption I had a couple of people make it very clear that they found this tradition scandalous. I explained how, despite its absence in Scripture, there is nothing against it in Scripture, how Christians in both…
“Wine is truly pleasant to drink, and bread to eat. The one rejoices, the other strengthens the heart of man. But what is sweeter than the Mother of my God? She has taken my mind captive, and held my tongue in bondage. I think of her by day and night. She, the Mother of the Word, supplies my words. The fruit of sterility makes sterile minds fruitful. We keep today the feast of her blessed and divine transit from this world. Let us then climb up the mystical mountain, where beyond the reach of worldly things, passing through the obscurity of storm, we stand in the divine light and may give praise to Almighty power.”
These were the words of St John of Damascus on today’s solemnity, written in the 8th century. He gives expression to the thoughts of countless Christians through the ages who have received with joy the story of Mary’s assumption, body and soul, into heaven.
Not everyone, of course, feels this way. Last year I was teaching a class on the rosary, and when we came to the glorious mystery of the assumption I had a couple of people make it very clear that they found this tradition scandalous. I explained how, despite its absence in Scripture, there is nothing against it in Scripture, how Christians in both…
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A Prior Meeting
Monday, August 02, 2010 at 7:48 pm
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“Solvitur ambulando”
around the ‘cloister’ meadow
of Grey Friars, Canterbury.
Five days in Bec, Normandy,
now, beckoned and called,
four days, silent, in Canterbury.
Cassock forgotten,
now vested from the vestry,
a gift, it turns out, from Bec.
“Something-than-which-
nothing-greater-can-be-conceived”
is God.
Quite a thought from Anselm,
a Prior and Abbot of Bec
and Archbishop of Canterbury,
echoing around the cloister
and through the centuries.
God cannot be thought of
as non-existent
without contradiction.
It seems too neat:
perfectly to define God,
in effect,
with the property of existence.
Kant couldn’t.
If conception is not earthed
is it real?
God was conceived and earthed
in Nazareth.
Maybe ‘meeting’ is the clue
which coheres?
The co-inherent meeting,
of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
of Word and flesh,
of God and people.
“Someone-than-whom-
no-one-greater-can-be-met”
is God.
So, God-who-meets is
co-inherent not incoherent,
and cannot not be met.
A meteorological argument
to show whether
God exists?
Hail God, well met.
Quite an adventure,
coming across God,
in the meadow,
in the cool of the evening.
Grey Friars, Canterbury
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around the ‘cloister’ meadow
of Grey Friars, Canterbury.
Five days in Bec, Normandy,
now, beckoned and called,
four days, silent, in Canterbury.
Cassock forgotten,
now vested from the vestry,
a gift, it turns out, from Bec.
“Something-than-which-
nothing-greater-can-be-conceived”
is God.
Quite a thought from Anselm,
a Prior and Abbot of Bec
and Archbishop of Canterbury,
echoing around the cloister
and through the centuries.
God cannot be thought of
as non-existent
without contradiction.
It seems too neat:
perfectly to define God,
in effect,
with the property of existence.
Kant couldn’t.
If conception is not earthed
is it real?
God was conceived and earthed
in Nazareth.
Maybe ‘meeting’ is the clue
which coheres?
The co-inherent meeting,
of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
of Word and flesh,
of God and people.
“Someone-than-whom-
no-one-greater-can-be-met”
is God.
So, God-who-meets is
co-inherent not incoherent,
and cannot not be met.
A meteorological argument
to show whether
God exists?
Hail God, well met.
Quite an adventure,
coming across God,
in the meadow,
in the cool of the evening.
Grey Friars, Canterbury
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Should Christians Share Christ with People of Other Faiths?
Monday, August 02, 2010 at 7:11 pm
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Fulcrum Newsletter, July 2010
copublished, with permission, with The Times online, 5 July 2010
Should Christians keep themselves to themselves and not share Christ with people of other faiths? ‘Conversion must never become a word of which Christians fight shy’ is a key succinct statement by Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, in their Foreword to a recently published General Synod report, ‘Sharing the Gospel of Salvation’ [PDF].
I believe Christians should be involved in patient, dialogical evangelism among people of other faiths, and not keep Christ to themselves, for at least five reasons.
First, Christianity was born amongst Judaism and the diverse religions of the Roman Empire. This is not a new question, but a foundational one. Jesus Christ’s message and life of God’s Kingdom was a challenge to the Judaism of his time, for repentance and renewal in the face of political and religious disaster. If Jesus shared and showed that news with his own people — even when, and especially because, they were oppressed by imperialists — then his disciples have rightly followed his example ever since. The news soon spread beyond Judaism, challenging the hegemony of Emperor worship and the insider dealing of mystery religions in the Roman Empire. Without the impetus of belief in a unique Saviour, and a desire to pass on the good news to people of all faiths, Christianity would have shrivelled and died out within a few years…
copublished, with permission, with The Times online, 5 July 2010
Should Christians keep themselves to themselves and not share Christ with people of other faiths? ‘Conversion must never become a word of which Christians fight shy’ is a key succinct statement by Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, in their Foreword to a recently published General Synod report, ‘Sharing the Gospel of Salvation’ [PDF].
I believe Christians should be involved in patient, dialogical evangelism among people of other faiths, and not keep Christ to themselves, for at least five reasons.
First, Christianity was born amongst Judaism and the diverse religions of the Roman Empire. This is not a new question, but a foundational one. Jesus Christ’s message and life of God’s Kingdom was a challenge to the Judaism of his time, for repentance and renewal in the face of political and religious disaster. If Jesus shared and showed that news with his own people — even when, and especially because, they were oppressed by imperialists — then his disciples have rightly followed his example ever since. The news soon spread beyond Judaism, challenging the hegemony of Emperor worship and the insider dealing of mystery religions in the Roman Empire. Without the impetus of belief in a unique Saviour, and a desire to pass on the good news to people of all faiths, Christianity would have shrivelled and died out within a few years…
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Contrasting Futures for the Anglican Communion
A Transformed ACC and the Anglican Covenant
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 4:26 pm
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The Rev. Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
The crises in the Anglican Communion in recent years have revealed two distinct problems confronting the Communion, one theological and one structural. The two halves of faith and order. The theological problem is whether the Communion has theological coherence on major questions of faith and practice. Slowly over the last decade and a half an affirmative answer to this question has been evolving. In particular, on the presenting crisis of human sexuality the Communion does have a common mind that has been expressed repeatedly by all four Instruments. The extent to which this has happened is reflected in the report of the Joint Standing Committee in late 2007 after the meeting of TEC’s House of Bishops in New Orleans:
TEC’s Presiding Bishop concurred in that report, but she has since served as the chief consecrator of Mary…
The Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
The crises in the Anglican Communion in recent years have revealed two distinct problems confronting the Communion, one theological and one structural. The two halves of faith and order. The theological problem is whether the Communion has theological coherence on major questions of faith and practice. Slowly over the last decade and a half an affirmative answer to this question has been evolving. In particular, on the presenting crisis of human sexuality the Communion does have a common mind that has been expressed repeatedly by all four Instruments. The extent to which this has happened is reflected in the report of the Joint Standing Committee in late 2007 after the meeting of TEC’s House of Bishops in New Orleans:
The Communion seems to be converging around a position which says that while it is inappropriate to proceed to public Rites of Blessing of same-sex unions and to the consecration of bishops who are living in sexual relationships outside of Christian marriage, we need to take seriously our ministry to gay and lesbian people inside the Church and the ending of discrimination, persecution and violence against them. Here, The Episcopal Church and the Instruments of Communion speak with one voice.
TEC’s Presiding Bishop concurred in that report, but she has since served as the chief consecrator of Mary…
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Abp. Orombi’s Message to Ugandans
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 12:51 pm
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I learned, with great shock, of the bomb blasts that went off at Kyadondo Rugby Club and Ethiopian Restaurant in Kabalagala, killing and injuring many innocent people who had converged to watch the World Cup Final on Sunday night.
As a result, there is a spirit of gloom and doom over the city of Kampala and the people of Uganda. Many people are bereaved; parents and children have been separated; brothers and sisters, lovers and friends are all feeling a great sense of loss and there is great pain.
This act of malice and hatred towards mankind is completely ungodly, especially towards innocent and unsuspecting persons. I condemn this act in the strongest terms possible and hope to see the perpetrators of this hideous crime brought to justice.
In the meantime, I call upon each one of us to desist from anger and revenge; this will only perpetuate the pain we already feel. Revenge is not a solution and neither is a sectarian approach to this problem helpful.
Let us instead now focus our energies on being a part of the fight against terrorism in our country. Each one of you can use your eyes as a great weapon to fight this evil. Even as we do so, let us not breed unnecessary suspicion against one another but instead seek for the common goal of a peaceful and just society. Remember a peaceful society is the right of…
As a result, there is a spirit of gloom and doom over the city of Kampala and the people of Uganda. Many people are bereaved; parents and children have been separated; brothers and sisters, lovers and friends are all feeling a great sense of loss and there is great pain.
This act of malice and hatred towards mankind is completely ungodly, especially towards innocent and unsuspecting persons. I condemn this act in the strongest terms possible and hope to see the perpetrators of this hideous crime brought to justice.
In the meantime, I call upon each one of us to desist from anger and revenge; this will only perpetuate the pain we already feel. Revenge is not a solution and neither is a sectarian approach to this problem helpful.
Let us instead now focus our energies on being a part of the fight against terrorism in our country. Each one of you can use your eyes as a great weapon to fight this evil. Even as we do so, let us not breed unnecessary suspicion against one another but instead seek for the common goal of a peaceful and just society. Remember a peaceful society is the right of…
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Talking About Things You Will Never Agree On
Some reflections on Indaba in the Anglican Communion by a realistic traditionalist.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 7:40 am
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This paper was written for the Anglican Communion’s Continuing Indaba Project, in conjunction with a North American meeting of the project held at Virginia Seminary, in April 2010. It will be posted later on the project’s site.
A. The scope of the Indaba project
The Continuing Indaba Project, as its organizers have described it, is geared toward “decision making by consensus,” in a way adaptable to the Anglican Communion. (The word “indaba” is of Bantu [African] origin, and connotes a meeting or council to discuss a serious matter.) In particular, it is about seeking a “common mind” in the face of “hard questions” that “threaten to divide us.” What are these conflicted questions? Sexuality is one, along with other matters, like “the authority of Scripture, faithfulness to tradition and the respect for the dignity of all.”
The project’s organizers recognize, however, that its outcome may not be actual “agreement” over these questions. Still, at least some agreement is hoped for; and where not agreement, then some “clarification of disagreement” such as to create more “positive missional relationships.” So, Indaba will seek consensus around conflicted questions that either leads to actual agreement on the matter at issue, or at least to a better understanding of the disagreement in a way that promotes closer cooperation in mission.
In what follows, I wish to reflect on how this approach might in fact play itself out on the first hard question…
A. The scope of the Indaba project
The Continuing Indaba Project, as its organizers have described it, is geared toward “decision making by consensus,” in a way adaptable to the Anglican Communion. (The word “indaba” is of Bantu [African] origin, and connotes a meeting or council to discuss a serious matter.) In particular, it is about seeking a “common mind” in the face of “hard questions” that “threaten to divide us.” What are these conflicted questions? Sexuality is one, along with other matters, like “the authority of Scripture, faithfulness to tradition and the respect for the dignity of all.”
The project’s organizers recognize, however, that its outcome may not be actual “agreement” over these questions. Still, at least some agreement is hoped for; and where not agreement, then some “clarification of disagreement” such as to create more “positive missional relationships.” So, Indaba will seek consensus around conflicted questions that either leads to actual agreement on the matter at issue, or at least to a better understanding of the disagreement in a way that promotes closer cooperation in mission.
In what follows, I wish to reflect on how this approach might in fact play itself out on the first hard question…
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Owning One’s Own Actions with Grace
Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and the Archbishop of Canterbury
Thursday, July 01, 2010 at 8:09 am
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Over the past few weeks, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (TEC), Katharine Jefferts Schori, has responded pointedly to the removal of TEC’s members from Anglican Communion commissions dealing with ecumenical relations and matters of the Communion’s “faith and order.” The removal itself was announced at the end of May in a letter to the Communion by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. It was later explicated by the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Canon Kenneth Kearon, during visits to the Canadian church’s General Synod, and TEC’s Executive Council. At issue, of course, is TEC’s decision earlier this year to go forward with the consecration of a partnered lesbian, Mary Glasspool, as a bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles. And this decision, according to Archbishop Williams and Canon Kearon, is one that goes counter to a consistently articulated position by Communion councils. These councils have, over and over, insisted that church affirmations of same-sex partnerships are, on the basis of Scriptural teaching, contrary to the “mind of the Communion,” and therefore that e.g. the consecration of partnered homosexual bishops and church-administered same-sex blessings should cease among member churches.
Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori’s response has criticized Archbishop Williams’ decision on several grounds. Here, let me address just three of her objections: first, that the Archbishop’s actions represent a move towards “centralization” within the Communion, viewed especially in terms of the application of “sanctions” against member churches; second, that in removing TEC members from the Communion…
Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori’s response has criticized Archbishop Williams’ decision on several grounds. Here, let me address just three of her objections: first, that the Archbishop’s actions represent a move towards “centralization” within the Communion, viewed especially in terms of the application of “sanctions” against member churches; second, that in removing TEC members from the Communion…
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Too Old Fashioned?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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Amidst all the chatter about mitres and primatial perambulations my mind has been focused on a smaller irony. I attended as a guest the synod of the local diocese of the Anglican Province of America, whose primus I was for 25 years. This year marks the 40th anniversary of my election as a bishop and the survivors of those days wanted to say nice things about me and so I let them!
There was much talk about how these scattered churches might be able to purchase buildings and pay priests. The Diocese of Mid-America is a poor relation of the Diocese of the East, where in most cases buildings have been erected and clergy are full time.
While these people plan for a future which includes buildings, we in the Episcopal Church, rather like the USA, are faced with an aging infrastructure and little money to maintain our buildings, let alone diocesan and national church institutions and seminaries. We are stuck in the past. We just cannot envision Anglicanism without its trappings and so our time and money are spent on propping them up. Often our Victorian piles are no longer on sites best suited to evangelize the community. The secularized community outside our buildings has no more insight into what we do on Sundays than they do of what goes on in a Masonic lodge. They have little or no biblical knowledge and what they know about the church is largely based on…
There was much talk about how these scattered churches might be able to purchase buildings and pay priests. The Diocese of Mid-America is a poor relation of the Diocese of the East, where in most cases buildings have been erected and clergy are full time.
While these people plan for a future which includes buildings, we in the Episcopal Church, rather like the USA, are faced with an aging infrastructure and little money to maintain our buildings, let alone diocesan and national church institutions and seminaries. We are stuck in the past. We just cannot envision Anglicanism without its trappings and so our time and money are spent on propping them up. Often our Victorian piles are no longer on sites best suited to evangelize the community. The secularized community outside our buildings has no more insight into what we do on Sundays than they do of what goes on in a Masonic lodge. They have little or no biblical knowledge and what they know about the church is largely based on…
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